Inside a Community Writing Workshop
It’s been a while since I’ve been in the classroom, so when I went into the Pendleton Public Library the first week of March, I was nervous and excited - like the first day of a new semester.
While I wasn’t teaching a class, I was leading workshops, for teens no less! Would they engage with the material? Would I be able to talk to them on their level? Would they…like it? Or find it helpful?
The first group was middle schoolers, grades 6-8, and the second group was high schoolers grades 9-12. I don’t typically work with teens, but I figured if they were interested in creative writing at the library, they would probably be students like I was at that age.
They didn’t disappoint!
Both workshops were about stories in movies. For the middle schoolers (which I call the “youngers” in my head), we analyzed the Shrek trailer and looked at how much you could tell about a story just from the 2 1/2 minutes. To my great surprise, Shrek is still popular with middle schoolers!
The girls who attended were cheerful and ready to get into it. They were so fun and more confident than many adults I work with. It very much reminded me of a time when I was handwriting my first novels on lined notebook paper. They really dug into the exercises and were ready to learn and participate. A far cry from the trepidation I had when I first arrived.
Two short days later, I was back in the library with the high schoolers. We did similar activities but focused on more of the nuances of writing using the original Ghostbusters trailer from 1984 and the newer remake with a female cast from 2016.
What I think I look like during writing workshops.
Photo credits: Chaz T Photography
Personally, I enjoy both so I was excited to hear what they thought. My main participant hadn’t seen either version, so it was kind of perfect - a way to see how much you can really tell from a trailer.
After all, movie trailers are just summaries of movies just like you read a summary of a book.
She, too, caught on quickly and remained engaged. I wondered if I was talking too much, but she asked if I would keep going and sharing more information. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked to talk MORE outside of clarifying questions.
What I actually look like - we have fun!
It was pretty cool, and I can’t wait to do the second round of workshops at the end of March. We’re going to be talking about fan fiction, which should be fun. I’ll have to brush up on what’s popular, as I’m sure it’s changed since I was young, and writing fan fiction myself!
A Few Logistics
This is my first foray into community workshops, and thus far it has been a great experience. I’m a big fan of the library, always have been, and always will be, so this opportunity immediately jumped out as something I had to take.
My librarian contact has made the process easy!
I created the flyer, the workbooks for each age group (same foundation, different activities), and a super simple PowerPoint for the workshop itself. If you’ve been around for a bit, you probably know that I love cute and visually engaging materials because I get so jazzed about writing.
I’m working on figuring out how to repurpose them because truly, the basics are the same no matter what level of writing you’re starting with. You can see a preview of some of the pages below - what do you think?
The workshops lasted about an hour each, and although they were small groups, both were fun and engaging for all of us. Although my passion is working with adults, it’s safe to say the kids are a-okay in my book.
Interested in Hosting or Attending a Workshop?
One of my goals for 2023 is to get out in the community and interact with writers from all walks of life. It’s okay if you don’t think of yourself as a writer, too! I’d be happy to talk about setting up a workshop even if you just want to see what it’s all about.
If you want to learn more about my philosophy of writing first, you can grab a copy of my book Storytelling for Everyday People: A feel-good, no bullsh*t guide to telling the story in your heart.
If you want to get to know me a little before we connect, I totally get it - there are many great successful writers I don’t vibe with. Happy to connect and just have a chat, too. The best place to find me is on LinkedIn, Instagram, or through the Contact form.