one-day creative writing classes

Three new free workshops for Minnesotans

Posted on by alisonmcghee

The Transformation of Trauma

Have you gone through something awful, either recently or a long time ago? Maybe someone you love died, or you lost your job or home. Maybe someone you love is an addict, and you struggle with conflicting feelings on how best to care for them and yourself. Maybe someone sexually assaulted you, or abused you over a long period of time. Maybe as a child, or adult, you struggled through domestic violence or emotional manipulation. If your life is compromised by any of these experiences, and you’re looking for some relief and support, welcome to these workshops.

Note that I am not a therapist. But as a lifelong writer, as well as a trained crisis counselor, I know that the making of art, in all its many and varied forms, can be a profound way to help cope with experiences that were grievous, unfair, unwanted, or cruel. In each three-hour workshop, we’ll work on three creative writing exercises, read and discuss a few short readings, and hopefully find ways to unlock your own power.

These workshops are offered free of charge via Zoom. You do NOT have to be a writer, or even be interested in writing, to enroll. I’ve designed them for people of any or no writing experience – all are welcome. There’s no feedback or public sharing of work in these workshops (unless you want to), so you are free to unburden yourself and follow the prompts in whatever way is beneficial to you without fear of anyone seeing your work. Enrollment in each workshop is limited to 30.

To register for any or all of the workshops, email me directly at alisonmcghee@gmail.com. Feel free to share this note with anyone who might find the workshops helpful.

Please note: While these first three workshops below are open only to Minnesotans, I plan to add them to my regular workshop offerings in future, and they will always be offered free of charge.

Tuesday, March 25, 6-9 Central Time, via Zoom. Mapping the Unmapped
This workshop is designed for anyone living in the wake of loss: of a loved one, a job, a home, a relationship, a long-cherished dream, physical or mental health.

Sunday, April 6, 1-4 Central Time, via Zoom. Rewriting the Story, Reclaiming the Self
This workshop is designed for anyone living with the memories, recent or long ago, of abuse: bullying, domestic violence, an emotionally abusive relationship, a sexual or physical assault.

Friday, May 2, 1-4 Central Time, via Zoom. The Echo That Remains
This workshop is for anyone who loved someone who died of suicide, substance abuse, or untreated mental or physical illness.

Brand-new upcoming creative writing workshops!

Posted on by alisonmcghee

typewriter

My friends, I’m offering a bunch of brand-new one- to three-day creative writing workshops in 2018. Topics include The Freedom of Form, Playing with Tense and Point of View, Writing through Pivotal Moments, and –for the first time ever– Creative Writing Boot Camp! Dates, descriptions and details can be found below. I’d love to see you in one of these workshops.

 

Saturday, May 5, 2018: The Freedom of Form

Location: Uptown Minneapolis
Time: 1-5 pm
Cost: $100, payable via personal check or this Paypal link.

When you’re stuck in a piece of writing, what do you do? Grind through, hoping desperately that a window will open? Give up? Take a break? Declare yourself a failure and slink off to drown your sorrows? I’ve taken a shot at all these methods, and none of them work as well for me as re-framing the work itself. I give myself seemingly arbitrary rules to work within, e.g., Write this scene as a series of text messages, or, Write this novel as a series of one-hundred-word passages. The freedom of assigned form is real, people, and it’s why novels usually have chapters, and picture books are usually under 500 words. It’s why enduring forms of poetry like haiku and sonnets and sestinas are still alive and thriving. In this workshop, which is designed for writer in all genres, we will play with form as a way to open up your writing, your mind and your heart to the freedom and creativity inherent in all art. We’ll complete some in-class writings, discuss published works and in general have a great and exhilarating time. Enrollment is limited to 15.

 

Sunday, May 6, 2018: Writing through Pivotal Points

Location: Uptown Minneapolis
Time: 1-5 pm
Cost: $100, payable via personal check or this Paypal link.
Life is a series of pivots and transitions, isn’t it? We’re young, we’re middle-aged, we’re elderly. We have babies and little kids and then suddenly those kids are grown. We work at one job, then another, then we choose a different path entirely. We are the same people we always were, but are we? In the course of our lives we absorb so many experiences and conversations, we witness such growth and change in ourselves and around us – we deepen and gain clarity and complexity as we live our lives. In this workshop, we will write from wherever you are, right now, in your life. Maybe you are new to parenthood, or maybe you’re preparing to take your child to college. Maybe you’re contemplating a return to school, or a former relationship, or a move to a new location. Maybe someone you loved completely –or complicatedly– has passed on from your life or this world. Are you wondering where your new place in this world is? Are you eager –or scared–to jump into the next phase? Do you want to acknowledge where you’ve come from and where you’re going? Writing through pivotal moments is a wondrous way to honor the stages of life. Come join us! In this workshop, which is designed for writer in all genres, we’ll complete some in-class writings, discuss published works and in general have a great and exhilarating time. Enrollment is limited to 15.

 

August 10, 11, and 12: Creative Writing Boot Camp!

Location: Uptown Minneapolis
Time: 9-5 pm daily
Cost: $500, payable via personal check or this Paypal link ($250 at time of registration and $250 due by July 1). See scholarship note below.

Are you someone who’s a) always wanted to write but hasn’t yet taken the plunge, b)  already writing but looking for some refreshers, c) looking for an intensive few days of writing and learning in the comforting presence of kindred spirits, d) restless and searching and loves a challenge? Look no further! This three-day intensive workshop, designed for writer in all genres, is both an overview and hands-on exploration of creative writing technique. In our time together we’ll explain, review and work on various fundamental aspects of creative writing applicable across all genres, including character development, point of view, tense, chronology, poetic form and language, dialogue and narrative arc. Participants will complete several reading assignments before the start of the workshop. This workshop is intensive and consuming, and by the end of Day Three you’ll be both energized and exhilarated.

Note: If you’re flying in for the boot camp, there are many Airbnb units within walking distance, or an easy bus ride, from our Uptown classroom – no need to rent a car.

Scholarship: One $250 scholarship, based on financial need, is available for the boot camp. To apply, send me a sentence or two about your circumstances, and your name will be added to a list, with one name chosen randomly on May 1.

 

Saturday, November 17: Playing with Tense and Point of View

Location: Uptown Minneapolis
Time: 1-5 pm
Cost: $100, payable via personal check or this Paypal link. 

Take a sentence. This one, for example: “Dark shapes of skiers flitted past, and the old man kept walking.” Now rewrite it in the present tense: “Dark shapes of skiers flit past, and the old man keeps walking.” Hear the difference? Now try a different point of view, future tense, second person: “Dark shapes of skiers will flit past, and you will keep walking.” Using another tense or point of view can subtly or dramatically change a sentence, a paragraph, a book. Attuning your ear to the gradations of emotion as expressed in the cadence of tense and point of view helps expand your writerly horizons. This workshop, which is designed for writer in all genres, uses lecture, writing exercises, and discussion of published examples to help you gain a better command of these powerful tools. Enrollment is limited to 15.

 

Sunday, November 18: The Freedom of Form

Location: Uptown Minneapolis
Time: 1-5 pm
Cost: $100, payable via personal check or this Paypal link. 

When you’re stuck in a piece of writing, feeling lifeless, what do you do? Grind through, hoping desperately that a window will open? Give up? Take a break? Declare yourself a failure and slink off to drown your sorrows? I’ve taken a shot at all these methods, and none of them work as well for me as re-framing the work itself. I give myself seemingly arbitrary rules to work within, e.g., Write this scene as a series of text messages, or, Write this novel as a series of one-hundred-word passages. The freedom of assigned form is real, people, and it’s why novels usually have chapters, and picture books are usually under 500 words. It’s why enduring forms of poetry like haiku and sonnets and sestinas are still alive and thriving. In this workshop, which is designed for writer in all genres, we will play with form as a way to open up your writing, your mind and your heart to the freedom and creativity inherent in all art. We’ll complete some in-class writings, discuss published works and in general have a great and exhilarating time. Enrollment is limited to 15.