How do we take the sprawl of our lives and distill the right moments to deliver that umph of the most effective stories? How do we magnify the electricity in the mundane? This generative workshop will focus on isolation and compression, on finding narrative “heat” in our memories, our selves, and all the selves we’ve been. We will discuss structures and strategies one uses to render work inspired by our own experiences and the compromises and thrills that come with that responsibility. The scaffolding behind published works will serve as blueprints and gateways for generative writing exercises, and we will workshop submissions (all genres welcome) with the writer leading the way.

Please be ready to submit a workshop piece no longer than 12 pages at the start of the workshop.