Write Now is a weekly time to write in the company of others. Using Zoom to come together, we write for 25 minutes, take a break, repeat.
There is no sharing or critique of your writing, only fast-paced, supportive productivity in the company of other writers. It is fun, exciting, and might be the thing to help you finish (or start...) your manuscript. These virtual sessions help participants set aside time to write and be with other writers in an informal setting.
The sessions are led by a rotating team of hosts including Jen Scheiderman, Amelia Ramsey, Kassia Sing, Genevieve Douglass, and Steve Bice.
Additional sessions available on Thursdays, 9:30-11:30 am.
You can register at any time, even if a session has passed.
A Zoom link will be sent one day prior to each session to the email you registered with. Please watch for this email. Signing up does not mean you have to commit to all the sessions.
Studio Lead: Jessica Dubey [email protected]
Additional sessions available on Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30 am.
This open mic is an opportunity for writers of all levels of experience to read their work to an appreciative audience.
This is a great way to reach new readers and meet people who love words as much as you do. It takes courage to share your work with others. Be brave!
We have slots for 12 readers to read five-minute selections. Register as "Reader" soon to snag one of these spots. We have plenty of room for members of the audience to enjoy some great readings.
Ages 14 and up are welcome.
View BARN’s currentCOVID-19 health and safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition assistance is available. Fill out the application before registering for a class (this event is free).
For those who might need physical assistance, learn more about our Companion Program.
We’re excited to offer Open Mic for poets of all experience levels to read their work to an appreciative audience.
Ann lives on Vashon Island where she stewards its Poetry Pole and was Vashon's Inaugural Poet Laureate. Her most recent poetry volumes include "Rain Violent" (Empty Bowl), "Back Cut" (Black Heron), and "Harpoon" (Ravenna Triple Series). As a poet, she collaborated with book artist Catherine Alice Michaelis (May Day Press) on the fine-art chapbooks, "Volcano Blue," "Tide Turn," and "A Wild Taste."
Michele Bombardier is Bainbridge Island’s first poet laureate. She is author of "What We Do," a Washington Book Award finalist; has published more than a hundred poems and reviews; holds an MFA in poetry; and is the founder of Fishplate Poetry, offering retreats and workshops.
This free event is sponsored by Arts & Humanities Bainbridge, the city of Bainbridge Island, Bloedel Reserve, and BARN. Join us every third Thursday for featured and open mic readings.
This event will be in BARN's Great Room on the main level.
View BARN’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition assistance is available. Fill out the application before registering.
Learn how to plot out a well-structured screenplay that is both compelling and producible in just one month.
You'll learn the basics of screenwriting, including structure, character development, dialogue, and more.
Colette Freedman is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Her plays and musicals have been performed all over the world, including "Serial Killer Barbie" and "Sister Cities." She just returned from Carnegie Hall where she was the dramaturg for the musical "Mozart: Her Story." Colette has produced a number of films and written several indie gems including "And Then There Was Eve," which won The Los Angeles Film Festival. She co-produced "Quality Problems," which has won several awards on the festival circuit. She is in post-production for her coming-of-age film "Miles Underwater." Her Amelia Earhart film "7,000 Miles," starring Wendie Malick, is currently on the festival circuit. She is a faculty member at New York Film Academy, Antioch University, and Studio Arts where she teaches screenwriting, playwriting, and novel writing.
www.colettefreedman.com, (@colettefreedman)
Natalie Akers is a pianist and educator who arrived on Bainbridge to teach and learn at IslandWood. She has worked on bringing interdisciplinary and music programs to middle and high school students in the US, France, and Japan and believes in songwriting as a powerful tool for young people to develop a positive and authentic sense of self. She has taught writing in vocational high schools and toured the US playing keyboard in the Jenner Fox band. Sisters Folk Festival review: “It’s a rare person who gets to hear Natalie play and doesn’t find themselves wishing they played piano or falling a little more deeply for music.”
This class will help you step back and see your fiction or nonfiction work through fresh eyes and a business-based perspective. We’ll identify the things that make your work unique, marketable, and irresistible to publishing gatekeepers. Then, with lots of examples and time for practice and personal feedback, we’ll work on verbal “elevator pitches,” the short hooks that also are great for query letters. We’ll cover the structure of query letters, and cover some tips and tricks for getting an agent or publisher’s attention.
This also is a valuable class for self-publishing writers who want to pitch their books so that readers pay attention.
You will:
1. Be challenged to consider their work from a fresh, detached, commercial perspective.
2. Learn how to condense full-length fiction and nonfiction projects into industry-appropriate 1- to 2-page synopses, and identify compelling “hooks” that make great verbal pitches and query letter descriptions.
3. Gain a realistic understanding of what publishers and agents are looking for in new authors, including author platform, compelling concept, and connection to existing popular trends.
Learn how to create and develop humorous characters.
Shakespeare created Falstaff. Lily Tomlin created multiple characters. David Sedaris is his own humorous character. So is Nora Ephron. Lena Dunham. Dave Barry. Such characters delight, entertain, inspire, and inform readers.
This class considers a few questions when it comes to creating humorous characters, such as: "Does my character react to life humorously or use humor to navigate life?" "Does the humor provide relief, amusement, or share a truth?" "What actions, speech, likes, dislikes, and mannerisms make a character funny?"
