Summer Writing Workshops
1.) Award winning, master writer, Sarah Elizabeth Schantz teaches The Braid
July 23rd: noon - 3:15pm, Sara Elizabeth Schantz, Writer-Instructor, Boulder Creek Room, 30 spaces
The Braid: The braided essay is a particular version of a collage narrative that keeps our interest by switching gears by sectioning off different strands of subject matter and/or story that eventually intersect or make meaning via juxtaposition. The etymology of the word “essay” means “to attempt,” and writers in this workshop will make such attempts as they explore crafting the strands they need to create a braid. The instructor will provide a strategic series of prompts so participants can generate several distinct narrative threads (ideas, moments, and vignettes) to merge together to make a montage. While this narrative technique and the exercises employed are specifically geared toward creative nonfiction and memoir, poets and fiction writers can also benefit from experimenting with this form to more fully realize the possibilities of such a nontraditional structure.
Sarah Elizabeth Schantz is primarily a fiction writer living on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado with her family in a Victorian-era farmhouse where they are surrounded by open sky, century-old cottonwoods, and coyote. Her first novel Fig debuted from Simon & Schuster in 2015 and was selected by NPR as A Best Read of the Year before winning a Colorado Book Award in 2016. She is currently working on two novels and one collection of short stories. She teaches creative writing at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, for Naropa University, and through her own private seasonally-inspired workshop series, (W)rites of Passage.
2.) Writing Sentences that Feel
September 10th: noon - 3:15pm, Steven Dunn, Writer-Instructor, Boulder Creek Room, 30 spaces
Sentence shares the same etymological roots as sentiment, as sentient, as sensual. From the Latin sentire—to “perceive, feel, know.” Physically and emotionally.
A teacher told me that as a writer you have a choice to write a sentence that describes a drowning, or to write a sentence that feels like drowning. How do you get your writing to cling to readers’ nervous systems? Can you make a reader feel like they want to vomit by using these phonemes repeatedly: /g/ /k/ /t/? We’ll cover the basics of a few strategies that will help our sentences feel like what they’re describing.
3.) Creating Memorable Characters
September 17th: noon - 3:15pm, Marcia Douglas, Writer-Instructor, Arapahoe Room, 20 spaces
Creating Memorable Characters
Where do characters come from? And how can we portray them with dimension and interest? This workshop will explore the creation and development of compelling fictional characters. Through group discussion and writing exercises, each participant will create a character with a distinct identity and voice. We will work on strategies for invigorating our fiction by infusing characters with life and breath on the page. This workshop is suitable for writers of all levels.
Marcia Douglas is the author of the novels, The Marvellous Equations of the Dread, Madam Fate and Notes from a Writer's Book of Cures and Spells as well as a poetry collection, Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom. She has been the recipient of awards and fellowships from the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital and the Eccles Center for American Studies. She teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
4.) Creative Non-Fiction and Memoir Writing Workshop
October 7th: 12:15pm - 3:15pm, Brook Eddy, Author-Entrepreur instructor, Boulder Creek Room, 1st floor, Arapahoe Entrance to Library
Creative Nonfiction & Memoir:
Author and Entrepreneur Brook Eddy will guide you through writing exercises to build scenes, develop voice, structure outline, and edit. Brook is the founder and CEO of Bhakti, Inc, best known for award winning chai and innovative iced tea beverages. Her memoir, STEEPED, Adventures of A Tea Entrepreneur will be published August 4th, 2023. She has been published in Yoga Journal and Mantra Magazine, has edited numerous published books, and has a background in copywriting, editing, and grant writing.
Author and Entrepreneur Brook Eddy will guide you through writing exercises to build scenes, develop voice, structure outline, and edit.
Brook is the founder and CEO of Bhakti, Inc, best known for award winning chai and innovative iced tea beverages. Her memoir, STEEPED, Adventures of A Tea Entrepreneur will be published August 4th, 2023. She has been published in Yoga Journal and Mantra Magazine, has edited numerous published books, and has a background in copywriting, editing, and grant writing.