Loosely inspired by Columbia College’s Writers Workshop and shaped by 40+ years as a storyteller and arts educator, this hands-on experience brings students into the writing process through spoken word, movement, and imagination.
Sessions are filled with age-appropriate, high-energy activities designed to build confidence, spark creativity, and make writing a little bit more joyful for each student. They are invited to try writing with passion, courage and playfulness and along the way discover that they already carry everything they need to create meaningful, funny, beautiful, or heartfelt personal, fictional, or nonfiction narratives.
In a pre-visit phone call, teachers and I collaborate to tailor the workshop for their classrooms. You can choose:
• A broad-based Writer’s Workshop, introducing “habits of a good writer” through playful practice and light writing
or
• A session that focuses in part on one specific stage* of the narrative writing process—best if your class is already working on a narrative and could use a creative boost
Workshops run between 45 and 90 minutes and are designed to meet students where they are, helping them move forward in their writing with determination, energy and joy..
* Here’s a quick sampling of five possible focus areas in a Personal Narrative unit:
• Generating Ideas
We jump-start the writing process by gathering a sack full of “seed moments” from the treasure chest of our lives—tiny memories ready to grow into stories.
• Shaping the Framework
Students shape their stories into a creative graphic organizer by first telling them aloud, then drawing and adding subtitles to each key moment—like “First,” “Then,” “Next,” “After that,” and “In the end.”
• Writing Great Leads
We aim to write openings that draw the reader or listener into the world of our stories with curiosity and excitement.
• Revising with Expressive Details
We “relive” key moments in our stories and expand them using vivid sensory details that bring the writing to life.
• Sharing Our Stories
We learn how to present our writing aloud using facial expressions, gestures, and vocal energy—building confidence and highlighting each student’s unique flair.
