Writers' Block Party
About this Event
You're invited to LitArts RI’s next Writers’ Block Party! Kickstart your writing this November with a day of micro workshops designed to move you past creative barriers while building skills and community to sustain your practice.
Choose from six 1.5-hour craft workshops, interspersed with time to write at LitArts RI, a brown bag lunch, a mixer and a closing zine workshop. From genre romance to short stories, navigating inclusivity in your writing to gonzo journalism, prose poetry to theatrics—join us on Sat, Nov 14 to break your writers' block.
Opt for one or more workshops, or sign up for the full day of workshops at a discount. All tickets include admission to the opening discussion, time to write in the LitArts RI Creative Workspace and participation in the closing zine workshop.
Scroll down to view the full agenda. After purchasing either a full day or single workshop ticket(s), you will be asked to register for your preferred workshops.
Community Access Lottery
LitArts RI offers a lottery for free admission to those who are from a community that has faced institutional barriers in the writing and publishing worlds or who lack access to resources and could not otherwise afford to attend. The lottery closes 2 weeks before each workshop, at which time entrants will be notified if they are a recipient of one of the free seats. For the Writers' Block Party, recipients will be issued a Full Day Admission.
To enter the lottery, press the red "Get tickets" button at the top right of your screen, then scroll down to add a "Community Access Lottery Ticket" to your cart and check out.
Please Note: Lottery tickets do not include registration for individual workshops. If selected, you will have an opportunity to register for your preferred workshops when confirming your Full Day Admission. Thanks for your understanding!
Funding for LitArts RI’s Community Access Lottery was provided in part by a Community Priority Grant from the Rhode Island Foundation.
Safe and Brave Space Policy
Writing workshops can be vulnerable spaces. As a literary arts organization, LitArts RI is committed to providing a safe, brave, inclusive and accessible space to all participants, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, citizenship status, age, size, abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Be sensitive, be supportive, be respectful and engage with care. Discriminatory, hateful, and threatening content will not be tolerated; we ask that you bring any concerns to our attention immediately.
Accessibility
LitArts RI is wheelchair accessible. The organization is actively committed to cultivating a community that values and reflects diversity, equity and inclusivity and to providing programming that is accessible to all attendees. Please let us know about any accommodations we can make to allow you to participate fully in this event.
Health Safety Guidelines
If you have tested positive for Covid-19 within a few days of attending an event at LitArts RI, please contact Staff so we can let others know of possible exposure. We ask that you wait 14 days or until testing negative to return to the Center.
LitArts RI Refund Policy
All ticket sales are final except in the case of illness or emergency. If you are unable to make an event due to illness or other circumstances outside of your control, LitArts RI will issue a refund for the amount of the ticket (not including Eventbrite fees) as soon as we are notified.
If an event is cancelled at the discretion of the organization, we will issue refunds in the full amount (including Eventbrite fees) to all registrants.
LitArts RI’s Writers' Block Party is funded in part from the Community Priority Grant at the Rhode Island Foundation.
Agenda
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
COFFEE & REGISTRATION
Host: SALON
Info: Please register by 9:30am and settle in with coffee.
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:00 AM
OPENING DISCUSSION
Host: SALON
Info: Gather at 9:30am in the Salon for an opening discussion with LitArts RI teaching artists and staff. Open to all Writers' Block Party participants.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
MORNING SESSION (A): FROM STAGE TO PAGE: CRAFTING THEATRICAL MOMENTS
Host: H. Avery
Info: How can you use tangible writing methods to craft stories that are compelling, energetic and larger than life? This hands-on workshop will explore how using touch and other senses can help you navigate writers’ block, activate scenes and boost the theatrical quality of your work. We'll explore what theatricality is and what it can offer your story, applying skills commonly used for the stage onto the page. The workshop will be taught through the lens of playwriting, but will teach skills that can be applied to any form.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
MORNING SESSION (B): WHAT MAKES A SHORT STORY?
Host: Jillian Jackson
Info: During this workshop, we will explore the essentials of short fiction and ask ourselves: What makes a short story a short story? Through our reading, writing and discussions, we will challenge our assumptions and discover—or rediscover—what we consider to be the defining characteristics of the genre. We will then put our definition to the test by analyzing examples of microfiction from authors like George Saunders, Miranda July and Jamaica Kincaid and writing our own micro stories. By the end of workshop, we will have a stronger sense of ourselves as writers of short fiction and a deepened appreciation for what short stories can really do.
Open to fiction writers of all levels and genres.
🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
TIME TO WRITE
Host: SALON
Info: Settle into a writing nook or armchair to reflect on a workshop and get some writing done.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
MIDDAY SESSION (A): EXPERIENTIAL WRITING
Host: Robert Isenberg
Info: It goes by many names: "Travel Writing," "Participatory Journalism," and "Gonzo." In each case, writers immerse themselves in an experience and narrate what they discover. This could mean traveling somewhere new, learning a novel skill or spending time in a distinctive community. In this adventurous nonfiction workshop, participants will analyze classics from the genre and use vivid descriptions and recreated dialogue to chronicle their own past journeys, from riding a horse to volunteering at a soup kitchen. Through first-person voice, we’ll explore our topics in detail, illustrating the experience for other outsiders and novices.
Open to nonfiction writers of all levels and genres. Please bring to the workshop an idea of a past or prospective experience you wish to write about.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
MIDDAY SESSION (B): INTRO TO GENRE ROMANCE
Host: Lydia Loomis
Info: From historical to contemporary, dark romance to Rom-Com, romance is an expansive genre. However, like all genre fiction, there are still rules to follow when writing genre romance. In this workshop we will discuss what those rules are and how to identify the difference between a genre romance and a love story. We’ll go over a brief history of the romance novel and touch on a few keystone books that made romance what it is today. Participants will leave with a reading list of history and craft books to help dive deeper into the genre.
Open to fiction writers of all levels and genres.
🕑: 01:30 PM - 02:00 PM
BROWN BAG LUNCH
Host: SALON
Info: BYO lunch to enjoy while getting to know fellow writers in the Salon. If you bring food to share, please clearly list any potential allergens (gluten, nuts, dairy, etc.).
🕑: 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
AFTERNOON SESSION (A): PLAYING WITH PROSE POETRY
Host: Shir Lovett-Graff
Info: In this workshop, we will explore the hybridity between poetry and fiction by writing in paragraphs. Looking at prose poetry—poetry written in paragraph form, and microfiction—complete fiction pieces, usually under 300 words, we will explore these forms as opportunities to play with genre. After investigating examples from writers like Claudia Rankine, Yasmine Ameli, Amy Hempel and Jerome Stern, we’ll try out our own paragraphs through guided prompts. Together, we’ll discover new possibilities in fiction and poetry, opening a sense of cross-genre play in our writing.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
🕑: 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
AFTERNOON SESSION (B): UNDERSTANDING INCLUSIVE WRITING
Host: Ilhy Gomez Del Campo Rojas
Info: How can you respectfully represent cultures, identities and experiences that aren't your own? By examining how underrepresented communities adopt different media as implicit representation—even without the explicit intention of a creator—you can begin to identify the needs, desires and values of different communities. You will learn how to research appropriately, identify accurate and valuable resources to ensure your respectful portrayal, and how to identify opportunities for representation within your writing.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
🕑: 03:30 PM - 04:00 PM
MIXER
Host: SALON
Info: Mix with fellow writers and teaching artists in the Salon before joining the closing session!
🕑: 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
CLOSING SESSION: LET'S MAKE ZINES!
Host: Aya Rothwell
Info: Zines are self-published booklets with a rich past. During this closing mixer, participants will learn about zine history and crafting, from the subversive role zines have played in historical movements and pop culture to the ways they have acted as means of resistance in marginalized communities. Shake off the last of your writers’ block by creating your own zines inspired by the day and (optionally) sharing them with others.
Open to all Writers' Block Party participants.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 151.23
