Lit Fest - Lighthouse Writers Workshop 2026

In this beginner-intermediate course, we will look to film and television to help us outline and visualize our novels. My debut, Wanting, was published this summer by Tin House, and I wrote it utilizing techniques I use every day as a screenwriter. I come from the world of half-hour comedy, which means tight three-act structure, snappy act blows, and characters that change from start to finish. How can this be useful when structuring a novel? How can visualizing a scene cinematically help to bring our story to life? We will look at screenwriting forms, such as Dan Harmon’s Story Circles, while also discussing ways to subvert those forms.