Creative Writing Workshops

Writing & Publishing Workshops Calendar — 2010 Find out more.

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"Oh my my — the words just flowed, and with the words all kinds of ideas about where it could all lead…. Thank you again for leading such a helpful workshop — I wanted to be inspired and re-energized — and both those things happened." — Madelyn H.

"Your workshops unblocked me." — Jared G.

You don't have to be a professional writer to be full of stories. And if you do write for a living, your creative work may lie fallow unless you carve out a time and place to write regularly.

I lead workshops based on a highly productive and supportive method originated by Pat Schneider, which is briefly described below. You can read more about this approach at www.amherstwriters.com, at www.patschneider.com, in Schneider's book Writing Alone and With Others (Oxford University Press), and in my own personal experience essay "Dynamite That Heals."

Writers of all ages, professions, skill levels, and genres are warmly welcomed in my workshops. You need not submit a writing sample to take part. The only requirements are your willingness to write and to be a constructive group member. Workshops take place at private venues in northern New Jersey and New York City and also at the Adult School of Montclair and the County College of Morris. Please click on the calendar for upcoming dates.

In short, these workshops create a setting that is safe, nurturing, and open to risk-taking. Fresh, vivid writing easily springs up in such an environment. Art comes first, a crucial element too often lacking in other approaches. As Schneider writes in her book: "Craft is knowing when to revise a manuscript and when to leave it alone, but art is the fire in the mind that puts the story on the page in the first place."

"I really enjoyed our workshop. I was blown away by how listening and commenting instead of criticizing, and focusing on all the writing as fiction, worked so well for me." — Jay C.

Workshop format:

• We write during the workshop, in response to exercises or our own ideas.

• We read our first-draft writing to each other if we wish.

• We respond as listeners with what we remember, what we like, how the writer surprised us, and how he or she made us care.

• We develop our work further if we wish.

• We also comment more extensively on second and later drafts by fellow writers in manuscript form.

• We learn to recognize, cultivate, and trust our individual voices.

Drawing on my experience as a publishing staffer and a published author, I can also help guide you into the publishing process.

If this is the kind of writing approach you've been hoping for, please contact me.

Publishing and Business Writing Workshops

I lead single-session workshops for the Adult School of Montclair, County College of Morris, and private clients such as Columbia University's Human Resources Department on:

• Book Publishing 101

• Better Business Writing

• Email Etiquette

• Leaving a Legacy: Family and Organizational Histories

• Breaking Writer's Block

Please click on the calendar for upcoming dates, and contact me to inquire about customized classes for your organization.

Reach me by email or call 1-201-288-2036.

 © 2004-2010 Marian Calabro except as noted. All rights reserved.
 "First Draft Fever" and "Untying the Writing Knot" are service marks of Marian Calabro.
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