Structuring the Novel Workshop with Philip Cioffari

The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH) is thrilled to present a three-day workshop, “Structuring the Novel,” instructed by Philip Cioffari. Philip is a novelist, story writer, playwright, and filmmaker. He’s also a tenured professor at William Paterson University in New Jersey where, among other duties, he teaches the MFA program in Creative Writing. This workshop is designed for novice to accomplished writers; writers who are well along with a book or ready to get the story out of their head and onto the page. 

The workshop will start Friday, August 20th at 1:00 p.m. and will run through Sunday, August 22nd at noon with time scheduled for writing. The standard workshop fee for the class is $150 per person and includes a total of 6 hours of instruction. The deluxe workshop fee of $320 includes all the above, plus lodging on Friday and Saturday nights at The Writers’ Colony and all meals. (Attendees may reserve additional consecutive nights at the subsidized rate of $75 per night based on availability and single occupancy by emailing coordinator@writerscolony.org.) This is sure to be a fun and informative weekend. The workshop is limited to 10 attendees, so register early by visiting  Structuring the Novel Workshop.

Topics covered in “Structuring the Novel” will be adjusted to accommodate the level and desires of the participants, but may include the following:

• Basic vs. Experimental structures: circular, flatline, etc.
• Beginnings, Middles, and Ends
• Using character as the basis of the plot
• Use of subplots
• Use of point of view: single or multiple
• Use of time: How to frame the narrative
• Moving scene by scene-Arc of the narrative
• Editing and revising

Philip has generously offered a limited number of one-on-one conferences available throughout the weekend for a separate fee. The writer can send up to 25 pages of work to Philip who will provide an edited copy at the conference. The cost is $50 per 45-minute session. Conferences must be reserved ahead of time through The Writer’s Colony by calling 479-253-7444.

Philip Cioffari is the author of the novels: IF ANYONE ASKS, SAY I DIED FROM THE HEARTBREAKING BLUES; THE BRONX KILL; DARK ROAD, DEAD END; JESUSVILLE; CATHOLIC BOYS; and the short story collection, A HISTORY OF THINGS LOST OR BROKEN, which won the Tartt Fiction Prize, and the D. H. Lawrence award for fiction. His short stories have been published widely in commercial and literary magazines and anthologies, including North American Review, Playboy, Michigan Quarterly Review, Northwest Review, Florida Fiction, and Southern Humanities Review. 

Philip is a playwright member of the Actors Studio writing and directing for Off and Off-Off-Broadway. His Indie feature film, which he wrote and directed, “LOVE IN THE AGE OF DION,” has won numerous awards, including Best Feature Film at the Long Island International Film Expo, and Best Director at the NY Independent Film & Video Festival. 

Philip is Professor of English, a member of the MFA faculty, and director of the Performing and Literary Arts Honors Program at William Paterson University. Philip’s newest novel, IF ANYONE ASKS, SAY I DIED FROM THE HEARTBREAKING BLUES, is coming out in February 2020 from Livingston Press/University of West Alabama. 

To learn more about Philip, check out his website at philipcioffari.com, or read an excerpt from his book, “The Bronx Kill,” published in eMerge, the online literary magazine of the Writers’ Colony emerge-writerscolony.org/the-bronx-kill.