Tumbleweed Club: For the Skeptical Writer - September

Rippy is the fearless captain of Tumbleweed Writers, offering classes in literature, writing, and public speaking. She also dotes on libraries. As her children were growing up, she wondered if there was a way she could continue spending her days reading the mountain of books she had collected. In a burst of creativity, she designed several classes she believed would benefit and delight young people. Genuinely, she wants to help a new generation of thinkers, readers, and writers. Imagining tumbleweeds jiggling, wiggling, and possibly even giggling as they fly across empty fields, she named her company after this thistle when she realized it could be a metaphor for writers who are often a bit clumsy and wild with ideas and words before finally tumbling freely and ferociously. Rippy creates a safe and inspired space for her students, who she nicknames 'tumbleweeds', where she brightly engages them in online classes. Please see the listings for my online classes for kids and teens: How to Be a Book Dragon How to Be a Writer: For Kids How to Be a Writer: For Teens Tumbleweed Club: For the Skeptical Writer Leiden Location: Library Online: Zoom Classroom

Have you ever had a nightmare where the only way to save the planet from total destruction was to speedily write a report? No? Well, I'm sorry to have put such a thought in your head. But in case this sort of situation arises in real life, you might want to enroll in this potentially planet-saving class. In our fourteen weeks together, you will write short stories and mini-reports. Learning how to take notes, make outlines, craft clear sentences, compose focused paragraphs, and edit assignments, you will surely be doing everything in your power to prevent a catastrophe from befalling our world. As you acquire new skills, you will first practice them together with the whole class. Only when you feel confident, will you start independently writing your weekly assignment. If you suddenly feel stuck or frustrated, we will work through the confusion together. After finishing the course, you might even want to form a superhero team called something like "The League of Extraordinary Writers," tasked with saving humanity. Warning: This class has homework. It’s not much because we start every assignment in class, but still... Homework. Therefore, it's probably best if we just thought of homework as superhero training. Also, the infamous excuse, “The dog ate my assignment,” will only be accepted once. Note for Parents: How to Be a Writer: For Beginners includes a separate sixty-minute parent session, advising how to better help your children with writing assignments. Parents are welcome to attend, but the session is not compulsory. The date will be decided once class begins. This class is based on the methods from the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). You can read my IEW instructor profile on their website. When: Tuesdays Section 1 - 11 a.m. Section 2 - 5 p.m. *Students sign up for one section, not both September 3, 10, 17, 24 October 1, 8, 15, 22 November 5, 12, 19, 26 December 3 & 10 Duration: 14 weeks Who: Children & Teens, ages 8 and up

How do writers make their words come alive? Why are we still fascinated by stories written in faraway places thousands of years ago? Is it possible to be a better writer by paying attention to how storytellers craft sentences? In this eight-week class, we discuss the books we're reading and the characters we admire and loathe – their challenges, triumphs, and failures. What would we do if we were in that situation? How can we be sure? During our time together, we will read, discuss, think, play with ideas, and write. For your final project, you will create a book review. This can be a written review, a class presentation, or a video submission. We're not practicing to be bookworms: we are training to be book dragons. When: Thursdays Section 1 - 11 a.m. Section 2 - 5 p.m. *Students sign up for one section, not both September 5, 12, 19, 26 October 3, 10, 17, 24 Duration: 8 weeks Who: Children & Teens, ages 8 and up ... If you want a more advanced literature class, you can sign up for Crash Course in Literature Analysis: Have you ever wondered how writers weave their stories? Is there a secret formula that all stories share? Do writers bury clues so curious and clever readers can uncover what lies beneath the surface of their story? During this ten-week class, we explore these questions. You learn how to think about literature and how to engage in the “Great Conversation” that has inspired writers, readers, and philosophers for millennia to ponder what it means to be human and what makes a good life. You begin to recognize and understand common literary devices, symbols, themes, character archetypes, plot structure, and more. In this class we’re not practicing to be bookworms: we are training to be book dragons. When: Wednesdays at 11 a.m. September 4, 11, 18, 25 October 2, 9, 16, 23 November 6 & 13 Duration: 10 weeks Who: Teens

Why is writing so hard? You know what you want to say, but when you try to write down your ideas, your brain starts to hurt. Maybe you've been staring at a blank page for so long that you begin to doze off. Or perhaps you've been toiling away trying to capture your idea only to realize your paragraph seems horribly dull. Most writers wrestle with these issues but learn ways to make the writing process less painful. In this fourteen-week class, you will pick up a few tricks of the trade so you too don't have to suffer (as much). Working with both fiction and non-fiction texts, you will learn how to take notes, make outlines, give presentations, craft clear sentences, compose focused paragraphs, and edit assignments. Furthermore, your study skills will improve as you deconstruct the texts, extract important bits of information, and rewrite in your own words. As you master new tools, you will first practice them together with the whole class. Only when you feel confident, will you start independently writing your weekly assignment. If you suddenly feel stuck or frustrated, we will work through the confusion together. Note for Parents: How to Be a Writer: For Teens includes a separate sixty-minute parent session, advising how to better help your children with writing assignments. Parents are welcome to attend, but the session is not compulsory. The date will be decided once class begins. This class is based on the methods from the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). You can read my IEW instructor profile on their website. When: Section 1 - Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Section 2 - Thursdays at 11 a.m. *Students sign up for one section, not both Section 1: September 4, 11, 18, 25 October 2, 9, 16, 23 November 6, 13, 20, 27 December 4 & 11 Section 2: September 5, 12, 19, 26 October 3, 10, 17, 24 November 7, 14, 21, 28 December 5 & 12 Duration: 14 weeks Who: Teens