In this class, we absolutely will not talk about ‘stealing time,’ writing schedules, writing on a daily basis, creating a physical space for writing, word counts, or creating outlines. Every time the word ‘discipline’ is spoken, the group will loudly boo, bang pots and pans, or stomp their feet in emphatic opposition. What we will discuss here is inspiration and imagination. We’ll investigate what it means to  start or re-start a book project, connecting with the root of our desire to write, to create, to speak, to share. We’ll interrogate the internal/external obstacles that keep us from the work we long to do. We’ll question everything we’ve ever thought writing or writers have to be. This workshop will focus on sharpening our hunger to write—day after day, week after week, month after month.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF

• You’re writing a novel, memoir, or short stories.
• You tend to lose steam after working on the project for a while.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

ire’ne lara silva is the author of three poetry collections: furia, Blood Sugar Canto, andCUICACALLI/House of Song; an e-chapbook, Enduring Azucares; as well as a short story collection, flesh to bone, which won the Premio Aztlán. She and poet Dan Vera are also the co-editors ofImaniman: Poets Writing in the Anzaldúan Borderlands, a collection of poetry and essays. ire’ne is the recipient of a 2017 NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant, the final recipient of the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award, the Fiction Finalist for AROHO’s 2013 Gift of Freedom Award, and the 2008 recipient of the Gloria Anzaldúa Milagro Award. ire’ne is currently working on her first novel, Naci.