Continuing Ed Creative Writing Classes at Harper Start as Early as Oct 7th - Registration Open Now

There is still time to register for writing classes in Harper College’s Continuing Education program. The following classes are offered this fall by instructor Laura Ehrke. Bring a pen or pencil, notebook and your imagination!

Registration information is available at cereg.harpercollege.edu or by calling the Continuing Education office at 847.925.6300.

RECIPE FOR A FAMILY LEGACY: WRITING YOUR FAMILY’S MEMOIR COOKBOOK

10/7-11/4 WED, 4:00 pm- 6:00 pm

Your family recipes and recounts of memorable family meals are great ingredients for writing! Learn how to interview family members to get colorful anecdotes that will help recall your own memories. Writing exercises will help you express these stories in full detail. Learn how to organize your materials and create a treasured collection to share, featuring your family’s own recipes and stories. Even if you don’t have the original cherished recipe, learn tips to recreate it to share with future generations.

LET THE INK FLOW: GET INSPIRED BY IMPRESSIONISM

10/7-11/4 WED, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm

Write creatively, inspired by masterpieces of impressionism. Like the Impressionist masters, you will freely express your impressions as you experience them, transcending the binding rules of grammar, logic and order. You may be amazed at the writing that flows from your pen! You will learn techniques to improve writing and creativity, and gain a new understanding of Impressionism. Featured Impressionist artists include: Munch, Monet, Pissarro, Seurat, van Gogh, Degas and Renoir. You will develop writing confidence and learn techniques to help overcome writer’s block. In this cross-disciplinary course, you will do writing exercises inspired by each featured artist.

PINTERESTING CHARACTERS: NEW IDEAS FOR DEVELOPING YOUR NOVEL / FICTION WRITING

10/8-10/29 THU, 7:00 pm-9:30 pm

Developing multi-dimensional characters is a key element of successful fiction writing. Prepare to put your imagination into overdrive integrating images from Pinterest with an improvisational creative environment to develop a cast of characters. Learn to build character profiles and backstories, invaluable for shaping the character’s role in the story and ensuring credible actions and motives. Focuses on both technique and imagination, as you exercise your creativity by using improvisational character development and at least three images chosen randomly from Pinterest to inspire a cast of characters. By the end of the course, you may want to incorporate these characters into an existing work, or embark on an entirely new project based on the characters.

Preserving Your Family History in Words

11/11-12/16 WED, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm

Every family has stories. Some are humorous; some are inspiring; and one or two may just be tall tales. We have all heard them; but how many of us take the time to record these stories to pass down to future generations? Overwhelming, you say? Not after you take this class! You will learn techniques to interview family and friends, making them comfortable to tell their colorful stories in full detail. Self-reflection exercises will help you write your own recollections. Once all the information and tales are collected, you will learn how to organize the writing process and create your personal masterpiece.

About the instructor: Ms. Ehrke is a freelance writer who has studied writing at Northwestern University and earned a Master of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Chicago. She has writing experience as a columnist, feature writer, blogger, corporate staff member, public relations specialist, and creative writer. Her first novel is under contract to be published. She teaches creative writing classes at College of DuPage, College of Lake County, and Harper College, and is a writing coach for private clients.