Monday, August 9, 7 p.m.
Chatauqua Community House, Boulder
a reading with Colorado writer Laura Pritchett
www.chatauqua.com

Laura and I will precede the reading by teaching a pair of writing classes that afternoon from 1:30 to 5:30, in North Boulder. The classes come as a pair and cost $60. You can sign up or find out more by e-mailing me here

Writing Sex Well

One of Laura Pritchett’s most popular classes, Writing Sex Well will have you giggling, writing furiously, and exploring the possibilities of writing real stuff in a real way. Sex is not always good, but it’s always revealing! Whether it’s fantastic, boring, strange or predictable, sex is one of the most powerful unions and sensations we experience, and it shouldn’t be skipped or avoided in writing. On the other hand, a sex scene shouldn’t be included unless it serves a purpose, which is to illustrate the characters and the larger themes of the work. This workshop will introuce examples of good literary sex scenes and explore some ideas about writing sex well — how to direct an honest gaze at this most fascinating activity.

I’d Rather Gnaw My Arm Off Than Write That!

Memoir may sound like an easy genre, because you know the material — you were there, right? But the truth is writing memoir brings you face to face with things you’ve done and decisions you and others have made that you’d rather leave out. But good narrative may demand they be acknowledged on the page. I will draw from the experience of other memoirists, as well as describe my  own final, wine-assisted surrender to writing down the bare, shuddering facts in her own book. And I’ll talk about how forgiving the reading public has been. Then we’ll do some fun, generative writing exercises to assist the beginning of the surrender to the truth.