Friday, April 27, 2012
Return/Cancellation Policies
Register for Bivalve, The Book Club for Writers
Click Here to Register in Three Easy Steps!
Bivalve Books & Schedule
Like bivalves, a class of mollusks whose shells are two pieces hinged together, those who write are hinged to be those who read as well. This course will discuss books in both writerly and readerly fashions. Every two weeks, course participants will read one book, respond to a number of writing directives, and join in discussions that relate the writing directives to their reading experiences. For those who sign up for the Premium Workshop, you'll also receive instructor feedback on at least four of your response pieces during the course. Click Here to Register.
Bivalve Book Club
12Writing happily presents the Bivalve Book Club for writers! This is a 10 week course running from May 12th to July 14th. Bivalve participants will read four books, respond to writing directives correlating to readings, and participate in group discussions on the books and writing directives. Join an online community of writers in growing and thinking as we journey through the works of others!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Fiction Workshop for Adolescents
Attention Readers:
This summer, 12Writing will be offering a special in-person
creative writing workshop for adolescents in the Bloomington-Normal area. The
main focus of this workshop will be fiction writing, although we might touch on
other creative writing genres, such as poetry and creative non-fiction, if the
students want to explore those areas as well. As a group, we will be focusing
on such topics as: creating relatable, multifaceted characters, turning
personal experience into fictional storytelling, and how to write realistic
dialogue. In the later sessions, the students will learn about how to be
critical readers, as well as how to give and receive feedback on story drafts.
We will be providing your student with worksheets and a
storage folder so all he or she needs to bring is their favorite pen or pencil
and enthusiasm for learning to be a more effective writer.
Our course will take place every Saturday for eight weeks starting May 19th and running until July 7th. Depending on demand, we may also be adding a second midweek course to this schedule. While registration is not open for this quite yet, keep checking back here to 12Writing for more information.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Bivalve Book Club Writing Workshop
Yes, it's been a while since our most recent workshop, but that's soon going to change! Coming soon, Emily will be leading our Bivalve, a hybrid book club and writing workshop. Because let's face it: if you want to be a writer, then you need to be a reader. And what better way to read than by joining a group of fellow writers, reading some good books, and then writing in response to what you've read?
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Writing Long-Tail SEO: Is It Still Worthwhile?
In this world of internet saturation, how do we write in such a way as to attract readers? Can we use Search Engine Optimization to help attract readers to our websites? And should we? Or do we risk stifling the content of our writing by packing it with words simply for the sake of Google?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Narrative Snapshots: Foreshadowing Memoir and Jesse Rosten's 2011
How do you write a life? How do you fit all the snapshots of memory into a memoir? Most days, I'm not sure. But this video by Jesse Rosten gives a hint at the interest and complexity we live with each day, every year. As writers, we work toward organizing these snapshots, arranging them into a coherent narrative to share not only with other readers, but also with our future selves.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
One Teacher, Many Discussions: Fostering Independent Student Engagement
How do we balance student engagement with the needs of teaching? How do we stretch the tight boundaries of classroom time? Here is one approach which uses online forums and pre-class discussion as a way to prepare students.
<--Proposal - Facebook Gallery: In the Classroom-->
<--Proposal - Facebook Gallery: In the Classroom-->
Friday, January 6, 2012
Student Engagement: Proposal for Center for Teaching and Learning Symposium
One Teacher, Many Discussions: Fostering Independent Engagement Among Students Inside and Outside the Classroom
In this presentation, we'll talk about how to foster more discussion between students both inside and outside the classroom as a way to enhance classroom cohesion and further students's intellectual engagement.
CTLT Panel Description - Presentation-->
Workshops: An ISU Writing Program Spring Summit Presentation
Title: "Forty-Six Students, Sixteen Weeks, and Eight-Point-Nine Billion Genre Conventions: Using the Writing Workshop to Provide Personalized Feedback for Each Student"
Recognizing the limited time we have with our students and the multiplicity of written and multimedia genres, it's essential that we find effective ways to provide helpful feedback without limiting our own comments to preconceptions of specific genre forms. The writing workshop provides an ideal forum for the instructor to foster a class-wide conversation regarding the writing process and the specific composition decisions made by our students.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Should I Share My Poetry and Fiction Online?
It's the "Catch-22" of publication: you want to publish your work, but many publishers want you to have following before they'll publish your work. To get the following, though, you need to share your work online...but then it counts as "already published," and then you can't send it on to magazines or booksellers.(thanks to Luna S. for pointing this out!) Read on to learn how you can navigate this tricky aspect of self-promotion.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Writing the Novel: Intertwining Plot, Conflict, and the Tapestry of Character Development
 Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net | Novels are complex creatures. They involve a complex weave of characters and events which must still fascinate the reader from the first page to last. The key to unlocking your novel lies in integrating the personal conflicts of each individual character with the central conflict of the whole novel. The goal is to help the reader sympathize with your characters as they struggle not only to "solve" the core problem of the novel, but also as they try to face the dangerous facts of their own lives. |
Monday, July 25, 2011
Do I Need an Agent to Publish My Book?
The publishing world is changing rapidly due to improvements in technology and media. However, many facts of the literary landscape mean that agents should still be a relevant (and very important) part of your publishing plan.
Do you need an agent? Yes and no - it depends on where you are as a writer and what you want for your book. Read on to learn more about when and why you should find an agent. (Thanks to Joserie F. for asking this question.)
Do you need an agent? Yes and no - it depends on where you are as a writer and what you want for your book. Read on to learn more about when and why you should find an agent. (Thanks to Joserie F. for asking this question.)
Monday, June 13, 2011
How to Write a Novel: The Quick Guide
Writing a novel can bee an extremely difficult experience, and yet it remains one of the most rewarding experiences in writing. Public adoration aside, the sense of accomplishment runs deep.
To help you reach that, here are some tips on how to write a novel.
To help you reach that, here are some tips on how to write a novel.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Lead Online Writing Groups with 12Writing
 | Are you ready to encourage fellow writers in an upbeat atmosphere? Would you like a place to share your own work and receive feedback? Looking for experience teaching a writing workshop? Then consider joining 12Writing as a Writing Group Leader. Becoming a Group Leader |
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Motivate Your Students with Purpose-Driven Lesson Plans
 | Our students are now more distracted than ever. As writing teachers trying to hold the attention of our students, we compete with Facebook, Netflix, and the upheavals of the modern family. To keep our students focused on our classes - and, more importantly, to keep them interested in writing - we need to give our students a reason to to study. |
Learn to Market Yourself and Mentor Your Students with Cameron Herold's Double Double
  | Double Double: How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less  No, I don't normally read business books. But I've been trying to expand 12Writing into something profitable, and this book came highly recommended. But you shouldn't read this book just because you're maybe interested in business - this is actually a book about building a solid foundation for any organization. |
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Traditional Workshops vs Freewriting Workshops and the Amherst Method
The structure and goals of the writing workshop have changed a great deal over past hundred years. To benefit the most from a workshop, you should familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of workshops.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Google Wave: Edit This Poem!
| Google Wave is out! And this may be the best way yet to have real-time collaboration online. I think this may revolutionize the way we conduct creative writing workshops, but we'll just have to see. Please click Read More below to see a sample of Google Wave in action. |
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