November 16-17, 2007 at Fort Lewis College
Registered participants in the Southwest Writers Institute will be able to attend two different craft sessions on Saturday, November 17, as well as the panels on Saturday (see the complete Institute schedule). There will be coffee and pastries available Saturday morning, each Craft Session will last approximately two hours, and lunch will be provided in between the morning and afternoon sessions. The following craft sessions will be offered (rooms TBA).

"The Crossover: Using Setting as a Vehicle to Write Poetry and Fiction" with Aaron A. Abeyta

The workshop will focus on making you a better, more detailed, writer with an emphasis on both poetry and fiction. Both genres, at their heart, utilize the various components of setting to make the reading and writing experience more meaningful and fun. With this in mind, we will examine the form and technique of various writers and how they incorporate setting into their work, regardless of genre; afterward we will take what we have learned and create original work in either genre. Writers are encouraged to crossover, poets writing fiction and vice versa. Regardless of the genre you choose, you will be a better writer by the end of the workshop.

"Entryway to the nth world: finding a portal to your creativity" with Esther Belin

NOTE: This workshop is for young adults participants only.
This workshop will begin with a brief overview of perceptions regarding poetry, basic structure to poetry, and end with a peer based poetry writing session. Various methods and texts will be used including cut-ups, found objects, and sacred texts. This is a writing workshop for those who think they can’t write poems and stories. It will focus on simple strategy that can be transferred to create your own writing manifesto.

"The Talking Gourds Tradition: Deep Ecology, Bardic Poetry and the Legacy of Dolores LaChapelle" with Art Goodtimes

In this workshop we’ll explore the writings of deep ecologist, first ascent alpinist and legendary powder skier Dolores LaChapelle of the Way of the Mountain Center in Silverton – as they relate to the ancient tradition of bardic poiesis. Inspired by her work and often shepherded by her presence, Talking Gourds gatherings have been held in Colorado and New Mexico for the past 18 years. Following our left brain session of musings and discussions, we’ll do one or two right brain rounds of a talking gourds circle. Bring a pillow/zafu/rug and a poem, slice of a story, song or chant to perform/share – one from someone you like, and one of your own. Drums, flutes, rattles, et cetera optional.

“Finding a Topic and Focus For Your Personal Narrative” with Chris Goold

Great narratives are all around us – and within us – waiting to be discovered and shaped into compelling creative nonfiction pieces we can share with others. In this workshop, we’ll use the rich soil of your own life experience to brainstorm and focus ideas for potential narrative articles and essays. Some examples of ideas that former students discovered, focused and eventually developed into published essays/articles include: “Days Spent Fishing” (lessons learned fishing with his father) Inside/Outside magazine; “The College Experience, according to a local Chicano student” (his journey a first-generation FLC student) El Valle Hispanic News; “A Day in the Life of a Wildland Firefighter” (a female’s true-life drama) Inside Outside; “The Importance of Being Perspicacious” (a ruminative essay) Mountain Gazette. My own published narratives include personal essays about job-sharing, becoming a mother, celebrating my wedding anniversary on September 11, and discovering my father’s ability to fly. Come with a willingness to explore and focus potential story ideas in your own life.

"Crafting Young-Adult Novels: What I’ve Learned Along the Way" with Will Hobbs

“There are three rules to writing the novel,” W. Somerset Maugham once quipped. “Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” Will Hobbs agrees, having written seventeen by trial and error. Yet he believes that his trials, errors, and breakthroughs could prove helpful to others setting out on their own narrative voyages of discovery. To be included: honing your premise, shaping the story, voice and audience, creating characters, writing in first and third person, how to show-not-tell, the importance of dramatic tension, working with an editor, revision macro and micro, publishing tips, and whatever else comes up. Bring your love of story and your questions.

"Exploring Elements of Voice - Finding Your Rhythm" with Steven J. Meyers

Nothing distinguishes creative writing from other forms of writing more than the matter of individual voice. Continuing the exploration of elements of voice begun in earlier SWI workshops, this workshop will examine the complex matter of rhythm. Discussion and writing exercises will explore rhythm as a matter of sound, but will also examine more subtle rhythms regarding narrative focus, the weighting of description and action, seriousness and humor, internal and external dialogue. While much of what is good in writing happens in spite of the author’s attempts at control, awareness of these elements of rhythm and their conscious manipulation will help each workshop participant to articulate, define and amplify their own, unique voice.

"Heisenberg, Truth, and Character Development: An Exploration of Point-of-View in Fiction" with Kate Niles

Literary fiction is about what happens when a character meets an event (plot) that challenges that character’s world. How that challenge is manipulated through writing has everything to do with the point-of-view the writer chooses to utilize. We will explore the advantages and disadvantages of various perspectives, drawing from literary fiction and Heisenberg’s century-old Principle that the story changes depending on the lens through which you view it.

“Picking up Words, Creating Poems, Writing Stories” with Laura Tohe

NOTE: This workshop is for young adult participants only.
This is a writing workshop for those who want to write poems and stories relative to memory, place and culture. It will focus on writing about family, land, and ourselves. Writing from the center of one’s self, using Indigenous and non-Indigenous languages, this workshop strives toward the Indigenous philosophy that an individual who knows stories makes a valuable contribution to their community. Creative self-expression is a way to empower ourselves and to leave a footprint for the future generations.

"Don't Keep it in the Holster: Wielding a Writer's Journal" with Ken Wright

In this hands-on “wordshop,” we will explore and play with the most fun and powerful tool of the trade: the omnipresent notebook. Participants will examine their own note-taking processes, and then strategize on ways to improve – and to more enjoy – this vital practice based on their own needs, goals, and circumstances. We will also experiment with a variety of techniques and devices to make the most of our note-taking time. Don’t forget to come armed.


Please visit the writers page for more information about the writers leading the craft sessions.