Write on the Sound has invited me back to gorgeous Edmonds, WA to share my ideas about writing narrative. This is a fabulous in-person conference for writers of all genres and levels of experience, set on the shores of the Salish Sea, close to public transport and reasonable lodging.

My sessions:

October 4, 10:45 AM

Ordinary Time, Extraordinary Time with Anne Elliott (int-adv) - What makes today different from all other days? How do we establish the ordinary for characters, then interrupt it to reveal new depths of personality, relationships, and worlds? Exposition can feel inert. We’ll consider how to make it feel alive, then transition to the “story” part of the story. Attendees will leave with a foundation in the idea of “ordinary” vs. “extraordinary” time for characters, and why those things matter, learn specific maneuvers that can break open the ordinary, some classic and some contrarian, and obtain a list of some strong models to read for inspiration, including craft texts.

October 4, 2:45 PM

Critique Panel with April Dávila, Anne Elliott & Ray Rhamey (all levels) - Attendees may have up to 3 pages of their fiction, nonfiction or memoir anonymously read aloud by the panel. The panel will then discuss the work and provide comment, outlining what they find compelling and where they feel there is room for improvement with concrete examples.  

October 5, 11:00 AM

The Expanded Epistolary: Using Nonliterary Text with Anne Elliott (int-adv) -  "Epistolary" storytelling--using a letter, journal entry, photograph, or personal artifact in hand--when done well, can be time travel. This session will study examples of epistolary fiction and memoir, expanding our definition way beyond the exchange of letters. Emails, texts, legal documents, marginalia, dictionaries, shopping lists, newspaper clippings, playlists, syllabi, Sylvia Plath’s braid: everything is on the table to explore.