Schedule

NONFICTION with Anya Liftig

Life into Memoir: Building Spaces

In this workshop we will focus on how authors take the raw material of life experience and craft it into compelling memoir. What techniques do they use to immerse the reader in scenes? How do they ensconce the reader in time and place? How are larger themes of their stories being expressed? Together, we will look at a variety of authors and analyze their approaches. We will also try some of our own and hopefully, you will leave with some sharp new tools in your belt.

The Narrator's Voice: A No Fear Introduction to Speaking from the Soul

Voice, Voice, Voice. It's the ineffable element that, together with style, gives our favorite authors their je ne sais quoi. And yes, some people are just born with it, but most of us have to work at it. In this workshop, we will explore the elusive world of the voice. We will analyze examples from a wide range of authors (think Gay Talese, to Ottessa Moshfegh, to JD Salinger, to Dr Seuss) and practice exercises to access our own unique voices. Attendants will walk away with a new approach to the concept of voice and a toolbox for their own writing.

 

Fiction With Ben Tanzer

Becoming Unstuck, Step by Step. 
You're on a journey, you're using your brain...a lot. Also, writing is hard. Books are work. And sometimes we get stuck and we wish we weren't. The thing is, wishing isn't a plan and the question is since we know that, how do we become unstuck? First, the question is why do we become stuck? Then how do we become unstuck. This highly interactive presentation explores the why's, where's, and how's, as well as, self-awareness, self-care, hope, structure, and planning...Because it all plays a role when we get stuck, and when we don't. This presentation will look at all of it. There will be tips, mine and yours, sharing, and writing prompts too, because what could be better than that? Nothing. Besides not being stuck of course.

Crafting Place: A Novel Writing Cafe.
This interactive workshop will inspire its participants to embrace a sense of place in their work - including setting, characters, and situations, while generating the ideas and foundation needed to build a novel all their own. Activities will include a series of individual and group exercises that will encourage participants to look within and examine their own experiences, the people and places they know, and where they've lived, both physically and emotionally. We'll also talk and write - a lot!

 

Poetry with Denton Loving

There Is a Road in this Poem: Writing Poems About Place

The poet Maurice Manning tells us that place-poetry is not limited to any certain geography or natural setting. Every place is a place! Using various model poems, we'll dive into three of the most common ways writers capture a sense of place in poetry.

 

Ekphrastic Poetry

The term ekphrasis comes to us from the Greek where it means "Description." Most commonly, ekphrastic writing expresses a visual medium in verbal form. In this workshop we'll look at examples of poetry and short prose that respond to other pieces of art, and we'll practice using art to tap into our own inner resources.

 

Romance and YA Writing with Gwenda Bond

Course Descriptions Coming Soon!