Creative Writing for Social Justice and Personal Wellbeing

Online Workshop July 21, 22, 23, 24 Space is limited.   Registration deadline June 21 REGISTER * LEARN MORE Words are power. If ever there was a time to advocate and honor the written word in service of justice and self-care, that time is now. Censorship is becoming the norm, important stories are being erased, and the deluge … Continue reading Creative Writing for Social Justice and Personal Wellbeing

Journal Writing Workshop – Online

A Fresh Approach to Journaling Starts Feb 6th. Space is limited. Register by Jan 30th. REGISTER / LEARN MORE A new year is upon us. Perhaps you resolved to start a journal and now you’re regretting it or wondering how to get started; or if you did get started, how to keep going. If the … Continue reading Journal Writing Workshop – Online

Journal Writing Workshop for Caregivers

I’ve been teaching Creative Writing for Social Work at the University of Iowa School of Social Work since 1999, exploring the use of creative writing as a tool for personal transformation and social activism. Writing offers us a way to make sense of what happens in our lives, and it can help us to imagine … Continue reading Journal Writing Workshop for Caregivers

Fall Writing Groups &Workshops

Enroll now for online fall workshops and writing groups, starting in September:Workshops include instruction, writing prompts/ten minute free-writes and facilitated discussion of participants' work. Previous writing experience is not necessary, focus is on exploration, personal investigation, and discovery of each person’s unique writing voice. Creating Character: Characters show us who they are when we pay attention. This workshop … Continue reading Fall Writing Groups &Workshops

truth to fiction

Translating life into fiction can be a way to externalize our inner apocalypse...  photo: Jon Sullivan ...and reading our fiction can lead us to an understanding of what we have locked away. Write about a Thanksgiving that became a turning point in your life, locate it in an exaggerated world of your creation, and animate it with people who enact … Continue reading truth to fiction

before selfies

Before there were selfies, photographers revealed themselves with subtle clues that perhaps even they were unaware of. Examine this photograph, and from the details - tangible and intangible - evoke the photographer. Who is this person on the other side of the lens? What is their relationship with the people in the photograph? How did they come to be the … Continue reading before selfies

foreshadowing flim flam

Rule for writing and life: A flim flam man (or woman) cannot work in a vacuum. It takes at least two participants for flim flam to be successful. So, when a character (or you)is bamboozled, there will be plenty of red flags in the field. They will look something like this:  photo: Justine Belson In writing, … Continue reading foreshadowing flim flam