I am ready to take Writing Our Lives on the road. I’ve created this Craft Talk and Generative Class to do exactly that. Read below for more detail and click on the link for PDF of the pitch. If you are interested in bringing me to your town, college, university or organization, please contact me at vamartir@gmail.com.

Writing the Ghosts that Haunt by Vanessa A. Martir

Are there stories that you circle back to again and again? Stories about your life that you want to tell, but you don’t know where to start? Do you wonder what could come of tapping into your reserves, mining for the deeper stories and your deepest feelings? Vanessa Mártir, a renowned workshop leader and storyteller, has delved into the darkest places of her life to find the brightest lights, and will help you do the same in this craft talk and generative class.

Participants of “Writing the Ghosts that Haunt” will:

1. Come away with an understanding of why their stories are important and necessary.
2. Compile a list of stories they can dig into.
3. Begin to write at least one of the personal stories from this list.
4. Begin to add sensory details to the story they select.
5. Zero in on and develop a scene in this story.

Ghosts leave their vestigial traces all over your work. Once they have decided to haunt you, that is. These ectoplasmic moments litter your work for years. They are both the veil and the revelation, the thing that leads you to the cusp of the transformational. I call these ectoplasmic moments avataric manifestations. ~ Chris Abani

All artists, writers among them, have several stories–one might call them creation myths–that haunt and obsess them. Edwidge Danticat

Duration of session: 3-5 hours depending on what the organization wants and can handle

Requirements for the facility: a dry erase board, ability to make copies of handouts

Quotes available upon request. Contact Information: vamartir@gmail.com 

View pitch in PDF form here: Writing the Ghosts that Haunt by Vanessa A. Martir