This particular version of Round Robin with a run time of three weeks is built with the holidays in mind. It is designed to offer writers a separate space of reflection, alongside of holiday immersion. Like the traditional eight-week version of the class, the Holiday Round Robin is structured according to a daily exchange of writings emailed to writing partners, who are assigned weekly. Partners offer brief written feedback on one another’s work. The writings are based on daily prompts provided by the facilitator.
You might cover some basic elements of craft in your daily exchanges, but the central focus will be finding the inspiration, motivation, and self-discipline to keep writing and generating raw material that you may eventually choose to rewrite, revise, polish, and publish. The class will involve learning to recognize and appreciate the strength of your natural voice before you have a chance to snuff it out by editing your work too hastily.
Every student must commit to full participation on a daily basis. Time required: 20-30 minutes each day, on average. If you are unable to honor your daily commitment to your writing and to your writing partners, you cannot continue in the class. (Substitutes are available on a limited basis in case of an emergency.)
*Registration for this class closes at midnight on Friday, November 29.
Kathy Garlick’s poetry and prose have appeared in Art and Ideas, Fourteen Hills, Field, and other publications. Her chapbook of poems, The Listening World, was published by Momotombo Press at St. Mary’s College. Kathy currently teaches creative writing and academic writing at University of San Francisco and creative writing and literature in the English Master’s program at Holy Names University.
The class will run from December 1 – December 22. There will also be a live Zoom orientation session from 1-2pm (PT) on December 8. Students who are new to the Round Robin are strongly encouraged to join this orientation session. Returning Robins are, of course, welcome to join as well.
Without the supportive and generous comments of my writing partners, I could never have written so much work that I feel this good about.
I believe the secret sauce of Round Robin lies in the openness, rawness and exploration each partner brings to the experience.
The format helped me get out of my own way, forced me to not be afraid of producing something imperfect every single day, and allowed me to peek into the world of other very talented writers.
This class is my antidote for writer’s block.
I gained so much more from the thoughtful way that the Round Robin is structured—the sharing of nascent work with a writing stranger, the giving and receiving of only positive feedback, the showcasing of this work to the group with rotating decision-making on who gets to select these pieces. The entire experience was a nirvana for writing.