Radio Station KFKD :: October Creative Writing Class

Join the River City Writers in our next creative writing workshop: Radio Station KFKD, a four-week exploration of four chapters in Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life. In this seminal craft book, author Anne Lamott offers a book-load of writing advice in her trademark style of hilarity and soul. Lamott says that the single greatest obstacle to discovering your own voice is Radio Station KFKD, which "If you are not careful, will play in your head twenty-four hours a day, nonstop, in stereo..." She talks about how one ear recites one's specialness, and the other self-loathing. How does a writer get quiet, stop the racket, and become open to creativity?

One way to turn off the noise inside your head is through group workshopping, joining together in community to push, pull, and prod words, sentences, and paragraphs, transforming them into -- eventually -- understanding, meaning, and purpose. (With generous doses of kindness, of course. We don't shut down writers.) 

In this class we will examine four specific chapters in the book, through discussion, writing, reading aloud (always optional) and in-class work-shopping with strong facilitation (for those who choose to have your pieces discussed.) This will be a safe place to explore your own writing voice, always pushing forward to greater development. Toward the end of the course, we'll discuss the possibility of presenting a public reading. (As we did in August, and it was awesome.)

These are the chapters that will shape our discussions and writing:

Class One - October 3 -- Polaroids (39-43)
Class Two - October 10 -- Radio Station KFKD (116-121)
Class Three - October 17 -- Index Cards (133 - 144)
Class Four - Finding Your Voice (195 - 201)

It is recommended to acquire your own book. (It's likely to be readily available at your local independent bookseller, Beaverdale Books, Half Price bookstore, or any behemoth bookstore chain.)

Thursdays, October 3,10, 17, 24
7-9 p.m.
Smokey Row Café in Des Moines

$50 for all four weeks (prorated for three or less). Class will be limited to 12 people to allow for maximum in-class writing, reading and discussion, as requested in recent student evaluations. Please pay online or in class. (Scholarships available based on need. Talk to the instructor, Terri Mork Speirs.)

To register: Send me an email. Or chat with me in person, or send a message through the box on the left.

Instructor: Terri Mork Speirs

Writers Night Out :: Original Readings

>>Thank you for the wonderful evening! More coverage here.

You're invited to an evening of readings by River City Writers, with special guest Miyoko Hikiji, author of "All I Could Be."

River City Writers Night Out :: Original Readings
Sunday, August 25, 2013
5 - 7 p.m.
Java Joe's 4th Street Theatre, 214 4th St, Des Moines, Iowa

Free! Bring your family, friends, and children. Get your snack and beverage from the café and head into the theatre.

Featured readers include:

Kirsten LaBlanc

Billie Wade
Diane Dornburg

Larry Christiansen

Terri Mork Speirs

 

and special guest: Miyoko Hikiji, author of "All I Could Be."

 

Ms. Hikiji will be available for chatting
and book signing following the reading.
Her book is available at Beaverdale Books,
and may be available for sale at
the River City Writers Night Out event.

~

Next River City Writers' workshop: Radio Station KFKD, a four-week exploration of Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird." October 3,10, 17, 24, 7-9 p.m., at Smokey Row Café in Des Moines. Sign up to receive more information: email Terri Mork Speirs. $50 for all four weeks (prorated for three weeks or less). Class will be limited to 12 people to allow for maximum in-class writing, reading and discussion, as requested in recent student evaluations. Watch for more information.

 

Song of Myself - Summer Creative Writing Workshop

Appropriate for adults of all writing levels.

7 - 9 p.m. Thursdays, July 11, July 18, July 25, August 1, 2013

Caribou Coffee Community Room, Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa

Poet Walt Whitman writes, "I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume." And author Marianne Williamson writes, "Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you." These writers suggest that to be in relationship with others is to understand the self, is to be in relationship with others, is to understand the self . . . you get the idea. Raccoon City Writers is pleased to offer this four week course exploring one's self and relationships, by plugging into the electricity of everyday life, the good, the bad, and the incredibly mundane, through creative writing. 

The class will be structured around literary reading, writing, and discussion. We will be reading and learning from authors such as Joan Didion, Anne Lamott, David Foster Wallace, and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway. Plus we will discover some wonderful emerging writers. Mostly, we will do an awful lot of original writing in class (with absolutely no judgement). The primary teaching method will be carefully facilitated group discussion. The course will be structured as follows:

Week one, July 11 - Objects of memory (writing tool: setting)
Week two, July 18 - Body and soul scars (writing tool: metaphor)
Week three, July 25 - Letters, the kind you may never send (writing tool: character)
Week four, August 1 - Extracting the extraordinary (writing tool: observation)

Whether you are aspiring to write your book, are curious about your untapped writing potential, want to hone your sills, or have no idea what the heck you're going after -- you are welcome here. The course is designed to work in progression and also for each class to stand alone. You may sign up for all four weeks (recommended, of course!) or drop in for just one class (which is totally cool too). 

Let's sing electric through words, ideas, and life experience!

Appropriate for adults of all writing levels.

7 - 9 p.m. Thursdays, July 11, July 18, July 25, August 1, 2013

Caribou Coffee Community Room, Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa

$50 for all four sessions

$15 drop in rate per class 

This workshop is designed to build from one class to the next,
and also for each class to stand alone.

Advanced registration is not required, but appreciated. To register or for questions, please send a private message in the box at the left side of this webpage, or just leave a message below this post.

The course is adapted with much gratitude, and by permission, from materials developed by Sarah Marty-Schlipf for the classes she taught at the Federal Corrections Institute in Pekin, Illinois.

Instructor: Terri Mork Speirs, holds an M.F.A in Creative Writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles, specializing in creative nonfiction. Terri has taught composition classes at the Des Moines Area Community College and is an experienced group facilitator. She is committed to creating a safe space for students to unleash their creativity and harness their authentic selves. Terri is deeply grateful to her mentors and classmates at Antioch for teaching her how to read, write, and share.