Laura Warrell is the author of Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, and long-listed for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Lit Hub, Los Angeles Review of Books, Huffington Post, and other publications. Laura has attended residencies at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Tin House Writer’s Workshop. She lives in Los Angeles and teaches at the low-residency MFA program at Pacific University.
Laura Warrell's Philosophy
We asked Laura to tell us a little bit about her teaching philosophy and what excites her about leading the Online Novel Incubator program:
"When we set out to write a novel, we usually have a vision for where our plots will lead, how we want our characters to evolve, and even what we want to “say” or reflect about the world in which we live. Sometimes we only have part of this vision when we first set pen to paper, but either way, the goal of any writing workshop should be to help novelists achieve their vision. Some workshops invite participants to read their peers’ manuscripts then offer a list of recommended changes and fixes, an approach that sometimes centers the respondents’ aesthetics and tastes rather than the authors’. In this fiction workshop, we will center the work, engaging in constructive and courteous discussion about what a piece wants to be and identifying opportunities for its author to take it there.
As an instructor and workshop leader, I strive to create a supportive, rigorous environment where writers feel comfortable sharing their ideas and taking chances in their work. Rather than assert my own views of what a manuscript “should” be, I ask pointed questions and provide a range of writing prompts that get writers thinking more deeply about their projects. In this program, we will explore the foundational elements of fiction – plot, characterization, setting, dialogue, voice, etc. – but we will also expand our understanding of what’s possible as we put those elements to work in our stories. We will challenge each other and grow together in an inclusive environment where all storytellers are welcome."
Michelle Hoover is the Fannie Hurst Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University and teaches at GrubStreet, where she leads the Novel Incubator program. She is a 2014 NEA Fellow and has been a Writer-in-Residence at Bucknell University, a MacDowell Fellow, and a winner of the PEN/New England Discovery Award. Her debut novel, The Quickening, was shortlisted for the Center for Fiction's Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, was a Finalist for the Indies Choice Debut of 2010 and Forward Magazine's Best Literary Book of 2010, and is a 2010 Massachusetts Book Award "Must Read" pick. Her second novel, Bottomland, is the 2017 All Iowa Reads selection and a 2016 Mass Book "Must Read." For more, go to www.michelle-hoover.com.
The Second Reader is an established author and teacher who will be hand-picked by Michelle Hoover in consultation with the student. Each student will be paired with a different outside reader, someone with direct experience revising his/her own published novel and the novels of many aspiring and emerging writers. The goal of this pairing is to offer an objective voice and give the student and Michelle Hoover a different perspective on the revision process.
Michelle Hoover's Philosophy
We asked Michelle to tell us a little bit about her teaching philosophy and what excites her about leading the In-Person Novel Incubator program:
"The novel is the only written form that requires such extensive empathy from its author for a group of dueling strangers. A character’s obsessions, fears, and flaws drive its events, structure and plot form the often unseen but all necessary spine, and an author’s unique perception remains the only reason for the novel to exist at all. In the Incubator, we hope to support writers trying to conquer this difficult and seldom-taught form. These are writers who often work alone, with little guidance and few friendly readers willing to respond to such a heft of pages. Every novel our students bring in carries with it years of trial and error, creative triumphs as well as frustration, all at the expense of day jobs, family, and friends. This is work our writers feel compelled to do, out of a love for story, character, richness of detail and every last lovely sentence. Responding to each book therefore entails a great deal of responsibility—on the part of the instructor as well as the fellow students. Our goal is to allow authors to forge a distinct voice and vision, to create a forum where discovery is possible and hard thinking required. Through the tools we offer them, we hope to grant writers the confidence to step out of their own way, producing a finely crafted work they will be proud to offer readers."