Featured Online Generative Writing Workshop

WRITING THE BODY with Kimberly Lee

START DATE: January 22, 2024

END DATE: February 19, 2024

DURATION: 4 weeks

LOCATION: Wet Ink Interactive Classroom

FEEDBACK: Helpful Instructor Feedback and Encouraging Peer Workshop

COURSE DESCRIPTION: “The body offers deep truths all its own.” – Stephen Kuusisto and Ralph James Savarese

In this generative, thought-provoking four-week workshop, we’ll get in touch with how the body impacts our writing—and vice versa. We’ll explore and discuss the work of writers who have effectively used the body as a source of inspiration for poetry and prose, then craft our own pieces on this topic by engaging with imaginative prompts designed to awaken our senses and enliven our work. Each week will include an opportunity for reflective writing; materials to read, watch, or listen to; and a creative writing prompt. Week Four will also include a brief introduction to SoulCollage®, an expressive arts process through which we’ll create a small collage to use as a basis for writing about the body. (No artistic ability required.) Participants will be able to post their writing and receive helpful feedback from the instructor and each other. Both creative nonfiction and fiction writers are welcome!

I've enjoyed this class so much and am so sad that it's ending. The themes, the diversity of the materials, the creative processes, and the prompts have all engaged really me. I haven't written like this for years and it's just been great fun. — Danyelle O.

Thank you most deeply for this course. [T]his one has had a profound effect on me. You have a gift for finding and presenting information and thought-provoking materials that engage on a deep level. — Kaden S.

Kimberly has a very warm and delightful presence. Her creative writing workshop was filled with varied exercises. — Sinéad M.

Kimberly presented a variety of creative and original prompts, and I was motivated by her enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment of writing. Her manner was very encouraging and her responses reflected her knowledge of the process. — Carolyn J.

WEEKS AT A GLANCE:

Week One: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
After fun introductions, we’ll begin by focusing on our experience of different parts of the body, whether through joys and triumphs or aches and pains. By exploring the writing of others as well as our own, plus other rich resources, we’ll tune in to what Naomi Alderman refers to as the other ‘selves’ within us.

Assignment: A) Exploratory prompt focused on a chosen body part. B) A creative prompt will be offered for development of a 500-1000 word piece with feedback from the instructor and other participants.

Week Two: My Body
This week we’ll expand our focus to the body as a whole and our experience of being in one’s own body. Through an exploration of interoception (our ability to grasp how we feel internally), we’ll add emotion and depth to our writing.

Assignment: A) Exploratory prompt focused on our experience of the body. B) A creative prompt will be offered for development of a 500-1000 word piece with feedback from the instructor and other participants.

Week Three: Your Body
This week’s focus is our relationship to the bodies of others, in a wide variety of encounters, large and small. We’ll write about how other beings affect and influence us, examining, with words, the nature of our experience and responses.

Assignment: A) Exploratory prompt focused on interactions with others. B) A creative prompt will be offered for development of a 500-1000 word piece with feedback from the instructor and other participants.

Week Four: The Body in Situ
For our final week, we’ll enlarge our focus to the experience of the body in relation to its environment. We’ll additionally explore proprioception—our understanding of the body’s position and movement in the spaces where it finds itself—and see how this perspective can enrich our writing.

Assignment: A) Exploratory prompt focused on the body’s recognition of itself in various spaces and situations. B) We’ll create a SoulCollage® card through an intuitive, directed process, then use it with an offered prompt to inspire a 500-1000 word piece of writing, with feedback from the instructor and other participants.

Materials needed: All readings and multi-media resources will be provided via links and PDF documents. An easy-to-obtain supply list for Week Four will be given at the beginning of the course. Other than that, simply pen and paper, keyboard, or other preferred writing instruments/devices.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Kimberly Lee left the practice of law some years ago to focus on motherhood, community work, and creative pursuits. A graduate of Stanford University and UC Davis School of Law, she is an Amherst Writers & Artists facilitator and serves on its board of directors. She is also trained and certified by The Center for Journal Therapy, The Center for Intentional Creativity, and SoulCollage®. She has led workshops at numerous retreats and conferences and is a teaching artist with Hugo House and Loft Literary. A former editor and regular contributor at Literary Mama, Kimberly has also served on the staffs of Carve and F(r)iction magazines. She is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and ACES: The Society for Editing. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications and anthologies including Minerva Rising, LA Parent, Words and Whispers, Toyon, The Ekphrastic Review, WOW! Women on Writing, Read650, I Am Woman: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America, and elsewhere. Kimberly trusts in the magic and mystery of miracles and synchronicity, and believes that everyone is creative and has unique gifts to share. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three children.

COST: $150, which includes an interactive class via the Wet Ink platform for peer interaction.

BUY NOW: Writing the Body, by Kimberly Lee (4 weeks, starting 1/22/2024) Limit: 15 students. Early registration is recommended.

This class is full. Please check here for our current schedule.

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Notes: Upon successful completion of payment, your name, email address, and contact info will be submitted to your instructor.

Questions? Email Marcia & Angela at:
classroom[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com

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