Friday, October 17th (All Times In PST)
Day One: Your Starting Point
Registration
With WR Team
Check in at Writing Room's headquarters. You'll be greeted at the door by a member of our team and receive your guide for the weekend. Then grab lunch with a fellow writer!
Livestream Begins
With WR Team
Meet other writers and make connections with participants from around the world. Introduce yourself to other participants online, Zoom is officially open!
Orientation
With WR Team
Don't miss this opening session that will ground you in exactly what you want to accomplish, and what skills you want to leave the weekend with.
Design Your Creative Life
With Claire Giovino
Learn how to balance discipline with flexibility, build habits that sustain your energy, and tap into renewal practices that keep your writing practice fresh.
Break
With Other Attendees
Get a drink, grab a snack, stretch your legs — an amazing workshop is coming up. Longer meal breaks will be provided over the next two days!
How Stories Begin
With Anne Lamott
Learn how to turn the seed of an idea into a finished piece. Anne will show you how to capture ideas as they come and turn scattered notes into full drafts.
Q&A
With Anne Lamott
Ask Anne your most pressing questions about writing, discipline, doubt, or process — the floor is yours. Virtual attendees too!
Book Signing
With Anne Lamott
Spend some time with Anne face-to-face, the small size of the event will give you more one-on-one time. Or head out early to get some rest, tomorrow is a big day!
Saturday, October 18th (All Times In PST)
Day Two: Deep Dive
Silent Writing
With WR Team
Arrive early at our headquarters to get in some writing before a big day of learning begins. Find your favorite seat and bring your coffee, you're in for a treat.
9:00am - 10:30 am
(90 MIN)
Worldbuilding
With Erin Roberts
Determine which worldbuilding elements are most important to your story and how to put them on the page to make the most impact on your reader.
11:00am - 12:30pm
(90 min)
Make Your Setting Matter
With Erin Roberts
After a quick break, learn how to ensure that the world you build impacts your characters and that the setting carries your reader through the story.
Lunch Break & Dialogue 101
With Other Attendees
Go grab lunch and take a walk — San Francisco is beautiful in the fall. Or hop on the virtual stream for a bonus class on dialogue with professor Andrew Steiner.
Creating Story Momentum
With Erin Roberts
Use the power of foreshadowing and anticipation to create momentum, while getting clear on how your story's past and present explain character motivation.
Building Story Tension
With Erin Roberts
Tension isn't just for fast-paced page-turners; it's a tool for every writer's toolbox. Learn how to create tension in the reader's mind and how to depict tension on the page.
Dinner Break & Poetry Deepdive
With Other Attendees
Recharge with a meal — it's almost time to share your work! Grab a fellow writer and find somewhere to eat, or hop on the virtual stream for bonus class with professor Brad Modlin.
Ink & Improv
With Jack Ashman
Join Writing Room's co-founder for an interactive, playful session of writing prompts, immediate implementation and some sharing. The perfect way to end the day.
The Story Of Your Life
With Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl reveals her process of turning pain into a best-selling book and feature film. A deep-dive into the odyssey of getting a book completed.
Sunday, October 19th (All Times In PST)
Day Three: Completion
Silent Writing
With WR Team
Arrive early at our headquarters to get in some writing before a big day of learning begins. Find your favorite seat and bring your coffee, it's the final day.
Unreliable Narrators
With Erin Roberts
Whether you're writing a protagonist who holds back some truth, or a story whose ending changes the reader's perspective, learn when to reveal what in your story.
11:00am - 12:30pm
(90 min)
Crafting Your Story's Voice
With Erin Roberts
Learn everything about voice, tense and point of view, while mastering your line-level craft — like how sentence length and word choice add resonance and meaning to your stories.
Lunch Break
With Other Attendees
It's your final meal break! Grab lunch with other attendees and swap contact information — these could be your future writing partners.
Small Groups
With Other Attendees
Get to know your cohort better! Learn who is working on what, which genres are represented, and even exchange feedback.
Open Mic
With WR Team
You've spent the past two days writing, now it's time to share your work. Virtual attendees, get ready to share your writing too!
Closing Ceremony
With WR Team
Honor all you've learned and let us celebrate you as the graduating cohort of our very first Craft Intensive.
Activate Your Creative Formula
With Jacob Nordby
You are always using a formula in your life, however the process is unreliable when it remains in the unconscious.
Setting Sail: Now What?
With Anne Lamott
Our final event of the evening concludes with Anne's decades of writing wisdom. Gather around a love for this one, shared desire - to write.