Hello, this is David Schmader.  Here (again) with Queen Anne Writers Studio to tell you more about my Brainstorming class, which I’ve taught for years at Hugo House and am now launching for the first time at Queen Anne Writers Studio.

The basics: The main point of this Brainstorming class is to give writers of any genre a method of ransacking their imaginations in a way that reliably connects them to the unique raw material of their stories and reveals an organic plan of attack.

The goal: normalizing that part of writing when you must forsake the quest for perfect composition and clarity to root around in the messy swamp of possibility.

Consider the class a boot camp for practicing two distinct steps: figuring out what you want to say, and figuring out how you want to say it.
Previous installments of the class have included novelists, essayists, poets, monologists, songwriters, screenwriters, even grant-writers. There have been novices just feeling their way into creative writing and seasoned professionals with a specific project to attack. If you’re the type of person who’s always got five project ideas simmering on the back burner, pick one and attack it here.

I like to use classtime for things that can be done only in class—out-loud reading and discussion of drafts, group reading and discussion of supplementary texts. Then I send you off to do the lonely work of actual writing all by yourselves, with directions to bring the results back to class next week. (There’s nothing as generative as a deadline.

Looking forward to working with you.  For more information, please click.

David

David Here!

Hello! This is David Schmader, and very soon I’ll be at Queen Anne Writers Studio.

Icebreaker query: What do I mean by brainstorming?

To me, brainstorming is a catch-all term for the various ways of answering two questions: “Where do I start?” and “What do I do now?”

Sometimes it’s a matter of finding what it is you want to write about. Sometimes it’s a matter of having a story you want to tell and not being sure where to begin. Sometimes you’re in the middle of a piece of writing and not sure how to proceed.

Whatever the case, the questions “Where do I start?” and “What do I do now?” come up again and again, and the method of brainstorming I’ll be sharing is the best way I’ve found to answer those questions, whenever they arise, without going insane.

And I say that because “Where do I start?” is exactly the type of question that can tie me up in knots, because there’s no “right” answer. It’s not a math problem, it’s a creative question, which has to be decided by listening to your gut and heart, which can be challenging if not terrifying. The techniques we’ll be dealing with in class are designed to help navigate the part of writing that requires you to relinquish the need for the Right Answer and splash around in a sea of possibility, with a minimum of existential angst.

For full info and registration, go here.

6 Week Brainstorming with David Schmader

What: Brainstorming Class
When: Sundays beginning October 22 to November 27
Time:  12:00-2:00 pm
Where: Queen Anne Writers' Studio 1911 10th Avenue West
Who:  12 students looking for help getting started, staying focused, and keeping motivated
How much: $299