Writing for Heroic Power: Homer, Dante & Virgil in Light of Modern Realities

Online via Zoom

Join Gemini Ink Board president Charles Massiatte on a contemporary exploration of Greek epics that will fuel the reader and writer in you. Dip back into the classics to re-envision our contemporary moment and discover templates for writing your own narratives, even epic ones, in new ways.

$25

Four Ways to Develop as  a Fiction Writer: A One-day Workshop with National Book Critics’ Circle Award Winner Ben Fountain

Online via Zoom

In this workshop we’ll focus on four specific areas in the craft of writing fiction and will discuss the more general questions of fiction’s role in society, and how we as aspiring writers might also aspire to keep our bodies, souls, and sanity intact while developing as artists. The four craft sections will deal with character, plot, dialogue, and scene, with examples drawn from modern and contemporary fiction, and occasionally nonfiction. Along the way, we’ll discuss work routines, what to do when we’re stuck, where to submit our work, and what—and how—to read as writers. 

$175

Writing Towards the Future: A Discussion and Reading by Award-winning poets Patricia Spears Jones, Megan Peak, and Laura Van Prooyen

Online via Zoom

Join three lyrically gutsy poets, each at the top of their craft, as they discuss their current work and how it is taking on the future, poem by poem—that ethereal yet continuous possibility in our lives. What questions is their poetry asking that interrogate new ways of looking at ourselves, our American culture, and society? What current hopes, despair, and losses do their poems account for and how is this transforming their vision of who we want to be in the future and how our culture will reflect this? Can praise be protest? Can new myths and images of ourselves be created? Join us for this author reading and talk to find out!

Free

Poems for the Future — Myth and Spirit Make for Vision and Community

Online via Zoom

Join acclaimed New York City poet Patricia Spears Jones in a master class that explores the connection of myth and spirit in the creation of poems for and about the future. Whitman in his essay, “Democratic Vistas” charged poets with sustaining a credible and expansive democracy. But his road map and the myths he relied on no longer suffice.  

$135

The Best of Both Worlds: Welcoming Poetry and Poetic Elements into Your Prose—A Workshop with Jasminne Mendez

Online via Zoom

One of the greatest pieces of advice I received from a mentor once was: "You don't have to give up being a poet to write prose." In this generative writing workshop, we will explore the lyric and braided essay form and how poetry and poetic elements can be integrated into the narrative of a piece in creative and interesting ways. We will look at examples of essays that incorporate poetic strategies such as repetition, alliteration, imagery and even rhyme, and we will use prompts to create our own lyric or braided essays.

$125

Navigating Craft and the Writing Life in 2021 with Reginald Gibbons, Urayoán Noel and Jasminne Mendez

Online via Zoom

Join this line-up of groundbreaking authors to hear from their recent work and enjoy a conversation on how they are navigating questions of identity, voice, form, and more, while making sure their stories flourish and have a place at the literary table in these complex, fraught times. How do their craft decisions infuse how they are creating their voices on the page? How are they initiating important conversations, asking pivotal questions, and renegotiating what kinds of stories can be heard? An audience Q&A will be a part of this event. Kick-off your weekend with this rich literary exchange and conversation.

Free

The Big Texas Read featuring Jenny Browne

Online via Zoom

We're reading and discussing poet Jenny Browne's Fellow Travelers: New and Selected Poems, Vol 17, from the TCU Poet Laureate Series. This conversation will be moderated by Dallas-based poet Dr. Mag Gabbert.

Free

Writing for Heroic Power: Homer, Dante & Virgil in Light of Modern Realities

Online via Zoom

Join Gemini Ink Board president Charles Massiatte on a contemporary exploration of Greek epics that will fuel the reader and writer in you. Dip back into the classics to re-envision our contemporary moment and discover templates for writing your own narratives, even epic ones, in new ways.

$25

Crafting the Short Story: Idea to Final Draft

Online via Zoom

The best short stories, despite their brevity, leave readers inspired, questioning, changed. In this workshop, we'll dive under the hood to see what makes good short stories tick.

Free

Perfectly Irresistible: Creating Sympathetic Characters

When a character is in trouble, as all protagonists should be, she can seem unsympathetic if she's focused only on her own problems. Her unhappiness, worry, and frustration may result in a character who appears judgmental, short-tempered, rude, and who wants to read about someone like that? The answer is that we all do, but only if she's complex enough to make us identify with and root for her, and the story ultimately shows her transcending those tendencies. This class will incorporate general methods for creating characters but with an emphasis on unlikeable ones, sharing examples and specific techniques for evoking reader sympathy and depicting character growth. Whether you write fiction or creative nonfiction, come ready to practice each technique by focusing either on a character of your own or one provided. You will finish with a handout, notes, and generated writing.

$150