This will be an advanced version of the class that Jean Kwok offered last year. It will be suitable for both previous and new students. Her existing and previous students may register for it at this time.
Students who have not yet taken a class by Jean are asked to submit a 3 to 5 page excerpt from their writing to info@kauaiwritersconference.com. Jean will review these before inviting those students to register. This is a class for writers who are serious about publishing a novel with a traditional publisher and building a successful career as a professional author. If you have been rejected by gatekeepers like agents and editors, this class offers ways of strengthening your manuscript. Only writers who are open to questioning, breaking apart and restructuring their existing work should apply. If you are writing for self-fulfillment or as a hobby, this is not the right class for you. There are a limited number of spaces available for this advanced class.
Jean Kwok’s novels consistently hit the sweet spot between literary and commercial fiction. Her award-winning books are taught in schools around the world while hitting the New York Times and international bestseller lists. She often uses material from her own life, transforming sometimes painful experiences into art, and is living her dream of being a full-time, successful author. A gifted, encouraging, and experienced teacher, she is now ready to share her secrets with you in this rare opportunity. She writes:
We’ve all been there. You have a pile of carefully polished pages, yet they don’t seem to cohere. Or you have a sprawling monster of a novel that resists any attempt to tame it. Or maybe it’s always been your dream to write a novel but you have no idea how to get started. We all love to move commas around but often, our work needs larger structural changes to make it as compelling and powerful as possible.
This is a class that looks at different ways to plot and structure a novel, including treatment of character development, themes, setting, voice, and point of view. You don’t need to have a draft of a novel to attend. Rather, the course is a combination of lectures and generative writing time.
Our ultimate goal is to help you find a stronger structure for your novel that could lead to publication.
4 Mornings: Monday 11/11–Thursday 11/14 | 9am-12pm
$795.00
Out of stock
Jean Kwok is the award-winning, NYT and international bestselling author of The Leftover Woman, Searching for Sylvie Lee, Girl in Translation and Mambo in Chinatown. Her work has been published in more than twenty countries and taught in schools across the world. She was one of twelve contemporary authors asked by the Agatha Christie estate to write an original, authorized Miss Marple story. All of her novels are in development for film and television. The Leftover Woman was a Good Morning America Book Club Buzz Pick, CBS New York Book Club Top 3 Pick, Book of the Month Pick, and a LibraryReads Top 10 Pick selected by library staff across America. An instant New York Times bestseller, Searching for Sylvie Lee was chosen for the Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club. She has appeared on The Today Show and Good Morning America, and spoken at many schools and venues including Harvard, Columbia and Talks at Google. A television documentary was filmed about Jean and her work. She divides her time between the Netherlands and New York City.