2011 Classes with Barbara Lawing
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
If you're convenient to the location, I hope you'll join me. Contact me with questions. For more writing opportunities, see the Retreats page.bklawing@earthlink.net, 704-875-6112
Various Dates: Freewrite Circles, usually in private homes. Miniature writing retreats - 2 hours, or a whole day. We write and write. We succeed because we relax and court the muse together. The prompts (starting points for writing) are ones I carefully select. They seem to have magic power as they target our subjects and pull them onto the page. Use the prompts for writing scenes for your fiction or memoir, to explore ideas for poems, or simply to discover the words inside you. What do you want to write? The prompt will decide for you. I've written many of the scenes for my novel in these sessions, and a whole heck of a lot of soul-searching words. Such fun! Yippee and hurrah! If you haven't tried my Freewrite Circles, you've got a delightful surprise in store. The circles are right for you if you're struggling to find the right words or to find time for writing. Contact me for the current schedule. See top of page for contact info.
Mondays 2:15 - 4:15 Creative Writing class for writers with a fiction or nonfiction manuscript in progress. A private class. Meets in a home in the Southpark area (Charlotte, NC). Includes instruction, review of your writing, and suggested assignments. $50 per month, or $15 per session, payable to Barbara Lawing. A visit is free. Sessions run Sept. - May. As with any healthy group, there are changes along the way - somebody leaving, someone else joining up. Usually we have room for at least one newcomer. We welcome newcomers, and because some of the writers have been in the group for a year or two, they are equipped to provide helpful feedback - so this is a benefit worth considering. We review one paper by each person each week. If interested, contact me to see if there's currently an opening. See top of page for contact info.
Mondays 6:45 - 8:15 Girls Night Out Writing Class, every other Monday in a private home in Huntersville. Eight sessions, $96, payable at first session to Barbara Lawing. Students write to suggested prompts and receive feedback and tips for success. You may write whatever you wish - a continuing project or not. Contact me if interested. See top of page for contact info.
Creative Writing Class for Central Piedmont Community College's Continuing Ed. Dept.
Eight sessions, 2 hours each, usually on a Tuesday or Thursday evening. Runs three times each year. See www.cpcc.edu. I've been instructing this class for 20 years. Get instruction in fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Write to prompts that get your creativity going. Contact the college at 704-330-4223 to register.
Wednesdays 7:00 - 8:30 Jumpstart Your Creativity March 30 - May 25. At Charlotte's Levine Jewish Community Center on Providence Road at Shalom Park. This class is offered through the Levine JCC's adult programming and open to writers and wannabe writers or all ages and any faith. I will provide editing pointers and make sure we write and write to suggested assignments that are sure to get our creativity going. Eight sessions, no class April 20. The JCC requires a once-annually registration fee of $20. Class fee is $96 for members, $106 nonmembers. Register by calling the Levine Jewish Community Center at 704-366-5007.
Just Write, weekend of June 25-26 at Central Piedmont Community College. Yes, after many years of instructing writing classes for this school's Cont. Ed. Dept., I convinced them to schedule a writing weekend. We will write and write and write. You will get a lot of writing done. Truth is, the weekend is similar to the weekend writing retreats I lead (see retreats page) minus the getaway and gorgeous setting...but, we meet in a building with a view of the city skyline, and some of us decide to dine together on Saturday, so it does end up being fun - a retreat. We will write Saturday morning, break for lunch, write in the afternoon, adjourn at 4:30, and come back the next afternoon to write again. I promise you that if you use all this opportunity for writing what you've been wanting to do, whether that's that the story idea in your head or just journaling - whatever writing you want to do, you will make a great deal of progress if you join me for this weekend. Contact the college at 704-330-4223 to register.
Advanced Creative Writing Class for Central Piedmont Community College's Continuing Ed. Dept., will run in the fall. Eight sessions. See www.cpcc.edu for times/dates. This class is geared for those with manuscripts in progress, fiction or nonfiction. Get help with any question you have. Major emphasis will be given to how to order the story , how to keep the reader reading, and how to decide what's essential to gain focus. Contact the Cont. Ed. Department at 704-330-4223 to register.
Mondays 10:00 - 11:00, also 1:00 - 2:00, two Creative Writing hours for writers and wannabe writers 50+ at the Levine Jewish Community Center, Providence Road, Charlotte, every Monday except holidays year round. These are offered by the Oasis Program at the J, open to people 50+ of any faith or race. This has been a successful venture since 1999 - a joy for me and all participants week after week. Fee is most reasonable because the classes are offered through Oasis, a nonprofit foundation.
Register through the JCC: Contact Jodie Iagnocco at 704-944-6753. A visit is free.
Mondays 11:00 - noon: Poetry Hour - a new offering at the Levine Jewish Community Center, beginning in September, on Providence Road at Shalom Park, open to anyone over 50. Write or not, your choice - as we discover or get reacquainted with the joys of poetry. We will share poems, read poems aloud, enjoy poetry. Those who wish to will try their hand at writing, so some instruction will be provided. Everyone will learn something of how to craft a poem as we look at how poets achieve the poems we like. As above, the class is not expensive because it is part of the programming offered through a nonprofit foundation.
Register through the JCC: Contact Jodie Iagnocco at 704-944-6753. A visit is free.
Storytelling Class this fall for Central Piedmont Community College's Lifelong Learning Program. See www.cpcc.ed for dates. What fun! I've instructed this class three times so far: four Saturday mornings. We have the mostest fun! A chance to practice storytelling. And get pointers on constructing the story and presenting it. Some students come because they want to tell stories to the family or children in Sunday School. Others want to tell stories at storytelling festivals. Some want to improve presentation skills for their work. A good enough reason: the fun. This is pure joy. Contact the Cont. Ed. Department at 704-330-4223 to register.