Summer 2022 Workshops

SUMMER 2022 WRITING WORKSHOPS

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Registration closes 24 hours before start time or when workshop fills. No walk-ins, please.
Please read our workshop policies before registering.
Can't attend without a scholarship? Apply here.

July Workshops

Fiction 2: The Short Story

INSTRUCTOR: Patrick Stockwell
TIME: Six Tuesdays, July 5, 12, 19, 26, August 2, 9, 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, June 29. After Wednesday, June 29: $240 for members, $270 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.
LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan Street, Houston, TX, 77006 (map)
LEVEL: All Levels
CAP: 15

In this class for fiction writers, we will focus on generating a completed short story from an idea/rough draft to a polished piece. Through an emphasis on positive critique and layers of revision, we will learn what effective, encouraging conversation about writing looks and sounds like. We will have dialogues to flush out what works well so students will be able to refine and polish the story they have written. Participants will be expected to complete weekly readings and writing assignments to help them hone their skills individually.

While this workshop is a follow-up and will build on skills learned in Fiction 1, it can be taken as a stand alone course for fiction writers of any level.

Image by Nile from Pixabay

Transforming Trauma 2: Owning Our Links in the Trauma Chain

INSTRUCTOR: Catherine Vance
TIME: Four Wednesdays, July 6, 13, 20, 27, 6:30–8:30 p.m. CST
PRICE: Early bird price: $150 for members, $180 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Thursday, June 30. After Thursday, June 30: $180 for members, $210 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.
LOCATION: Online via Zoom and Wet Ink
LEVEL: All Levels
CAP: 15

It was very, very personal and at times we felt so alone. But these things really don't happen in a vacuum... This four-part workshop will focus on connecting our personal stories of trauma to larger pictures. It might include acknowledging how we are included in systemic damages ranging from poverty to child abuse to religious coercion to violence against women or people of color. It might involve examining our newfound awareness of gut/brain/vagus nerve connections to visceral or emotional responses. It might even have to do with indirect trauma as a result of global happenings such as climate change or war-related events.

This is a follow-on to our first Transforming Trauma offering, but it is geared for newcomers as well as returning writers. Whether you are writing chapters of a book or hope to produce some initial flash memoir, you are welcome. The format will include short reading selections, writing prompts, discussion, and the sharing of our work as it is comfortable for participants.

This workshop will be facilitated by Catherine Vance, an interfaith chaplain at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston. She is a memoir writer and poet and a trauma survivor herself. Her first novel is forthcoming from Balance of Seven Press. She has been a Writespace instructor since 2018.

Image by Marcos Cola on Pixabay

Amherst Way: Making Habits

INSTRUCTOR: Jessica Cole
TIME: Eight Thursdays, July 21, 28, August 4, 11, 18, 25, September 1, 8, 6:30–7:30 p.m. CST
PRICE: Early bird price: $240 for members, $270 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Friday, July 15. After Friday, July 15: $270 for members, $300 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.
LOCATION: Online via Zoom and Wet Ink
LEVEL: All Levels
CAP: 15

Whether you’ve never taken a writing class before and want a safe and engaging space to begin, or you’re hoping to jumpstart a stalled project, this class is for you. Too often, we try to make full 180° changes. But even the smallest change in direction results in an entirely new destination. That is why the Amherst Writers and Artists Method is so effective; it helps us make a habit of showing up for ourselves in small, sustainable ways that will result in big payoffs.

Once a week, we'll gather over Zoom. Jessica Cole will give a short craft lesson, but the bulk of the class revolves around timed writing prompts as kick starts. We only offer feedback to each other about what's working or strong in a piece. The point here is to get out of our own ways, sidestep our perfectionist tendencies, get a quick shot of positive feedback, and keep going. The doing is the thing, and the doing of things is easier together.

Bio: I'm Jessica Cole. In addition to being a mom to a ten-year-old, I have an MA from UC Davis where I wrote a poetic thesis and a PhD from the University of Tennessee where I wrote a novel for my dissertation. I'm glad I did those degrees. I now run an independent press, Bloomsday Literary, with my best friend from UT. But none of that was helping me when I wanted to sit down and write about my day, or even revise my novel. Then, in February, I was trained in the Amherst Writers and Artists method, and my writing blossomed: prompts + short time periods of in-person/over-Zoom writing was the key, and a focus on what's strong and working in the piece was like opening a magic door. Now that I'm certified, I can teach anywhere, and I'm thrilled to be sharing this method with you all at Writespace.

Attribution: Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash