Instructor: Brenda Bowen
Every great novel begins with a single, well-crafted sentence, but what happens after that? This workshop is designed for writers who have a brilliant idea for a book but who may be stuck when it comes to getting it on paper.
In a workshop led by a novelist who’s also a literary agent, we’ll focus on beginnings: how to introduce characters we want to root for, however imperfect; how to layer in setting and tone; how to plant the seeds in that very first chapter for everything that is to come. We will foster an environment of trust and support. Each session will start with free-writing to get the creative synapses sparking; then we’ll read aloud and offer constructive feedback; and we will focus on how other writers have overcome the specific obstacles participants may be facing.
What will you leave with? A dynamite first chapter and a roadmap for how to make your book both compelling and salable, whether you started with just an idea or with an entire first draft. You’ll also forge a community of writing peers, and you’ll walk away with a notebook of writing prompts and ideas. Bonus: at our last session, we’ll draft pitch letters to literary agents, with an eye toward finding a lasting publisher for you and your work.
Brenda Bowen has the unusual advantage of having seen publishing from all sides. She is the author of Enchanted August, published by Pamela Dorman Books/Penguin, and the forthcoming novel The Emergency Book Club (William Morrow, 2027). She has edited books that have won the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal; she is the agent of authors who have been #1 NYTimes bestsellers, and whose books sold in the millions of copies. Under the pen name Margaret McNamara, she’s also the author of more than forty children’s books, many of which have been in print more than twenty years. Currently a literary agent at The Book Group, Brenda lives and works in New York City and Maine.
