Join us on Saturday, February 26th for NYWC’s 16th-annual NYWC Write-A-Thon!
Write-A-Thon will be entirely virtual again this year—but that doesn’t mean you can’t write with others. This year’s event will be an eight-hour goodie bag of craft and prompt-based writing workshops, plus a keynote conversation with Madeleine George, a 2014 Pulitzer Prize finalist (The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence) and writer on the hit Hulu show Only Murders in the Building. Click the button below to purchase your ticket!
2022 Write-A-Thon Workshops & Keynote
10:30 – 12:30 PM (ET)
Traditional NYWC Workshop led by Timothy DuWhite & Takiyah Jackson
NYWC’s traditional workshops are generative, prompt-based opportunities for writers of all genres and levels of experience to flex their creative muscles. During each two-hour workshop, the facilitator/teaching artist will provide a prompt, give participants a set amount of time to write, and then leave time for people to share. (These workshops will be capped at 10 participants.)
Note: Each Write-A-Thon participant may sign up for one traditional workshop during the day; however, three different traditional workshops will be offered simultaneously during each time block—10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
Starting Points—Express! led by Calley Anderson
Have a great idea for theater, film, or television but not sure where to begin? Join us for “Starting Points, Express!”—an abbreviated version of NYWC’s popular BWP workshop led by Program Manager Calley Anderson.
In this two-hour session, participants will learn about the basics of scriptwriting and investigate five key elements—or “starting points”—that will help them make headway on their stage- and screen-based projects. They’ll also receive expert tips and complete in-workshop exercises geared toward creating strong openings for plays, screenplays, or TV pilots. By the end of this workshop, participants will be armed with notes and insight into writing loglines/synopses, and developing outlines, plot, characters, structure, and more!
Note: Participants do not have to have written in these forms before—but should come to this workshop with an idea for a play, screenplay, or TV pilot ready in mind.
WAT Sprints
Write-A-Thon Sprints are perfect for participants seeking inspiration by generating a lot of new work. In each session, the workshop facilitator will share a new prompt every 10-20 minutes and give participants time to write. After each round, a few volunteers will read—and the process will repeat until the two hours are up. Participants can expect to leave with the seeds of several new pieces.
12:30 – 2:30 PM (ET)
Traditional NYWC Workshop led by Tasha Paley, Takiyah Jackson, and Michele Gilliam
NYWC’s traditional workshops are generative, prompt-based opportunities for writers of all genres and levels of experience to flex their creative muscles. During each two-hour workshop, the facilitator/teaching artist will provide a prompt, give participants a set amount of time to write, and then leave time for people to share. (These workshops will be capped at 10 participants.)
Note: Each Write-A-Thon participant may sign up for one traditional workshop during the day; however, three different traditional workshops will be offered simultaneously during each time block—10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
Lost & Found: Elegies and Odes led by Elena Georgiou
Participants in this workshop are invited to dive into an exploration of loss and joy. Elena Georgiou will offer a series of generative ideas (a.k.a. prompts) derived from short inspirational readings that will lead to moments of discovery—revealing through our writing what is lost and unearthing what may be found. Freedom will be a guiding principle of this session: If you are moved to stay with a prompt while writing, you will have the freedom to continue working on that piece rather than moving on to the next one. Whatever is best for you and your writing. (This workshop is open to writers in all genres.)
WAT Sprints
Write-A-Thon Sprints are perfect for participants seeking inspiration by generating a lot of new work. In each session, the workshop facilitator will share a new prompt every 10-20 minutes and give participants time to write. After each round, a few volunteers will read—and the process will repeat until the two hours are up. Participants can expect to leave with the seeds of several new pieces.
2:30 – 3:30 PM (ET)
Madeleine George in conversation with NYWC’s Calley Anderson
Madeleine George’s plays include Hurricane Diane (Obie Award), The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence (Pulitzer Prize finalist; Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award), Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England (Susan Smith Blackburn finalist), Precious Little, and The Zero Hour (Jane Chambers Award, Lambda Literary Award finalist). Her honors include a Whiting Award, the Princess Grace Award, and a Lilly Award. Madeleine’s translation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters is set to premiere at Two River Theater in 2022, and her audio adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For is forthcoming from Audible Originals. Madeleine is a founding member of the Obie-Award-winning playwrights’ collective 13P, the Mellon Playwright in Residence at Two River Theater, and a writer on the Hulu mystery-comedy Only Murders in the Building. Since 2006, she has worked with the Bard Prison Initiative at Bard College, where she currently serves as Director of Admissions.
Madeleine grew up writing in Amherst Writers & Artists workshops and was certified in the AWA Method in 1999. She trained as a NYWC leader in 2004 and led a number of NYWC workshops around the city over the years, including at Hopper House, an alternative-to-incarceration program for women; a pre-trial intervention program run by the Brooklyn DA; a senior citizen center in Fort Greene Park; and the Ali Forney Center, a shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth. She was a member of Aaron Zimmerman’s Tuesday night NYWC workshop for four years.
3:30 – 5:30 PM (ET)
Traditional NYWC Workshop led by Tasha Paley, Takiyah Jackson, and Michele Gilliam
NYWC’s traditional workshops are generative, prompt-based opportunities for writers of all genres and levels of experience to flex their creative muscles. During each two-hour workshop, the facilitator/teaching artist will provide a prompt, give participants a set amount of time to write, and then leave time for people to share. (These workshops will be capped at 10 participants.)
Note: Each Write-A-Thon participant may sign up for one traditional workshop during the day; however, three different traditional workshops will be offered simultaneously during each time block—10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
Process & Progress: Personalized Goal Setting For Your Writing led by Aaron Zimmerman
In this workshop, participants will develop a better understanding of their individual writing processes as they work toward a finished product. How do we set writing goals and accomplish them in the face of life’s present challenges? What are the stories we tell ourselves about our writing, and what deeper truths remain invisible? How do we handle the fact that many stories unfurl at their own pace—one that is often much slower than we plan and hope for? And despite such uncertainty, how do we keep ourselves motivated and accountable to the projects we’ve envisioned?
Participants will leave this workshop with deeper insight into how they work best, goal-setting strategies to keep them moving forward, and a self-generated list of achievable short- and long-term writing goals.
WAT Sprints
Write-A-Thon Sprints are perfect for participants seeking inspiration by generating a lot of new work. In each session, the workshop facilitator will share a new prompt every 10-20 minutes and give participants time to write. After each round, a few volunteers will read—and the process will repeat until the two hours are up. Participants can expect to leave with the seeds of several new pieces.