Register your young writer for spring classes

Richmond Young Writers Spring Intensive courses are open for registration!

January 24, 2014; 6:00 AM • by Valerie Catrow

Richmond Young Writers has put together a great offering of Spring Intensive courses where kids ages nine through 17 can dig in and get their creative juices flowing under the guidance of some of Richmond’s most talented local writers. Classes meet once a week for five or six weeks and cost $120 per student. All classes meet in the upstairs art gallery of Chop Suey Books (2913 W. Cary Street) unless otherwise noted. Spring Intensives start the second week of February, so no dilly-dallying! Get those kiddos signed up!

Registration forms can be found here. You can pay via PayPal when you sign up online or send checks (made payable to Richmond Young Writers) to:

Richmond Young Writers
1202 Hillside Avenue
Richmond, VA
23229

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Dark Chasms, Bright Glaciers: Writing Magical Realism

• Mondays, February 10th-March 17th, 4:30 — 6:00 PM
• Ages 15-17
• Teacher: Bird Cox
• Description: You can weave fantastic spells with language, even about the most ordinary of things. This is the power of writing. Your readers might come away with a new perspective on, say, sweeping the kitchen floor, that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives (and potentially transform that task into something at least mildly more enjoyable). This workshop will focus on writing relatable fiction with a twinkly, not-quite-of-this-world element peeking out of the cracks.

Fairy Tale Remix

• Tuesdays, February 11-March 18, 4:30 — 6:00 PM
• Ages 9-11
• Teacher: Suzanne Reamy
• Description: Do you dream of slaying wild beasts, outwitting treacherous queens, or saving precious kingdoms? Do you have an uncanny ability to spot the pure of heart? Join us as we enter the mystical world of fairies, dragons, goblins, trolls, dwarves, giants, witches and more. Create your own magic as we take a modern spin on some very old tales!

Homeschool Day Class: Wild Word Stampede

• Wednesdays, February 12th-March 12th (5 classes), 11:00 AM — 1:00 PM
• Ages 9-12
• Teacher: Julie Geen
• Description: Get ready to capture and tame your own wild story. We will go into the depths of your mind and bring out your ideas with all manner of fun writing prompts and games. Who knows what is in there? Just be ready. You will have a gaggle of ideas and a flock of characters in no time.

Compilation Nation A

• Wednesdays, February 12th-March 19th,4:30 — 6:00 PM
• Ages 12-14
• Teacher: Bird Cox
• Description: This workshop’s for writers who like flash fiction, fast-paced raw material generation, making lists, polishing short works and discovering what they can do with their writing in the real world. We’ll make and edit work and select at least one journal, competition or blog to submit it to, and we’ll come away with a fat notebook full of concepts for future writing projects.

IRL: A Creative Nonfiction Radio Diary Workshop

• Mondays, March 31st-May 12th (no class on April 14th), 4:30 — 6:00 PM
• Ages 12-14
• Teacher: Bird Cox
• Description: Special new workshop! Ever listened to This American Life? That’s the general idea behind IRL. We’re going to write, discuss and tweak works of nonfiction AND fiction to record in our own voices and edit into a radio-style show. We might even take to the streets and ask our burning questions to some people, like, IRL.

Homeschool Day Class: Taming the Wild Story

• Wednesdays, March 26th-April 23rd (5 classes), 11:00 AM — 1:00 PM
• Ages 9-12
• Teacher: Julie Geen
• Description: Bring your ideas from Wild Word Stampede, or just bring yourself. We’re going to trot out your story idea and make it do what you want. Through games and positive feedback, you will learn how to make plot, dialogue and character work for you. By the time class is done, you will have your story on paper and it might even know how to fetch!

Fairy Tale Remix

• Tuesdays, April 1st-May 13th (no class April 15th), 4:30 — 6:00 PM
• Location: Taza Coffee, 5047 Forest Hill Avenue
• Ages 9-11
• Teacher: Suzanne Reamy
• Description: Do you dream of slaying wild beasts, outwitting treacherous queens, or saving precious kingdoms? Do you have an uncanny ability to spot the pure of heart? Join us as we enter the mystical world of fairies, dragons, goblins, trolls, dwarves, giants, witches and more. Create your own magic as we take a modern spin on some very old tales!

Compilation Nation B

• Wednesdays, April 2nd-May 14th (no class on April 16th), 4:30-6pm
• Ages 15-17
• Teacher: Bird Cox
• Description: Let’s get you published somewhere! In addition to the flash fiction, fast-paced raw material generation, list-making and polishing of works that we’ll be doing, we’ll also be taking a critical look at how to get our work out there in the world. We’ll select several journals, competitions or blogs to submit it to, and we’ll come away with a fat notebook full of concepts for future writing projects.

Stranger Than Fiction: Writing From Life, 15-17

• Thursdays, April 3rd – May 15th (no class April 17th), 4:30-6pm
• Ages 15-17
• Teacher: Valley Haggard
• Description: Interested in flash nonfiction, essays, blog posts, 6 word memoirs, brilliantly crafted status updates? In this class, we’ll borrow the best techniques of fiction to cull moments and write stories from our own lives, drawing on dreams, memories and observations to write with a blend of truth and imagination. Using prompts designed to blast through writer’s block we will explore the ways our own perspectives and insights lead to the stuff of narrative poetry, personal essay, memoir and fiction.

For more information–including details on the folks who will be teaching these young writers–visit richmondyoungwriters.com.

Photo by: qwrrty

January 24, 2014 6:00 AM 0