OCTOBER 2022 WRITING WORKSHOPS
How to Properly Preptober
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INSTRUCTOR: Cassandra Rose Clarke
TIME: Saturday, October 1, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST PRICE: $25 for everyone planning to win NaNo. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 25 Writing a novel can be a daunting prospect in the best of circumstances, but writing one in a mad dash during one of the year’s shorter months? Terrifying. But if November is for novel-writing, then October is for novel-prepping, and this workshop will help you get fully prepped and ready for NaNoWriMo come November 1st. Not a novel plotter by nature? No worries! We’ll be focusing on a series of fun, customizable exercises to help you develop a sense of your upcoming project—without having to write a full-on outline! By the end of our time together, you’ll walk away with the seeds of your NaNovel—and a plan for watching it grow. |
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
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Writing Fiction: Gothic Story Elements
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INSTRUCTOR: Angélique Jamail
TIME: Saturday, October 1, 1:00 - 4:00pm CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, September 25. After Sunday, September 25: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 What do a darkly beautiful aesthetic, #WitchyGirlAutumn, and a tantalizing sense of foreboding all have in common? They can be part of the rich pageant of Gothic story elements that make so many “classic”—or “forbidden”—literary pleasures so deep. In this three-hour generative workshop, we will dip our feet into the chilling waters of Gothic literature to find out what that genre entails. Expect a multi-faceted exploration as we discuss a range of examples in visual art, film, music, and mentor texts. Our writing time will include the opportunity to use these Gothic elements to begin a story or enhance one you’ve already started. Students will have the option of sharing what they’ve written during the workshop. Come with your favorite writing utensils (a laptop, a legal pad and sharpened pencils, a leather-bound journal and a fancy feather quill—whatever works for you). Let’s kick off the Gothic season in writing style! All levels of writing experience welcome. |
Attribution: Photo by Julia Kadel on Unsplash
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LGBTQIA+ Writers Workshop
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INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Justin Jannise
TIME: Six Tuesdays, October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $210 for members, $240 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Wednesday, September 28. After Wednesday, September 28: $240 for members, $270 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Queer literature has grown wildly in recent years, right alongside a public awakening to the increasingly various possibilities of gender identity and sexual preference. And yet communal creative spaces where LGBTQIA+ people can safely meet, interact, and share ideas seem more vulnerable than ever. With this workshop, we aim to foster a safe and welcoming rapport among LGBTQIA+ writers where they can discuss ideas critical to queer identity. We’ll not only read the work of writers who identify as LGBTQIA+ (including our own), but we’ll also consider how queerness interacts with the wider literary community. In addition, we’ll set aside time for discussion and group feedback on our different projects—both new and ongoing! All literary genres are welcome. Expect to come away with new work, new understanding, and new friends. This workshop is open to any writer who identifies as LGBTQIA+ regardless of the subject matter they intend to address. This workshop is funded in part by a grant from Poets & Writers Magazine. |
Attribution: Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
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Worldbuilding: Creating Culture in Fantasy
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INSTRUCTOR: Mackenzie Bitz
TIME: Saturday, October 8, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, October 2. After Sunday, October 2: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Time to get cultured! Worldbuilding is essential to both high and low fantasy. It requires research, creativity, and plenty of imagination. In this workshop, we will look at the ways we can create cultures in high and low fantasy settings through a variety of techniques and writing exercises. Creating culture means taking inspiration from mythology, history, or personal experience, though as we will see, the possibilities are endless. A list of resources will be provided for all participants. |
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Writing Short: Flash Memoir
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INSTRUCTOR: Joyce Boatright TIME: Saturday, October 8, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, October 2. After Sunday, October 2: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Curious about memoir but not ready to tackle a book-length manuscript? Or maybe you’re looking for smaller writing projects to cleanse the palate between longer works. If this sounds like you, you may want to explore flash memoir. Flash memoir can range from 6 to 2,000 words, but it usually hits its stride at the 500 to 1,000 word mark. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to chisel away the rock in order to reveal a perfect jewel of memoir. We’ll discuss writing tight, focusing on the details that matter, and identifying the universal themes in your life. As an added benefit, you’ll get market information on mini-memoir writing if your goal is to get published. The most effective pieces of writing aren’t always the longest, and you need not write a book-length manuscript in order to tell your story. |
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Generative Fiction: Spooky Stories and Our Haunted World
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INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Kathryn Peterson
TIME: Two Sundays, October 16 and 23, 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $85 for members, $100 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, October 10. After Monday, October 10: $100 for members, $115 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 In this generative workshop, we will examine why stories of the uncanny have such a power to move us, and in particular their place in today's already anxious world. We'll examine the folklore behind urban legends and ghost stories and discuss how to draw from those elements to create our own uncanny stories. We'll talk about what it means to write the disturbing in a meaningful way. The goal for this two-class workshop is to learn, explore, and spend time generating our own work. We will have time to share the work we've created, and particularly uncanny pieces will be considered for reading at the open mic Halloween night. |
Attribution: Photo by Ben Griffiths on Unsplash
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Creative Nonfiction: The Lyric Essay
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INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Justin Jannise
TIME: Saturday, October 22, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, October 16. After Sunday, October 16: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 The lyric essay is one of the most exciting and playful of all writing forms, but it can be hard to pin down. A blend of objective information and subjective perceptions, it’s a shape-shifter for sure. Thoughts and narratives are braided or collaged together using a variety of structures or time frames. Much of the effect—and the joy of creating it—comes from the poetical use of language. The lyric essay is not traditional exposition, but when done right, it’s truer than truth. This three-hour workshop will be your introduction. We’ll spend some time just getting acquainted with and analyzing some beautiful examples of this unique literary animal. Then, get ready to give it a try! Try your hand at a lyric essay and you’ll be amazed to find a whole new dimension, a whole new depth, in your writing. |
Photo by Cristian Palmer on Unsplash
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Magical AF
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INSTRUCTOR: Debbie Burns
TIME: Saturday, October 29, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, October 23. After Sunday, October 23: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Magical AF is a three-hour, transformative workshop to help you break free of the unhealthy beliefs impacting your confidence and creativity so you can choose you, trust you, believe in you, and finally achieve the writing career of your dreams. While the rest of the writing world chases after mechanics and tactics, we’ll go on a journey that leads right to the center of your creative soul. You will see the next level of you, embrace the magic that resides there, and feel the freedom that comes from living by your own set of rules. In this workshop, you’ll find everything you need to:
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Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash
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Writing Poetry: The Body and Disability
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INSTRUCTOR: Sarah Gajkowski-Hill
TIME: Sunday, October 30, 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, October 23. After Sunday, October 23: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 “Just as the Harlem Renaissance led to the development of African American literature and the 1960s to feminist literature, we are in a seminal period for the genre of disability literature.” – Michel Northern, Editor of Beauty Is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability “To look these things squarely in the face would need the courage of a lion tamer …this monster, the body, this miracle, its pain, will soon make us taper into mysticism…” – Virginia Woolf, from On Being Ill There is a new generation of disability poetry; a new school/genre is emerging. This course will explore the works of disability-themed and/or confessional poetry of authors with disabilities. After reading the works of Jennifer Bartlett, Robert Fagan and Vassar Miller, the instructor will facilitate silent writing and sharing before discussing places to send this particular kind of poem for publication. |
Photo by Javier Miranda on Unsplash
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