Miami Writers Institute Online!

May 17 – 21 (1 week) Various times, as appointed (Mon. – Fri., May 17 – 21). All appointment times in EST. Consultations are limited to 30 people. Online via Google Meet  |  Register to receive link Once you have registered online, please email your 1-page query letter and 10-page manuscript to Marci Cancio-Bello at mcanciob@mdc.edu by 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, May 10, 2021. Genres Accepted: Adult Fiction and Adult Narrative Non-Fiction (No prescriptive,…

Tuesdays, May 4 – 25 (4 weeks) 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. EST  |  Online via Google Meet  |  Register to receive link In this workshop, we’ll start by reading pieces that use memory and personal narrative to tell a story. We will examine how memories can be crafted as memoir or personal essay and speak to something larger, more expansive, and how personal stories are connected to the larger world. Each day we will discuss your crafted pieces of memoir or personal essay: workshop will be a conversation that encourages and prioritizes the centering of underrepresented voices,…

Mondays, May 3 – 24 (4 weeks) 8 – 9:30 p.m. EST | Online via Google Meet  |  Register to receive link There are decisions we make (about entry point, tone, point of view, conflict, stakes, and more) in our opening pages that set us up for stories that practically write themselves, or for ones that are bound to run quickly out of steam. In this four-week class, we will examine and edit student work (on a volunteer basis) in class,…

August 1, 2 – 3:30 p.m. EST A refrain you’ll often hear when asking a question about the publishing process is “it depends.” Every book, every author, every agent, every publisher is wonderfully (and, yes, also frustratingly) unique. There is not a single right path to publishing a book, no traveling salesmen “six tricks to get an agent” to game the system, and no simple calculations to become a bestseller. This is a business of chaos and a business of luck.…

Friday, July 31, 6 – 7 p.m. EST This talk will delve into revision strategies, possibilities, options, and leaps of faith. What does it mean to revise, and how can you figure out what works best for you? I tend to avoid generalizations, but it’s pretty safe to say that every writer revises, and often heavily: Kerouac bragged that he’d written On the Road in one go, but after he died, they discovered the drafts. R.O. Kwon‘s nationally bestselling first novel,…

Thursday, July 30, 6 – 7 p.m. EST This craft talk will focus on techniques in worldbuilding in young adult fiction, whether writing a contemporary story set in a small town or an intergalactic story set in Mars. How do you create a world that rings true without falling in to the common missteps of info-dumping and adding confusion to readers? The craft talk will explore the use of world bibles, generating focused content, and utilizing all senses in descriptions.…

Wednesday, July 29, 6 – 7 p.m. EST We’ll talk about the role of setting as a character, source of conflict, voice, and foundation within short and extended works of fiction. Attendees will also participate with their own examples and experience as we discuss the myriad opportunities that rooting fiction in place can present. Bryan Washington is a writer from Houston. His fiction and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine,…

Tuesday, July 28, 6 – 7 p.m. EST The great secret of the best memoirs is that they read like novels. Well, how do you do that? Novelist and memoirist Boris Fishman will discuss 10 moves that will get you started, ranging from the technical to the philosophical. This is your chance to find out, among other things: How to lie more skillfully (only on the page and never in memoir, of course!) The two biggest blind spots of writing about yourself Why the chocolate-sauce test is among the most important things you can do for your writing Why you might need to “ignore”…

SOLD OUT! Lamentablemente, ya no hay cupo para el taller. Para apuntarse a la lista de espera, por favor registre sus datos en esta página: https://forms.gle/1ne66rfC22bLHKUY8. Le informaremos si surge una oportunidad de que participe. Gracias por su interés.   Lunes 27 – viernes 31 de julio, 7 a 8:30 p.m. ¿Qué es un microrrelato? ¿Es una mariposa, un perfume, una brisa, un texto narrativo? Las fronteras de la nación del microrrelato y sus países limítrofes. El microrrelato ¿nace o se hace?…

Monday, July 27, 6 – 7 p.m. EST The task of writing an occasional poem, as Richard Blanco did for President Obama’s inauguration, is often deemed the “kiss of death.”  But why?  Drawing on his experiences as presidential inaugural poet, Blanco will discuss not only the great challenges such poems present, but also the great opportunities they offer to enhance our perspectives on matters of craft such as audience, tension, boundaries, inspiration, and voice.  Through the lens of his inaugural poem,…

5-Day Virtual Workshop Monday – Friday, July 27 – 31 | 3:30 – 5 p.m. EST This is a crash course on how to find time, money, and space to write after, before, and outside an MFA. How will you find fellowships, grants, and residencies, and what are best practices for applying? How helpful are writing conferences? Where can you participate in literary communities? What’s a key part of a magazine pitch? How might you think about revising?…

5-Day Virtual Workshop Monday – Friday, July 27 – 31 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. EST The Outsiders. Harry Potter. The Hate You Give. Walk in to any bookstore and you will find an exciting array of young adult fiction that covers every genre—from contemporary stories tackling social justice themes to science fiction bringing other worlds to life. If you’ve ever wanted to write a novel through the perspective of a young person, this is the workshop for you.…

5-Day Virtual Workshop Monday – Friday, July 27 – 31 | 12:30 – 2 p.m. EST During our time together, we will read excerpts of exemplary memoirs (and peek at a couple of craft manuals); take them apart to figure out how they became so exemplary (and to remind ourselves that their authors were once staring at a blank page, too); do some craft exercises to practice those concepts; and then deploy them in short pieces of memoiristic writing that we will workshop as a group.…

5-Day Virtual Workshop Monday – Friday, July 27 – 31 | 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. EST We’ll work through intersecting structures, parallel timelines, elliptical narratives, and stories that forego chronology altogether as we parse the limits of structure, and the ways our forms dictate the content we turn to. Bryan Washington has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, the BBC, …

5-Day Virtual Workshop Monday – Friday, July 27 – 31 | 9:30 – 11 a.m. EST A poem is a conscious expression born out of the subconscious mind. Through interactive lectures and exercises, we will explore those techniques that we consciously employ in poetry, namely: the using specific, concrete imagery; the dynamics of line breaks; how to harness to power of figurative language; and the linguistics underlying musicality. Likewise, we will explore the equally important subconscious territory of memory,…