Workshops Descriptions
Business Writing 101
Strong writing skills matter, no matter what business you’re in. Strong writing includes organization and tone just as seriously as proper grammar and punctuation. Learn about the 10 most common writing blunders – and how to avoid them. Take the quiz to see how your writing etiquette rates!
Creative Mapping
Learn about a tool used across creative disciplines for generating ideas, making sense of research and better organizing projects and works-in-progress. This workshop examines various forms of creative mapping and encourages participants to experiment with different ways of piecing their work together.
Creative Nonfiction 101
This workshop can be taught as one basic session or as a four-part series that incorporates manuscript critiques. Creative Nonfiction 101 lays the foundation for what creative nonfiction is (telling a true story in a creative way using elements of fiction such as plot, setting and character development) and what it is not (using creative license to the point at which a story is no longer true). We’ll use examples and insights of some of the genre’s masters, such as Lee Gutkind and Joan Didion, to engage in meaningful discussion about the art of telling true stories. All participants are encouraged to come with questions relating to the genre.
Creative Writing for Kids
Learn about a tool used across creative disciplines for generating ideas, making sense of research and better organizing projects and works-in-progress. This workshop examines various forms of creative mapping and encourages participants to experiment with different ways of piecing their work together.
Effective Manuscript Critiquing
Designed for writers who want to learn how to provide meaningful feedback on others’ writing and have their own work respectfully but honestly critiqued by others, this workshop fosters an environment that is nurturing and encouraging yet bold. Writers will learn how to both provide and receive constructive and honest criticism on written work.
Experimenting with Form
A literary tour that explores 5 diverse essay forms: braided, hermit crab, collage, meditative and counterpoint. By reading and discussing essays in each form, participants will learn how to play with structure in their own writing. The workshop caps off with a challenge for participants to choose one form for their own creative writing experiment.
How and When to Write Your Memoir
In an article in Poets & Writers Magazine, the “Godfather” of creative nonfiction, Lee Gutkind, argued that too many young writers are attempting to write the great masterpiece of their lives when they’ve experienced hardly any of life’s glories and challenges. This class considers crucial questions such as:
- When is the “right” time to write your memoir?
- If you’re young and you haven’t experienced any real hardship, does that mean you shouldn’t write?
- Is conflict and adventure all readers want?
- How much of yourself should you share in your writing?
Memory & Memoir: How to Navigate Your “Wiggly Mind”
Mary Karr admits in The Art of Memoir that she does not trust her “wiggly mind.” Yet memory is one of the primary tools of the memoirist. This workshop leans on cutting-edge brain science to dive into the mysteries of memory, its reliability, and its tensions with truth.
The Quiet Memoir
In a society that lauds the addiction memoir and stories of triumph after profound struggle, is there room for life stories that are tame, placid, overall “good?” Yes, as long as you can create resonance with your reader! This workshop will focus on the importance of conflict in narrative and how to identify possible points of tension in a quiet memoir – a story that contains no obvious struggle such as addiction, messy divorce or life-altering accident. Participants will explore two crucial questions: Who is my audience? and Why is my story significant?
Telling Our Life Stories
We all have them: Memories of childhood, family photos, journal pages of moments both cherished and long-forgotten, perhaps even cassette tapes or home videos that capture the life of a loved one. We’ve all said it: “I should really do something with [fill in the blank].” This workshop addresses why our own life stories matter and how they can be effective ways of communicating with and impacting those around us. We will explore ways to turn our life stories into cohesive, engaging documents that can be proudly preserved for generations to come.
Writing and Community: Using Story as Expression
Learn how the power of story brings people together via the 3 C’s: Create, Communicate, Connect. Create: How to bring an idea to life; how to make the most of your writing time. Communicate: How to tell a story effectively; why it’s important to take risks with your writing. Connect: Why a community is crucial to the writing process. How to find your “tribe.”
Writing through Social Difference
This workshop centers on writing as a basic yet strong form of communication and discovery to help bring communities together. Participants will explore how their collective roles and life experiences might contribute to constructive community outreach and conversation. Through tough questions, writing exercises and active listening techniques, participants will learn to STAND (Share Truth. Act Nobly. Dare.) for meaningful, healthy dialogue.
Business Writing 101
Strong writing skills matter, no matter what business you’re in. Strong writing includes organization and tone just as seriously as proper grammar and punctuation. Learn about the 10 most common writing blunders – and how to avoid them. Take the quiz to see how your writing etiquette rates!
Creative Mapping
Learn about a tool used across creative disciplines for generating ideas, making sense of research and better organizing projects and works-in-progress. This workshop examines various forms of creative mapping and encourages participants to experiment with different ways of piecing their work together.
Creative Nonfiction 101
This workshop can be taught as one basic session or as a four-part series that incorporates manuscript critiques. Creative Nonfiction 101 lays the foundation for what creative nonfiction is (telling a true story in a creative way using elements of fiction such as plot, setting and character development) and what it is not (using creative license to the point at which a story is no longer true). We’ll use examples and insights of some of the genre’s masters, such as Lee Gutkind and Joan Didion, to engage in meaningful discussion about the art of telling true stories. All participants are encouraged to come with questions relating to the genre.
Creative Writing for Kids
Learn about a tool used across creative disciplines for generating ideas, making sense of research and better organizing projects and works-in-progress. This workshop examines various forms of creative mapping and encourages participants to experiment with different ways of piecing their work together.
Effective Manuscript Critiquing
Designed for writers who want to learn how to provide meaningful feedback on others’ writing and have their own work respectfully but honestly critiqued by others, this workshop fosters an environment that is nurturing and encouraging yet bold. Writers will learn how to both provide and receive constructive and honest criticism on written work.
Experimenting with Form
A literary tour that explores 5 diverse essay forms: braided, hermit crab, collage, meditative and counterpoint. By reading and discussing essays in each form, participants will learn how to play with structure in their own writing. The workshop caps off with a challenge for participants to choose one form for their own creative writing experiment.
How and When to Write Your Memoir
In an article in Poets & Writers Magazine, the “Godfather” of creative nonfiction, Lee Gutkind, argued that too many young writers are attempting to write the great masterpiece of their lives when they’ve experienced hardly any of life’s glories and challenges. This class considers crucial questions such as:
- When is the “right” time to write your memoir?
- If you’re young and you haven’t experienced any real hardship, does that mean you shouldn’t write?
- Is conflict and adventure all readers want?
- How much of yourself should you share in your writing?
Memory & Memoir: How to Navigate Your "Wiggly Mind"
Mary Karr admits in The Art of Memoir that she does not trust her “wiggly mind.” Yet memory is one of the primary tools of the memoirist. This workshop leans on cutting-edge brain science to dive into the mysteries of memory, its reliability, and its tensions with truth.
The Quiet Memoir
In a society that lauds the addiction memoir and stories of triumph after profound struggle, is there room for life stories that are tame, placid, overall “good?” Yes, as long as you can create resonance with your reader! This workshop will focus on the importance of conflict in narrative and how to identify possible points of tension in a quiet memoir – a story that contains no obvious struggle such as addiction, messy divorce or life-altering accident. Participants will explore two crucial questions: Who is my audience? and Why is my story significant?
Telling Our Life Stories
We all have them: Memories of childhood, family photos, journal pages of moments both cherished and long-forgotten, perhaps even cassette tapes or home videos that capture the life of a loved one. We’ve all said it: “I should really do something with [fill in the blank].” This workshop addresses why our own life stories matter and how they can be effective ways of communicating with and impacting those around us. We will explore ways to turn our life stories into cohesive, engaging documents that can be proudly preserved for generations to come.
Writing and Community: Using Story as Expression
Learn how the power of story brings people together via the 3 C’s: Create, Communicate, Connect. Create: How to bring an idea to life; how to make the most of your writing time. Communicate: How to tell a story effectively; why it’s important to take risks with your writing. Connect: Why a community is crucial to the writing process. How to find your “tribe.”
Writing through Social Difference
This workshop centers on writing as a basic yet strong form of communication and discovery to help bring communities together. Participants will explore how their collective roles and life experiences might contribute to constructive community outreach and conversation. Through tough questions, writing exercises and active listening techniques, participants will learn to STAND (Share Truth. Act Nobly. Dare.) for meaningful, healthy dialogue.
In addition to these top 12, Kate offers one-hour craft workshops on topics such as building a narrative, honesty and transparency, momentum and pacing, voice/tone, plot, character, ethics of telling true stories, and more!
Kate’s training spans both corporate and creative communication. Don’t see a workshop that fits your needs? Get in touch to request a custom-built workshop for your team or writers group