You’ve got a good story to tell, but how do you make it great? Taking examples from master storytellers such as Pat Conroy, John Grisham and Ernest Hemingway, whose page-turning novels grip readers until the very end, local writers Tracy Coley and Bowen Craig invite you to turn your fiction or nonfiction writing into a story that unfolds like scenes from a movie. Session I: What Do You See? (Writing scene and setting from observations). Session II: Build It and They Will Come (Story structure and narrative arc). Session III: Whose View Is It Anyway? (Points-of-view for character and story development).

We read short selections from some of the world’s best fiction and nonfiction. Through conversation with each other, attendees achieve greater appreciation for the material, gain interesting insights, and enjoy social engagement. Class members determine the reading selections, which vary each semester. Each selection is independent of others, so missing a session or more is no problem.

A discussion course on critical and empathic thinking based on the best-selling book by Kathryn Schultz, Being Wrong. Schultz writes: “Far from being a sign of intellectual inferiority, the capacity to err is crucial to human cognition. Far from being a moral flaw, it is inextricable from some of our most humane and honorable qualities: empathy, optimism, imagination, conviction and courage... Thanks to error, we can revise our understanding of ourselves and amend our ideas about the world.” Please obtain a copy of Being Wrong and begin reading. You will really like this book (I hope I’m right about that). More information on Schultz at https://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong?subtitle=en.

Louise Nayer, author of Poised for Retirement: Moving from Anxiety to Zen, will delve into anxieties that often surface both before and after retirement: How will it feel to lose my community? Who will I be without my work identity? Will I be healthy? How can I soothe myself through it all? Louise will offer practical techniques, articles by experts on topics such as how to reach out to others, ways to find new communities, and simple self-hypnosis and meditation techniques, as well as plenty of time for sharing and questions.