BY LIZ MATTHEWS

I have had the pleasure of teaching and coaching writers who consider themselves beginners (or beginning again) for the past eight years, and a few themes have emerged over the years. As September is almost upon us, I thought it would be helpful to share some of these insights for those who are thinking of joining (or rejoining us) in the fall.

Every person in the workshop feels nervous – even the instructor! Without that fear, we probably wouldn’t have signed up. So if you’re nervous, you’re in good company. I’ve noticed that people receive our emails in some cases for years before finally deciding to take the plunge and sign up. We’re all on our own journeys and make the best decisions we can, but I share this just to let you know you’re not alone if this is you too…

You do not need to show up with an idea. In fact, as Robert Olen Butler says “Beware the idea…” You just need a desire to write. If you have an idea, bring it along, but especially for our beginner and prompt workshops, you only need to show up with a notebook and pen (or laptop if you prefer), and our instructors will guide you towards finding your story. We provide prompts which are usually questions to get you writing along with excerpts from prose and poetry for inspiration. 

You will learn as much from the other writers as your instructors – if not more! The beauty of a writing workshop is that it’s a group of people who’ve come together to write and share their writing. In giving feedback and listening to others’ feedback, you will learn more about the craft of writing – sometimes even more than when you receive feedback. And who are these workshop participants? We are fortunate to welcome people of all ages (eighteen and older), from all walks of life (and from all over the country in our remote or hybrid workshops). We have scientists, lawyers, teachers, engineers, stay-at-home parents, dog walkers, artists, doctors, nurses, financiers–honeslty all of it. One of the great pleasures of these groups is spending time with people you normally wouldn’t cross paths with.

You will want to keep coming back. I’m not just saying this. You will find what you’re looking for, namely the community and accountability that you’ve probably been lacking. Maybe you’ll discover you want to try fiction, and sign up for our short story workshop or anatomy of a novel next, or maybe you’ll realize you want to write more about your life and choose one of our essay or memoir workshops. Rarely does a writer join us who doesn’t continue in some form or another. 

Bottom line: Writing is an art not a science so there is no one way to approach this craft–joing a workshop like ours shines a light in the many directions you can travel on your personal writing journey. We are here to support our writers and guide them along their way. Whether you’re just curious or ready to revise and submit that novel, we have workshops for all levels and genres. We also have many community events including free instructor and student readings and fundraisers.