Classes at the Attic

There's a saying in Italian which translates to keeping "Dreams in a drawer." Everyone talks about their "desk drawer book" which is the book they kind of work on, or they wrote a single draft then put it away thinking that someday they would return to it. So you've always told yourself, "I'm going to finish that book and if I could just pull together a group of a few committed writers to work with me, I could do this." Think of this eight month workshop as that particular someday.  Take your dream (your novel or memoir, or essay or short story collection) out of the drawer and into the world.

Led by inspirational teacher and writer Whitney Otto, WORKSHOP 8 selects eight writers who are ready to write that novel or memoir or collection (essays or short stories). You can come into the group with a full draft, or a partial draft, or an idea that you are ready to make into a manuscript. We are your audience and your colleagues. We are that writing group you've wanted to help you get to the end of a workable draft. The page count turned into the workshop will be higher than most workshops, so much of your book (if not all of your book) can be read and discussed. You commit to your art, and the workshop commits to you.

One of the essential benefits of WORKSHOP 8 is the unique schedule. The workshop meets January - June breaks for a summer of concentrated writing, and finally resumes in the fall, September - November. Additionally, the workshop meets for four weeks followed by a week break because it is hard for even the most seasoned writer to maintain an unending writing schedule. Building in breaks allows the writer to write at his or her own pace while processing the discussion from the workshop. 

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What do we do with a piece of writing that feels stuck, stagnant, that we want to transform? Revision can be difficult: we don’t want to lose the raw energy, the life-blood, of our original draft, yet sometimes we need to let go of our original ideas and inspiration in service of the poem or story. Too often revision is thought of as a process refinement and clarification, but revision literally means to “see again,” and in this class we’ll do just that: seeking out ways to enliven old drafts and see them from a fresh perspective, with a sense of curiosity and wonder. Through both in-class exercises and critique, we’ll explore a wide variety of revision strategies designed to bring our drafts to life again. Open to all writers. Maximum: 12 writers

[Note: This workshop is designed to be paired with Patrick's Generateive Exercises workshop in Session II. Writers are welcome to take both, or just one.]

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In this weekend workshop to refresh your writing, attention will be devoted to the quality of remembering and remaking your past experiences and stories on the page. Our focus will be on observation, with discussion and demonstration-writing exercises designed to include new techniques to frame your writing, draw out the details of place, use images to make fresh comparisons, and to pay attention to landmarks that anchor your imagination. While this in-class writing workshop is useful as preparation for large-scale pieces of writing (stories, novels, essays, poems), it also serves as a complete experience in and of itself. Prompts range in length from several minutes to an hour, allowing you to build from feelings to scenes and beyond. Each session will feature new techniques and strategies. | Maximum: 20 writers

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Being able to write joyfully in an encouraging environment without the constant fear of negative critique can be incredibly freeing. In this workshop, led by Attic Institute founder David Biespiel, short, timed, directed writing sessions allow you to quickly make dramatic pieces of writing--in fiction, memoir, or poems--that encourage your personal sense of expression. These exercises are designed to establish easy-to-follow strategies that free up your imagination and let you discover something new, or something long percolating. These writing or "sketch" sessions build confidence, enabling you to concentrate on the material that's right before you. Our focus will be almost entirely on making new pieces of writing with hardly any time dedicated to critique or revision.

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In this weekend workshop to focus your writing for 2020, we will try to help you get organized for the year ahead by organizing your goals -- and getting started now. As with Life Writing (weekend workshop in October) attention will be devoted to the quality of remembering and remaking your past experiences and stories on the page. Our focus will be on observation, with discussion and demonstration-writing exercises designed to include new techniques to frame your writing, draw out the details of place, use images to make fresh comparisons, and to pay attention to landmarks that anchor your imagination. While this in-class writing workshop is useful as preparation for large-scale pieces of writing (stories, novels, essays, poems), it also serves as a complete experience in and of itself. Prompts range in length from several minutes to an hour, allowing you to build from feelings to scenes and beyond. Each session will feature new techniques and strategies. | Maximum: 20 writers

Note: This workshop can be taken as Part 2 of Life Writing (Oct 26-27) or as a standalone class. There will be some review from the October workshop, but all the prompts and direction will be unique to this weekend's class.

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“Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.” ~ Pablo Picasso

You want to write and you think you may have a story to tell, but you’re not sure how to get started. The Writer’s Toolkit is the class for you. In this workshop, you will discover how to transform your ideas from imagination to a cohesive and compelling story that engages readers and keeps them turning the pages for more. You will learn some of the basic conventions for good writing that successful writers use: how to develop plot, how to create compelling characters, how to build dynamic scenes, and how to show rather than tell. You will learn by doing and will take away a wealth of writing tools and resources to keep honing your craft after the workshop is over. Whether you’ve never written anything or you’ve got reams of pages that you’re not sure what to do with, this workshop will be valuable for you. Sign up for A Writer’s Toolkit and learn the strategies you need to get you started as a writer and keep you going. | Maximum: 12 writers

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“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” ~ E. L. Doctorow

You have a thousand stories inside your head. You dabble on the page but rarely if ever finish anything, much less share with others. “Is my work good enough?” you wonder.  “Do I have something original and interesting to say? What makes me think I can be a writer?”  The biggest obstacle for emerging writers is not lack of time nor lack of skill nor lack of things to write about. It’s a lack of self-confidence. This workshop is designed for those who want to be writers, but are not sure they can be.  It provides a safe space for you to explore your interest in writing within a community of others who are on the same journey of exploration that you are. You will have an opportunity to share your writing and receive feedback that will help you identify your creative strengths and build on them. If you have work to share, bring it. If you haven’t written anything, bring an open mind to the possibilities that the class may open for you. Learn about the craft and, in the process, discover what it is about you that makes your stories worth telling and makes you the only writer who can tell them. | Maximum 12 students

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