Rabbit Hill Writers Studio - Writing Workshops in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, Screenwriting, Children's Writing

| director's message | sample lesson | student comments |

A note of welcome from Duncan Weymouth, Rabbit Hill's Director...

At Rabbit Hill, we believe that everyone is an artist at heart, that the creative force is the power behind life itself and can be expressed through anyone if the blocks are removed. I learned this when I taught for twelve years at the Toronto Waldorf School in Ontario. TWS was an amazing place, a private school housed in a round building that looked like a flying saucer newly alighted on earth, with a curriculum that truly nurtured the talents of its students. Every child was an artist, a musician, an actor, a poet. I taught creative writing in the high school. With the right training, I found that all my students became very expressive. Even the rough and tumble boys! They matured into real Renaissance men, as skilled with a pen and a brush as they were with a javelin. To quote Shakespeare: "The man who has no music in his soul is fit for treason, stratagems and spoils."

This creative power, this music in the soul, resides in us all and will resound if given a chance. Remember that the word genius comes from a Latin root that originally meant the guardian deity or spirit of a person. I like the way Brenda Ueland expresses it in her lovely little book, If You Want to Write: "Everybody is talented because everybody who is human has something to express. Try not expressing anything for twenty four hours and see what happens. You will nearly burst."

The need to articulate one's essence is natural, and I believe that everyone should write in some form or other. I once knew a woman who kept a record of her entire life in poems, all the important events, all the turning points. The collection was treasured by her whole family.

Whatever your goal, publication or just personal expression, start enjoying the pleasure of writing now. We begin with a timed practice that I call Writing @ the Speed of Thought.

Sample Lesson--How a Writer Practices

Just as a musician will do scales or jam with others for practice, so a writer needs to develop his verbal muscles. Forget about publication for the moment, don't worry about results. Look upon writing as a process, not a product. Relax into the pure joy of feeling your pen flowing across the page without stopping, with the words tumbling out faster than you can scribble them.

This is Writing @ the Speed of Thought. Also called freewriting, automatic writing, stream of consciousness. The primal act, the verbal art stripped of all rules and embellishments. Just write. Don't stop to edit, cross out, revise or worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar. Don't even stop to read what you've written.

Set a time goal, ten, fifteen or twenty minutes and write without stopping for that period of time. If you get stuck, just write "I can't think of what to say," over and over until new words come up. I found that very few of my students have to resort to this. Once they have permission to just write, most people don't want to stop when the time is up. The freedom is exhilarating.

Practice One: Smelling Out an Idea

The way we often begin the first night of a new workshop at Rabbit Hill is by evoking memory through the power of smell. As Proust said, "From a long distant past, the smell and taste of things remain poised, ready to bear in the almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection." I pass around bottles filled with familiar odors. Soon, the room falls quiet and the pens start scratching across the paper.

Try it yourself. Go through your kitchen and bathroom. Keep sniffing around until your nose recognizes a nostalgic odor that stirs remembrance. Then sit down and write for at least ten minutes. Smells that are good triggers: Noxema, Old Spice, peppermint, baby powder, moth balls, bubble gum, essential oils such as clove, kitchen spices such as curry, etc. Find the one that uncaps the flow of memories for you!

Homework: write @ the Speed of Thought for ten minutes at least three times a week. Let me know how these practice sessions work for you.

Comments from Former Students

"I have taken creative writing courses here and there, but until my Fine Art of Fiction class at Rabbit Hill, none of these allowed me to take the plunge into the "deep end" of fiction. The materials used in the course immediately zeroed in on all the elements needed to complete an actual short story. But what I loved best was, from the first night, we wrote. Duncan's gentle instruction and the studio's idyllic country environment create an atmosphere that opens you up. I was writing at a feverish pace, tapping a level deeper than I ever had during any other writing workshop or course. For the first time I felt I had been given the tools that could unlock the work imprisoned inside: free writing, clustering, dialogue. Rabbit Hill truly is the best, most comprehensive and realistic, nurturing and encouraging writer's workshop I have ever had the pleasure to attend. Thank you!" --Ann E. Stewart, ad writer, Harrisburg, PA

"Duncan, you have opened my head, my brain, my unconscious self to challenge, excitement, and have shown me that I can do this, I can write. I have met . . . so many gifted and wonderful people through the writer's studio. A gathering spot, the much needed center where we can share ideas and grow together. Thank you, thank you!" --Brenda Witmer, award-winning Lancaster writer, former student, now faculty member

"Duncan, I was a scribbler and you made me a writer. You have the ability to guide without undue influence and challenge us to explore our own depths. Your enthusiasm is evident and infects me!" --Kelly Labiak, Lititz writer

"I found the Artist's Way workshop very helpful in finding some of my blocked ideas. Mariann was a wonderful facilitator for the class!"--Tracy Sneed

"Mariann created an atmosphere that was in itself a feeding ground for creativity. I would welcome the opportunity to take another course at Rabbit Hill!"--Karen McKelly

"The Stories of the Week give one ample food for thought as well as providing wonderful examples of different style of writing. The free writes challenge as well as build confidence in one's ability to just put pen to paper and go. Your critiques are valuable to me. You have the ability to zero right in on what needs to be changed and what left untouched."--Harriet Perlis, Lancaster writer

"The location is so inspiring. The people so supportive. Your instruction really hit home with me. For once a class seemed relevant to me. The night we discussed character-driven stories was a major turning point for me and my writing. The reading list was also extremely helpful. I've really used the Synonym Finder. I rave about Rabbit Hill to everyone and I will be back for the Round Table."--Susan Taverna, Harrisburg writer

"I got so much out of this class! Thanks for having a specialty class for children's writing." --Sandy Arnold, Ephrata writer