The inaugural Writing Down the Jaguar features four workshops. Follow a link below, or scroll down for all workshops:
- Elemental Poetry, led by Simmons B. Buntin
- Focused on Writing: Combining Words and Images, led by Scott Calhoun
- The Full-Throttle Narrative, led by Ken Lamberton
- Write What You See: Screenwriting, led by Dawn Sellers
Elemental Poetry
Simmons B. Buntin
Walt Whitman writes of an elemental nature that will "dart upon me, and sting me, / Because I have dared to open my mouth, to sing at all." In the hands-on sessions of Elemental Poetry — a workshop geared to poetry writers of all levels — we will also dare to open our mouths, to sing out in verse among the wild vistas of the Sierra Azul. In the morning sessions we will read and discuss poets who write searing poetry of landscape, from A.R. Ammons to Jimmy Santiago Baca to Mexican poet Tedi Lopez Mills. We will also undertake writing exercises to generate new poems. In the afternoon sessions, we will workshop our poems in a supportive environment, with an eye on the poetry of place and with the goal of more deeply understanding the earth, wind, fire, and water that is poetry. We will then walk away with at least two new poems of our own, poems ready to dart and sting in their own right.
Focused on Writing: Combining Words and Images
Scott Calhoun
Modern digital cameras make it possible to photograph almost anything anywhere. Learn how to use photos as a springboard into place-based essays and how to combine essays and photos to deepen your readers’ sensory connections with your work. Join Scott Calhoun for a small hands-on class where images will serve as writing prompts. Participants will contribute to a closing slide show and reading on the final night of the workshop. Bring whatever camera you have (preferably digital) and the cord you use to connect your camera to a computer. Each participant will receive a copy of the book, Cultivating Words, by Paula Panich.
The Full-Throttle Narrative
Ken Lamberton
At the core of all good writing is compelling storytelling. That story depends on a narrative, one that should be riveting, subtle, and comprehensible. It has key features: arc, purpose, pace, detail. The reader should forget that your work is written on paper and be transported. This class tackles the basics putting together such a full-throttle narrative, exposing you and your subject in words. It also looks at how we discern stories, how we find the conceptual core for a written piece and stick to it. This is a workshop on gathering stories, honing them down to a workable narrative, and crafting them into something the reader won’t want to put down. It will be helpful to both fiction and nonfiction writers of any skill level. We will each come away with at least one solid piece of writing that accomplishes what we set out to do: tell a good story.
Write What You See: Screenwriting
Dawn Sellers
Screenwriting is a visual narrative. In pictures, words or both, a compelling film leads us with our eyes to places that hit our hearts. Learning to ‘write what you see’ is key to uncovering your talent as a screenwriter, but it is also essential writing great fiction and nonfiction. This workshop will walk you though a proven process that will result in a solid understanding of how to create scenes that link together and build from an intriguing inciting incident to an exciting climax and satisfying resolution. Starting with screenplay format, we’ll then troubleshoot idea selection, plots, character arcs, dialogue and scene development so you develop confidence in your ability to write a visual narrative. Bring your idea, your memoir, your short story or your novel and be prepared to write what you see!
