In this 90-minute workshop students will first go back to ancient Japan and see the beginnings of three poetic forms: the haiku, the waka, and the haibun. Students will then see how these forms have developed over time and how they could be used in the future. Participants will go home with a packet of […]
read moreIn this 90-minute workshop (ages 13+), we will use prompts gleaned from the poem "Where I'm From" to write our own inspired version, which will find physical form in a simple zine structure. Lyall is an ambassador for this project, an initiative of Virginia Center for the Book.
read moreInaugural poet laureate and National Poetry Slam Champion Douglas Powell/Roscoe Burnems will discuss poetry and the impact of spoken-word and navigating the digital world in this form of storytelling. Participants will also engage in a writing workshop centered trajectory of poetic storytelling and understanding emotional checkpoints in performance poetry
read moreComics are the magical bridge from text to image. Working from prompts, we will combine drawings and words to make something greater than the sum of its parts. No previous experience necessary, just a willingness to experiment!
read moreWhether you're currently working on a fiction project or trying to get inspiration, this generative workshop will serve as a gentle and fun way to push yourself creatively. Through prompts, readings, and supportive discussion, group members will work towards realizing their visions. We will read out loud from our own work and also from interviews […]
read moreThis workshop is for students who have some experience writing poetry and are looking to dig deeper into their writing practice. In this poetry workshop, we'll read published poems (written by contemporary and historical poets), and we'll use this work to inspire our own creative writing work. We'll write poems, and we'll spend time discussing […]
read moreJohn Berger said, “The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled.” In this workshop, we will explore images on and off the page as a way to generate new work as we challenge our “way of seeing” and experiment with image and the senses to begin new poems. This workshop […]
read moreExplore the dark self, what Carl Jung called the “shadow” part of our psyche. Sometimes we see it in our dreams, sometimes it appears in dark imaginings. We’ll learn what the shadow can add to our creative writing by experimenting with timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery and Active Imagination.
read moreThis class is for the conversations that still need to happen. We’ll talk about the barriers that keep us from writing what we need to write. We’ll also examine works by Chanel Miller, Jeannette Walls, and Layli Long Soldier to take lessons from the ways in which they make difficult topics easier to access. Students […]
read moreLearn revision strategies for your writing and turn an old draft into handmade paper in this combination class that focuses on writing and papermaking skills. Leave with a revision plan, handmade paper, and a symbolic re-imagining of your work. On the first day we will be writing. The second day will be papermaking. Plan to […]
read moreExplore short story fiction writing by studying narrative craft elements like story, plot, character, scene, structure, archetypal patterns and dialogue. We’ll examine professionally published pieces and your own work. By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to begin a story based on a word or an idea. You’ll also understand how to evaluate […]
read moreIn this 2-hour session, we’ll talk about how songs are built, including what makes a chorus, a verse, and a bridge. We’ll look at popular songs as we write our own original lyrics. We’ll also talk about the intimidating questions of how to begin and end a song. As we delve deeper into the mechanics […]
read moreSending writing to literary journals can be an intimidating process. In this two-hour class, we'll take a step-by-step approach to sending our writing out to journal editors. Learn directly from Samantha Steiner, MFA, a writer with 50+ publications including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. In addition to her work in the world of book publishing, Steiner […]
read moreGot ideas for a science fiction or fantasy story but aren’t sure how to approach it? Have you wanted to try exploring these imaginative genres but need a push to get started? Looking for like-minded folks with whom to share work and explore ideas? If you answered yes to any of those questions, this is […]
read moreThomas Larson writes that “memoir is most successful when it is not the ‘story of a life,’ but a focused part of that life—a dozen summers spent working on a grandfather’s farm, a long relationship with a dying relative, the first year of law school.” You’ll work with writing prompts and timed writing exercises, and […]
read moreDo you: Overthink the first draft? Struggle to get past creative resistance? Every draft is an experiment. In this class, you'll engage with on-the-spot experimental prompts, workshop short drafts, and come away with a new and renewed skill set for your creative process.
read moreClarissa Pinkola Estes writes about el duende, “the goblin wind,” that can breathe the creative spark into fire. The goal of this creative writing class is to fan your ideas and inspirations into flame. We’ll use timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery, Active Imagination, and anything else we can think of to get in touch […]
read moreGot ideas for a science fiction or fantasy story but aren’t sure how to approach it? Have you wanted to try exploring these imaginative genres but need a push to get started? Looking for like-minded folks with whom to share work and explore ideas? If you answered yes to any of those questions, this is […]
read moreJoin us as we take a deep dive into the wild world of the written word. In this class, we'll do daily creative writing exercises, designed to spark our imagination and engage our memory and skills of observation. We'll play around with the sounds and rhythms of words, and learn how the way we say […]
read moreThis class is all about writing! Tap into the power of your imagination and memories to draw inspiration for creative writing. We'll transform an ordinary composition book into a writer's notebook and use it to write about personal experiences, interesting characters, memorable places, and more. Each class will include a combination of fun short activities […]
read moreThis class is for the conversations that still need to happen. We’ll talk about the barriers that keep us from writing what we need to write. We’ll also examine works by Chanel Miller, Jeannette Walls, and Layli Long Soldier to take lessons from the ways in which they make difficult topics easier to access. Students […]
read moreSending writing to literary journals can be an intimidating process. In this two-hour class, we'll take a step-by-step tour through the world of journal submissions. Learn directly from Samantha Steiner, MFA, who has served as an editor for Lumina Journal and Breadcrumbs Magazine and has had over 40 works of writing published including fiction, nonfiction, […]
read moreClarissa Pinkola Estes writes about el duende, “the goblin wind,” that can breathe the creative spark into fire. The goal of this creative writing class is to fan your ideas and inspirations into flame. We’ll use timed writing, dream journals, guided imagery, Active Imagination, and anything else we can think of to get in touch […]
read moreThis workshop is for students who have some experience writing poetry and are looking to dig deeper into their writing practice. In this poetry workshop, we'll read published poems (written by contemporary and historical poets), and we'll use this work to inspire our own creative writing work. We'll write poems, and we'll spend time discussing […]
read moreAre you looking for a creative way to process your childhood or recount memories? Look no further! This four-week class will dive into childhood/ early adulthood in the form of creative essays or short stories. We will include workshop time so students can receive feedback on their work as well as writing exercises to get […]
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