08/18/2025
The time is now! KC-area folks, register for our free writing workshop, September 5 & 6.
Here's how our session leader, Professor Luke Rolfes, describes the writing sessions:
The first workshop session, "Making Space for Your Story," will be about giving yourself the freedom to write something without trying to be incredibly profound or life changing. We'll probably spend a lot of time talking about scope---figuring out what folks want to write and why, and how to grow essays from ideas to something larger.
The second session, "Giving Words Space to Breathe," will be about craft. I'll talk about the usage of space in writing and go through a couple of techniques such as minimalism/underwriting, indirect dialogue, and summary/exposition versus putting something in real-time scene. We'll do some activities where we
write something two different ways to see how it looks and behaves differently for the reader.
The third session, "Sharing Space: When Stories Intersect," is where I want folks to think about branching out and how stories connect to other stories, etc. This session should be about writing about the self but also being able to bring in other topics/stories/perspectives, perhaps from research. Questions we can ask include: How do you bring in research in a way that is useful for you as a writer? What about a fiction
writer or poet? How do you use the people and communities around you to make yourself a better writer?
Here is the link to the Friday, September 5 event, Kansas City Veterans Write: The Importance of Holding Space https://kclibrary.org/events/kansas-city-veterans-write-importance-holding-space
This is the link to the Saturday, September 6 workshop, Kansas City Veterans Write: My Space, My Story. https://kclibrary.org/events/kansas-city-veterans-write-workshop-my-space-my-story
Sign up and show up. We'll be waiting for you!
Writers Virginia Brackett and Luke Rolfes lead a writing workshop that’s open to veterans, families of veterans, and those interested in telling stories about their own service or those who have served. They guide writers and poets of all skill levels through exercises to help them put their varie...
