Escape to the Page

Class description:

Escape to the Page is a drop-in style class that meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 1:30 - 3:30pm, starting October 7th and ending on December 16th, 2026. Writers are encouraged to come to every gathering, but the drop-in style is designed for flexibility.

Important Note:

While it is a drop-in series with no limit on available slots, each class requires at least 5 participants to run. If you would like to attend, pre-registration is required in order to ensure attendance. Classes that do not reach 5 pre-registrations will be cancelled. If classes are cancelled, participants will be notified by email the evening before.

Here's how it works:

Many of us get bogged down by what we think “good writing” should be. Escape to the Page is not about being a good writer. It's about putting your pen to paper without expectation or judgment. (Difficult to do, but easier the more you practice.)

We start by reading a poem aloud. You are invited to choose any line from the poem to leap off from. We write for 25 minutes. We do this twice or three times, depending on the size of the group.

This approach to creative writing is effective with writers of all levels. Starting off using another writer's words not only releases you from the terror of the blank page, but it also leads your writing in unexpected directions. The aim is not to edit as you write, but to follow your intuition; it knows where you want to go. After each time we write, there will be an opportunity to read your work aloud. (You can pass if you choose.) There is no critique. Our intention is to listen to one another with an open heart.

About the Facilitator:

Sondra Hall loves words and all of the stunning, lyrical, surprising, and stirring ways they can be strung together. For more than twenty-five years, she's gathered with students in college and elementary school classrooms, in old Tuscan farmhouses, at retreat centers, and around kitchen tables to explore the curiosities, the power, and the joys of the written word. You can learn more about her work at www.escapetothepage.net.

She holds a BA in Art History from Tufts University, an MA in Creative Arts Therapy from Lesley University. Sondra lives happily among the flora and fauna of Asheville with her musician husband, Alan, and their curly-haired dog, Willow.