In the Beginning…

My independently run creative writing workshops evolved out of a popular series of Continuing Education courses I taught at the University of Toronto, and were launched in 2004.

The Basic Structure and Spirit of the Writing Workshop

Throughout the year I offer a general creative writing workshop which explores various components of narrative prose – exposition, dialogue, voice, point-of-view, style, etc., through weekly, assigned writing prompts. The prompts are designed to spark the imagination and hone various elements of the craft; and are short enough to write in minimal time (around an hour) and discuss in their entirety in class.

Typically, there’s a mixture of fiction and creative nonfiction assignments in each session, and students of varying levels of experience. Each workshop series is tailored to the particular interests, needs and levels of experience of participants in the group.

The workshop in general is conceived as a supportive, illuminating, entertaining and provocative environment in which to develop narrative skills and ideas.

Well, all that sounds so clinical, and while accurate, lacks luster and pizzazz.

Same Thing, More Pizzazz

I scour the entire writing galaxy to find the most exciting and illuminating prompts, which I give out on a weekly basis. These prompts are like a little warm fire, lit under your derriere, to get you writing. My commentary and the class discussion of your completed prompts will elevate, expand and refine your writing capabilities, and hopefully fill your head with new, useful ideas about how to write, and what to write. Each prompt also teaches something very concrete about the craft of writing.

As for the spirit of the thing, any creative writing class I teach would have to be a lot like any class I wanted to attend–an experience to look forward to; an occasion to get fired up, laugh, and learn something substantial. Entertaining, but serious; respectful, but honest.

Some Typical Material Covered in my Writing Classes

• How to get started writing–where to find ideas, how to use material from your life, overcoming the fear of the blank page, techniques and tricks for launching stories and memoirs, writing prompts from the instructor
• What makes for great writing? The seven magic ingredients of great writing (this part comes after you sign up) Examples of great writing, contemporary and classic, are read and discussed.
• “Authenticating Details” How the choice of the perfect details brings the page to life in the reader’s mind, and can transform mediocre writing into potent and memorable prose. But what are the perfect details?
• Cliches: Why You Should Avoid Them (“Like the Plague”)
• Two big choices every writer faces: P.O.V. and tense
• Discussion of fiction vs. nonfiction–stories or memoirs, what really distinguishes the two, and which would best suit your aims and abilities as a writer.

Beyond the General Workshop

Now and again, I offer a writing workshop with a more specific focus, such as one devoted exclusively to fiction, creative nonfiction, or one on character development.

For my repeat students I offer all new prompts, and the opportunity to bring their own work into class. I also offer smaller creative writing classes in my home, maximum six students, throughout the year.

Who is Roxanne Snider?

Roxanne Snider (a.k.a. Me, but you cannot narrate these things in 1rst person with any authority) is a writer, editor, and teacher with published articles on books, music, travel, health, architecture and social policy. She has taught literature, music, and creative writing at the University of Toronto’s Continuing Education, in various Toronto bookstores, at The Holocaust Education Centre, and in private creative writing workshops. Along with writing, editing and teaching, she has also produced cultural programming for the CBC, hosted a classical music radio show, and taught piano. She has a B.A. in Music and Literature and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Bennington College. Her writing teachers have included Barbara Gowdy, Amy Hempel, and Sven Birkerts.

Some Not-so-Random Thoughts on How I Teach Creative Writing

Just about everyone who takes a creative writing course has some story or memoir or voice or nebulous blur of a narrative inside of them that wants to come out. From the head to the page is not always that easy–precious vapours sometimes escape in translation.

So, I can help with that. Also, help you:

• write more naturally, concisely and freely
• find the kind of material, dredged up from within, coined from the world, or merely imagined, that keeps you, the writer, and readers, energized and engaged
• find or invent the narrative forms that make writing what you want to write possible
• develop a more objective eye on your own writing, so that you can make improvement in later edits

From over 20 years of teaching creative writing, I know that people write for all kinds of reasons–to tell a story, to settle a score, to amuse or express themselves, and perhaps most commonly of all, as a form of self-discovery. How often have I seen students grappling with some life experience on the page in a very real effort to comes to terms with it, to understand it or themselves. This is a big part of why I like teaching writing, and something I encourage–going somewhere emotionally challenging and real and writing from that place. And not because there will be therapeutic benefits (though there usually are) but because it leads to heightened awareness, dynamic writing, and a lively, charged workshop experience.

Another cornerstone of my teaching is the notion of learning through reading. I can teach you a few things; Chekhov, Lorrie Moore and Jeffrey Eugenides can teach you a lot more. I also like to introduce students to a bumper crop of great writers that aren’t well-known in this country. You’ll leave my workshop newly-aware of dozens of exciting writers, past and present, from various genres.

It’s my hope that what I offer in my creative writing class has a long shelf life–that ideas and inspiration might continue to stoke the writing urge for years to come, and help students sustain the act and love of writing throughout their lives.

My Inspiration and Model

A few years back I did an MFA in Creative Writing at Bennington College in the U.S. The quality of the program was beyond anything I can briefly describe, but suffice it to say my mind and imagination were blasted wide open and filled with the most exciting, illuminating and inspiring ideas about writing and literature and even loftier stuff, such as the transformative powers of writing on the human consciousness and soul.

When I began teaching at the University of Toronto, I realized I wanted to create some kind of modest replication of that experience: a radically scaled-down outpost of a top-notch American graduate program, for more casual continuing education students. Take my workshop, and you’ll hear much of what I heard there, at bargain basement rates.

I can’t speak of inspiration and models without also mentioning my extraordinary teachers: Barbara Gowdy, Amy Hempel, Maria Flook, and Sven Birkerts.