photo by Jens Wazel

The Art of Storytelling: on the page or on the stage

A 6-month writing workshop with Nina Wise
June – December 2024
Thursdays, 4:30–6:00pm Pacific Time, on Zoom
18 sessions + 2 private meetings

Our lives are full of stories. Stories from long ago, from the more recent past and stories from yesterday and today. And whether we know it or not, our stories long to be told, to emerge from where they lie hidden in the recesses of our minds and enter a shared space. 

Evidently, we humans have told stories from the moment we discovered language — as a way to pass along knowledge, to entertain one another, and to know ourselves. 

The craft of writing, comprised of tools and guidelines that are employed to write well, provides a methodology to improve our work. And as our work improves, we gain deeper insight into our own hearts and minds and the world at large. In this way, the art of storytelling is a spiritual practice.

This workshop is devoted to the art of storytelling as a way of coming together to come home to ourselves.

The workshop is appropriate for those who are wanting a weekly practice and to those who are engaged in a writing project and in need of support and guidance. 

PRIVATE SESSIONS

You will have two private sessions with Nina to review your work (up to 3,000 words). 

WORKSHOP STRUCTURE

Each week we will focus on a single craft issue. I will give a teaching, guide a visualization and you will have 1 or 2 timed writing practices. You will then go into breakout rooms to read your work aloud to one another.

Session 1 Basic Guidelines of Effective Storytelling
Session 2 The Narrator: Who is telling the story and why they are telling it?
Session 3 Setting: The power of place
Session 4 Characters: How relationships drive our narratives
Session 4 Scene, scene, scene: The power of real time
Session 5 Transformation: The power of change
Session 6 Time: The presence of the past, the pull of the future
Session 7 Dialog: The power of unpredictability
Session 8 Contraction/Expansion: How to open up a moment, how to condense
Session 9 Structure: The architecture as the story
Session 10 Plot: This leads to that
Session 11 Longing: The driving force
Session 12 Central Conflict: The organizing principle
Session 13 Going Deep: The archeology of desire
Session 14 Editing and Refining: One draft leads to the next
Session 15 TBA
Session 16 Q and A
Session 17 TBA
Session 18 Closing

COHORT GROUPS

You will be invited to be a part of a cohort group of 3–4 people to meet once a week and practice what we’ve focused on in the previous session. While the cohort groups are entirely optional, I encourage you to try them out as people benefit greatly from working together.

CLASS SIZE

The workshop will be limited to 14 participants.

CLASS DATES

June 13, 20, 27
July 10, 17
August 1, 8
September 12, 19, 26
October 3, 10
November 7, 14, 21
December 5, 12, 19

MATERIALS PROVIDED

During the course you will receive

• Written material about the topic we focus on each week

• A reading list of suggested novels, memoirs and craft books on writing

• Excerpts from novels, essays, short stories, memoirs that elucidate particular elements of craft

RECORDINGS

Each session will be recorded so that if you miss a live class you can receive the teaching at a time that is convenient for you. The entire series of recordings will be available online until 4 weeks after the final session.

APPLICATION

Applications due: May 23
You will be notified of your acceptance by May 30th, at which time the first payment is due.

To apply, please

• Email Nina — include a paragraph about why you are interested in this workshop and what you hope to experience and gain, your writing experience (if any)

• Attach a 1–2 page writing sample, no longer than 1,000 words

• Pay the $25 application fee (below)

About Nina

Nina Wise is an award-winning writer, theater artist and dharma teacher. Her book, A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life: Self-Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither was published by Broadway Books/Random House and translated into German and Portuguese. Her stories and essays have been featured in numerous journals including The Sun, Yoga Journal, Tricycle, Shambhala Sun, and collected in anthologies. She has been awarded multiple fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, Marin Arts Council, Theater Bay Area, Society for Experiments in Contemporary Art to name just a few. More here.

Refund Policy

We understand the unexpected can arise. And we want to do our best to support your utmost well being however, because we are limiting the number of participants in this workshop, we will not be able to offer refunds. In case of severe illness that prohibits you from completing the workshop, we will discuss on an individual basis applying a pro-rated amount of your fee to a future workshop.