Important: Due to instructor’s schedule, this course has been postponed.

Instructor: Allison Alsup
Genre: Fiction
Number of Sessions: 6
Meets: Mondays, 6-8 PM CT
Dates: October 2 – November 13, 2023 (10/23 OFF)
Where: NOCCA Foundation
Cost: $260/ Early bird until September 15, 2023: $240

When it comes to manuscripts, your opening chapters are make or break. Whether appealing to a reader, editor or agent, the first pages establish the bulk of your narrative’s choices—not only around its premise but also voice, tone, pacing, characterization, conflict and stakes. Pull these off successfully, and your reader will invest in the book’s promise. Short-shrift or ignore these fundamentals, and the work may never find its footing.

In this workshop for both fiction and non-fiction writers alike, we’ll tackle the infrastructure challenges particular to building successful manuscript beginnings. Through strategic exercises, participants will hone not only their vision for their manuscript but develop pages that compel and which will serve as the trailhead for content to come. The second half of the workshop will be devoted to workshopping material with specific, actionable feedback from the other participants and the instructor.

$100. Optional consult: post workshop, participants can submit up to 20 double-spaced pages of material (5K max) for written feedback from their instructor and to be discussed in an individual thirty minute meeting, either by phone or in-person. This is reduced-priced offer is for Building Your Book participants only.

No formal writing training is necessary, although some previous writing experience is helpful. This workshop is intended for writers committed to advancing their craft and a full-length project. Participants should already have a considered idea or draft before the first session.