The Generative Workshop Experience
In the poem, A Valentine for Ernest Mann, Naomi Shihab Nye writes:
“I’ll tell you a secret. Poems hide. In the bottom of our shoes, they are sleeping…hiding in the eyes of skunks.”
Not only are poems hiding, but also creative non-fiction, picture book texts, YA novels, novels for adults and novels for middle graders, or perhaps a science fiction short story, a memoir or the a fantasy trilogy.
The important idea of a generative workshop is to aid and abet you, the writer, in creating, in generating new work. We will explore ways to discover the writing that is hiding in shoes, lurking at the edges of a memory, or even in the eyes of skunks. Through a series of prompts, and exercises; through the study of instructive works by well known writers, with a soupçon of fun and with serious intent, this workshop aims to assist you in finding your words, wherever they may be, in whatever form they take.
And, as well, to urge you to take risks, to undertake the work that perhaps you should be writing, but might take a bit of courage to begin. Because, “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore.” (Andre Gide)
You will leave Moss Wood with with new work waiting to be polished, itching for elongation.
As always, we will gather in community around the table, to engage with accomplished work that might illustrate a path worth following, to listen to each other’s work, to write, and write some more.
If you wish to have the writing you have been working on previous to the retreat appraised, you will be able to meet with retreat staff or guest writers for critiques. Please be in touch with Patricia, the director, about guidelines.