PAULA WHYMAN
curiouswriter

In which we wonder about writing, food, music,  
& random curious events. 

Are you looking for a great opportunity to refine your novel manuscript? You're in luck: Richard Peabody, the incisive and insightful writing instructor, DC literary rainmaker, editor of Gargoyle Magazine and more...is about to reprise his novel workshop, and if you act quickly, you can get one of the few coveted slots.

I first met Richard when I was a student in a short story class he was teaching at The Writer's Center--back when the Center was located above a lamp store on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda (the Center now has its own building on Walsh St.). One hallmark of Peabody's editing style that I noticed at the time was his penchant for cutting the first 3-5 pages of almost every story, and proclaiming "This story starts HERE," at which point he would mark a paragraph on page 8.

And the thing about it was, he was right.

For those of you who have a deep-seated fear that you started your story, or your book, in the wrong place, well, you probably did. Point is, Richard Peabody taught me a lot about writing and creative judgment. And little did I know that years later, he would even put one of my stories in an anthology.

Peabody's novel class is one of the few--perhaps the only one I've heard of--in which each student's entire novel gets read and commented on. If you're not sure which way to go with your book, if you're stuck trying to figure out how to fix it, polish it, shape it, or teach it to ride a unicycle--Richard Peabody can help.

Richard says he teaches this class because he's learned from hands-on experience that a complete reading and critique of your novel is absolutely the best way to go. The class meets every two weeks to allow time to complete critiques, and students get handwritten notes from each other and from Richard. Students recommend cuts, improvements, make suggestions, and mark the manuscripts up at will.

For more detailed information, dates, cost, etc., please contact Richard Peabody directly at gargoyle at gargoylemagazine dot com.

(So, Richard, did I start this post in the right place...?)