Dawn Deanna Wilson’s “Creating Memorable Characters”

Author/Artist Dawn DeAnna Wilson

The Pen and Paper Lounge welcomes Author/Artist Dawn DeAnna Wilson to Winterville on April 5, 2014 . Ms. Wilson will facilitate Creating Memorable Characters, part of writing workshop series. Ms. Wilson will provide a hands-on workshop for beginner to intermediate writers (even the secret ones.) Bring a notebook, pen and prepare to create unforgettable characters.

The workshop will be held at The Coffee Shack 168 Beacon Drive in Winterville on Saturday, April 5, 2014 from 10 am-12:30 pm. A book signing and open mic will immediately follow the workshop.

A $20 donation for adults is suggested to offset the costs incurred by the facilitator including packets for each participant. All are welcome, but reserve your seat due to limited space. Email  downeastwriters@gmail.com or visit https://dawn-d-wilson-workshop.eventbrite.com to reserve your seat.

About the Author:

Dawn DeAnna Wilson’s first novel, “Saint Jude,” was listed in “The Big Book of Teen Reading Lists: 100 Great, Ready-to-Use Book Lists for Educators, Librarians, Parents, and Teens” by Nancy Keane.

Originally from a small town Weaverville, near Asheville, NC, she wrote her first story when she was five and her first poem was published when she was in 8th grade. In 1986, the publication of her short story in Prism, a magazine for young authors, led to an appearance on “CBS Morning News.”
Wilson earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied creative writing under authors Doris Betts and Bland Simpson. She earned her master’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from East Carolina University. Currently, the author resides in Eastern North Carolina and is a member of the NC Writers’ network.

Find out more about Dawn and her works at www.dawndeannawilson.com.

The Pen and Paper Lounge presents writer’s workshops to address the foremost concerns of writers, whether it is elements of their craft or the business of writing in general. All workshops will be interactive and full of content that participants can use beyond the workshop.

Keith Flynn’s “Inspiration Station”

The photographer, Cartier-Bresson, believed that his lens had to be aimed at the decisive moment, when the photograph was willing to surrender, or when the confluence of events was at its apex. Most professional writers can’t wait for inspiration to strike, or for the abiding image or core theme of the work to emerge.

This workshop, Inspiration Station, will focus on identifying ideas and rhythms to jumpstart the creative process, with exercises designed to spark the imagination. This will be a very active workshop, with lots of writing and prompts to use when inspiration wanes. This class will focus on line structure and the aspects of language that help create inventive rhythm and flow, demonstrating how to make the work more dynamic and muscular on the page.

Participants should bring at least 20 copies of each manuscript they want share during the workshop. Any work deemed exemplary will be considered for publication in The Asheville Poetry Review.

At the door registration begins at 4:30 pm. Event begins at 5:00 sharp. Find out more about the poet at www.keithflynn.net.

NCWN members are welcome to participate in the reception and Open Mic. Contact Celestine at downeastwriter@gmail.com  for details.

About the poet:  KEITH FLYNN is an award-winning poet, singer, and editor who has published five books of poetry and essays, and is the founder and managing editor of The Asheville Poetry Review. From 1984-1998, Flynn was the lead singer and lyricist for The Crystal Zoo, a nationally acclaimed rock band that released three albums. This new incarnation, The Holy Men, provides musical accompaniment to poems from all of Flynn’s books, as well as new songs and re-imagined versions of Flynn’s back catalog of recorded material. His latest book is Colony Collapse Disorder.

“Flynn’s poems are original, passionate, vigorous and musical narratives that roam the full spectrum of the art. Keith Flynn is a true original, and a national treasure.”                                         ~Jennifer McPherson, The Comstock Review

“Imagine Blake doing rock and roll, filled with the spirit of Howling Wolf and Bill Monroe.”                                                        ~Joe Napora, Small Press Review

For reservations and ticket information email nvnvtheater@gmail.com

For tickets online: https://kflynn-inspirationstation.eventbrite.com

Gabrielle Brant Freeman’s “Writing Poetry with Friends”

Gabrielle Brant Freeman
courtesy of Magnolia Photographync

GABRIELE BRANT FREEMAN delivered her workshop, “Writing Poetry with Friends: Collaboration as Inspiration” to some very excited participants. The workshop, held on Saturday, August 17, 2013  from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Kinston Community Arts Council,  explored how a poet can get inspiration by getting “out of his/her own head” through collaborative writing. Participants participated in collaborative writing exercises based upon prompts that Freeman provided. Each participant initiated their own thread and passed it on to the other participants for several rounds.

In the end, they were surprised by the results. Some threads maintained the same subject and tone while others lead to places that the original poet had never imagined. Overall, the participants were intrigued and thrilled by the results and the possibilities of this technique to inspire and inform their own writing.  So thrilled were they, that all agreed to get back together to share their new revisions and creations for a culminating project.  One participant raved, “I never had this much fun writing in a long time. It’s great to have some feedback and the energy from other writers.”

Although the participants just so happened to be all female, they came from a wide range of writing backgrounds, experiences, and ages. Nevertheless, each one came away with a smile on her face after the event and vowed to meet again for another round of sharing. A junior at Kinston High School, Phebe Cantey, who was the youngest participant at 16 said, “I didn’t know what to expect but I was surprised at how comfortable I felt with everybody. Ms. Freeman was cool. Poets, rock!”  Participants were so enthralled that they wrote all the way through lunch.

After the workshop, Freeman answered questions and read some of her work. She shared her experiences with poems she initiated on social media sites in which members of  her online community contributed. She writes poems based on that collaboration that may or may not resemble any of the contributions. According to Freeman, the end result oftentimes does not resemble her initial idea or prompt. But that’s the beauty of this technique called the Exquisite Corpse, it’s serendipitous!  (Exquisite Corpse traces its roots to the Parisian Surrealist Movement.)

About the Poet: A native of Southern California, Gabrielle Freeman has lived and worked across the United States, and she now resides in Eastern North Carolina with her family. Currently, she teaches composition at ECU. She earned her MFA in poetry through Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Gabrielle’s poetry can be found in many journals including Clockhouse Review, Chagrin River Review, The Emerson Review, Red Rock Review, and Shenandoah.

This workshop was hosted by New Voices New Visions (NVNV) in cooperation with the North Carolina Writers’ Network (NCWN) and the Kinston Community Arts Council at 400 N. Queen Street in Kinston.

If you are an experienced writer of any genre who is interested in facilitating a workshop contact me at downeastwriter@gmail.com.

Gabrielle Freeman Flyer

Working through lunch

Creating Connections

Creating a “Corpse”

Bookmarking the event…

Participants Smiling and Posing

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• The Exquisite Corpse (nisaworkingwithwords.wordpress.com)
• Poetry and its Importance (anamasion.wordpress.com)