About

Opening scenes introduce your protagonist, her/his world, their goals, the stakes, and your story's themes. It's no wonder that an opening scene is often the most difficult to write. In this workshop with Julie Christine Johnson, designed for writers with a novel or memoir in progress at any stage, you will look at a variety of approaches, with examples from classic, literary/commercial fiction, memoir. 

Writing exercises will ask you to reflect and respond to elements of your opening pages and will be used to help you create depth and tension. We will open with a prompt to get the juices flowing, but in-class work will focus on your projects-in-progress. Please come to class with your opening chapter, no matter how rough. Bring it and be prepared to put it through its paces!

Instructor bio: Julie Christine Johnson is the award-winning author of the novels In Another Life (Sourcebooks, 2016) and The Crows of Beara (Ashland Creek Press, 2017). Her short stories and essays have appeared in several journals, including Emerge Literary Journal; Mud Season Review; Cirque: A Literary Journal of the North Pacific Rim; Cobalt; River Poets Journal, in the print anthologies Stories for Sendai; Up, Do: Flash Fiction by Women Writers; and Three Minus One: Stories of Love and Loss; and featured on the flash fiction podcast No Extra Words. She holds undergraduate degrees in French and Psychology and a Master’s in International Affairs. Julie leads writing workshops and seminars and offers story/developmental editing and writer coaching services. 

A hiker, yogi, and wine geek, Julie makes her home on the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington state.