The Writer's Center Fall 2010 Offerings
(Register early to assure a place at the writing table!)
Push that Plot
Wednesday, September 1, 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Instructor Deb McKew
$50
What exactly is plot and how can you make sure yours thickens in a way that makes your readers want to keep reading? This one-session workshop covers all the basics of good plotting, from using characters to inspire and drive narrative to playing the "What if?" game to develop meaningful plot points. We’ll also do an in-class writing exercise that will show you first hand how to start or push your own plot forward. All levels of writers welcome, whether you are a welcome, whether you are at the beginning stages of a story or in the throes of revision. Pre-registration required: dmck3@comcast.net or www.wordsinplay.net.
Writer’s Center Social
Thursday, September 2, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Join us at the first (and maybe only) Writer's Center Social, happening at Elixir Restaurant on 188 South Main Street, downtown WRJ. This is the perfect opportunity to meet and greet other writers, friends and family of writers, and anyone else who doesn't mind socializing with writers. Be sure to enter our "Adverbs Away!" contest! Just bring in (or compose on the spot!) a sentence or paragraph of your most purple prose or poetry for a chance to win a (very, very, very small) prize.
Page Producer Workshops
Fridays, September 10 - October 22
(Choose day or evening class: 10 a.m. - 12:30 or 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.)
Instructor: Joni Cole
$175
This workshop (fiction and creative non-fiction writers of all levels welcome) is a great way to push your writing forward thanks to ongoing deadlines, encouragement, reader response, and writing within a supportive community. Launch a project or make solid progress on an existing work. Pre-registration required. This class tends to fill up quickly. Info: joni.cole@alum.dartmouth.org or (802) 295-5526.
Night Writing: Journaling Your Dreams
Saturday, September 11 & October 9, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Joanna Tebbs Young
$50 per session (or $90 for both)
Are you neglecting your Night Muse? Tap into the powerful wisdom of your dreams using equally powerful writing techniques. Learn how to increase dream recall, explore dream symbols and analyze their personal meaning for Healing, Self-Discovery and Creative Insight. Pre-registration required. Info & registration at 802.747.0761 or wisdomwithinink.com. Register for this and Clear the Hearth and receive $5 off each workshop.
Clear the Hearth, Spark the Fire: Writing Through Writer’s Block
Saturday, September 11 & October 9, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Instructor: Joanna Tebbs Young
$50 per session
Write through the anxiety! Learn how to use your journal as a tool to:
* unlock your natural creativity
* get the words flowing
* overcome fears and gain confidence in your own talents and ideas
* learn techniques that can banish your everyday fears of risk and failure!
Pre-registration required. Info & registration at 802.747.0761 or wisdomwithinink.com. Register for this and Night Writing and receive $5 off each workshop.
Fiction, Short and Sweet
Instructor: Bridget Hardy
Mondays, September 13 - October 4
5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
$120
From short stories to flash fiction, explore the power of the craft through the reassuring format of brevity. In this 4-week class, practice the fundamentals of fiction—structure, voice, plot, character development and more—through quick and painless (some would even say really fun) exercises that get you writing before you know what’s happening. During the final sessions, students will read and critique each other’s work in an open, constructive workshop setting. Beginning and advanced writers alike will benefit from this fast-paced, light-hearted exploration. Limited enrollment to ensure that everyone finds their sweet spot. Questions and info: bridgetmhardy@hotmail.com or (574)876-7786.
Thinking Like a Poetry Editor: How to Be Your Own Best Critic
("The Ossmann Method" Poetry Workshop - Crash Course)
Instructor: April Ossmann
Wednesday, September 22, 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 23, 9:30 a.m. - noon
$50 (each)
Learn how to think like a poetry editor! In this workshop we'll turn the usual workshop model on its head and not only allow the poet being critiqued to speak, but to speak first and critique their own poem, discussing correlations between the criticisms s/he has for other participants' poems and her/his own before group discussion begins. This will offer a taste of what it means to be both poet and poetry editor, a position in which it becomes easier to objectively assess your own work; to spot dull vs. energetic syntax, generic vs. original imagery and other strengths and weaknesses you may have overlooked. It also empowers the poet in the process, and engenders an unusually positive and congenial workshop atmosphere. Participants will receive written editorial suggestions for both poems from the instructor. Pre-registration required; minimum enrollment 6; maximum 8. Info: (802) 333-9597 or aprilossmann@hotmail.com and www.aprilossmann.com.
The Chapbook: Reading and Writing the Slender Book
Saturday, September 25, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Instructor: Julia Shipley
$90
Less than 50 pages, a chapbook is the perfect container for a group of related poems or a short story. In this class we’ll cover a brief history of chapbooks, as well as examine and handle a variety of chapbooks. We will consider production techniques, from photocopiers and staplers to letterpresses and handsewn bindings. And finally, we will discuss the process of assembling a chapbook manuscript and finding the best venue for publishing it. Participants will leave with an individualized chapbook book project plan, a detailed list of publishers, contests, and related chapbook resources, as well as a their own blank single signature chapbook to fill. Pre-registration required; minimum enrollment 4; maximum enrollment 10. Also register for Animal, Vegetable, Small Rubber Alien: Reading and Writing Object Poems and receive $20 off. Info: (802) 586 7733 or jshipley@pshift.com. (Bring lunch or plan to purchase lunch nearby)
Creative Collective
Instructor: Joni Cole
Wednesday, October 13, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
$20
No time for a weekly class? No worries. Here's a one-session workshop for a quick fix of writing, sharing, and collective inspiration. Participants are invited to read aloud a few pages for verbal feedback. We'll also do a writing exercise, and swap insights and tips on everything from the vagaries of the creative process to the evils of adverbs. Pre-registration required. Info: joni.cole@alum.dartmouth.org or (802) 295-5526.
Novel One Day Workshop
Saturday, October 16, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Instructor: Sarah Stewart Taylor
$90
This one-day workshop covers some of the highlights of the weekend novel workshop: getting started, creating characters, staying motivated, plotting, the publication process, and other topics. We will help each other brainstorm plot developments and novel themes and inspire each other to keep moving toward the finish line. To register, call (802) 295-2006 or email writerscenterwrj@aol.com.
Writing and Yoga Workshop
Sunday, October 17, 3 - 4:30 p.m.
Instructor: Sharon G. Comeau
Cost: $15
(Note, this will be held at an offsite location in Hartford, Vermont)
Express yourself with yoga and writing. In this workshop, we will combine a yoga practice (accessible to all levels) with simple writing exercises (again, accessible to all levels). You don’t have to be writer or a yogi to take this workshop. All it takes is a willing heart and sense of adventure. We will use writing prompts and yoga postures to take a journey to self-examination and
self-expression. Maximum enrollment, 6. To pre-register e-mail: gouveia.sharon@gmail.com.
Animal, Vegetable, Small Rubber Alien: Reading and Writing Object Poems
A generative workshop in collaboration with the Main Street Museum
Saturday, October 30, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Instructor: Julia Shipley
$90
We’ll examine object poems by modern and classic poets, as a springboard to drafting our own poems about the mystic and mundane material in our purses and pockets. Participants are encouraged to bring some of their own evocative or humble objects to write about. This workshop includes a field trip to view and write about the unique object-specimens in the Main Street Museum collection in WRJ. Participants will each receive a bibliography of sources and packet of sample object poems by various poets compiled by the instructor. Pre-registration required; minimum enrollment 4; maximum enrollment 10. Also register for The Chapbook: Reading and Writing the Slender Book and receive $20 off. Info: (802) 586 7733 or jshipley@pshift.com (Bring lunch or plan to purchase lunch nearby.)
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Individualized Writing/Editing Services
Many instructors at the Writer's Center are available to work with writers on an individual basis. Contact Joni or Sarah for more information.
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