Writing Personal Essays and Memoir

Writing Personal Essays and Memoir

Monday, July 25, 6-8 p.m.  

Workshop fee: $20. Registration required. 

Learn to craft compelling personal essays and works of memoir by using fictional techniques such as setting, dialogue, scene description, and plot elements. Attention will also be given in this workshop to sources of publication. Need ten students minimum to hold the class.

Randy Rudder has an MFA in creative writing and over 25 years of professional writing experience. He is an author and a TV producer with the Christian Broadcasting Network.

For more information, call 615-371-0090 Ext. 8510 or e-mail brigid.day@brentwoodtn.gov.

Writing Your Life Stories

 

Writing Your Life Stories

Tuesday, March 22, 6-8pm

 Workshop fee: $20

Register here.

Instructor: Randy Rudder 

Some people simply want to write their life stories to leave a legacy for their children; others are concerned about self-expression; still others would like to publish a memoir or autobiography. In this workshop, we first discuss the purpose for writing, and then identify the best vehicle for that purpose. 

This workshop covers the four formats to life writing: memoir, essay, autobiography, and creative nonfiction. Learn to cultivate the stories of your life and assemble them in a proper format, as well as how to appropriate fictional techniques such as plot, theme, dialogue, character, setting, and tone to your stories. 

Randy Rudder has been a college English professor, freelance writer, writer/producer with the Christian Broadcasting Network, and author.  He has written for Nashville Lifestyles, The Nashville Business Journal, Country Weekly, Bluegrass Unlimited, American Profile, and many other publications. He is also the author of The Country Music Reader (2007) and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music edition (2011).

For questions, call Brigid Day at 615-371-0090 ext. 8510, or brigid.day@brentwoodtn.gov.

Creative Writing: What if?

Wednesdays

February 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th,

March 2nd, 9th

4:30-5:30pm

Ages: 9-13

Class fee: $99 for 6-week session

Advanced Registration Required

Jennifer Trafton will teach a series of 6-week foundational creative writing classes introducing kids to a writer's way of looking at the world. Everyone has an imagination—it is the source of inventions, scientific discoveries, great art and music and stories, fear as well as hope—and one of the most important questions our imagination asks is “What if?"

Payment will be expected the day of class, before the class begins. Payment can be made in exact cash or check.

For more information, contact 615-371-0090 Kersten Fons at 615-371-0090 Ext. 8040 or kersten.fons@brentwoodtn.gov.

"Spies in the Universe" - Creative Writing Classes by Jennifer Trafton

Creative Writing Classes by Jennifer Trafton

3rd-5th grade, 9-13 year olds

Children’s Storytime Room

4:30-5:30pm

$99 for 6-week session

Jennifer Trafton, author of "The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic", will teach a 6-week series of foundational creative writing classes introducing kids to a writer's way of looking at the world. Different sessions will be held throughout the year. When you register for the 1st session for the 6-week program, you have registered for all the sessions in the 6-week program. Limit of 10 students per 6-week session.

Painting with Words: October 21st & 28th, November 4th & 18th, and December 2nd & 9th

During this 6-week session, the writers will learn to be "spies in the universe" by paying close attention to the world around them, find astonishment in ordinary things, start a

word collection, and then use some basic writing tools to "paint pictures with words." This will be a very fun, interactive, and hands-on class.

Register online or call Amanda Chappell at 615-371-0090 ext. 8290 or the Children’s Library ext. 8380. Dates are subject to change.

 

To check out the story News Channel 5 School Patrol featured about this class, click here.

News Channel 5 Covers Creative Writing with Jennifer Trafton

We were so excited to have News Channel 5 School Patrol visit us to find out more about "Creative Writing with Jennifer Trafton"! Watch the story now by clicking here.

Creative Writing by Jennifer Trafton

Creative Writing Classes by Jennifer Trafton

3rd-5th grade, 9-13 year olds

Children’s Storytime Room

4:30-5:30pm

$99 for 6-week session

Jennifer Trafton, author of "The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic", will teach a 6-week series of foundational creative writing classes introducing kids to a writer's way of looking at the world. Different sessions will be held throughout the year. When you register for the 1st session for the 6-week program, you have registered for all the sessions in the 6-week program. Limit of 10 students per 6-week session.

Painting with Words: September 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th and October 7th

During this 6-week session, the writers will learn to be "spies in the universe" by paying close attention to the world around them, find astonishment in ordinary things, start a

word collection, and then use some basic writing tools to "paint pictures with words." This will be a very fun, interactive, and hands-on class.

Register online or call Amanda Chappell at 615-371-0090 ext. 8290 or the Children’s Library ext. 8380. Dates are subject to change.

Writing Workshop: Writing Your Life Story

This workshop covers the four formats to life writing: memoir, essay, autobiography, and creative nonfiction. Learn to cultivate the stories of your life and assemble them in a proper format, as well as how to use fiction techniques such as plot, theme, dialogue, character, setting, and tone. 

Date: Thursday, October 3
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online - Click Here

Literary Lecture: Hardboiled Detectives in Hammett, Chandler, and Parker

Though it has its roots in those mythological heroes who risked everything to bring the innocent safely out of the Underworld, the modern detective novel is a uniquely American invention. Marilyn Fisher, Ph.D. discusses the works of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Robert B. Parker and their influence on American detective writing. Readers will enjoy hearing selected passages and learning about each writer's style, while aspiring writers will learn skills about writing detective short stories and novels from these master writers.

Date: Thursday, May 9
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Fee: $20.00
Registration: Online - Click Here

Children's Creative Writing Class Series

Encourage your child's love of writing! Jennifer Trafton will help young storytellers in grades 3 - 5 improve their creative writing skills. Jennifer's debut novel, The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and is a nominee for Tennessee's 2012 Volunteer State Book Award.

Each class will be different, and students may come to one class or all 4. Classes will be held every Thursday in March from 4:30-5:30, and the class fee is $15.00 per class. Each student must register online, and there is a maximum of 10 students per class.

Painting with Words: Thursday, March 7^th

A good writer is in love with words--the way they look, the way they sound, and the way they come together to make pictures in our imagination. Writing helps us see the world in new ways, like an artist. In this creative writing workshop, kids will be "painting" pictures with words, then using their word-paintings to  practice descriptive writing that uses all five senses.
Click here to register

The Music of Words: Thursday, March 14^th

Discover how words whistle, whoosh, gallop, sizzle, and splash! This poetry workshop will explore the wonderful noises words make as we play with rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, and onomatopoeia.
Click here to register

Treasure Maps: Thursday, March 21^st

Where can you find the Last Dinosaur's Funny Bone? How do you get to the Gruesome Pit of Grossness? What lies hidden in the Place Where Stories Are Born? Fantasy lovers will enjoy this opportunity to draw a map of their own imagined world, then hide a treasure there and write creative directions to avoid pitfalls, encounter adventures, and find the X that marks the spot. 
Click here to register

Creative Creatures: Thursday, March 28^th

This creative writing workshop is all about animals! Kids will draw their own fantastical creatures, then learn about fables and "Just So" stories in order to write short tales about the animals they've invented.
Click here to register