Events › Capturing The Muse - Creative Writing For Older Adults

Capturing The Muse - Creative Writing for Older Adults     6-part program with author Amanda Skenandore

Over the course of the program, seniors age 55+ will write and revise new material with a focus on craft development, experimentation & creativity, and community building.  Each session will include exercises and discussion designed to develop specific writing skills including story structure, character development, pacing and perspective, effective literary devices, and self-editing.  At the last session, the writing assignment will be combined with an art project in which family, friends and the general public will create a community collage about each senior's written work.  The art & writing will be on display for two months on the Community Sustainable Art Wall in Clark County Library. Sessions will run for six consecutive Mondays: July 11, July 18, July 25, Aug 1, Aug 8, and Aug 15 starting at 1pm.  Seniors who complete all six sessions will receive a certificate of completion. 

July 11 - Fundamentals Of Story--  Learn the Aristotelian three-act structure and how it applies to modern creative writing. 

July 18 -  Characters-- Understand the principle of round vs. flat characters, and learn skills such as character interviews and backstory exploration to develop engaging characters. 

July 25 - Pacing & Perspective--  Learn how pacing and perspective influence a story, the three types of point-of-view and variations within, and techniques for modifying the pacing of your writing.

August 1 - Literary Devices-- Discover several literary techniques that can be employed to strengthen writing including figurative language, parallelism and the rule of 3's.

August 8 - Self-Editing--  Students will share their writing and offer critique as they learn the importance of self-editing along with specific techniques to use when editing. 

August 15 - Feeding The Muse and Final Presentation/Art Project-- Learn ways to keep the creative spark alive through reading, observation, play, critique partners and community writing groups.  Audience is invited to attend and participate in creating a collage about the final writings presented by the students.  

About the instructor: Amanda Skenandore is the author of Between Earth and Sky, an historic novel chosen as one of Publishers Marketplace's Buzz Books 2018 Spring/Summer. Amanda has penned several works of short fiction and is an active member in her local writers' group and the Southern Nevada writing community at large. When teaching, Amanda focuses on the artist's journey to empower and inspire writers, help them grow their craft and expand their horizons. She has been a presenter for various community organizations including the Las Vegas Book Festival, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, and the Writer's Block book shop. 

The six-part creative writing series is free admission & open to seniors age 55+.  The public is welcome to attend the last session on August 15. For more information or to register, please call 702-507-3458. 

This activity is made possible by a Creative Aging grant provided by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in partnership with E. A. Michelson Philanthropy.