The University of Iowa

Kelly Dwyer

Kelly Dwyer is a graduate of The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the author of two novels, The Tracks of Angels and Self-Portrait with Ghosts, and two children’s books; her monologues and short plays have been produced in Madison, Boston, and New York. She grew up in California and lives in Baraboo (near Madison), Wisconsin, where she teaches creative writing part-time, does freelance manuscript editing, and is working on a novel, more plays, and flash fiction inspired by the Disney Princesses at middle age. Visit her online at www.KellyDwyerAuthor.com.

Instructor Events

Novel in a Week

Weeklong June 14 to June 19 2020
Instructor(s): 
Kelly Dwyer

National Novel Writing Month, move over. June is the new November. While we may not actually write an entire novel in a week, we will create a skeleton of a novel that we can take home to develop and finish. During our week together, we will share plot outlines, write or revise first chapters, write and share climactic scenes, and come up with possible endings.

Writing the Popular Novel (In any Genre)

Weekend June 20 to June 21 2020
Instructor(s): 
Kelly Dwyer

No matter the genre in which you’re interested—literary, science fiction, paranormal, young adult, romance, etc.—you would probably think it ideal if your novel had many readers. If it attracted buzz. If it were, in other words, popular. In this weekend workshop, we’ll discuss the elements that make popular novels (across genres) so popular (according to bestseller lists and computer algorithms), and do exercises on various elements of the novel, such as character, plot, pacing, theme, style, etc., to increase the odds that your own novels will become widely read.

Advanced Novel Workshop: Conflict, Plot, & Structure

Weeklong July 12 to July 17 2020
Instructor(s): 
Kelly Dwyer

You are going happily along in your novel. You are quite pleased with the characters; they seem complex to you, interesting, like real, fleshy humans—more or less. The writing, if you do say so yourself, is good, heck, at times, you might even say brilliant (though of course you would never say this). But suddenly you are worried that it might be … well, of course it couldn’t be… boring—could it? There is a conflict. But is it weighty enough? Is the plot interesting enough? Is the structure—what’s the word—sturdy enough?

Flash Fiction in a Flash: Writing (And Submitting) Publishable Flash Fiction

Weekend July 18 to July 19 2020
Instructor(s): 
Kelly Dwyer

Flash fiction is fiction that tells a story in a flash—anywhere from six words (“For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never worn.”—attributed to Hemingway) to a thousand words. In this workshop, we will discuss what flash fiction is and what makes it so interesting; we’ll study and discuss some examples; and of course, we’ll complete exercises and assignments, writing some flash of our own that will surprise even its authors!