Do stories or poems interest you? Do you want to learn how to write creatively? The Teen Writers Workshop offers 4 weekly sessions to help young writers learn ways to express themselves creatively through the written word. In a relaxed and fun environment using prompts, props and small groups, we’ll explore several genres—poems, short stories, and essays. Along the way, we’ll read and discuss unusual stories and essays to help inspire you on your creative journey.

Week 1 – June 24 Unleashing Your Wild Writing Self – Poetry and Prompts

Why write? We’ll use poems to help us unlock ideas and find inspiration.

Week 2 – July 1 Writing What’s “Real” – Creative Nonfiction

We’ll use objects and other techniques to explore ways to write personal essays.

Week 3 – July 8 Finding Fascination with Fiction

We’ll turn everything we’ve just learned on its head and use it to create imagined worlds.

Week 4 – July 15 Final Touches – Revising and Sharing. We’ll put it all together. We’ll create a group booklet to share our work and practice reading it out loud.

Bring: Paper notebook (spiral, bound, or loose) and pen or pencil.

Very short readings will be provided as handouts or as website links.

Instructor:

Lisa Lopez Snyder is a fiction writer and essayist, and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of South Carolina. Her essay, “In Transit,” won The Chattahoochee Review 2011 Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction, and her work has been published in The Raleigh Review, The Scrambler, and other publications, and has been nominated for various awards. She has taught writing fiction and memoir workshops in the community for writers of all ages. She believes creative writing is a powerful way to help young people discover their most real, expressive selves. She lives in Hanover, NH, and teaches freshman composition at Dartmouth College.