Seattle Writes offers free writing classes this fall

Strengthen your fiction, improve your nonfiction, experiment with poetry — we have more than 25 free writing classes lined up for writers this fall  through the Seattle Writes series. You’ll also find drop-in writing circles (no pressure! really!), write-ins scheduled during November for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and special presentations on writing and publishing for children and teens. Here’s a taste of what our fall 2018 Seattle Writes faculty is offering:

Anastacia-Reneé on resistance
Laura Da’ on poetry of place
Karen Finneyfrock on emotion in fiction
Reagan Jackson on memoir
Brian McDonald on story structure
Susan Meyers on starting your novel
Peter Mountford on making a scene
Nancy Rawles on writing silence
Beth Slattery on writing for procrastinators
Jolie Stekly on children’s publishing
Anca Szilagyi on contemporary fairy tales
Ann Teplick on teen poetry (for teen writers only)
Kristen Millares Young on better storytelling through research

The Language of Water: Poetry on Buses

By Library Staff

Do you have a thirst for verse? Well, there’s a way to quench it! The Poetry on Buses Public Art Program, a partnership between 4Culture and Metro Transit, invites poets of all inclinations to submit a poem around a particular theme.  The 2016 theme is “Your Body of Water” and the Office of Arts & Culture, Sound Transit, Seattle Public Utilities, King County Water and Land Division and The Seattle Public Library are also taking the plunge.

Science Fiction Friday: Writers Write

By Richard C.

“Serious writers write, inspired or not. Over time they discover that routine is a better friend than inspiration.”
—Ralph Keyes

NaNoWriMo may have come to a close, but that’s all the more reason for writers to retain momentum. Did you submit to the library’s self-publishing contest or hear about Write out of this World? Maybe you’ve considered the Potlatch Convention or the Clarion West Workshop. Writers write, but that doesn’t mean you have to do everything alone. Here’s some library help especially for you aspiring SF and Fantasy writers.

Conversations with Octavia Butler 
Give this one a try before diving into the resources specifically on writing advice and developing ideas. Octavia Butler was not only a multiple award winning SF author, but her interviews reveal much about what the experience of writing SF is like. In a 1980 interview, hear about her frustrations as a young writer as well as issues of identity and authorship you probably can’t get anywhere else. In another, hear about how she became the first SF writer to win a MacArthur Genius Grant and why she first started a writing career. In my favorite one she shares her thinking on portraying aliens in SF…

 

For Writers: Getting The Historical Details Right

by Andrea
There is no one season for writing, but often the fall feels like a time of rededication – students back to school, weather which encourages staying indoors, even National Novel Writing Month in November if sprint writing is your thing. To help you refocus, through November the Library is offering a variety of free workshops and panel discussions on the craft of writing and the process of self- publishing.

But you know what? We also have a ton of cool books and other items to help inspire you, verify details, and tell your story. Check out these companion lists:

http://seattle.bibliocommons.com/list/share/158658551_

novel_librarian/312050657_for_writers_getting_the_historical_details_right

Beautiful in the Mouth: On the Reading and Writing of Poetry

 What is a poem on a page but a Field of Light and Shadow where

For Love of Common of Words, A Radiant Curve catches 19 Varieties of Gazelle

gazing into Darkening Water becoming Human Dark with Sugar going

Heart First into the Forest Meaning a Cloud, Torn Awake is coming to be

torch song tango choir Dismantling the Hills of The City, Our City is a Cloud of Ink

Becoming Weather just One Hundred Steps from Shore the Flood Song of a Floating City

floats in on The Heaven-Sent Leaf to rest among The Red Leaves of Night

where Bird Eating Bird in Green Squall leave us A Wreath of Down and Drops of Blood

that lie down too Beautiful in the Mouth

Now that National Poetry Month, with its reign of readings, has abated, why not plant new seeds in time for next year’s poetic harvest? Whether you are new to poetry or a seasoned reader, a particular poem or poet can inspire a desire to try your hand and pen your own musings. Reading poems can serve to whet one’s appetite for delving into the verdant realm of verse. You’ll find a range of poetic styles and subject matter hidden in the lines of the “found poem” above which is composed from titles of books in the library’s collection.

Read aloud, a poem sharpens the listener’s ear to nuance and meaning. A bounty of voices can be heard on the following audiobooks:

• The Classic Hundred Poems
• The Poets’ Corner
• O’ Black and Unknown Bards
• After the Fire
• Rumi
• Classic American Poetry
• American Poets
• She Walks in Beauty
• Heaven in a Wild Flower

If you’re ready to get in touch with your poetic voice, the following offerings will provide insight and inspiration to anyone venturing forth into the lush world of language:

• Unleash the Poem Within: How Reading and Writing Poetry can Liberate Your Creative Spirit
• Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out
• The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets
• The Everything Writing Poetry Book: a Practical Guide to Style, Structure, Form and Expression
• The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within
• Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions