“Revision is a kind of ripening, intensified by close attention.” Jane Hirshfield

In this third section of the yearlong Storytelling Intensive, we will revisit the story, essay or chapter you’ve been working on. First, we will read aloud to each other, to see where the prose slips. Revision exercises from our text, “The Making of a Story” by Alice LaPlante, and other teaching luminaries, will break down elements of revision and offer practical exercises to address technique. We will write the story to expand and deepen character and motivation. Expect reading and writing homework tailored to address the issues that arise as we revise. And we will talk about the art of patience. Revision demands both the time to let your work speak to you and a belief in your creative process.You will leave the class with another draft of your piece and ideas about how to take it further.

Each participant will be workshopped and receive feedback from the instructor and your peers.

This class is also open to students not part of the Intensive but you must bring a draft of a story, essay or chapter to focus on.

This is the final quarter of Storytelling: A Yearlong Intensive. Students are welcome to register for this class regardless if they attended the first two quarters.

Books required: The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing by Alice La Plante.

Audrey Ferber's stories and essays have appeared in the New York Times, LILITH Magazine, Best Travel Writing by Women, New World Writing, Frankly Feminist and elsewhere. She has been teaching in the Bay Area for more than twenty-five years. She is working on a collection of essays about marriage and caretaking and a story cycle set in the near future.