Writing Workshops – Salem Happenings

A Creative Writing Workshop for Kids

Do you have a young aspiring writer in your household or a child that might like to explore the power of the written word? Well, if you do, there’s no better way for a young writer (or any writer for that matter) to improve their writing skills than to study the techniques of others and put those techniques into practice. As a result, if you’re looking for a way to give your young aspiring writer the opportunity to truly hone their craft, you may want to check out the Youth Creative Writing Workshop with Laura Lovett at Storybook Cove. Storybook Cove, which is a bookstore located in the Hanover Mall in Hanover, MA, is hosting a writing workshop for children ages 8 to 11 from 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. on Saturday (June 4, 2016). This workshop will teach your child to craft plotlines, develop characters, and establish settings for poems and stories so that your child can create their own literary works and share them with the world (or, at the very least, the rest of the people at the workshop). For more information on the Youth Creative Writing Workshop and other Pen to Paper Workshops at Storybook Cove, please visit the Storybook Cove website or call 781-826-6060.

Photo via Visualhunt.com

The Story of Your Life (or Someone Else’s)

Has your life been one long series of unfortunate events? Have you ever had something spiral out of control to the point that everyone was making much ado about nothing. Have you ever met someone that seemed like Dr. Jekyll one moment and Mr. or Mrs. Hyde the next? Do you have a great story to tell?

Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be looking for a way to convey your story. A way to tell others what you have experienced or show them a world that they have never seen before. A way to demonstrate something new or something that you have re-imagined in a way that only you could. And, if this is indeed the case and you’re looking for a way to pass your story on to others, there are a couple of writing workshops this weekend that are sure to help you convey your story through the written word.

First, if you’re looking for a way to tell your life story or a story that is at least based on an aspect of your life, you may want to check out the Write Your Life Memoir Writing Workshop at the Brushstrokes Art Gallery in Marblehead, MA. The Write Your Life Memoir Writing Workshop, which is scheduled to take place from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Saturday (March 28, 2015) is a writing workshop run by Scribbler’s Ink. This workshop will feature a catered lunch, snacks, beverages, and most importantly, writing exercises and techniques that are designed to help you take a single event from your life or a group of events and weave them into a story. For more information on the Write Your Life Memoir Writing Workshop and/or to register for the event, please visit the Scribbler’s Ink website.

Secondly, if you’re looking for a way to write a very short story whether it is fact of fiction, the Flash Fiction Workshop may be exactly what you’re looking for. The Flash Fiction Workshop, which is scheduled to take place at the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. on Saturday (March 28, 2015), is a writing workshop hosted by JP Reads. This workshop will teach you the basic elements of flash fiction and use a series of writing exercises and prompts to help you create your own piece of flash fiction centered around the theme of a “reluctant hero.” Best of all, this workshop is completely free and open to all teens and adults (although space is limited, so you may want to preregister.) For more information on the Flash Fiction Workshop, please visit the Flash Fiction Workshop Facebook page or call 617-524-2053.

Photo credit: William Arthur Fine Stationery / Foter / CC BY-ND

Aspiring Artists, Photographers, and Writers

Last week I talked about some of the ways that we can inspire creativity in our children, but after writing that post, something occurred to me. Why should kids have all the fun? There are plenty of workshops, conventions, and other similar activities that are designed for people of all ages, so what’s actually stopping the adults among us from seeking out ways to inspire our own creativity? In fact, if you’re an aspiring artist, an aspiring photographer, or an aspiring writer, there’s really no reason that you can’t join in on the fun and explore some of the great creative opportunities this weekend.

First, if you’re an aspiring artist or an aspiring cartoonist, there is probably no better place to be this weekend than DrawnCon. DrawnCon, which is scheduled to take place at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, MA from 9:00 A.M. tomorrow (Saturday, November 15, 2014) to 6:00 P.M. Sunday (November 16, 2014), is one of the largest conventions dedicated to Western art and animation in the Northeast. This convention will allow you to learn what makes a cartoon work and what doesn’t, learn the finer points of voice acting from actual voice actors, learn how to draw your favorite cartoon characters, learn about costuming, learn about the worst and greatest cartoons past and present, audition for your own voice acting role, and a whole lot more. For more information on DrawnCon, please visit the official DrawnCon website.

Secondly, if you’re an aspiring photographer, there is a very interesting workshop this weekend at the Plymouth Center for the Arts (and I don’t mean “interesting” in the “wow, that’s weird” sense.) This is because the Plymouth Center for the Arts is hosting an i-Phonography Workshop with Rad Drew. This workshop will teach you how to use your iPhone to take pictures and use apps and processing techniques to create beautiful images that convey whatever effect you desire. For more information on the i-Phonography Workshop with Rad Drew, please visit the Plymouth Center for the Arts website.

Finally, if you’re an aspiring writer, there is another free talk at the Cambridge Public Library tomorrow (November 15, 2014) that is definitely worth checking out. Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, a writing professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and an award-winning essay writer, will discuss how to convey a truly engaging character from 2:30 to 3:00 P.M. Saturday. For more information on the talk, which is part of the Free Writing Craft Talk series at the Library, please visit the Cambridge Public Library’s Event Calendar.

Photo credit: Photo Extremist / Foter / CC BY

Inspiring Your Child’s Creativity

My oldest niece turned 16 last week, and it got me thinking. Is it ever really too early to start inspiring a child’s creativity? I mean all of the doctors, psychologists, teachers, and child development experts will certainly tell you that the earlier you start reading to your child and encouraging his or her creativity, the better off your child will be in the long run. However, does it really make sense to sign your 6-month old up for a book club or a writing workshop? Probably not.

Yet, if you give it some thought, you may come to the same somewhat startling, but not completely shocking realization that I came to. The experts are probably right. We live in a world where the flower girl at your wedding could be old enough to drive your car in the blink of an eye, which means that we all have a lot less time than we think. As a result, it’s always a good idea to use the time that we do have wisely, and if you’re looking for a way to inspire your child’s creativity while you can, there are some events this weekend that are sure to help.

First, if your child is an aspiring filmmaker or you would like your child to be, you may want to head over to the Boston International Kids Film Festival this weekend. This festival, which runs from 6:00 P.M. today (November 7, 2014) to approximately 5:00 P.M. on Sunday (November 9, 2014), will allow you and your children to view a series of short films that are specifically designed for kids as well as films that are actually directed and/or produced by kids. In fact, the festival will not only feature over 50 short kids films, but will also feature a number of workshops that will teach you and/or your family how to make your own movie and how to use social media more effectively. For more information on the Boston International Kids Film Festival (BIKFF), please visit the BIKFF website.

Secondly, if your child is one of those fine, upstanding individuals that turns his or her nose up at anything but the theatre or you’re just looking for an opportunity to get some embarrassing photos that will haunt your child for years to come, you may want to encourage your child to check out the Natick Drama Workshop. The Natick Drama Workshop is a 10-week drama program that is designed to teach young actors the finer points of performing on the stage. This program will allow your child to audition for a drama troop of 40 – 60 students and, if they get a part, rehearse to perform in front of an actual audience at the Kennedy Middle School in Natick as part of a full production complete with costumes, sets, and props. Registration for this year’s workshop is currently closed and there is already a waiting list for next year, but you and your children can still get tickets to see their production of Wonderland this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (November 7 – 9, 2014) if you want to see what it’s like. For more information on the Natick Drama Workshop and/or Wonderland, please visit the Natick Drama Workshop website.

Finally, if you or your slightly older child has an undeniable love of writing or you’ve been reading all of this and thinking “my kid could write better than this guy”, there is a free writing talk at the Cambridge Public Library this weekend. Margot Livesey, writer-in-residence at Emerson College and award-winning author of the novel The Flight of Gemma Hardy, will discuss how to create engaging dialogue from 2:30 to 3:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, November 8, 2014.) For more information on the talk, which is part of the Free Writing Craft Talk series at the Library, please visit the Cambridge Public Library’s Event Calendar.

Photo credit: adplayers / Foter / CC BY-ND

Exploring Your Heritage

When someone mentions the word “heritage,” you probably think of a list of long-gone relatives and all of the places that they were originally from. In fact, you may even know a little bit about the history of some of your more famous or infamous ancestors (depending on how interested you are in your own family’s history.) However, when you stop and think about it, you may know a lot about your own family’s history, but how much do you really know about the history of the city that you’re living in? I mean if someone asked, would you know if your city had once been a major trading port? A breeding ground for smugglers and pirates? The site of a literal witch hunt? Or anything else about the major events that had an impact on the place that you live today?

Well, if you would like to learn more about a city that has been all of these things and more, there’s no better time than now to visit Salem. This is because Salem, MA is hosting its 53rd Annual Heritage Days Celebration, which is a 10-day festival that demonstrates just how much fun Salem can be. This festival, which runs from now until Sunday, August 10th, will feature an antique car show, a bike race, concerts, clowns, dance performances, ice cream samples as part of the Ice Scream Bowl, a kid’s night filled with rides and games, a pizza competition, a street fair, writing and book binding workshops, and a whole lot more. Best of all, most of the events during Heritage Days are completely free, and the events that do include a fee (usually $3 to $5 a person) will typically include food or rides. For more information on Salem’s Heritage Days, including a full schedule, please visit the Official Salem, MA Guide website.

Photo credit: Mr.TinDC / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)