What’s the story?
A seminar on story and plot ​for fiction & nonfiction writers 
with award-winning author, Jessamyn Hope
July 5, 2018, 09:30-15:00

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Photo by Alex Siale
What do we mean when we say “That’s a great story”? What is a story exactly? Does the protagonist need to have a change of heart? Does something need to happen to the protagonist, or does she need to make something happen? How is a story different from a string of events? And is story the same thing as plot? 

The definition of a story has varied over time and across cultures, but when readers today pick up a book, they have certain expectations from having digested countless novels and movies. It’s your job as a storyteller to know those expectations and either fulfill them or subvert them. Either way, you need to make sure you’re telling a story that keeps your readers eagerly turning the pages. 

In this seminar, we will make sure your work—whether its fiction or nonfiction—has a riveting story. We will do this by reviewing story theory dating from Aristotle to Hollywood; by doing writing exercises in class; and by breaking down the stories behind your own pages. 

Details

Minimum/Maximum Participation: 6/12
Cost: 450 NIS if paid in full by June 23, 500 NIS subsequently. 
Location: Talbiya, Jerusalem
Registration: Sign up and we will be in touch. Payment can be made via bank transfer, cheque/check or cash (by special arrangement).
Cancellation policy: If you cancel within one week of the class and your place cannot be filled, you will be asked to cover the total cost of the seminar.
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Jessamyn Hope is an award-winning novelist and memoirist based in New York City. Her debut novel Safekeeping was a recommended read by The Boston Globe; acclaimed by The Globe and Mail; won the J.I. Segal Award; and was a finalist for the Paterson Fiction Prize and the Ribalow Prize. Her short memoirs—originally published in Ploughshares, Five Points, PRISM International, and other literary magazines—have received two Pushcart Prize honorable mentions and have been anthologized in Best Canadian Essays, The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose and the forthcoming volume of The New Spice Box: Canadian Jewish Writing. She was the Susannah McCorkle Scholar in Fiction at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and has an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. 

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Testimonials from First Impressions: Opening Your Novel, July 27

'Jessamyn, thank you so much for the outstanding workshop on starting a novel. I learned a lot from it, and enjoyed it greatly. I have been to many workshops and, for me, this was one of the best.' - J.C.

'Very pleased to have attended today's session. Jess is an experienced and inspiring "artist" to learn from. Would love to attend other sessions given by her.' - Z.G.

Thank you, Jessamyn, for a great workshop, very practical and with content that was applied, so internalized - I enjoyed it a lot and learnt a lot! - E.H.