Writing Workshops, Poetry, Autobiography, Creative Nonfiction, Short Story: The Writer Gallery

The 2008 Writer Gallery

                                                                       Techniques That Take Your Writing To The Next Level

All workshops take place on Sunday or Thursday (mid-summer) afternoons from 1-4 pm.      

Table of Contents (Click on underlined subjects.)  

  1. What is the Writer Gallery?
  2. What are the subjects, of upcoming workshops?
  3. Where are the workshops located and what are the dates?
  4. How much does it cost and how do I sign up?
  5. Who is the workshop facilitator?
  6. f I have questions or want to know if this fits a particular project I'm working on who can I talk to?
  7. Where can I buy books by John Lehman? Right Here!

 

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What is the Writer Gallery?

The Writer Gallery is a unique concept created by John Lehman, founder of Rosebud magazine, award winning poet, novelist and biographer. The idea is to provide busy people interested in writing, a one-day, weekend  workshop that will help them get to the next level (whether they are beginners or advanced) and to do this in a setting that is both pleasant and convenient and for an affordable price. Typically the workshops involve eight to twelve people and are a combination of guided exercises, discussion and individual instruction. Lehman has presented similar workshops in New York, Boston, San Francisco and other cities across the U.S.

 

“I thought your presentation  was fantastic," said Patrick Lobrutto, a senior editor from Bantam, and  literary agent Georgia Hughes, formerly an editor from Harper San Francisco, complemented it as, “entertaining, inspiring and extremely helpful for writers of all levels of ability.” This is high praise from leaders in the writing profession who not only appreciate good writing and effective speaking, but attend many conferences in the course of a year and are able to make such comparisons. Your innovative autobiography workshop,  was probably the best attended of all the breakout sessions. On average, these attracted 15 to 25 participants. Your session had them standing in the hallway outside the room (probably close to 100 people)."  

--Nannette Potter, Conference Director, Writer’s International Network, Fresno, California 

“Super job at the UW-Madison Writers Institute — thanks! Comments on the evaluation forms included: “Really taught us how to write. John Lehman was helpful. He addressed the important elements of writing very clearly and concisely.” “John Lehman conveyed the material graphically, a great speaker.” “Very engaging presentation, provided a lot to think about.” “Best presenter with a real magnetism and solid information. Dynamic, clear, informative. John Lehman’s was by far the best workshop for me. His information flowed and he covered what he said he would, as well as being enthusiastic and full of  wisdom.” I  agree; I thoroughly enjoyed John Lehman's sessions too. 

--Christine DeSmet, Conference Coordinator of the Wisconsin Writers Institute, Madison, Wisconsin

                       

What subjects are being offered?  Where and when are these workshops?
 

Workshop Offerings

Please Check Dates and Locations to the Right. 

(More detailed description at the bottom)

  1. Poetry: From Personal to Powerful—Discovering the Voice that is Great Within Us (Beginners to Advanced)  
  2. Make Good Writing Great—6-Steps to Writing the Kind of Fiction or Creative Nonfiction You Love to Read (Beginners to Advanced)
  3. The Story Only You Can Tell—Innovative Methods for Autobiography, Biography and Memoir (Beginners to Advanced) 
  4. Writing from Life—Secrets to Creating and Selling Dynamic Non-Fiction (Beginners to Advanced)  
  5. The 3-in-1 Advanced Workshop—How to Achieve Real Success with Your Writing (Advanced)
  6. Book/Chapbook 101—All You Need to Know from Concept to Distribution (Advanced)
  7. Writing Out Loud —Employ Acting Techniques to Make Your Fiction and Non-Fiction More Dramatic (Beginners to Advanced)
  8. Short Story Magic—Power Tools for Today’s Writer’s of Short Fiction (Beginners to Advanced)
  9. Awakening the Writer In You—The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started Writing (Beginners)
  10. Coaching Your Kid’s Writing—How to Help Your Children and Students Write with Passion, Meaning and Purpose (Beginners to Advanced)
  11. America’s Next New Poet—The Secrets to Dazzling Poetry for High School and Advanced Middle School Students (Ages 12-18)
  12. Collaborative Writing—A Simple Writing Method for Two People (Husbands and Wives, Two Friends, Parents and Children) that Leads to Surprising Results ((Beginners (15 and older) to Advanced))  
1. Poetry: What do you bring to the writing of a poem and what stays with someone after they hear it? The language of poetry lets us understand something through images that appeal to the senses. Through short written exercises, giving feedback on the work of others in the class, and analyzing the short work of poets such as Robert Frost and Lorine Niedecker, you will discover how you can make that poetic leap from personal statement to magic. Come prepared to grow - to intensify your poetry by sharpening drama, to shape movement so it fits content, and to discover how you can transform an entire piece into a metaphor for your reader by your choice of title and ending.

2. Good to Great: Whether you're new at writing or a published professional, interested in fiction or non-fiction, John Lehman's innovative, 6-step method will start you well on the way to producing the kinds of stories, articles and books you, yourself, love to read.  You'll learn how to take greater risks by probing the conflict beneath the surface and how to incorporate techniques from acting and film editing into the process of writing in order to achieve a heightened reality and dramatically increase reader involvement.  One former participant stated, "It's a whole new approach to writing.  After years of being dissatisfied with my work, I'm now back at it and feeling a new kind of power in what I produce."

3. Biography: Apply the techniques and structure of storytelling to your own life's experiences. John  Lehman shows you how to use a new approach to writing autobiography that utilizes character development, scenes,  thematic  conflict, drama and dialogue to give shape and  meaning to the events of your life and make your story interesting to others. Autobiography, biography and memoir are no longer reserved for the famous or those who are writing a family history for their descendants. It's an exciting way to "see the pattern in the quilt"--to make sense for yourself out of the diverse elements of your experience and to be as actively engaged  within your own story as is a reader who eagerly turns the page.

4. Writing from Life: Here are the forces at work below the surface that affect editors and publishers. Discover, for example, how each book or article must offer a tacit promise to an audience and how to shape your work to make it memorable. Use these eight techniques to find the best subjects, develop them most effectively and market the results for quickest success. You will never read (or write) a piece of non-fiction the same way again. John Lehman has had articles in The Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Tribune, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Omni and more than fifty other consumer and trade publications.
5. The 3-in-1 Workshop: In this workshop participants at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels will find out what they need to know now to become the writers they want to be. Most people who write do well in one or two of the three areas critical for success: 1) written execution, 2) recognition & publication, 3) personal gratification. But substantial results depend upon accomplishing all three. Surprisingly these are interrelated beneath the surface. This workshop examines the hidden dynamics of fiction and creative nonfiction. It explores how dramatic scenes hook attention and satisfy a reader, and it helps participants unblock positive channels through which more meaningful material will flow.  Specific techniques—such as capturing memorable descriptive detail and making dialogue come alive on the page—make sense when they fit a scene’s well defined purpose and the clear direction of an article or book. John Lehman, a novelist, award winning nonfiction author, editor and publisher says, “You will leave this workshop with definite knowledge of what you have to do and how to do it, as well as enough experience from written exercises and the discussion of examples to be convinced that, given the right tools, it’s harder to fail than to succeed.”   
6. Writing Out Loud--Employ Acting Techniques to Make Your Fiction and Non-Fiction More Dramatic: If you find yourself narrating a story rather than dramatizing it, take this workshop, it will change the way you write.  A writer, like a director, needs to get the most out of his or her characters (who are like actors) whether he or she is writing novels, short stories, biography, screenplays or creative non-fiction.  This is not a class in performance but rather an in-depth presentation of the methods and theatrical devices to: 1) intensify drama, 2) explore subtext, 3) make dialogue dynamic, and 4) communicate emotions. Learn how events provoke action and action triggers discovery.  Fun, surprising, stimulating!  Gain practical, behind-the-scenes techniques you can put to immediate use in your writing. 

 2008 Schedule

Questions, Call John at 1-800-7-TO-KNOW 

 
April 

13 Sun, Cambridge, Poetry From Personal to Powerful

17 Madison, Wisconsin People & Ideas Contest Reading (Avol’)         

19 Minneapolis, Loft: Make Good Writing Great                                                   

20 Minneapolis, Loft: Story Only You Can Tell                                        

27 Sun, Lake Mills, Make Good Writing Great

 

 June

17 Waukesha, 3-in1 Workshop  

20 Friday, Lake Mills, Arts Reading—8 minutes (7-9pm)

22 Sun, Lake Mills, Make Good Writing Great

 

28 Milwaukee, Alverno College, Telesis Great Lakes Workshop

29 Sun, Galena, The Story Only You Can Tell

 

 

July
 13 Sun, Mineral Point, The Story Only You Can Tell
  

20-25 Rhinelander, Short Story / Market Yourself (afternoon)

26 Minneapolis, The Loft—Short Story Magic, 10-4

27 Minneapolis, The Loft—Story Only You Can Tell, 10-4

 

August

3   Sun, Janesville, Writing from Life

10 Sun, Baraboo, Writing from Life

17-22 Green Lake, Secrets of Creative Nonfiction

24-29 Door County, The Clearing, 3-in-1 Workshop

 

September

7  Sun, Monroe, The Story Only You Can Tell

14 Sun, Cedarburg, Coaching Your Kid’s Writing

21 Sun, Galena, The 3-in-1 Writing Workshop

27 Sat, The Loft—Make Good Writing Great (10-4)

28 Sun, The Loft—Writing from Life (11-5)

 

October

4  Sat, Edgerton Film Fest, The Story Only You Can Tell

    16-19, Madison, Wisconsin Book Festival

26 Sun, Janesville, The Story Only You Can Tell

 

November

2   Sun, Rockford, Make Good Writing Great

9   Sun, Skokie, Collaborative Writing

 

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How much does it cost and how do I sign up?

The cost for the 3 hour Sunday afternoon workshop is $60 advanced registration (by check or credit card)--call to reserve a spot and you can pay at the workshop--and $80 day of the event if there is no advance arrangement (only check or cash that day). If you register and for some reason cannot attend the workshop or it is not what you expected, your money will be promptly refunded without question. The cost covers extensive handouts and materials, plus coffee and ice tea. There is nothing further you will need. The most direct way to register is to send your name, address, telephone number and a check made out to John Lehman (workshop facilitator): WriterGallery.com, 315 Water St., Cambridge, WI 53523--this should be sent postmarked at least three days prior to the workshop date to assure your place. TO REGISTER BY CREDIT CARD CLICK ON THE "BUY NOW" BUTTON NEXT TO THE SPECIFIC REGISTER ON THE SCHEDULE ABOVE.

Most people like to call and chat a bit with John about their writing before signing up. Please do. There is no obligation and you will have a better feeling for what will be covered and the types of people attending. Call 608-423-9609 or 1-800-7-TO-KNOW. 

                 

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Who is the workshop facilitator? 

John Lehman is a regular instructor at The Clearing in Door County, Redbird Studios in Milwaukee, The Loft in Minneapolis and at the UW Program of Liberal Studies in Madiso. He is founder of Rosebud magazine, poetry editor of the Wisconsin Academy Review, and founder/publisher of the new web-zine, CoolPlums.com. He has three collections of poetry: Shorts, Brief Poems of Wonder and Surprise (Zelda Wilde Publishing),  Dogs Dream of Running (Salmon Run Press) and Shrine of the Tooth Fairy (CBR Press) and his work has appeared in dozens of literary journals, such as the Atlanta Review, the Manhattan Review and the California Quarterly. His book on Wisconsin poet Lorine Niedecker, America’s Greatest Unknown Poet is nationally distributed through IPG, the foremost distributor of small press publications. It was selected as Pick of the Month by Bookviews and optioned by Fierce “i” Films for a movie version. His recent business book is Everything Is Changing, How to Gain Loyal Clients and Customers Quickly (Zelda Wilde Publishing). John has a MA in Curriculum Development from the University of Michigan and is a regular instructor an. He has taught workshops and seminars on writing in Boston, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Saint Petersburg and in many other cities across America. Also check out www.JohnLehman.info.

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If I have questions or want to know if this fits a particular project I'm working on who can I talk to? 

Feel free to contact John Lehman directly with any questions or concerns you have. He may be reached at 608-423-9609 or 800-7-TO-KNOW, john@WriterGallery.com or by cell phone at 608-235-2377. If you get voice mail, leave your name and number and a good time for him to return your call.

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Where can I buy books by John Lehman? Right Here!

The Writer in You 

 6-Step Writing Program

6- Audio Cassettes

by John Lehman
Click here for detailed description and/or to buy any of these books.

http://www.damngoodbooks.com

  If you prefer to pay for books by check or want to send a purchase order and be billed, write: The Writer Gallery, 315 Water St, Cambridge, WI 53523.  
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Revised: 06/06/08.