Marion Winik: Workshop — this event is canceled!

My approach will be to ask each student to bring an example of a beginning they love — can be from essay, story, novel, memoir, whatever. Ideally they will photograph or scan or screenshot the first page or two of their selection so I can display.

We’ll analyze what makes these work. I’ll have examples too. The idea will be to generate a list of opening gambits (a preliminary version of which I will have actually created beforehand.)

Then the students will rewrite the opening of an essay they bring to class. I’m thinking of having them share these essays in advance so I can look them over and have ideas. Alternately, if the morning discussion has sparked an idea for a new essay or story, they could write that opening. I’d allow 30 minutes for this.

Then they share their new openings and we discuss.