What is Jumpstart Writing?

Jumpstart Writing is a workshop designed to get your fingers moving and pen writing past that Old Doubting Critic and Planner lodged in your fore-brain, simply getting in the way. We just jump straight into writing, finding our way into new material, new stories, new poems. It is similar to freewriting, in that we write without stopping, following impulse and the random generator of an unleashed mind, no crossing out, no editing.  We use creative prompts, culled from a wide variety of sources, to get us going and keep writing onward. 

Prompts can be the first line of a poem, a random object, or the evocative smells of spices. We take exercises from Improv, writing books; we create scenarios with random connections or words.  Here are three suggestions that I have used this past month. Try one of them and see what you come up with. Just like free-writing, set a timer for 10 minutes,  20 minutes --- and GO!  Write fiction, write poetry, follow memories - or combine them for a multi-genre piece.

• The dog tipped over a wastebasket - what spills out? Set the scene: what kind of dog, whose is it? How did it get into the trash? what kind of trash?  Describe the spilled contents; what is revealed by what someone throws out?
• What is your (or your character's) favorite holiday song - and why? Describe the sounds, the emotions, the memories.
• Find a weird random object in the Junk Drawer and describe how it feels to the touch. Include it in a story  - or write about the memory it evokes? Could it become a metaphor in a poem? 

Remember, the results are a first, rough-draft response, similar to quick sketching in a drawing class. Not every response is going to be inspiring - but many of them are surprising, revealing material you didn't even know you were going to write about. And many of these responses can then be developed over time and a few more drafts into something more polished and crafted. But only if you want to!

Here's to finding some time to sit down and write --feel free to  use these prompts to get your fingers moving, your words flowing.

Write on,
Lakin

Last Jumpstart Writing Workshop for 2019 - this Weds, Dec 18th!

Join us for the Jumpstart Writing Workshop in San Rafael...

... this Wednesday, Dec 18, from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Workshops are held in the lovely Marin Kombucha Café, right there in front of Copperfield's Books, 850 4^th Street, San Rafael.  We will have several sessions of free writes, jumping off from a variety of  prompts to generate new words, new work, new plots, new insights. Fresh suggestions surprises us, gets the  ideas hopping and words flowing!

Open to all levels of experience, backgrounds and practice, this is a fun place to explore memoir, fiction, poetry. Cost per drop-in workshop is $15. Workshop is facilitated by Lakin Willard Khan, local writer and educator, with many years of experience running writing groups and workshops. We believe in the power of putting pen to paper;  bring a notebook -- and several pens or pencils!

This workshop is part of the JumpStart Writing Workshops hosted by Marlene Cullen and Susan Bono and Lakin Khan at Copperfield's in Petaluma. Visit Marlene's blog The Write Spot to learn more about this philosophy of spontaneous and free writing.

Not to worry if you miss December's workshops - we'll start up again in 2020 on January 8th!

Email Lakin at lakhan@sonic.net with questions

The Write Spot 
https://www.thewritespot.us/jumpstart.php

 Copperfield's San Rafael 

 https://www.copperfieldsbooks.com/san-rafael

Jumpstart in San Rafael - two more Wednesdays in December!

Join us for the Jumpstart Writing Workshop in San Rafael.

... this Wednesday, Dec 11 and next, Dec 18, from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Workshops are held in the lovely Marin Kombucha Café, right there in front of Copperfield's Books, 850 4^th Street, San Rafael, on Wednesday evenings.  We will write freely, jumping off from a variety of  prompts to generate new words, new work, new plots, new insights. Fresh suggestions surprises us, gets the  ideas hopping and words flowing!

Open to all levels of experience and practice, this is a safe and fun place to explore memoir, fiction, poetry. Cost per drop-in workshop is $15 – no charge for your first exploratory visit. Workshop is facilitated by Lakin Khan, local writer and educator.

This workshop is part of the JumpStart Writing Workshops hosted by Marlene Cullen and Susan Bono and Lakin Khan at Copperfield's in Petaluma. Visit Marlene's blog The Write Spot to learn more about this philosophy of spontaneous and free writing.

Not to worry if you miss December's workshops - we'll start up again in 2020 on January 8th!

Email Lakin at lakhan@sonic.net with questions

The Write Spot https://www.thewritespot.us/jumpstart.php

 Copperfield's San Rafael 

 https://www.copperfieldsbooks.com/san-rafael

More Thoughts.....

Much of our trouble, it seems to me,  goes to the silo-ization of our news and information, the echo effect of social media algorithms, the narrowing of our intake. Few of us get balanced news of any kind anymore without effort – it's too easy to hear only what we want to hear, to get news presented in a way that supports our opinions, our view point. It is happening so fast that it is in fact twisting our politics, our psyche, our ethos.  I see the source of this silo-effect going back to the decision to allow partisan and biased news on media several decades ago – and the subsequent lack of  balanced viewpoints being part of our conversations and experience. 

Now we have social media that pretends to be a source of news -- but it is more an echo chamber of ill-formed opinions. Really, social media acts as a magnifier; it's  a gossip-monger. We just see yelling and chest-thumping and my-way-or-the-highway... but no listening to reason, no attempt to understand other points of view or trying to reach a consensus or compromise, little investigation, unless you do it yourself. Until those skills in our news sources come back into favor, until we treat social media to the same high standards as true journalism, we are going to stay in this quagmire, this deep doo-doo of innuendo, of manipulation of the facts by the least scrupulous. 

Or do I have this wrong?

Articles of Impeachment - finally!

Articles of Impeachment are being drawn up as I write - actions I could only fantasize about in the aftermath of the 2016 election. This is far from a done deal, but as they say in sports, don't let the predictions get in the way of playing the game. Even though there are polls and statistics and odds, what actually happens is anyone's guess.  We have to put the pieces in play and see what happens. Of course, the Republicans are going to try to twist things as much as they can; they'll sure put up a face-saving fight -- but then there's the reality of the facts on the floor of the Senate. 

And yes, it's sad to see Kamala Harris drop out -- but I do admire her willingness to face the music, address the facts and not strain her supporters' money or time.   I hate that a woman dropped out and especially a woman of color - but I know she'll stay on the national stage; she has a role to play.  Personally, I can't wait to see her cross-examine (read:grill) the Cheeto-Headed Small Hands False President.  Flames, I tell you, flames. I hope she renders his false facts right out of him.

And of course, the more this False President points to the Ukraine as the source of our election interference, the more deeply embedded he seems to be in Putin's pocket. And he doesn’t even seem to care how blatantly obvious it is to everyone else.