New Literature Class for 9-12th graders

A literature class in Strong is being planned, for home school students in the 9 - 12^th grade, to discuss Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road. This critically acclaimed novel, first published in 2006, has won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature and remains a national bestseller. It is considered recommended reading for young adults by the American Library Association.

The novel chronicles the journey of a father and his son after an apocalyptic catastrophe that has destroyed the landscape and most of the world’s population.

The class, conducted over six weeks, will focus on the novel and is being offered by Caroline King of Maine Word. Students will read and discuss the work and write several critical essays about the text, along with weekly assignments. In addition, the class will also meet once in mid-November to see the film and to discuss and compare the movie and the novel.

Students should obtain a copy of the book from their local library (Copies are available at the Phillips, Strong, Farmington, UMF and Wilton libraries) or you may purchase a copy of the book from area booksellers. Students will need to have access to the book for the entire duration of the class.

Students will be expected to read 50-75 pages per week over the course of the class and they will receive a grade for the class based on their classroom participation and their written work over the course of the class.

The class will be held on Thursday mornings from 10 – 11:30 A at the Strong Public Library. The class will meet weekly from September 10 – October 22 (No class will be held on September 24). Advanced registration is required. An additional class will be scheduled for November. The class will be $60 per student and includes six classroom sessions, movie admission and the subsequent discussion in November.

For more information or to register for this class, please contact Caroline King at 207-491-9810.

Maine Word heads to Turner for Fall Classes

Cover Letter Writing
Wednesday 9/30 1P-4P
$36

Open door, insert foot! The cover letter can help you land an interview, but how do you help your letter rise to the top of the pile in this tough job market? Learn creative ways to put together your new cover letter in this quick-fire workshop. Please bring a sample of your resume and a cover letter with you to the workshop.

Aspiring Writers
Mondays 9/21 & 9/28 6P-9P
$78

“I have always wanted to write a book,” so start by writing this class on your calendar. The first step to writing a book is making a commitment to yourself and the rest is simply putting words down on the paper. This workshop will help you find your form, focus your ideas and start the task of writing the words of the next great story.

Write Your Story
Mondays 10/19, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9 and 11/16 6P-9P
$210

Tell your story! This class will concentrate on giving you the time and space to focus on your writing, along with the necessary direction to get beyond the blank pages. In four short weeks, you can go from wanting to write to finishing your short story!

Planning Your Novel
Mondays 11/23 & 11/30 6P - 9P
$90

If you have been working on your story for years or just have a vague idea, this workshop will give you a concrete structure and the necessary framework to tackle writing your novel. There are as many ways to write a novel as there are novels to be written, but strategic planning can help you to stay focused on the work ahead.

Small Business Writing
9/30 & 10/7 6P - 9P
$150

In our virtual world, business owners can open their doors from the kitchen table and operate their companies after they have worked their day job. Yet the task of how to tell their unique business story without hiring an expensive PR firm can still loom large for many business owners. This workshop, especially for small business owners, will help you to tell your business story. The class will provide the structure for you to develop a core statement for your business and you will learn how to express the unique benefits of their product or service on the printed page.

All of these classes will be held at the MSAD 52 Adult and Community Education offices in Turner. For more information or to register, please contact Maine Word at 207-491-9810!

Young Writers’ Class

You can create your own world with words during this four-week creative writing class designed for high school students. Students in grades 9 – 12 are invited to take part in a short fiction class with Maine Word this summer. You will learn how to develop a story idea, improve your writing skills and capture your creativity, all while writing a short story.

The class will be held at the Phillips Public Library on Thursday afternoons from 1P – 3P from July 9 - 30. The class costs $40, but scholarship funds are still available to interested students who wish to participate.

For more information about the class or to register, please contact Caroline King at 207-491-9810 or by email at caroline@maineword.com.

New Collaboration with Freshwater Arts

July 25 ($60)
Maine Word will offer a poetry class in collaboration with Freshwater Arts in Waterville. The class has been designed to welcome the new or experienced poet and will feature a balance of instruction, writing exercises and feedback. Participants will have the opportunity to expand their poetic voice with new ideas, poetic starts and inspiration.

Wednesdays in July ($100)
In addition, Maine Word will also offer a short creative workshop on Wednesday evenings in July at the Freshwater Arts complex in Waterville. This class will provide the time and stucture needed to complete your summer writing project.

For more information about these two classes or to register, please contact http://www.freshwaterarts.org/.

Creative Writing Workshop on Deer Isle

If you always dreamed of writing or have written for years, let this be the summer you take your creative ideas to the next level. Maine Word will offer a Creative Writing workshop in Deer Isle on June 27 from 9 A – 4 P. The workshop will focus on energizing your creative spirit and combine strong fundamentals through a variety of writing exercises. The format will to allow you to explore the power of your imagination in an all day workshop and may provide you with the inspiration needed for your next writing project. Caroline King, owner of Maine Word, will facilitate this interactive workshop.

The workshop is open to writers of all skill levels and will provide writers of fiction and poetry time to focus on their own work, as well as interact with other writers though creative group activities. This single-session workshop is a perfect introduction to creative writing or may give you the new sparks your writing needs. The Creative Writing Workshop has been scheduled for Saturday, June 27 at a private Deer Isle residence at a cost of $75 per person.

If you only take one day for your writing this summer, make sure it is Saturday, June 27th. For more information about this workshop or the variety of creative writing classes offered by Maine Word around the state, visit our website at (http://www.maineword.com/) or call Caroline King at 207-491-9810.

Creative Writing Class in Saco

Maine Word will be holding a Creative Writing daylong workshop in Saco on July 18. The workshop will provide participants a great opportunity to energize their creative spirits, join the strong and growing community of writers in Maine and spend uninterrupted day writing.

The workshop will combine strong fundamentals in a fun and supportive environment that focuses on a variety of writing exercises. The format will to allow you to explore the power of your imagination in a fast-paced workshop. The workshop will also include the constructive feedback necessary to build and improve your writing skills during a brief one-on-one session to discuss your work. Caroline King, owner of Maine Word, will facilitate this new workshop in which she has designed a number of smart and intuitive writing prompts.

According to King, “Writing is a solitary act, but this workshop will allow us to come together as writers.” The workshop is open to writers of all skill levels and will provide writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry time to focus on their work.

This single-session workshop is a perfect introduction to creative writing or may give you the new sparks your writing needs to finish that timeless essay about “What I did on my summer vacation” or think seriously about that novel you have been meaning to write all these years.

The Creative Writing Workshop has been scheduled for Saturday, July 18, 2009 from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Holiday Inn Express in Saco and the class size is limited. The workshop will be offered at the affordable early bird price of $95 per person and includes a catered lunch. Early bird registration and payment are required prior to July 2.

For more information about the variety of creative writing classes and workshops offered by Maine Word, including the Creative Writing workshop, visit our website at (www.maineword.com) or call Caroline King at 207-491-9810.

Summer Classes with Maine Word

Maine Word recently announced their summer schedule of workshops and classes. These summer classes concentrate on giving you the time and space to focus on your writing, along with the necessary direction to get beyond the blank pages. This year’s summer workshops will be held in a variety of beautiful locations from the mountains to the coast. These special places are sure to provide you with a dose of inspiration for your summer writing project.
Each of these workshops are all sure to keep you writing about more than … “What I did on my summer vacation.”

Summer 2009
Creative Writing ½ Day and Full Day Workshops
June 1 (9A – 11A) – Smalls Falls, Sandy River Plantation $15
June 14 (1P - 4P) Mountain Counties Heritage Ski Museum, Farmington $35
July 6 (9A – 11A) – Smalls Falls, Sandy River Plantation $15
July 11 (9A – 4P) – Wilson Lake Inn, Wilton $70
July 26 (1P - 4P) Mountain Counties Heritage Ski Museum, Farmington $35
August 3 (9A – 11A) – Smalls Falls, Sandy River Plantation $15

Short Fiction Class
Wednesday evenings: June 3 – July 22 (6P- 8:30P) Strong Public Library $140

Young Writers (9th – 12th grade) – Short Fiction Class
Thursday afternoons: July 9 – 30 (1P – 3 P) Phillips Public Library $40

For more information about the class goals and objectives or to register, please contact Caroline King at 207-491-9810 or by email at caroline@maineword.com. Class sizes are limited, so pre-registration is recommended.