I love teaching writing workshops, and have not been able to do so because of long haul COVID, but now that I have a draft, however shaggy, of my researched memoir, I am offering a new one beginning October 22 (Thursday evenings, 7-9pm Eastern, on Zoom).
A number of writers who have taken the Inwood Writing Workshop have mentioned that they have challenges finding time to write, and having written, finding time to edit the writing so it can be published in some form. Enter the new workshop in which there will be time to write new work, edit that writing and share it with the group. I refer to the whole process of writing and editing as "intuitive processing," because while there are definitely good tools out there for both, in the end, you need to listen to your gut, even as you are working with basic crafting advice/guidance/prompts.
I have found that when I do both/and, my writing is stronger. Why is this important? Because if I am only hewing to preexisting rules, I may write something serviceable or even quite good, but it may also seem or be derivative of much else out there. As I type this blog there is a little star at the left encouraging me to allow AI to do it for me. Which—as anyone who has known me for more than 5 minutes will know—I am not doing. Why? Because AI has No Idea What Embodied Human Experience Is! Please reread that if you must. And AI is not I. It is made up of what has been inputted.
So, if like me, you want to ensure you are writing something AI cannot, then read on...
The intuitive part of the processing is what is happening in your gut. The gut actually has a brain, it's a primordial brain, but it exists. In my experience, which may be enhanced by being autistic, that intuition I derive when I am working outside conscious logic, is where all the juice is, where my best writing comes from. And it is Always unexpected.
OK, so why the tools and prompts then, you may ask?
Good question!
Because no matter what, there are a lot of basic tools for writing and editing that authors and readers have discovered over the years, and if you don't know or incorporate them, you can end up tripping over yourself trying to communicate beyond your own private Idaho. So, it's a both/and proposition.
However, will there be times you need to break one of those rules in order to allow for the unexpected?
Yes!
But if you know the basics, you have a better toolkit, and you can use that when need be. A lot of editing involves this conscious intervention (though not all), and just like if you are painting, or building a house or whatever, it's better to have more tools at your disposal so you can do what you want with more ease. It smoothes the way for the intuitive leaps.
This is how I managed to put together a (very) rough draft of a memoir that had so many offshoots I wondered if it would ever cohere. It's how I put together the hybrid collection of writing for The Mortality Shot. And indeed, how I wrote each of those individual pieces, which include fiction, creative nonfiction, and an experimental stage text.
You can look at my site for testimonials about my teaching and blurbs about my writing, but you can also find links in Publications to the writing itself, and I encourage you to do so. See if you think what I offer might be a good fit for you.
The workshops, which I keep small, do fill fairly quickly, so if you are interested and/or have questions, I encourage you to get in touch soon.
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