Instructor: Kimberly Lee
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Class Term: 10/17/2023 - 11/14/2023
Tuition/Fees
SCN Member: $125
Non-Member: $165
Class synopsis
Come develop your body of writing through your writing body. In this highly generative, interactive workshop, we’ll get in touch with how the body impacts our writing—and vice versa. We’ll engage with a variety of reflective writing exercises, short readings, and imaginative prompts using the body as our theme.Class description
“The body offers deep truths all its own.”—Stephen Kuusisto and Ralph James Savarese
In this highly generative four-week workshop, we’ll get in touch with how the body impacts our writing—and vice versa. We’ll explore and discuss the work of writers who have effectively used the body as a source of inspiration, then craft our own pieces on this topic by engaging with imaginative prompts designed to awaken our senses and enliven our characters. Each week will include an opportunity for reflective writing; materials to read, watch, or listen to; and an engaging creative writing prompt. Participants will be able to post their writing and receive helpful feedback from the instructor and each other.
Class goals
Recognize the effective use of the physical body in works by a variety of authors., Understand methods of using the body as a theme in the individual writing process., Have a sense of playfulness and lightheartedness when writing about the body., Write about the body on both a micro and macro level.
Class communication method
This four-week course will be conducted on the beautiful Wet Ink platform. Participants will receive an invitation to join the class and log in upon registration. All materials and resources will be posted there, and each unit will open at the beginning of the week. Participants will be able to interact with each other by posting their writing, comments, and feedback at their convenience.Class outline
Each week will involve a variety of engaging writing prompts and opportunities to share work for feedback.
Unit 1: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes—Introduction & welcome; distinct body part focused reading excerpts; breaking it down—parts of the body; reflective and creative writing exercises.
Unit 2: My Body—memoir, poetry, fiction reading samples dealing with aspects of having a body/being in one’s own body; body sensations; internally focused reflective and creative writing exercises to explore self/character.
Unit 3: Your Body—memoir, poetry, fiction reading samples dealing with aspects of interacting with other people’s bodies; relationally focused reflective and creative writing exercises to explore self/character in relation to an external body or bodies.
Unit 4: Space Around the Body (Proprioception)—memoir, poetry, fiction reading samples dealing with aspects of the experience of the body in space and in relation to the environment; reflective and creative writing exercises to encompass our entire experience.
Writers of all levels of experience who are interested in exploring the body as a topical source of writing and infusing their work with sensory detail that enlivens characters in any genre.
Class time commitment
2-3 hours per weekInstructor bio
Kimberly Lee left the practice of law some years ago to focus on motherhood, community work, and creative pursuits. A graduate of Stanford University and UC Davis School of Law, she is an Amherst Writers & Artists facilitator and serves on its board of directors. She is also trained and certified by The Center for Journal Therapy, The Center for Intentional Creativity, and SoulCollage®. She has led workshops at numerous retreats and conferences and is a teaching artist with Hugo House and The Loft.
A former editor and regular contributor at Literary Mama, Kimberly has also served on the staffs of Carve and F(r)iction magazines. She holds a certificate in copyediting from UC San Diego Extension and is an active member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and ACES: The Society for Editing.
Kimberly’s stories and essays have appeared in publications and anthologies including Minerva Rising, LA Parent, Fresh Ink, Words and Whispers, Toyon, The Ekphrastic Review, Wow! Women on Writing, Read650, Quillkeepers Press, I Am Woman: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America, and elsewhere. Her manuscript, Have You Seen Me, was a semi-finalist in Simon and Schuster’s Books Like Us First Novel contest.
Kimberly enjoys day spas, rose gold, and flared yoga pants. She’d love to use words like harbinger, liminal, and zeitgeist in a quick, saucy comeback. Kimberly trusts in the magic and mystery of miracles and synchronicity, and believes that everyone is creative and has unique gifts to share. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three children.
