Events 2017

2017 meetings

General meetings

  • Jan 14, 2017, 11:30 am-3:30 pm, GEPL
    • Round-robin intro and sharing of writing/creative happenings and involvements
    • Introduction & brainstorming/planning for the rest of the season, Paths and Workshops (Tim Yao)
    • Story Structure workshop (Yolanda Huslig) Books and seminars on writing use terms like “three act structure,” “conflict, crisis, resolution” and “ascending action, crisis, denouement” when talking about story structure. What does it all mean and how do you apply these strategies to your own work?
    • Story walls? Editing workshop? stay tuned
  • Feb 11, 2017, noon-4 pm, Woodridge
    • Round-robin intro and sharing of writing/creative happenings and involvements
    • Workshop #1: Book Cover Design – Melinda Borucki and Sara Marschand
    • Workshop #2: How to give an effective critique – Tim Yao – be sure to bring some paper and something to write with for the exercise
    • Story walls (volunteers sought)
  • Mar 11, 2017, 11:30 am-3:30 pm, GEPL
    • Round-robin intro and sharing of writing/creative happenings and involvements
    • Workshop #1: Using acting techniques to write better scenes – Kathy Bright
    • Workshop #2: Index Card workshop: Anna Gabrielli
    • Story walls (volunteers sought)
  • Apr 8, 2017, noon-4 pm, Woodridge
    • Round-robin intro and sharing of writing/creative happenings and involvements
    • Two workshops:
      • Using tarot cards for generating story ideas – Kathy Bright
      • Chocolate workshop – Ed
    • Story walls: Daniel, …
  • May 13, 2017, 11:30 am-3:30 pm, GEPL
    • Round-robin intro and sharing of writing/creative happenings and involvements
    • Two workshops
      • Workshop #1: History and neurology of reading (for writing) – Tanasha Martin
      • Workshop #2: Writing for Video Games – Sarah Johnson
    • Story wall: Daniel (DJRM)
  • June 10, 2017, noon-4 pm, Woodridge
    • Round-robin intro and sharing of writing/creative happenings and involvements
    • Two workshops
      • Story setting workshop – Anna Gabrielli
      • Creative process, getting that spark. — Sam McAdams
    • Story walls (volunteers sought)
  • Sep 9, 2017, 11:30 am-3:30 pm, GEPL
    • Round-robin intro and sharing of writing/creative happenings and involvements
    • Two workshops
      • Workshop #1: Come join us for an afternoon of fun with THE WRITER’S TOOLBOX: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the “Write” Side of Your Brain. From getting past that difficult first line to rounding out characters, these fun exercises will guide you through any creative obstacle.  – Deb Kollar
      • Workshop #2:”Creative Constraints” How creating limits within our fiction help us be more creative. – Sarah Johnson
    • Story walls (volunteers sought)
  • January 2018 (TBD) workshop on storyboarding – Sam Brown?

Anthology 14 meetings

Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre

Writer’s Voice workshop

  • June 17, 2017, 1-4 PM, Woodridge – register here (registration is required); see description below.

Writing Journey general meetings

The Writing Journey is the year-round writing group associated with the Naperville region of National Novel Writing Month that serves the cities and suburbs west of Chicago. As an a la carte writing group, it encourages participants to share their knowledge and experiences through collaborative workshops and writing-related Paths which can cover writing, editing, critiquing, short story anthologies, poetry, social activities and more. All of its events and activities are free; everyone is welcome. There are monthly meetings January through June and in September; check the schedule at writingjourney.org/events for logistics and details on topics. The primary workshop topic for January 2017 is the start of the Editing Path that encourages participants to complete the editing of their novel first draft.

Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre – February 26, 2017 and March 19, 2017

The works of William Shakespeare are beautifully written but many aren’t aware of how much fun they are to read and to act. The Writing Journey, the writing group associated with the Naperville region of National Novel Writing Month, has scheduled a session in the Glen Ellyn Public Library February 26, 2017 and one in the Woodridge Public Library March 19, 2017 for folks to come out to read-through (no memorization required!) one of Shakespeare’s works. Everyone old enough to read Shakespeare is welcome to join us–everyone present will have at least some part in the work (and maybe two or three parts 😉 ). No experience or preparation is needed though it can be helpful to watch some of the free performances of the plays beforehand. To see the play selected for this reading, please see writingjourney.org/events

What do you need to bring? A book or e-book (many are available online or free) of the Shakespeare play we will be performing. If you have a tablet or e-book reader, this works very well. The library also has many Shakespeare books that can be checked out.

What should you expect? Reading Shakespeare and acting out scenes is a lot of fun (and sometimes funny). This is a great way to spend an afternoon stretching your boundaries a little and making new friends. Recharge your creative batteries by trying something that Joss Whedon does with his friends.

The Writing Journey Writer’s Voice Workshop – June 17, 2017

Your writer’s voice is the distinctive quality of your writing that characterizes it in the minds of those who read your works. Readers fall in love with their favorite authors’ writing voice and seek out their books. Becoming aware of your own writing voice is a helpful step towards mastering the craft of writing. This free three-hour workshop held at the Woodridge Public Library is designed to help you understand what your writer’s voice is. Registration is required; participation is limited to 18 people. Participants should bring paper and pen and/or their laptop computer as there will be writing exercises. A second session may be scheduled if there is sufficient interest.