Creativity Workshop: Schedule, class notes and sign-up

At the bottom of this post you will find the workshop schedule as a downloadable attachment.  It’s a word file, and virus-free.  Please download and open the file to see what you are in for.

Class notes

The workshop is structured in three blocks of four weeks, with an intro week and a closing week.  The framework for each week is as follows:

• Sunday: Participants post their review of the previous week and their goals for the upcoming week.
• Monday: Post by Merrilee on specific topic related to creativity.
• Wednesday: Guest post.
• Saturday: Random story prompts and pictures for the next week.

Week One is the intro week, where we talk about formulating goals, what you want out of the workshop and what you are aiming for.  In that week you will post your goals and I will offer guidance and assistance.

Week Two we start work.

I have lined up 14 amazing artists, writers and poets to guest post every week, to keep you inspired and give you even more insight into the creative process.

On Saturday I will post a collection of photos and prompts for inspiration.  You don’t need to use these; they are just there to help out if you need it.

Production and goals

I know this is the bit you have been waiting for – what do you actually have to do?

At the beginning of the workshop, participants choose three writing goals to work towards.  For example, participants may choose to explore anti-heroes, to write in a different genre, to work on their procrastination, to explore dark stories, etc.  Each goal will be addressed in a four-week block.  Choose specific goals in areas you want to explore, or problems you need to address.  I will be there to offer assistance with formulating your goals.

Within the four-week block, participants generate ideas and write four short stories/poems.  These four must be linked in a series.  The series can be linked in many ways; setting, theme, character, location, etc.

The reason we are writing in a series is that you are teaching yourself to create within a boundary.  More often than not, if you are asked to write something, you will have boundaries to work within.  But those boundaries should not restrict your creativity.  This applies not only to fiction, but to writing articles, ad copy, documents at work, blog posts.

You will be reviewing and analysing your work at the end of each week. I will offer assistance and guidance with your reviews.

The aim here is not to produce a collection of exercises.  The aim here is to produce a collection of stories/poems, and in doing so, explore your creativity and work towards specific writing goals.

It is understood that you may not finish all of them.  At the end of the week, you move on to the next piece, and come back to the unfinished pieces after the workshop.  That’s fine.  Just put as much work into them as you can, keeping your goals in mind.  But at the end of the workshop you will have at least 12 new pieces in your folio.

Rules

The Number One rule for the workshop is: Don’t show your work to anyone. Not anyone.  Not your mother, or your favourite writing partner, and definitely not your crit group.

During the workshop, there will be no critiquing, no editing, no comments on what is produced.  This is to encourage participants to:

a)     create without fear of rejection;

b)     work without the benefit of external approval;

c)      analyse themselves and their work without the influence of opinion, good or bad.

You may, if you like, post snippets on your blog, but no more than 100 words from each piece.

After the workshop, you can do what you like with your work.

Why weekly goals?

If there is one thing I have learned while teaching, it’s that goals larger than a week are too easily pushed back until it’s too late to get anything done.  It’s easy to keep the momentum going for a week.

What if I fail?

There is no fail.  If you miss your goals at the end of the week, you sit back and analyse why.  Then you start fresh the next week, keeping in mind what you have learned.

This is a lot of work, isn’t it?

Yes, it is.  But like any course, you get out of it what you put in.

But I can’t write short stories!

Yes, you can.  I will post a couple of links to helpful short story articles in the opening week.  If you are convinced that you can only write novels, think of it this way.  A short story is just a climax scene without all the buildup.  Give it a try.

Sign-ups

If you want to join me on this journey, please comment below with your name and blog address and say “I’m in”.  Sign-ups close on 30 April. (Be aware that I am in Australia; if you are in the US, I am a day ahead of you.)

If you have any questions, or need clarification on a point, just comment below.

If you don’t have a blog, put your e-mail address into the comment entry (not the body of the comment).  No-one sees that except me.
Creativity Workshop Posting Schedule