Literary Fiction

All posts in the Literary Fiction category

New Class: ONLINE WRITING LITERARY HORROR

Published December 22, 2024 by Philip Ivory

What can we as writers learn from masters of the horror genre such as Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, and others? What special voices and literary techniques do these accomplished writers use to subtly create moods and situations that unnerve, fascinate, and shock readers in a pleasurable way?

In the class, students will follow the examples set by these masters while applying tried and tested Writers Studio methods. The goal is to help students bring their unique creative material to life in new and vibrant ways. All students are welcome, whether new to The Writers Studio or veterans of our classes. Experience in writing horror is not necessary, but an interest in the genre is recommended. Students can choose to write fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction.

ONLINE WRITING LITERARY HORROR starts on Saturday, February 1st and will be taught by Philip Ivory, director of the Tucson branch of The Writers Studio. The class will be conducted online for six weeks.

For more information or to register:

ONLINE WRITING LITERARY HORROR

Writers Studio Free Online Reading Featuring Betsy Mahaffey

Published September 9, 2024 by Philip Ivory

Please join us for this free online reading! It’s taking place next Sunday and features reading of original work by Writers Studio teachers from around the country. Readers will include Betsy Mahaffey, teacher and assistant director in the Tucson branch, as well as Amy Arutt, Doug Crowell, Linda Drach, Gail Ford, and Hani Khalil.

We hope to see you there on Sunday.

CLICK HERE TO PRE-REGISTER FOR FREE READING

Online Writing About Childhood starting October 19th

Published September 5, 2024 by Philip Ivory

Can we recapture the wonder, darkness, and magic of childhood in our writing? This six-week class examines techniques used by established writers such as Ray Bradbury, Sandra Cisneros, Seamus Heaney, and others who successfully evoked that not-so-long-ago childhood realm.

In the class, students will follow the examples set by these masters while applying tried and tested Writers Studio methods. The goal is to help students bring their unique creative material to life in new and vibrant ways. All students are welcome, whether new to The Writers Studio or veterans of our classes. Students can choose to write fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction.

ONLINE WRITING ABOUT CHILDHOOD starts on October 19th and will be taught by Philip Ivory, director of the Tucson branch of The Writers Studio.

For more information or to register: CLICK HERE

October Class: Online Writing About Childhood

Published September 23, 2023 by Philip Ivory

Starting Saturday October 7th, I’ll be teaching another session of my special six-week class Online Writing About Childhood through The Writers Studio.

Your personal memories of growing up can be a treasure trove of ideas for stories and poems and memoir pieces. This class will show you techniques to manage your personal material and bring it to life.

In this class, we examine techniques and voices crafted by celebrated writers of poetry and prose such as Sandra Cisneros, Seamus Heaney, and Ray Bradbury. How did they use imagination and memory to regain a foothold in childhood’s not-so-distant realm, conjuring its wonder, joy, and pain?

Whether working in poetry, prose, or creative nonfiction, can we apply similar voices and techniques to our own unique material? Let’s bring the world and experience of childhood to vibrant life again through our creative work.

For more information, CLICK HERE. Hope to see you in class!

THIS SUNDAY: Free Online Writers Studio Reading

Published April 22, 2023 by Philip Ivory

Join the Writers Studio Reading Series on Sunday, April 23 at 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT for a reading of original work from our faculty.

During this virtual reading, teachers from our New York City, Tucson, San Francisco, and Rome branches will share their poetry and fiction.

I’m excited to be representing Tucson with a new piece, reading alongside talented colleagues including Lorraine L. Babb, Lisa Bass, Stas Gawronski, Kathie Jacobson, and Sally McElwain.

The reading is free. CLICK HERE to register in advance. We hope to see you there.

APRIL CLASS: Online Writing About Childhood

Published April 9, 2023 by Philip Ivory

Starting Saturday April 29, I’ll be teaching another session of my special six-week class Online Writing About Childhood through The Writers Studio.

Your personal memories of growing up can be a treasure trove of ideas for stories and poems and memoir pieces. This class will show you techniques to manage your personal material and bring it to life. (NOTE: For those who have already taken this class, I’m working on creating a “sequel” class with all new exercises that I hope will be ready by summer.)

In this class, we examine techniques and voices crafted by celebrated writers of poetry and prose such as Sandra Cisneros, Seamus Heaney, and Ray Bradbury. How did they use imagination and memory to regain a foothold in childhood’s not-so-distant realm, conjuring its wonder, joy, and pain?

Whether working in poetry, prose, or creative nonfiction, can we apply similar voices and techniques to our own unique material? Let’s bring the world and experience of childhood to vibrant life again through our creative work.

For more information, CLICK HERE. Hope to see you in class!

UPCOMING CLASS: Online Writing About Childhood

Published January 3, 2023 by Philip Ivory

Starting January 28, I’ll be teaching a new session of my six-week class, Online Writing About Childhood.

CLICK HERE to register.

CLASS DESCRIPTION: Childhood from the perspective of an adult writer can seem like “another country,” a strange land where our powers, responsibilities and perceptions were vastly different. And yet it is the place we all come from. And while the lens through which we viewed the world as children may have seemed innocent and magical, our sensibilities were always vulnerable to the hard truths of encroaching adulthood.

In this class, we will examine techniques and voices crafted by celebrated writers of poetry and prose such as Sandra Cisneros, Seamus Heaney, and Ray Bradbury. How did they use imagination and memory to regain a foothold in childhood’s not-so-distant realm, conjuring its wonder, joy, and pain? Whether working in poetry, prose, or creative nonfiction, can we apply similar voices and techniques to our own unique material? Let’s bring the world and experience of childhood to vibrant life again through our creative work.

This class is open to all writers of poetry and prose, including new and returning Writers Studio students. Each week, students write a two-page exercise based on the week’s model. Then, during a two-hour, live Google Meet session, students present their work and receive feedback from their fellow classmates and from the teacher. The last fifteen minutes of the class are spent reading and discussing the following week’s model, using the Writers Studio method of analyzing persona and narrative technique. The Google Meet sessions are not recorded.

Sign up soon before the class fills up.

THE SWAMP RAT: New fiction published

Published November 19, 2021 by Philip Ivory

“Man towers above the rest of creation so long as he realizes his own nature, and when he forgets it, he sinks lower than the beasts.”
— Boethius

It’s been a while since I had any short fiction published, since I’ve been devoting myself to finishing a novel. But here’s a story I wrote about three years ago which has finally found a home. It’s called The Swamp Rat.

The story arose from a flash fiction contest I participated in through NYC Midnight in 2018. While the story didn’t win, I thought it was worth developing, and expanded it from 1000 words to a fully-fleshed 7000 word story.

It’s set in Paris during the 1930s, and is a bit of homage to the style of early spy/mystery stories by such writers as W. Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene.

I’m excited that the story has found a home at The Chamber, an online journal of dark fiction. My thanks to the publishers.

READ IT HERE. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying the whole issue.

My thanks also to friends who helped me in the development of this story, including Reneé Bibby, Alice Hatcher, Frances Lynch and my fellow students in the Tucson Writers Studio Master Class, who gave me excellent feedback.

I hope you’ll let me know what you thought of the story by leaving a comment, either here or on The Chamber site. Thanks!