Workshop Calendar
Spring 2009, TBA
Susan DeBow's Workshop
Hallelujah!
Making Your Writing Sing!!!
The "voice" is not just an instrument used by singers ... "voice" is also instrumental in writing. How do you say what you say? How do you decide what format best suits what you want to write? Is your voice saying essay, poem, short story, novel, nonfiction, essay, article? How do you make your voice "sing," which is the goal.
We will work on finding or strengthening our voices through writing and a bit of painting. Digging into our heads, hearts and souls, we will find our true creative selves. Not only are writing and painting tools to be used to communicate with others, they are also wonderful ways to help us figure out who we are and what we believe. Writing and painting are gifts that can be used to share, improve, validate and honor our lives. And to just plain have fun.
The camaraderie of people with common interests creates an energy and experience that writers often find missing in their everyday lives. We will have the best of both worlds. We will gather together to learn, share and laugh, (I am big on laughing!). And we will have our alone time where we can ponder what we want to do as individuals.
And to add color to our writing lives, I will share with you how to transition from one creative discipline to another. Find out how fascinating the relationship between writing and painting is and how the creative process can make you grow in both areas.
Much of all that I have stated above has to do with finding a level of confidence, learning how to trust what you see, what you think, and how you feel. We will work on that and ridding ourselves of the committee in our head. We will silence the voices of those who have told us we can’t or shouldn’t. We will find silence and support in the world we create ... and listen to our creative, soulful voices. And our voices will sing.
Click here to sign up for a workshop
SPRING 2009, TBA
Karen L. Lewis
Creativity Lab for Writers
Karen's poetry, short fiction, features, essays and photography have appeared in Poetry Daily, Letters to the World (Red Hen Press), The Buffalo News, Slipstream, Bumbershoot, Lynx, Artvoice, Sugar Mule, Sacred Stones, Moondance, Stirring and The Writing Group Book: Creating and Sustaining a Successful Writing Group (Chicago Review Press), among others. Karen edited The Shadow's Imprint: Poetic Reflections on Death for Canada's Blarney Stone Books). In 2005 Karen's poem "Even If" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Karen's interviews with Carl Dennis, Wendell Castle, Thom Ward (BOA Editions), and the editors of Slipstream Press are archived at www.trafficeast.com.
Morning Sessions – "The Discovery Zone" – This will be studio time which consists of guided creative activities and writing exercises. This will be a time to develop and experience "flow," to flex your creative muscles, to inspire future work, to focus on making fresh connections, and is an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your own creativity.
Afternoon Sessions – This will be workshop time where the group will respond to the writing of the participants. Karen will serve as moderator for these sessions. We will focus on giving clear feedback, skill building, refinement, stretching capacity and recognition of what will improve your work's effectiveness.
Evening Readings will be scheduled and all participants will have several opportunities to share their work.
Click here to sign up for a workshop
SPRING 2009, TBA
Darlin' Neal's Fiction Writing Workshop
In this nurturing writing community, we will read, write, share and discuss fiction writing for five days. We’ll spend a part of each day generating new material through in session writing exercises. I’ll also provide you with prompts to use in your own private writing time. As a group, we will also spend a part of each day workshopping your stories and chapters. We will explore how the elements of fiction: theme, point of view, characterization, scene, plot, etc, work in our own stories as well as in that of published authors. The main emphasis, every day, however, will be on participants' own work. The true value of a workshop is that it affords the rare experience for a writer of actually sitting in with your audience, listening to their questions, their confusions, their admiration.
What I hope for each of you to leave with is a stronger sense of story and of your own voice. We’ll also aim at each of you leaving with a solid story, opening chapter, or small collection of short shorts, at the very least.