Telling Hard Truths by Writing Hot Cold
A 3-Hour Craft Intensive on Zoom
October 30, 1-4 PM Central
How do you tell a hard story about an experience of trauma without retraumatizing yourself and/or driving readers away because it’s “too much?” This intensive will teach you how.
This 3-hour intensive on Zoom dives deep into trauma-informed and highly effective craft strategies for telling hard truths. We’ll look at an array of diverse techniques such as writing hot cold, flat writing, embodied writing, exteriority, subtext, inventive containers, tight constraints, limited perspective narration, and other specific techniques for telling the hardest stories in ways that:
1) invite readers in rather than pushing them out
2) hold less risk of retraumatizing ourselves in the writing process
3) uncover newer and truer versions of the stories we think we know by heart
This intensive will be recorded; replay available to all participants.
Tuition is $199 and no application is necessary. You can register and pay using this link.
when & where will the workshop take place?
Telling Hard Truths will take place on Zoom on Oct 30, 1-4 PM Central.
what kind of writer should take this course?
This workshop is for everyone. It will be accessible for beginners, yet definitely challenging and inspiring for seasoned writers. All genres are welcome.
what will we do during the workshop?
The intensive will include a craft lecture, group close reading and discussion of published work, generative exercises, sharing and discussion of writing produced by the exercises, and time for questions. Writing in the Dark intnesives are participatory, generative, collaborative & inventive spaces. You will come away with bits and pieces to invest in later, as you see fit. Think of it as a doorway to a more open place.
what are the requirements?
An open mind and heart. A willingness to show up and experiment together. A deep curiosity about language, its power and elasticity. A tolerance for new ideas. An interest in reading and discussion. A commitment to putting some words on the page. A wish to create.
Writing in the Dark does not discriminate against anyone, regardless of age, color of skin, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender expression and identity, sexual orientation, or anything else. We expect the same from our all of our participants.
what will writers take away?
A toolkit of specific, concrete techniques and devices to help you write hard truths in ways that draw readers in rather than push them out.
Increased understanding of concepts including (but not limited to):
Differentiating between exterior and interior writing and learning to use exteriority to convey interior experiences
Concrete specific imagery and "the thing itself"
Plain language and restraint
Limited perspective narration
Flat writing
Symbols and emotional language
Access to engaged peers and a supportive community of fellow writers during the workshop and ongoing
Strategies for using writing prompts for catalyzing creativity
Renewed faith in your own unique voice
One or more “seedlings” (short drafts of new work generated in the workshop)
who is the teacher?
This course is led by me, Jeannine Ouellette (The Part That Burns, Split/Lip Press, 2021). I author the cult-favorite, bestselling Substack, Writing in the Dark, which many—including Sarah Fay of Writers at Work, say is better than an MFA (that being said, I hold an MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In addition to Writing in the Dark, I teach writing at the University of Minnesota, and through the Association of Writers & Writing Program's Writer-to-Writer Program and the Minnesota Prison Writers Workshop and Brooke Warner’s Magic of Memoir series. In addition to The Part That Burns, which earned stars from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, the latter of which also selected TPTB as a best indie book of 2021, I have also authored several nonfiction books as well as the children's book Mama Moon. My essays and fiction have won many awards (always second place, runner up, finalist, or honorable mention, proving that it’s okay not to come first). Perhaps most importantly, I’m a passionate, experienced teacher. You can read my full bio here.
what is the tuition?
Telling Hard Truths tuition is $199 and is non-refundable. You can register and pay using this link.
what do people say about writing in the dark workshops?
We’ve heard that Writing in the Dark is “a lifeline,” “life changing,” “just what was needed,” and “amazing.” Several writers said they were finally writing again after months of being stuck. One writer said the workshop has been “devastating in all the best ways.” Another wrote to say, “This class teaches you how to dig deep and activate your voice. How to write about things that matter to you, and in turn to your readers.” And several writers have published work generated during Writing in the Dark. Read more love letters here.
how do I apply?
There is no application for Writing in the Dark. All levels welcome. All you need to do is complete payment and registration.