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From a new student in the Toolbox class:

Lara, you definitely have found a calling in being a teacher. I am so excited. I have been walking around with characters and stories in my head my whole life. The thought that I may be able to actually get them out of my head and share them and maybe, maybe have people PAY for them is beyond belief for me.

I came home and wrote for an hour straight then woke up and wrote for another half hour. Thanks again for your enthusiasm and encouragement.

Cheers!

It's nice to start the day with a smile.

Typically, Wednesdays are "Recipe of the Week." But, I'm testing out a bunch of new salsa recipes today, and fall registration opened today for fully members of the YMCA, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to share information about the series of classes I teach three times a year at the Brandywine Y.

ADULT CREATIVE WRITING SERIES

THE WRITING TOOLBOX [04505]
Calling all closet writers! Dust off your manuscripts and bring them
to class, where we’ll discuss the craft of creative writing, as well as
workshop your short stories and novel excerpts (no poetry, please).
Want to try your hand at writing but have nothing prepared? We’ll
do weekly writing exercises to help you get those juices flowing – and
get your ideas onto a page. Our instructor is award winning young
adult novelist and college instructor Lara Zeises, whose novel True
Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet (written under her pseudonym
Lola Douglas) was recently made into a Lifetime television movie. Past
class members are welcome to join us to continue with your work.
Class is limited to 10 students.
Session: 10/05/10-11/09/10
Day/Time: Tue 7:00-7:50 pm
Fee: Full Member $48 / Program Member + Public $54

FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP [04506]
Want to get intensive feedback on your short stories and novel
excerpts? This companion course is for you! Member will be encouraged
to submit 15 to 20 pages of fiction (no poetry, please) to
the class for critique. We’ll also talk about revision strategies and
other topics for intermediate to advanced writers. Please have a
work in progress before signing up; e-mail instructor Lara Zeises at
[email protected] if you have any questions. Class is limited to 10
students.
Session: 10/05/10-11/09/10
Day/Time: Tue 8:00-8:50 pm
Fee: Full Member $48 / Program Member + Public $54

COMBINATION WRITING TOOLBOX/
WORKSHOP PACKAGE [04508]
If you’re interested in signing up for both adult creative writing courses,
please register for the combination package under code [04508].
Fee: Full Member $72 / Program Member + Public $80

Note that you save $24 by enrolling in both the Toolbox and Workshop sections.

Some additional info: several people from my summer class indicated that they'd prefer to meet biweekly, like we did this June through August. The promotional copy for fall classes had already gone out, but the special education coordinator and I talked and if everyone who enrolls decides they'd prefer biweekly classes, we can officially make the class biweekly. Also, all classes going forward will be offered biweekly, so if that appeals to you keep an eye out for info on our winter/spring session.

To register, either log on to http://www.ymcade.org/branches/brandywine/index.cfm, or call 302-478-9622. And let me know if you have any questions about the class or anything else!

The Writing Whisperer

Who pushes you to keep writing when you want take some time off?  Who prompts you when your struggling for an idea?  Who sharpens you when you thought your writing was as good as it could get?  

For my final semester at Dominican College in Blauvelt, NY, I had the wonderful opportunity to be pushed and sharpened.  I had been pushed and sharpened in all my classes at DC, but I hadn’t taken any creative writing classes yet.  The schedule just never worked out.  Since I was on target to graduate this spring, this was a now or never moment for me.  I had been struggling with my personal writing projects, and I needed to know if I should keep going.  So I used some vacation days and Dr. Stiles, the writing instructor, was kind enough to let me audit the class. 

“This is a high intensity writing class.  You will be writing a lot!  Your 1st prompt is to describe someone’s hands, and I want details.  You can write a poem or a short story or anything, just write,” Dr. Stiles said.

I struggled with that prompt, because I tried to write a poem in a style I was very unfamiliar with.  My classmates did well.  It seemed easy for most of them, and I was beginning to wonder if I belonged there at all.  Strike 1, I thought.

2nd prompt: To describe someone’s room, so we can figure out whose room it is.

I knew this wouldn’t be easy for me because I usually lack the patience to set things up.  I always want to jump right into the story.  Just last fall, an editor, who I met via an SCBWI dinner in NYC, noted the lack of a setting in one of my manuscripts.  That critique from the editor was invaluable because it showed me what one of my weaknesses was.  Now, I could use this prompt to work on it and get some quick feedback from a group of writers and the professor!  Although I found myself struggling to set the scene, I was determined to show a setting with lots of details. 

Dr. Stiles pointed out that, despite the okay details, it was difficult to know whose room it was.  Strike two, I thought.  And just when I thought I was headed for the showers, which is what they say in sports when your finished, she gave a prompt that changed everything.

3rd Prompt: You run into an old friend!

I smiled!  To be continued…   

If you subscribe to Sprouts, you should have just received your 2nd issue; Chris has an illustration in the Illustrators Showcase.  To see Chris’s artwork you can go to: http://www.chrisjbehrens.com

I thought it might be fun to try your hand at one of the writing prompts Chris had in class.  If you write something send it along to me and I will post some that I receive.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

5 Comments on Guest Blogger Chris Behrens – The Writing Whisper, last added: 6/3/2010