Write-O-Rama
What is Write-O-Rama?Write-O-Rama is a full day of hour-long workshops offered by the creative writing teachers at Hugo House to anyone who wants to write. We hold over 30 writing workshops, and to sustain you as you write we also have free food, beverages, two open mics, and a wrap party following the last session. Guests generate new writing, meet fellow writers, share their work, sample the work of Hugo House writing teachers and find new motivation to write.
How does it work?
Write-O-Rama is a benefit for Hugo House. Participants must raise at least $45 through pledges. (If 100 people raise $100 each, fireworks will ensue. Let's be clear about that.) Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. and the first workshops start at 10 a.m. The wrap party begins at 5 p.m.—right after the last sessions of the day.
The next Write-O-Rama will be held December 6, 2008. We will post a new Write-O-Rama pledge form in October.
How do I become a Write-O-Rama laureate?
This summer we added a few things to Write-O-Rama. For starters, our Write-O-Rama laureates got a head start on writing and fundraising. For the month before Write-O-Rama, they had personal profiles here; they shared their work on our Laureate's Blog and they built their community and supported Richard Hugo House while they did it.
For December's Write-O-Rama, you can sign up to be a laureate any time before September 15. Just e-mail katelebo@hugohouse.org
This summer, Write-O-Rama raised $9,000 for Hugo House—our highest total yet! For winter 2008 we have set an ambitious goal of $10,000. The select few who bring in the most money for Hugo House will win prizes, too:
• The person who raises the most money will win a six-week Hugo Writing Class;
• The people who raise the second and third largest amounts will each win a one-day
class;
• Anyone who raises $500 or more will receive a full single pass to the 2009-10 Hugo
Literary Series and will get an exclusive invitation to special pre-event cocktail
parties with the featured writers. Plus this:
o Raise at least $250 and you'll receive a Hugo House T-shirt. Plus:
o Raise at least $150 and you'll receive a Hugo House membership and mug that
improves coffee flavor. Plus:
o Raise at least $75 and you'll receive a pack of the finest local literary
magazines.
When? What times?
Write-O-Rama runs all day, but you can come for any part of the day. No preregistration required; just drop in. You will come away with new writing, make new connections and find fresh inspiration. And if you can't make it yourself, you can sponsor a friend!
Sponsor a Friend for Write-O-Rama
It's easy to sponsor a friend to participate in Write-O-Rama online with your credit card.Here's how:
1. Push the “Donate Now through Network for Good” button below;
2. Enter the amount you want to give–it is all tax deductible;
3. Fill out your donation and privacy preferences;
4. Under “Designation” type “Write-O-Rama”;
5. Under “Dedication” type the name of the person you want to sponsor (including yourself);
6. Fill out your credit card information as instructed;
7. Make your online contribution by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 5, 2008 for it to count towards your friend's total for Write-O-Rama prizes and glory.
A Sampling of Past Workshops:
Wendy Call: Merging the Mundane with the Metaphysical; 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Freewrite a first draft in 50 minutes or less! The subtitle to this workshop could be, “life is what happens while we're busy making other plans.” We'll brainstorm a list of settings and conflicts, and then set about blurting out a story draft. No experience or special tools required.
Jennifer Borges Foster: Treat Me Unconsciously—An Erasure Workshop; 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
In this class we will conduct a brief review of erasure techniques from the books “A Humument,” “A Little White Shadow,” “Filter” and “Three Fables.” Students will then choose from three original early-20th century texts, creating their own erasures and exploring how quick, unconscious treatment of language can help to define and refine one's poetic voice.
Vincent Kovar: Random Acts of Creative Genius; 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Some of the best manifestations of genius are those unplanned, seemingly random confluences of stimuli—surreal, unreal, expressionist or senseless—that's just what we're going to be playing with. Yes, we'll be writing on the right side of the brain, or the wrong side, who knows?
Jennifer D. Munro: The Funny Bone is an Erogenous Zone; 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Humor is born as imperfect lovers expose their flaws in order to meet their desires. We'll generate ideas based on active calls for work from erotic publications, so you can tie your story to a specific market, take it home, whip it into shape and submit it to cruel literary masters.
Dickey Nesenger: A Mini-Mart of Storytelling: The Short Play; 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Short on words, not ideas, the short play format invites both traditional and experimental structure. This quickie workshop examines the rules of abbreviated playwriting through the reading of an award-winning short play followed by an in-class writing assignment that punctuates how big ideas can fit on a postcard.
Greg Stump: Comics as a Visual Language; 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
If a lack of drawing ability has kept you from exploring comics and graphic novels, consider that the medium is as much about a symbolic vocabulary as it is about pretty pictures. In this activity, you'll construct a character from simple shapes and create a collaborative comic that uses the visual language of comics (motion lines, words balloons, etc.) to drive the narrative.
Anastasia Tolbert: From Blah to Bop; 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Have you ever listened to a song and thought to yourself that the title or line excerpts from the song would be great woven into a poem? In this class, writers will learn the classic style of the “Bop” poem created by poet Afaa Weaver.
