- November 28, 2024
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Creative writing teacher Lorraine Berry believes the beach will be a great setting for classes she is now offering. While it’s peaceful, there is also the action of the waves and the birds.
“I think sitting on the beach is at once both relaxing and stimulating,” she said.
That’s why the beach is the classroom for her new workshop, “Writing in the Sand,” which began April 9.
For the first class, there was a little too much nature, in the form of a stiff breeze that tended to blow sand and notebook pages, so the small, initial group moved to a gazebo at the park overlooking the ocean.
“I want to get out of a confined classroom.”
LORRAINE BERRY, creative writing teacher
“I want to get out of a confined classroom,” Berry said. “Why not take advantage of the beauty of our area instead of sitting behind a desk?”
Everyone from beginners to published writers are welcome to take part in the 90-minute workshops which will occur on the next two Saturdays, April 16 and 23. Classes will meet at 10 a.m. at the park, 1800 Ocean Shore Blvd., and then move to the beach. Students with mobility issues can be accommodated by special arrangement with Beach Mobility Rentals, Berry said. The cost for each workshop is $20.
One of her first students, Mark Hayes, of Palm Coast, said he loves writing, but also wants to meet with other people who write and get inspiration.
“It’s a fun group to be around,” he said.
Berry gets her students writing by using “prompts” to spur the creative juices. An example would be a write a story based on a photograph or a series of words.
“I’ve collected hundreds of prompts over the years,” Berry said, who taught creative writing for 15 years at the State University of New York at Cortland.
Berry recently located to Ormond-by-the-Sea with her husband, Rob Stiene, and they’ve started a business called AmberSands Creative, which offers design, writing, editing, directing, etc. Her husband was formerly creative director at an advertising firm.
She moved to the area to be near her mother, who lives in Ormond-by-the-Sea. Also, her daughter is now grown and off to college.
“I felt like it was time to go from being a full-time mom to a full-time daughter,” she said.
In her writing classes, the subject matter can be serious, but she wants to make the classes fun and enjoyable.
“I‘m offering the courses for several reasons,” she said. “First, to give anyone who has ever thought about being a writer a chance to explore his or her creativity. The second reason is to bring creative folks from across the area together so that they can feel part of a creative community.”
Berry said many people think that to write a novel, you must have the whole idea plotted out. But she said it’s important to get started and see where the creative process takes you. When a person drives a car at night, for example, they can only see so far. But if they keep going they can drive across the country.
For more information, call Berry at 256-7204 or visit ambersands.net
