Every writer has overwhelming subjects—the places, events, people, themes, or parts of ourselves that pursue us or elude us or keep us up at night. Maybe we’ve tried to write something umpteen times, and keep hitting a wall. Or maybe we never try, unsure of how to enter, or what we might find there. Perhaps we’re waiting for someone to die before writing it, or it’s something we could write only from the grave. 

This workshop will offer participants helpful approaches to writing overwhelming subjects, strategies of entering and developing, of managing place and time and emotional distance, of narrowing and broadening, while keeping perspective on what would (or wouldn’t) overwhelm readers. The craft and methods we acquire, in rendering such things, is ultimately what shapes us as writers. There will be models, discussion, exercises, and Q&A. Participants will have opportunities to share, but will never be forced to.

In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts.