Course Description: We want our livesandour writing to matter! This course will definitely help you with the writing, and who knows, it might help for both. As the saying goes, writing is a way to “live twice.”
This writing mini-workshop will boost your skills for a variety of writing levels and genres—whether it be poetry, memoir, fiction, or non-fiction. We will work with two techniques that can significantly improve your writing (money back guaranteed). First, we will analyze and practice the elements of a great hook. Secondly, we will utilize and practice the sensory palette. The renowned memoirist Mary Karr believes that the sensory palette is the only aspect of writing that can betaught, but I also know from experience that improving a hook is teachable as well as necessary for a piece to matter to someone other than the writer.
Writing is an intimate path of discovery and I create a safe space for one and all. It’s important that course attendees commit to all four sessions. Not only will you miss critical content if you are absent, it also breaks the circle of trust and safety.
Please“arrive” with pen and pad in hand for some free-writing warm-up at the beginning of every class. And yes, there will be some homework for you to try out your new skills on newly-written work or some of your old work you’d like to see polished.
Bio: Sarah Conover holds a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of Colorado, an MFA in creative writing (poetry) from Eastern Washington University, and has taught creative writing through the Community Colleges of Spokane. She is the author of seven books on world wisdom traditions and spirituality published by Skinner House Books. Her poetry and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals includingFloating Bridge Review,and anthologies includingWe Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poets in Defense of Human Rights. She is the grateful recipient of a Washington’s Artist Trust Grant and fellowships at both the Ucross Foundation and the Willapa Bay Artist in Residence Program. She is a writer forTricycle Magazine: the Buddhist Review,and a feature article based on her memoir-in-progress entitled, “Lost at Sea,” can be read here.