Special Events

On October 23rd Katie Crouch, bestselling author of Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs, is coming to Missoula to do a micro-workshop on employing dangerous choices in writing. She will also be giving a reading at the 2nd Annual 406 Writers’ Workshop Party, where you can (win a chance to) read your work with Katie. Scroll down for more information about these special events.

Saturday October 23, 2010 2-5pm
Micro-workshop with Katie Crouch
The fee for this special event is $25
Buy your ticket(s) at Shakespeare & Co. booksellers, 103 S. 3rd St. W., Missoula, 406-549-9010

The workshop will be limited to 25 participants. Tickets for the workshop are $25. Included in the fee is a free copy of Katie’s bestselling book, Girls in Trucks, which Katie will be referencing during the workshop. Students are invited—but not required—to submit work, which Katie will discuss in the workshop.

Workshop Description:
In both fiction and non-fiction, as writers we often face choices. Is this a novel or a short story? Should I write about my husband? Or sex? Will my story make sense if I ditch the backstory? Is my character too unlikable? Will my mother disown me?

This will be a discussion of dangerous choices--how they almost always enhance the work, even if you have to revise and revise (and revise) again. This is not a blanket encouragement to share your deepest secrets on the page. After all, sometimes the most exciting path is to leave key facts and scenes on the cutting room floor. We will look at examples from great writers like Joan Didion, Flaubert, Jean Rhys, and others. We will then discuss what you are working on and the choices you are currently facing. Participants will participate in the discussion and writing exercises so we can make this time useful for your work. You are also welcome to submit up to two pages double space beforehand.

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Saturday October 23rd, 2010 at 7pm
2nd Annual 406 Writers’ Workshop Party
On the night of Saturday the 23rd, we will be hosting the 2nd Annual 406 Writers’ Workshop Party, at which Katie Crouch will give a reading from her new book, Men and Dogs. The party will begin at 7:00pm and will take place at the historic Stensrud building, which is located on Missoula's northside, 314 North 1st Street West. The reading will begin at 7:30pm. Admission, including beer and wine, is free.

If you are interested in reading with Katie, we have a little contest we’re running, which we think will be kind of fun. For the contest, we’ll provide you the first and last line from Chapter 1 of Katie’s new book, Men and Dogs, and ask you—in 500-600 words—to fill in the rest.

The first line of Chapter 1: "Two days before Hannah's father disappeared, he took her out in his boat."
The last line of Chapter 1: "It didn't, so she jumped, because her father told her to."

Please email your submissions as an attachment to directors@406writersworkhop.com. Subject heading should read "Play." We'll accept your work between now and midnight on Friday, October 22nd, but the earlier you send us your creation, the better.

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