OUR WORKSHOPS
Learning to write comes from reading, both the work of published writers and of our peers, and from using one’s powers of insight and creativity to analyze what one reads and figure out why it works when it does and what is missing when it doesn’t. This is where knowledge is gained, and it’s slow and frustrating, nebulous, diffuse, much less direct and directed than having someone write Great! in the margins of a story ….
Jo Ann Beard, “Close,” Festival Days

Every workshop we offer at Juncture reflects Beth’s deep understanding of the memoir form—its makers, its challenges, its rewards. We’re currently offering all programs online, with the hope of returning to in-person teaching soon.

 

TAKING FLIGHT: A MULTI-MEDIA WORKSHOP SERIES (2024)

Whether we are writing long form memoir or flash fiction, prose poetry or speculative hybrids, every sentence—and every arrangement of sentences—matters.

 

But how do we find the right words and fit them into the right places? How do we master sonics, syllables, scenes, stories, and pace? Elongation and compression? Density and white space? These questions arise not just at the start of every project, but deep into the crafting and revision.

 

“Taking Flight” is a four-part workshop series designed for writers of all genres seeking new ways to think about the possibilities and power of language. Participants will enter a curated world of art, music, and literature, taking literary inspiration and instruction from John Singer Sargent, Agnes Martin, Gustav Mahler, Elizabeth Hardwick, Paul Auster, and others. They’ll be led through a series of original art-inspired prompts (art by William Sulit and Beth Kephart) and given a behind-the scenes look at Beth’s approach to fitting words with images and ideas. They will write, finally, to a progression of elevated, guided prompts.

 

At the close of each session, Beth will suggest five literary magazines in which participants might consider placing the work they have begun or revised inside the classroom.

 

A private group Facebook page will be established in which participants can share their work over the course of our time together.

 

Each session is $45. All are presented live via Zoom. They are recorded and available to participants for 30 days following the program.

 

INDIVIDUAL CRITIQUES

Beth is now offering a limited number of memoir/essay manuscript-critique sessions—individualized review sessions tailored to each writer’s needs.

 

Hourly rate: $200/hour
Menu of services:

 

Developmental Manuscript Critique, which entails Beth’s comprehensive reading of the writer’s pages, an overall, written assessment of strengths and possibilities, and embedded track-change comments. Throughout this process, the writer will be encouraged to more fully explore a range of issues including the broadening of characters, scenes, and telling details; the identification of universal questions and themes; poetic repetitions vs prosaic redundancies; the judicious or injudicious use of white space; meaningful juxtapositions; and the rise, fall, and tangle of related storylines. Every review is, of course, shaped according to the specific strengths and curiosities of the writer.

 

Should the writer wish to follow up with a Zoom call, that time will be charged accordingly, in addition to the time spent on the Developmental Manuscript Critique.

 

Zoom Consultations, in which writers, through a guided conversation with Beth, are offered new insights as they seek, among other things, to develop nascent storylines, identify appropriate forms (the braid, the embedded flashback, the collage, the prose poem, the hermit crab, etc.), test tone or voice, gather new resources to assist them in their work (including ideas about which books to read), or review the inherent possibilities and challenges of the publishing landscape.

 

Beth sends a Venmo or PayPal request immediately upon the delivery of her services.

 

Beth does not offer copy-editing services and also does not serve as a direct link to agents and editors. She can make no guarantees regarding the publishing future of a project.

 

Beth offers a limited number of manuscript development/Zoom sessions each month, and so, at times, there is a waiting list.

NOTE:  For workshop description, please click on the image. To purchase, click “add to cart.”