Exploring Your Writer’s Voice – Learn how to hear what’s already there

Saturday, July 17th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. San Francisco
$95 members/$110 non-members

Note: We also offer a 9-week version of this class, which many people take on a regular basis.  It’s an excellent class for beginners or anyone else who wants to keep generating new material while exploring their voice as a writer.

We all have unique “writing voices,” but often we can’t really “hear” those voices ourselves, even when others can. This half-day workshop will aim to help you hear the sound of your authentic writing voice, because once you feel secure with the individuality of your voice, you’ll grow immeasurably as a writer.

“What I want you to get out of this morning exploration,” says instructor Chris DeLorenzo, “is a sense of how your voice comes across as one-of-a-kind. Only then can you learn to let go of self-conscious writing—writing that sounds the way you think it’s supposed to sound.”

This workshop will give you three hours of writing exercises designed to encourage writing with concrete details, description and dialogue, along with a healthy dose of silliness, wackiness, and playfulness to balance the serious stuff.

“You’ll be given permission to write anything you want,” says Chris, “in order to discover the joy and spontaneity of creating from the internal ‘dream space’ of the imagination, and to more deeply explore the question: ‘What do I have to say as a writer?'”

Based on the Amherst Writers and Artists method, Chris’s workshop encourages a sense of safety and mutual trust among participants. “Many classes and workshops are about having someone else define and critique your work,” says Chris, “whereas my workshops are about allowing you to do that for yourself, by reflecting on the positive feedback (as opposed to critiques) that you get from me and your classmates.”

Chris DeLorenzo has an MA in creative writing and is a certified Amherst Writers and Artists method (AWA) facilitator. He teaches writing at the University of San Francisco and has published poetry, prose and personal essays in numerous publications. He has also written a novel, Certain Sacred Places. (Tip: You may want to check out this book: Writing Alone and With Others, by Pat Schneider, founder of the Amherst Writers and Artists Method. It’s not required for this class, but you might enjoy it!)

Read testimonials for Chris’s classes HERE