Creative Writing Workshop

Did you enjoy fairy tales as a kid? Do you still enjoy them now? I certainly do. Be it children stories or fiction for adults, I feel that every story I read expands my imagination and my brain. I get introduced to new people (the characters), new places, new eras. The stories might be imaginary, but the emotions I experience while reading them are real. And that is why I am so grateful to my mother, for teaching me to love books.

I have been an avid reader since I turned four and started writing my own stories at the age of nine or ten. I was actually creating stories before that, but I was not able to channel my creativity in a productive way, so I just said ridiculous, humongous lies. After that short, embarrassing phase, I was finally able to turn my imagination into actual stories and share them with others. This has been giving me great pleasure ever since.

From the moment we knew that Loulou was going to join us into this world, I knew that I wanted to offer her the gift of Book Love. I have been reading to her, while she was still in my belly, I am reading to her now and I make sure that she sees me reading books as well. But since I enjoy expressing myself and my intentions through writing and sketching, I decided to create a book inspired by and dedicated to her. And that’s how Lou was born.

Now that our life is somewhat less chaotic compared to the first months of Loulou’s life, I have decided to share with other people the joy that is to create your own fairy tale.

You can see all the information on the poster, but I just wanted to talk a bit more about my approach:

• The groups will be small (6 participants per group), so that I can have a personal relation with each one of you and be able to dedicate enough time to your ideas and, eventually, stories.
• The workshop is open to people who speak decent English. I am not a native speaker either, but this is not about linguistic perfection. It is about expressing yourself. I will help you out with writing the final text, if needed.
• My mixed background (architecture studies and working as a writer) allows me to help you express yourself using a mix of words, images and sounds. We can create fairy tales that stimulate all the senses!
• You will have total creative freedom. I am not here to tell you what to write. I am here to help you express YOUR vision.
• There will be team work as well. Each participant will be asked to give feedback to two other participants. This way you can have an idea of how others perceive the concept of your fairy tale and enrich each other’s work. We will use a closed facebook group for that or a mailing list.
• You get to present your work. The last week of the workshop (or maybe on a separate date) we will arrange a public reading. You can then read your fairy tale to friends, family and other guests. You can accompany your reading with a slide show or even music, if you like.

This is a great workshop for people who love kids, be it their own children, their students, nephews and nieces or just the kids of their friends. By the end of the workshop you will have your own fairy tale to share with your favorite tiny people. And I can tell you from personal experience that this feeling is just great!

This workshop will also be particularly beneficial for you, if you have trouble expressing yourself. Yes, fairy tales are imaginary stories, but they can become allegories of our personal struggles and fears. Morphing these struggles into a story can help you deal with them. Don’t worry though, I am not going to force you to do deep soul-searching, if you don’t feel like it.

Another benefit of joining this workshop is that it can help you improve your story-telling abilities. Yes, fairy tales are about imagination and expression. But in order to create a good fairy tale, you also need a good structure. This is your chance to learn about good structure in a fun way and then apply this writing skill in other aspects of your life.

Finally, I want to share with you a few pictures of MET, where the workshop will take place 🙂 The coffee there is GREAT, by the way.

MET

MET II

MET III

The MET team has moved some furniture around and I have no pics of the facade with the windows, or full-of-potential second floor, or the amazing attic. Check out more about MET here.

So, are you with me?