Nature Writing: Telling the Lake, Story by Story

Writing authentic nature stories, articles, or poems means having a keen awareness and knowledge of the environment that is the setting or focus of our writing. During this workshop we will learn how to tap into our senses and sharpen our awareness of the natural world by observing and learning from the most enlightening of storytellers – Pyramid Lake and its environs. We will spend time walking the shores of this pristine, wild lake and the surrounding woodlands journaling the plant and animal life, and opening ourselves to the stories the lake tells according to time of day, light and shadow, and shifts of weather. Notes and sketches will
be used to create or enhance poems or prose pieces which will be shared and discussed. This workshop will be held both out-of-doors along lake shores and indoors. Participants are strongly encouraged to venture out on their own outside of workshop time –to find a dock or rock or bench to observe and write.
Most of this workshop will be held out of doors. Bring notebooks and pens/pencils, rain gear (let’s hope we don’t need it), sturdy rain-proof footwear, knapsack, insect repellant.
 
Mary Cuffe Perez is a “woods roamer” and author of books of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, children’s novels and has published natural history articles in Adirondack Life, Northern Woodlands, the Conservationist and Blueline magazines.

Writing Across the Genres

Good writing is good writing, regardless of the topic. Whether you’re working on fiction, memoir, nonfiction, or a combination of styles, the fundamentals are the same. We’ll polish our skills through workshopping, exercises, and discussions on the craft of words. Most importantly, we’ll write with the goal of advancing our stories, whatever the genre.

Clif Travers is a visual artist and writer who has relocated to his home state of Maine after years in Brooklyn, NY. His writing has been featured in Underwood Press, freeze frame fiction, Crack the Spine Anthology, and Coffin Bell Journal, among others. He received his MFA in creative writing from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine. His forthcoming collection of short stories and novellas, The Stones of Riverton, are tales inspired by the gravestones in his hometown in western Maine and are based on the rumors of the suspicious deaths of those who lie beneath them.  

Tell Me a Story… Or, How to Write a Picture Book in Four Easy Lessons

            Ahhh….Picture books! Deceptively-simple, these illustrated books tell a complete story in about 500 words. These are tiny books that speak volumes – that reach our hearts and provide bite-size bits of philosophy. The Little Engine that Could, Where the Wild Things Are, A Snowy Day… These are stories kids want to hear over and over (and over). But, how does this magic happen? What are the keys to writing picture books? And do you have a story that only you can tell? One that needs telling?

            In this workshop, we’ll cover different types of picture books. Participants will gain an understanding of the form, hear a brief history of picture books, and (begin to) learn how to write a picture book. Come with an idea (or two) for a story to tell in picture book form. Recommended text: Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication by Ann Whitford Paul, Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio. Participants are encouraged to read recent, traditionally-published picture books (i.e., not self-published and preferably books not written by the same person who illustrated them) prior to class. In addition, please bring a favorite (traditionally-published) picture book to the class. No drawing skills required.

             Linda Elovitz Marshall is the award-winning author of almost two dozen traditionally published picture books, fiction and non-fiction. Her books have been translated into Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Russian, and Italian. www.lindamarshall.com

 

After the First Draft: Revising a Work in Progress

Update: This workshop is full. We are taking a waiting list. 

All writing is rewriting, or so the saying goes. This workshop presents revision strategies for taking that imperfect first draft and whipping it into a thing of beauty. Exercises focus on distilling your premise, gaining perspective, structure and organization, sentence craft, and more. Bring any type of work in progress, whether a novel, memoir, creative nonfiction, or collection. In separate one-on-one conferences, each participant will develop an individual revision plan.

 Jeff Campbell is a freelance book editor, author, and writing teacher. As an editor for nearly 30 years, he helps authors tell their stories and shape their manuscripts in a wide variety of genres. For a dozen years, he was a Lonely Planet travel writer. Most recently, he’s written three YA science books. His latest, Glowing Bunnies!?: Why We’re Making Hybrids, Chimeras & Clones (Lerner Books), will be published in May 2022.

Shapeshifting Poetry – Form by Form

Start with a free verse poem or a part of a poem or a thought of what you’d like to put in a poem. Each day we will work our poetry into a variety of forms. Maybe what you have will work well as a triolet, a clerihew, or a quatern. We’ll put our thoughts into rondeaus, ghazals, and sonnets. We will see if meter and/or rhyming are the way to go. We may end up right back at free verse, but we’ll have a good challenge exploring possibilities.

This workshop is a continuation of Ellie O'Leary's April 2022 National Poetry Month project on Breathe Here (breatheherepoetry.blogspot.com). 

Instructor Ellie O'Leary is the Poet Laureate of Amesbury, Massachusetts and author of Breathe Here (North Country Press, 2021). She co-facilitates Fall Writerfest along with Nelle Stanton. 

From Blank Page To Stage

Ever wanted to write a play? Or adapt one of your stories to the screen? Hone your dialogue? Figure out dramatic action? All of the above? This scriptwriting workshop will incorporate simple, fun writing exercises and discussion of the elements of a good script (such as openings, character development, motive, compelling dialogue and more), with the aim of helping you write a short script (stage or screen). Whether you’ve yet to write your first script or have several under your belt, this workshop is aimed at anybody who’s ever stared at that blank page (and empty stage!) and wanted to fill it.

Instructor Tom Coash is a playwright, producer, and director. Coash’s plays have been produced worldwide and won numerous playwriting awards, including the National Theatre Critics Association’s Osborn Award, the Clauder Competition, and an Edgerton Foundation National New Play Award. Coash currently teaches scriptwriting at the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Creative Writing MFA Program.

 

Fall Writerfest 2022

 The dates for Fall Writerfest 2022 are Sunday, September 11 through Friday, September 16. That's roughly dinner on Sunday through brunch on Friday of that week. The fee is $395 and is again all inclusive. You can register on the Pyramid web site:  Home - Pyramid Life Center. We are now in the process of confirming workshops as well as other details and will be rolling them out as we have them set. In order to secure your place in a specific workshop, once they are announced, you will have to pay in full. You must be in one of the workshops to attend. We are not able to accommodate accompanying guests or people wanting a personal retreat. The workshop descriptions will be posted on this blog, our Facebook page, and sent to our email list. If you are not on our email list, but would like to be, send an email to EllieOLeary@gmail.com.