Selkirk College Manuscript Development Course Focussed on Results for Writers
By Bob Hall
Writing a book can be a lonely endeavour. That’s why this fall, a Selkirk College second-year creative writing course will focus on manuscript development.
Open to both full-time and community learners, writers will have the opportunity to share their books-in-progress with peers and receive professional feedback from course instructor, writer and editor Leesa Dean.
“I wish a course like this had existed when I was finishing my first book,” says Dean, author of the critically acclaimed short story collection Waiting for the Cyclone. “I started writing it in a Master’s program, but once that was finished, I found it difficult to continue. Without a community of peers, deadlines and editors to read my work, I found about a thousand other things to do with my time.”
Students will meet every second Thursday for two hours in either Nelson or Castlegar and the rest of the course takes place online. The model was designed to maximize writing time and appeal to regional writers who may otherwise be deterred by weekly or bi-weekly travel.
From Sept. 5 to Dec. 12, students enrolled in Creative Writing 200: Manuscript Development (CWRT 200) will be immersed in a supportive community of writers, all with a common goal—finish their book. Course readings, lively discussions, seminars with local and visiting writers, and one-on-one coaching sessions with the instructor are all part of the course.
Dean is also instructing Creative Writing 100: Studies in Writing (CWRT 100) for the Fall Semester. Students can learn how to liven up characters, write better poetry and share unique life experiences with others through the written word. A Wednesday evening course (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) at Nelson’s Tenth Street Campus, there is no experience necessary and it is open to all full-time students and community learners. The CWRT 100 course is also available at the Castlegar Campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays (2:30 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.) and taught by veteran instructor and author Almeda Glenn Miller.
Tuition for both courses includes registration for the Stone’s Throw Writer’s Weekend at the Mir Centre for Peace in Castlegar on Saturday, Oct. 26.
For more information about either course, please contact Leesa Dean at ldean@selkirk.ca. To register call 1-888-953-1133 ext. 21233.
