Culver Writers Workshop HOSTED BY YOUR CULVER UNION

Culver Writer’s Workshop HOSTED BY YOUR CULVER UNION TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY. FACILITATOR- JONATHAN GASKILL APRIL 7, 2010

How do I become a writer? ? ? SOOOOO….

Writing is for everyone WRITING IS NOT AN ELITIST THING…

It’s easier than you think�Just do it!! �Write, write. �Write first, as questions later. �One does not need a degree to write. �Don’t worry about grammar, syntax or spelling- those will come in time. �Keep writing. Dedicate a half-hour a day to the betterment of the world.

For the purpose of practice… � Albert Camus: The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself. � E. B. White: English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education -- sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street. � Lord Byron: But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling, like dew, upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. � Ernest Hemingway: The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it. � Ernest Hemingway: We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. � Wm. Shakespeare: This above all: to thine own self be true.

Format for today’s class �Free writing- 15 minutes. �Introduction to blogging. �Sharing- 15 minutes. �What is it, how do we do �Editing- 15 minutes. it? �Beginning-Middle-End.

What is a Blog? Weblog �A sort of online journal. �Open for all to see, or closed for only those you wish to see. podcast • Audio • Spoken word and recorded. Vlog �Same as weblog, only via video. �Uploadable to youtube and other social networking sites Photoblog • A weblog, with pictures. • A picture is worth a thousand words.

We can all do this together! www. blogger. com This is OUR community Weblog �Login: �Everyone is welcome to culverblogger@gmail. com �Password: culverlibrary post and comment on others’ writing. �Be constructive with criticism. Egos are at stake here… �Post at least one thing per week until we meet again.

Free Writing Exercise… �Pick an object in the room… �Insert said object into a story about either voyages to a strange land or man’s first trip on a new planet. �Write for 20 minutes and we will each read aloud from what we have written. �Now, we will go around the room offering suggestions and constructive criticism. �Remember, this is just the beginning!

We will meet again… �Come back in two weeks to continue our process. �This is an adventure, and you are in integral part. �Written communication is one of the most important forms in our world, and the best way to tell our story is to write it down. �History- remember the past or be condemned to repeat it.