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Category Archives: Summer 2020 Workshops

EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY II: A Workshop to Jumpstart Your Creativity, taught by Tricia Par, August 8 to September 5, 2020 [SOLD OUT]

Cleaver Magazine Posted on July 10, 2020 by thwackSeptember 17, 2020

Image of Dandelion in the wind

EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY Part 2 of 2
A Workshop to Jumpstart Your Writing
open to all levels and genres
Parts 1 and 2 may be repeated or taken out of order
taught by Cleaver Editor Tricia Park

5 weeks
Aug 8, 15, 22, 29, Sept 5
5 Zoom classes, Saturdays 2-4 pm Eastern Time
$150 early bird / $200 regular
Class limit: 12
This class can be taken on its own or as a continuation of Part I
Questions: [email protected]

SOLD OUT

EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY is a five-week online generative writing course for writers of all levels and genres. In these days of uncertainty and rapid change, it’s difficult to know what to hang onto. And social distancing leaves us struggling to maintain our mental wellness during this undetermined period of isolation.

But what if we can use this time to develop a skill; start a new project; follow a passion?

What if this sudden surplus of time is an opportunity for experimentation?

What if we embrace our vulnerability and take a deep dive into the unknown?

What might we discover about ourselves?

For many of us, the challenge is not getting to the writing desk but knowing what to do with ourselves once we’re there.

What does it mean to develop a writing practice? How do we create momentum from where we are right now? What if destabilizing ourselves as writers could move us forward in our work if experimentation and play catapulted us into our best writing?

As a classically trained violinist, I spent years looking for the “correct” way, endlessly seeking the most efficient path, setting myself upright if I began to wobble. The truth of the matter is that all of us—writers, artists, musicians—enter into the creative process from a place of instability. Our objective should not be to straighten up and fly right, but to embrace that physics and allow our work into it.


What you’ll get from the classes:

  • Once a week, real-time meetings with your instructor and cohort.
  • Gently intriguing prompts to jumpstart your creativity.
  • Reading and discussion of texts by inspiring writers.
  • A safe and supportive environment to cultivate your writing.
  • Small, clearly defined weekly assignments to keep you motivated.
  • New writing that you can continue to nurture and grow at home.

 


Tricia Park Author PhotoTricia Park is a concert violinist and writer. The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, she has appeared in concert on five continents. Tricia is the producer/host of a podcast called “Is it Recess Yet? Confessions of a Former Child Prodigy.” Tricia is a graduate of The Juilliard School and received an M.F.A. from the Writing Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her writing has appeared in Cleaver Magazine, Alyss, and F Newsmagazine. She has also been a finalist for contests in C&R Press and The Rumpus. Currently, she is a Lecturer and Artist-in-Residence at the University of Chicago. Tricia has taught creative writing online and at the University of Iowa.

In this class, we won’t try to fix what isn’t broken. We’ll hold our vulnerability and begin creating from where we are. We’ll give ourselves permission to commence, no matter how fragile the surface under our feet feels. Together, we will enter and engage with the work as it begins to speak to us, and we’ll allow ourselves to follow that uncertainty and see where it takes us.

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Published on July 10, 2020 in Poetry Workshops, Sold Out, Summer 2020 Workshops, Workshops. (Click for permalink.)

THE ART OF THE SCENE: A Workshop in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction taught by Lisa Borders | August 2 – September 4, 2020 [SOLD OUT]

Cleaver Magazine Posted on May 21, 2020 by thwackSeptember 17, 2020

The art of the scene cover image

THE ART OF THE SCENE 
A Workshop in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction
Taught by Lisa Borders

5 weeks
August 2 – September 4
introductory Zoom meeting at 2 pm ET on Sun Aug 2
SOLD OUT
$200 early bird / $225 regular
Class limit: 12
Questions: [email protected]

The writer Sandra Scofield describes a “pulse”—that spark that makes the story come alive— as a vital element to all scenes. This pulse is especially crucial for opening scenes, as many agents and editors report that if they are not hooked on a manuscript within the first five pages, they will not read on.

But what is a “pulse,” and how can a writer ensure that each scene—not just the opening— has one? How can we write in such a way that our characters come to life, that a scene breathes emotion and urgency, while moving the plot forward and keeping tension taut?

In this class we’ll look at opening scenes, pivotal scenes and transitional scenes in published novels and memoirs, analyzing them for a “pulse”—that spark that makes the story come alive—and for the ways in which they hook the reader, introduce the characters, and (for opening scenes) signal the book’s scope. We’ll define the elements of a scene and discuss techniques for writing scenes that breathe emotion and urgency while moving the plot forward and keeping tension taut.

We’ll also workshop an opening scene from your novel or memoir in progress of no more than 1800 words in length, applying a checklist to help you determine whether your book’s opening passes the “pulse” test—and if not, strategies for creating a first scene the reader can’t put down. You will then revise these scenes, or submit a new opening scene for instructor feedback.

This class will have one synchronous meeting: an introductory Zoom meeting on Sunday, August 2 from 2 – 3:30 pm EST. Writers will receive a schedule for submitting scenes to be workshopped in Weeks 2 – 4 as part of the Week 1 lesson.

Readings will include scenes from works by Rishi Reddi, Hanya Yanagihara, Joan Didion, Elizabeth Strout and Piper Weiss, among others.


SYLLABUS

Week 1: Introduction

  • What is a scene?
  • Scene elements
  • Creating tension within a scene
  • Readings

Week 2: Types of Scenes – Part I

  • Opening Scenes
  • Pivotal Scenes
  • Readings
  • Four scenes workshopped

Week 3: Types of Scenes – Part II

  • Flashback Scenes
  • Transitional Scenes
  • Readings
  • Four scenes workshopped

Week 4: Scene vs. Exposition

  • Definitions
  • Debunking “show don’t tell”
  • Pacing
  • Readings
  • Four scenes workshopped

Week 5: Scene CPR

  • Checklist for revision
  • Revise workshopped scene or submit new scene to instructor

Lisa Borders’ second novel, The Fifty-First State, was published by Engine Books in 2013. Her first novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land, was chosen by Pat Conroy as the winner of River City Publishing’s Fred Bonnie Award, and received fiction honors in the 2003 Massachusetts Book Awards. Lisa’s short stories, essays and humor have appeared in The Rumpus, McSweeney’s, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Post Road, Washington Square and other journals. She has received grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Somerville Arts Council and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and fellowships at the Millay Colony, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Hedgebrook and the Blue Mountain Center. Lisa also teaches at Boston’s GrubStreet, where she founded the Novel Generator program and co-founded the Novel Incubator program. More information on Lisa is available at lisaborders.com.


 

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Published on May 21, 2020 in CNF Workshops, Fiction Workshops, Sold Out, Summer 2020 Workshops, Workshops. (Click for permalink.)

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UPCOMING CLASSES

BREAKING UP WITH FORM: Experimental Essays, taught by Cleaver Editor Tricia Park, February 5 - March 5

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Ask June!

Cleaver’s in-house advice columnist opines on matters punctuational, interpersonal, and philosophical, spinning wit and literary wisdom in response to your ethical quandaries. Write to her at today!

ASK JUNE: November 2021 Pandemic Purge and the Ungracious Griever

ASK JUNE: November 2021 Pandemic Purge and the Ungracious Griever

Dear June, Since the start of this pandemic, I have eaten more and exercised less, and have gone from a comfortable size 10 to a tight size 16. In July and early August, when the world seemed to be opening up again, I did get out and move around more, but my destinations often included bars and ice cream shops, and things only got worse. I live in a small apartment with almost no closet space. I know part of this is in my mind, but it often seems that my place is bursting at the seams with “thin clothes.”  ...
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November 18, 2021

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The writer, a middle-aged woman with long grey hair, is driving in car with her dog. She narrates: Since the end of February I've been watching the war on TV. CNN Breaking: "Russia Invades Ukraine. Ukraine strikes fuel depot. Putin pissed off."... And obsessively doom scrolling on Twitter. War Crimes! Odessa bombed! It simultaneously feels like 1939 and right now. Totally surreal.

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VISUAL NARRATIVES ARCHIVE

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