Writing About Family: a free creative writing workshop

“I’ve been wanting to write about the women in my family for some time, but haven’t known where to start,” says the narrator of a short story by Argentinian writer Pola Oloixarac. Can you relate? Whether you want to write fiction or nonfiction, writing about family can be complicated. How do you shape your story? How can you make complex relationships make sense on the page and write without nostalgia or sentimentality? In this short workshop, you will look at examples from both fiction and memoir, write new material, and have the opportunity to discuss your work.

Coffee and snacks provided. Families are welcome. The workshop is geared towards adults, but teens are welcome to participate with a parent or older relative. Simple activities will be provided to keep children busy.

About the Instructor

Denise Delgado is a writer, artist, educator and consultant. Her fiction and critical work have appeared in Inch, Hinchas de Poesía, Jai-Alai Magazine, and Fiction Writers Review, among others. Delgado received an MA in Media Studies from The New School and an MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College. She is currently at work on a linked collection of short stories set in Miami.

Cuando llegamos | Writing Immigration Stories

Immigration stories can be about origins, family separation, trauma, struggle, success, survival, secrets, personal and cultural reinvention, political upheaval and the search for home, freedom and country. Right now it feels especially urgent to make our own stories visible in all their complexity. But where to start? Your story might be remembered, imagined, or reconstructed. What does this mean for the process of writing memoir or fiction?

This short workshop is open to everyone, no matter your experience with writing. You will try out new ways to write or tell stories, discuss your work and ideas with others, and discover the work of other writers whose work deals with these topics.

This class takes place at the Boston Public Library’s Egleston branch, 2044 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury, MA 02119. If you have any difficulty signing up online, please call 617-695-0075.

Cuando Llegamos

Las narrativas sobre la inmigración pueden ser sobre los orígenes, la separación familiar, traumas, lucha, éxito, supervivencia, los secretos, la reinvención personal y cultural, las convulsiones políticas y la búsqueda de hogar, libertad y patria. En este momento hay un sentido especial de urgencia en cuanto a hacer visible nuestras historias en toda su complejidad. ¿Pero por donde empezar? Puede ser que tu cuento viene de la memoria, de la imaginación, o una reconstrucción de eventos en el pasado. ¿Que significa esto para el proceso de escribir crónicas o ficción?

Este taller corto está abierto a todos sin importar su nivel de experiencia con la escritura. Intentarás nuevas maneras de escribir o contar cuentos, conversarás con los demas sobre tu trabajo y tus ideas, y descubrirás la obra de otros escritores quienes escriben sobre estos temas.

Proveemos cafe y meriendas. Son bienvenidas las familias. El taller se orienta hacía los adultos, pero les damos la bienvenida a los adolescentes a participar junto con un padre o un pariente mayor. Habrá actividades sencillas para mantener a los niños ocupados.

La clase tomará lugar en el sucursal Egleston de la Biblioteca Pública de Boston, 244 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury. Cualquier dificultad para inscribirse en linea, favor de llamar a 617-695-0075.

Writing Marathon at The Village Works

Everybody has some writing that they’ve been avoiding. Slay the beast!

Whether you’re plugging away at a book, a blog, your resume, or a letter to your elected officials, sometimes writing is easier in good company.

Join us for a night of not checking Instagram, and meet some neighbors while you’re at it. We’ll have The Village Works’s snacks, coffee, and productivity-optimized workspace to help us knock it out.

And if your writing is stuck and need a bit of a creative boost, come over early for Rekindle Your Craft at 6:30PM. Led by Daphne, you’ll work from prompts and if you’re up for it, share with the group. Find out more at http://rekindleyourcraft.com

Tickets are free but limited!

Rekindle Your Craft: A Prompt-Writing Night

Is your writing stuck? Join us for a productive writing night. We work from simple, but fertile prompts, and spend most of our time writing. If you are up to it, you can share with the group. We are open to all writers and every genre. We promise you will leave with good material to mine for new and existing projects.

Just show up. You don’t need to bring anything other than your writing tools. We serve light refreshments but don’t be shy about bringing your dinner to enjoy while you work.

We’re graciously hosted by one of the most spectacular coworking spaces in Boston: The Village Works.

And it’s free!

Email daphne@strassmann.com with questions.

Crónicas y cuentos: a bilingual writing workshop

This class is free and you do not need to pay or apply for a scholarship. Instead, to join this class fill out this form. DO NOT register using the “Add to Cart” link.

Bilingual (Spanish/English) according to the preferences of the group.

Esta clase es bilingüe en inglés y español tomando en cuenta las preferencias del grupo. Información en español a continuación.

Some of us—we with the busy imaginations, we who have lived through what seemed insurmountable—can’t shake the feeling we should be writing things down. Let’s make stories together. For six weeks we’ll read and write creatively in a bilingual space that welcomes all writers: in English for those who prefer it, español para los que lo prefieren, and Spanglish para todos in between. We’ll read and discuss fiction, essays, and memoir with an emphasis on Latin American, Latinx and Caribbean writers. Weekly writing exercises, language games, and paired discussions will offer us richer ways to use language and storytelling. Finally, we’ll share our stories with each other to get informal feedback.

The workshop is open to students with any level of experience (including none) prepared to be part of a dynamic writing community. Students who have taken Crónicas y cuentos previously and students enrolling for the first time are welcome.

This FREE class takes place at the Boston Public Library’s Egleston Square branch, 2044 Columbus Ave, Roxbury, MA 02119.

Families welcome. Coffee and snacks provided. Teens are welcome to attend with an older relative. We will provide simple activities to keep young children occupied.

Who Should Register?

Write Down the Street has a special focus on making the creative writing workshop more accessible to those who have been underrepresented in it due to cost, racism, immigration status, language access, lack of access to transportation, and other barriers. We believe that these voices must be spotlighted with the range and fullness they deserve.

These programs are offered tuition-free thanks to the support of generous donors who are committed to our mission of ensuring all voices are heard.

***

Algunos de nosotros—los que tenemos imaginaciones hiperactivas, los que hemos sobrevivido lo que antes nos parecía imposible—no podemos evitar la sensación de que debiéramos escribirlo todo. Escribamos juntos nuestras historias. Por seis semanas leeremos y escribiremos ficciones y crónicas en un espacio bilingüe donde todos los escritores son bienvenidos: en español para los que lo prefieren, in English for those who prefer it, y espanglish para todos in between. Leeremos y discutiremos narrativa, ensayos, y crónicas con un énfasis en la obra de escritores latinos, latinoamericanos y caribeños. Cada semana utilizaremos ejercicios de escritura, juegos con el lenguaje, y charlas en pareja para enriquecer nuestro uso de lenguaje y el arte de contar cuentos. Por fin, compartiremos nuestros escritos para obtener comentarios constructivos.

¿Quien se debe matricular?

Autores a la vuelta tiene un enfoque especial en hacer más accesible los talleres de escritura creativa a las personas subrepresentadas debido al costo, racismo, estatus migratorio, barreras de idioma, falta de transporte adecuado, y otras barreras. Creemos que estas voces merecen ser destacadas en toda su plenitud y riqueza de expresión.

Estos programas son ofrecidos sin costo gracias al apoyo generoso de nuestros patrocinadores, quienes creen firmemente en nuestra misión de asegurar que toda voz sea escuchada.

Son bienvenidas las familias y los adolescentes que asisten con un padre u otro pariente. Hay café y meriendas. Proveeremos actividades sencillas para entretener a los niños.

La clase tomará lugar en el sucursal Egleston Square de la Biblioteca Pública de Boston, 2044 Columbus Ave, Roxbury, MA 02119.

*Photo: Gabriel Sosa*

Writing Marathon at The Village Works

Everybody has writing that they’ve been avoiding. Slay the beast!

Whether you’re plugging away at a book, a business plan, lines of code, your resume, or a letter to your elected officials, writing is easier in good company.

Join us for a night of not checking Instagram—and meet some neighbors while you’re at it. We’ll have The Village Works’s snacks, coffee, and productivity-optimized workspace to help us knock it out.

And if your creative writing is stuck and needs a boost of inspiration, come over early for Rekindle Your Craft at 5:30PM. Daphne Strassmann leads this free, monthly prompt-driven writing workshop. It’s low-key and accessible to writers of all levels. Learn more at rekindleyourcraft.com.

Tickets are free but limited!

Using What You Know To Write A Mystery

In this panel, award winning mystery writers Gina Fava, Sheila Connolly, and Sharon Healy-Yang discuss the tools you need to write the mystery that can only come from you.

Writing Retreat in Prague

JULIE MALONEY, director of WOMEN READING ALOUD, and JACQUELINE SHEEHAN, NYTimes bestselling author, will lead the writing workshops. Open to writers in all genres, workshops follow the Amherst Writers and Artists Method, emphasizing the exploration of the authentic “voice.” Julie hails from NJ and Jacqueline lives in MA. They have worked together for over ten years at the Writer’s Weekend Retreat in Sea Girt, New Jersey.

Rekindle Your Craft

Fire up those stagnant creative writing projects and join us for Rekindle Your Craft, a prompt-inspired writing night.

We work from one-word prompts, and sometimes images, and then go off and write for a set amount of time. Then, we gather back to see what the prompt did for us. You can share your work or your process if you want.

Bring your dinner or feast on our decadent snacks. We’d love to see you, so come to write with us.

Just show up. You don’t need to bring anything other than your writing tools.

The Village Works is graciously hosting us. They are by far the most fantastic coworking space in town.

It’s free!

P.S. We try to meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month!

The answer is YES:

You can bring friends

You can email me with questions daphne@strassmann.com

24/7 writing prompts and the latest Rekindle news at rekindleyourcraft.com

Image credit: Thesaurus.plus

Writing Marathon at The Village Works

Writing Marathon at The Village Works

Thursday Janurary 24, 7:00-10:30PM

Everybody has writing that they’ve been avoiding. Slay the beast!

Whether you’re plugging away at a book, a business plan, lines of code, your resume, or a letter to your elected officials, writing is easier in good company.

And if your creative writing is stuck and needs a boost of inspiration, come over early for Rekindle Your Craft at 6:30PM. Daphne Strassmann leads this free, monthly prompt-driven writing workshop. It’s low-key and accessible to writers of all levels. Learn more at rekindleyourcraft.com.

Tickets are free but limited!

The Village Works is a neighborhood coworking space in Brookline Village with meeting rooms, and events, and flexible memberships for shared workspace.