Florida State University associate professor Elizabeth Stuckey-French, an award-winning short story writer and novelist, has been assigned the task of reviving the Boca Grande Writer's Workshop.
Stuckey-French's book on fiction writing, "Narrative Writing; A Guide to the Narrative Craft," is considered a classic and used in many creative writing classrooms.
The Friends of Boca Grande and the Johann Fust Library are collaboratively bringing back the exclusive 10-slot writing workshop on the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
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Florida State University associate professor Elizabeth Stuckey-French, an award-winning short story writer and novelist
Stuckey-French will begin the weekend with a public talk on "Writing from the Point of View of a Writer" at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, in the Woman's Club Room at the Boca Grande Community Center.
The first closed workshop session will be from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. following the lecture. Sessions will continue from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with a brunch session from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday.
Application deadline for this Lifelong Learning program is Nov. 10. Applicants must submit 10- to 20-page manuscripts in any genre - short story, essay, part of a novel - online to dsearle@friendsofbocagrande.org by Nov. 15.
Fact Box
To Go
Who: Elizabeth Stuckey-French lecture
What: Writing from the Point of View of a Writer
When: 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30
Where: Woman's Club Room at the Boca Grande Community Center
Cost: $20
To Go
Who: Instructor is Florida State University associate professor Elizabeth Stuckey-French, an award-winning short story writer and novelist
What: Writer's Workshop
When: Nov. 30-Dec. 2. The first closed workshop session will be from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. Sessions will continue from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with a brunch session from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday.
Where: Woman's Club Room at the Boca Grande Community Center
Why: The ideal Writer's Workshop applicant is someone serious about becoming a better writer
Cost: $200
Joan Zabarsky of Boca Grande created the program, then called Wordsmith, in 1996 and continued organizing it until her passing a decade later when Barbara Mooney kept it going for a couple years more before it fell idle.
Alice Gorman of Boca Grande, a Wordsmith graduate, said the workshop is a missing element in the whole idea of lifelong learning.
"We are all in the process of lifelong learning whether it's formally or not," Gorman said. "It meant so much to me when I came to the island."
The ideal Writer's Workshop applicant is someone serious about becoming a better writer, Gorman said.
"This course is about craft," Gorman said. "I was told once by a teacher that I can teach you to write; I can't teach you to be an author. There are certain things you are born with as a gift and many, many things you can learn."
The $200 workshop fee, preparation and extensive weekend time demands will likely cull the field to serious writers only, Gorman said.
"Many people are fearful of going to a course like this so I think it takes a little bit of courage to say 'OK I will take this risk to learn to be a better writer.' And it's expensive until you take in account the incredible instruction," Gorman said.
