WRITING ABOUT PLACE by Bernadette Geyer
START DATE: This class is currently closed.
DURATION: 4 weeks
COURSE DESCRIPTION: What role does “place” play in your writing? How can you effectively evoke a place in your writing—be it poetry or prose? How do you write about interior or dreamed spaces? How have travel writers and other authors successfully written about place? Themed lessons will be posted weekly, featuring example poems, articles, essays, and links to additional reading. Participants will submit drafts weekly for thoughtful, individual feedback from the instructor.
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“Writing About Place” was the catalyst that launched my passion as a travel writer! The course material was engaging and the feedback Bernadette provided on the assignments was specific and helpful. If you are looking for a writing course to help you capture the essence of location and place, this is the course for you! ~ M. Shannon Hernandez, Author, Speaker & World-Traveler
This workshop helped me revise a novel. Bernadette provides strong, clear, timely feedback. I would love to take another four weeks with this same group! ~ Eileen G.
Interesting, stimulating, and fun is how I describe Bernadette Geyer's workshop on “place.” And her feedback is so valuable, I give it a First Place! ~ Peg O.
I’ve taken Bernadette’s workshop twice and I’m waiting in the wings for the next one.
There is no pressure, just information and inspiration. ~ Catherine H.
I was stuck on a writing project that meant so much to me. I could not get started on an article about a trip to the high Arctic. It was a wondrous trip, but I was overwhelmed by the idea of getting the place and adventure down on paper. A description of Bernadette Geyer’s 4 week workshop “Writing About Place” made me wonder, What could be more inspiring, more likely to crash through my writers’ block that this workshop?! I made the right choice and signed up. Feedback from Bernadette and fellow workshop participants was constructive and always kind. I loved reading their suggestions and comments and enjoyed reciprocating. In addition to assignments and feedback were readings (poems, essays and stories) offering relevant examples to inspire us each week. I certainly enjoyed Bernadette’s beautifully organized, creative course, Writing About Place, and recommend it. ~ Debbie F.
Bernadette was a wonderful and inspiring teacher; even on the internet she really connected with and brought together a vibrant writing community—not the case with all online writing workshops. I learned much about poetry through Bernadette’s well planned exercises and readings, my own poetry was encouraged by Bernadette’s thoughtful and imaginative prompts, and my writing and style improved by virtue of her feedback ~ Laurie S.
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WEEKS AT A GLANCE:
Week 1 - Urban Settings
How have other writers effectively written about cities in their work? Instructor will post themed handouts, links, and example works of prose and poetry on the subject of writing about urban settings.
Assignment: Students will submit a poem or work of short prose about an urban setting for instructor feedback.
Week 2 - Rural Settings
How have authors and poets effectively written about rural settings in their work? Instructor will post themed handouts, links, and example works of prose and poetry on the subject of writing about rural settings, including farms and the countryside.
Assignment: Students will submit a poem or work of short prose about a rural setting for instructor feedback.
Week 3 - Interior and Imagined Spaces
How do authors and poets effectively write about imagined or fantastical spaces? What are some ways authors have written about interior spaces, such as inside the mind or body? Instructor will post themed handouts, links, and example works of prose and poetry on these subjects.
Assignment: Students will submit a poem or work of short prose about an imagined space, or an interior space (mind/body) for instructor feedback.
Week 4 - Getting Specific: Writing About a Particular Place
How do authors and poets describe a specific place so that it cannot be mistaken for any other place? Instructor will post themed handouts, links, and example works of prose and poetry on the subject of writing about a specific place.
Assignment: Students will submit a poem or work of short prose about a specific place for instructor feedback.
Materials needed: Workshop materials will be posted on a password-secure web site, and assignment/feedback correspondence will be conducted via emails between the instructor and students. Registered students will receive an email with the link and password on the first day of the workshop.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Bernadette Geyer is the author of a full-length poetry collection, The Scabbard of Her Throat, and a poetry chapbook, What Remains. She is the recipient of a Strauss Fellowship from the Arts Council of Fairfax County (Virginia, USA) and was a finalist for the 2011 Brittingham and Pollak Prizes. Geyer has served in the past on editorial boards of an independent press and literary journal, and has led workshops for The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She lives in Berlin, Germany, where she works as a freelance writer, editor, and translator. Her web site can be found at https://www.bernadettegeyer.com.
COST: $100, which includes weekly assignments and individual feedback from the instructor.
BUY NOW: Writing About Place with Bernadette Geyer (4 weeks, starting 2/26/2018) Limit: 10 students. Early registration is recommended.
This class is now closed. Please check here for our current schedule.
For Class Session Starting 2/26/2018
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Notes: Upon successful completion of payment, your name, email address, and contact info will be submitted to your instructor. Just before class begins, she will e-mail you with instructions on how to get started.
Questions? Email Marcia & Angela at:
classroom[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com
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