Free Writing Workshop in honor of Women’s History Month 

with Nina Wise
Monday March 20
10:00 – 11:00am, PST

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” ― Joan Didion

I am offering a free writing workshop in honor of Women’s History Month and all the great women writers who have boldly told their stories despite the myriad of obstacles on their paths. 

During this 60-minute workshop, I will offer a teaching about storytelling, lead you in a guided visualization, and then you will write! There will be an opportunity to share your work in a breakout room with a fellow writer. 

Register here

The Heart of the Matter: Finding Your Story and Telling it Well

an 8-week Writing Workshop with Nina Wise
Mondays 10:00 – 11:30am, PST
April 3 – May 29

Every day of our lives is filled with stories. Some are acknowledged as profound and live changing when we fall in love or fall ill, when we have a fight with a loved one or colleague, or when a baby is born or a loved one passes. Many go unnoticed even though there is great profundity in even the very mundane.

As we take the time to write our stories, we begin to unveil layers of meaning that previously remained hidden in plain sight. And as these layers of meaning are revealed to us, our lives become more meaningful, our sense of our own value more secure. We develop wisdom and compassion.

To know ourselves and the world, we need a way to reflect upon both.

This workshop provides us a way to do just that: to take the time to develop our craft as storytellers and come to know ourselves and the characters who share our lives more fully.

Each week, during our 90 minute session, I will give a teaching on a particular craft element, guide a visualization, and you will have 1 or 2 timed writing practices. You will have the opportunity to read your work aloud in a break out room

You will also be invited to join a cohort group of 3-4 participants who will meet weekly for 60-minutes to review what we did in the session, write together and read their work aloud.  The cohort group is purely voluntary.

Each session will be recorded in the event you can’t attend live or wish to review it again. You will be sent a link to the recording within 48 hours after the scheduled class is finished.

Fee $320 (?)

Telling the Story You Want to Tell: on the page, on stage or on the web

a 6-month writing workshop with Nina Wise
September 2023 – February 2024

In the workshops I’ve been teaching over the last couple of years, I’ve laid out essential craft issues that strengthen a writer’s work and discussed the common misperceptions that weaken it. Many of my students have experienced deep insights about their own lives and the lives of others. They have also noted that their writing has improved by leaps and bounds.

Now they have expressed a desire to take a story from beginning creation stages to a completed draft.
So here we go.

Over the course of this 6-month workshop you will be invited to identify the story you want to tell, develop the story, and if possible complete a first draft. 

Private Sessions
You will have two private sessions with Nina to review your work (up to 3000 words). 

Structure of the Workshop
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.

Week One: Overview and General Guidelines 
Week Two: Finding the heart of the story
Week Three: Identifying the characters
Week Four: Process— Outline vs Writing into the Void vs Combo
Week Five: Finding the scenes that compose the story
Week Six: Writing scenes vs description
Week Seven: Time—past, present, future
Week Eight: Plot, a series of actions
Week Nine: Character Transformations
Week Ten: Structure
Week Eleven: Finishing a draft
Week Twelve: Q and A: What obstacles have emerged
Week Thirteen:  TBD
Week Fourteen: Rewriting and Editing
Week Fifteen: Where to go from here
Week Sixteen: TBD 
Week Seventeen: TBD
Week Eighteen: TBD
Week Nineteen: Closing, evaluation, where to go from here

Cohorts
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.

Dates
September 14, 21, 28
October 5, 12, 19, 26
November 2, 9, 16, 30
December 7, 14
January 11, 18, 25
February 1, 8, 15

Deadlines
Application Due August 1, 2023 
First submission due November 9
Second submission due February 1

Fee: $1,950
Can be paid in two installments
$975 upon acceptance 
$975 by December 14, 2023

To Apply 
Please submit a sample of your writing no longer than 1000 words to  ?
Application Fee: $25

Refund Policy

We do our best to keep our fees very affordable and hope you understand that there are many administrative hours and costs that are involved in running our programs. We also understand that things come up for people and want to accommodate your change of plans as best we can. So here is our refund policy:

The registration fee for Motion’s online events is non-refundable. If you withdraw within one week prior to the first session, the fee you paid can be applied to a future Motion Theater workshop within one year (less 20% processing fee).

* All workshop sessions are recorded and available for 4 weeks after the final workshop session. The links will be sent to you each week (only for those registered for a multi-week series).

* Motion will consider refund requests due to an extraordinary circumstance or emergency on a case by case basis if you withdraw within one week prior to the first session. To request a refund of this nature, please contact us and explain your situation.