Surprise is the backbone of any poem. Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas for a four-week generative course where we focus on creating poems that echo long after they’re read. This course will teach how to use concrete tools such as effective volta, surprising leaps, full-circle tension, and unexpected imagery for maximum power and piercing effects. Reading a mix of narrative and surreal poetry, you will learn how to sharpen the ache and awe, learning how to engage in familiar topics in fresh, unfamiliar ways. We will read and discuss poems by Franny Choi, Chen Chen, Shira Erlichman, Ocean Vuong, and more. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn how to texture, turn, and complicate so each line feels fresh 

• Receive concrete tools to propel, momentum, and tension

• Garner new language that delivers precision, punch, and power

• Tighten syntax, word choice, and imagery to amplify emotion 

• Leave each workshop with three new drafts 

Every great poem is a tug of war. It pulls and propels to find reflection and tension within itself. Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas for a generative workshop that examines and explores the effectiveness and impact of tension in poetry. We will use strategy and structure to examine opposition and juxtaposition and write poems full of balance and risk, charisma and charge. We will read and discuss poems by Franny Choi, Chen Chen, Shira Erlichman, and more.

In this workshop, participants will:

• Explore the balance between contrast and emotional risk 

• Learn how to hook the reader through syntax, sound, and surprise

• Use juxtaposition and opposing forces to create unforgettable moments

• Leave with three new drafts that push and pull

Want to join us?

Make your writing sing.

Learn from award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas how to combine multiple genres to create lyric essays full of music and momentum. This workshop will introduce you to the elements of a lyric essay and teach you how to use each element to provide texture, surprise, and insight to your writing. Expect to take bold risks that will leave you knowing yourself and your writing better. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Read and discuss poignant examples that breakdown ingredients

• Examine the impact of various tones, textures, and styles

• Write from personal experience to examine emotional arcs

• Use questions to complicate and strengthen intimacy

Want to join us?

Join The Creative Crossover community to connect and create. This fun, generative workshop helps you remove blocks to explore your creativity and play with possibilities. Through the Begin With series, Kelly explores one element of craft to help you understand the writing and grow your process. In this session, we will focus on the lyric, harnessing its power of musicality and evocative emotion. Expect a warm and friendly environment where you can meet, write, and share your work with writers of all levels. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Read and discuss examples of lyric essays and poems

• Learn the ingredients of crafting lyrical writing 

• Share and receive warm feedback on their work

• Leave with at least one, possibly two, rough drafts

Want to join us?

Because big stories thrive in small containers. 

Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas for a three-hour generative workshop where you will examine how to pack an unforgettable punch through the art of narrative. You will learn how to create tension with timing, write setting as a character, and balance detail, exposition, and dialogue to make your poems unforgettable. We will read and discuss poems by Ellen Bass, Danez Smith, Shira Erlichman, Ada Limón, and more. Expect to leave this workshop with three solid fresh starts and a new vehicle for your story! 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn how to establish setting as a character that speaks for itself 

• Sharpen point of view

• Discover the impact of both macro and micro

• Get in late and leave early to leave the reader wanting more 

• Use specificity to amp up sensory detail and create unforgettable portraits

Want to join us?

The best part of being a poet is not playing by the rules. 

Learn from award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas how to create surprise by shifting your syntax and altering parts of speech. Practice a variety of strategies and tools to break poetic patterns, embolden your voice, and add wildness to your work. This is your chance to make and break the rules—to make language your own. 

 In this workshop, participants will:

• Disrupt patterns to add surprise

• Use unexpected language to create suspense and tension 

• Break out of predictable language to hook the reader

• Gain confidence in your writing and creativity in your approach

Want to join us?

Join The Creative Crossover community to connect and create. This fun, generative workshop helps you remove blocks to explore your creativity and play with possibilities. Through the Begin With series, Kelly explores one element of craft to help you understand the writing and grow your process. In this session, we will focus on syntax, how to harness it to add unforgettable surprise (and even surrealism) to your writing. Expect a warm and friendly environment where you can meet, write, and share your work with writers of all levels. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Read and discuss examples of syntax that take risks

• Learn how to propel momentum and surprise

• Share and receive warm feedback on their work

• Leave with at least one, possibly two, rough drafts

Want to join us?

Writing is the act of discovering yourself.

Learn from award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas how to mine personal narratives that reach towards truth, intimacy, and surprise. Practice various strategies to craft an emotional arc through situation and story. This workshop will help you sharpen your vision and questions, providing replicable tools to write deeply and authentically from personal experience.

In this workshop, participants will:

• Read and discuss examples of essays that create intimacy

• Examine the impact of various points of entry 

• Write from various perspectives to deepen understanding 

• Use questions to deepen the voice and propel emotional stakes

Want to join us?

Join The Creative Crossover community to connect and create. This fun, generative workshop helps you remove blocks to explore your creativity and play with possibilities. Through the Begin With series, Kelly explores one element of craft to help you understand the writing and grow your process. In this session, we will focus on using questions to add depth and sharpen your creative vision. Expect a warm and friendly environment where you can meet, write, and share your work with writers of all levels. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Read and discuss writing that asks deep questions

• Examine how questions propel reader participation 

• Share and receive warm feedback on their work

• Leave with at least one, possibly two, rough drafts

Want to join us?

There is catharsis in cataloging. Explore using lists and litanies for excavation and exploration to build tension to propel writing forward. Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas for a two-hour craft-intensive where we’ll explore the act of compiling the complexities of the world and ourselves to create impactful connections and surprising art. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Explore how iteration can generate new ideas

• Use repetition to create momentum 

• Add expansion to reach toward discovery 

• Use lists to remove creative blocks 

Want to join us?

Join The Creative Crossover community to connect and create. This fun, generative workshop helps you remove blocks to explore your creativity and play with possibilities. Through the Begin With series, Kelly explores one element of craft to help you understand the writing as well as grow your process. In this session, we will focus on lists, harnessing the power of listing to help you make new discoveries about yourself and the world. Expect a warm and friendly environment where you can meet, write, and share your work with writers of all levels. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Read and discuss examples of powerful images 

• Learn the basics of imagery and how to apply it

• Share and receive warm feedback on their work

• Leave with at least one, possibly two, rough drafts

Want to join us?

Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas for a two-hour craft-intensive where we’ll examine how the right title sets your writing up for success. In this workshop, we will examine how titles (and epigraphs) can do the heavy lifting to work multiple levels, inform every stanza, tighten arguments, and provide a container for tension, revelation, and economy. We will read and discuss poems by Ruth Awad, Jenny Qi, Patrica Smith, and more. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Write titles so strong readers will return to them after the poem is over

• Reframe thinking about the importance of a title

• Gain confidence in building context before the first stanza

• Learn how using metaphor as a title can act as a vehicle for commentary

• Apply a five-step exercise to create strong titles quickly and efficiently 

Want to join us?

Want to get feedback on your work? Help hone your writing and clarify your vision? Five participants (the first to register) will have the chance to get feedback from Kelly and the group.

Not selected? That’s okay; there’s still much to learn. Join us to learn creative advice that will tighten your work across genres.

As a paid subscriber, you’ll receive:

• Monthly workshops

• Membership to our monthly Creative Club

• Poetry, writing, & life prompts

• Personal essays

• Discounts on additional classes & editing

Want to join us?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an unexpected image is worth a million. Poet William Carlos Williams famously said, “No ideas but in things.” It is the tangible, the touchable, and the unexpected that keep the reader engaged. In this two-hour craft intensive, learn from award-winning poet, educator, and editor Kelly Grace Thomas how to use unexpected images to create, surprise, punch, and power. Or how to use surprising imagery to resuscitate even the most unruly draft.

In this workshop, participants will:

• Create surprise through imagery and detail

• Examine what makes one image lift and another fall flat

• Replace bland exposition with unforgettable images

• Keep readers wanting more by utilizing the art of surprise

Want to join us?

Join The Creative Crossover community to connect and create. This fun, generative workshop helps you remove blocks to explore your creativity and play with possibilities. Through the Begin With series, Kelly explores one element of craft to help you understand the writing as well as grow your process. In this session, we will focus on imagery, harnessing its power to create a powerful connection with the reader. Expect a warm and friendly environment where you can meet, write, and share your work with writers of all levels. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Read and discuss examples of powerful images 

• Learn the basics of imagery and how to apply it

• Share and receive warm feedback on their work

• Leave with at least one, possibly two, rough drafts 

Want to join us?

How to Add Energy and Excitement to Writing

Surprise is the backbone of any poem. Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas in this generative workshop to learn how to use tight transitions, unexpected turns, and lyrical leaps to create tension tight enough to have readers racing to the next line or parapgraph. With a heavy emphasis on voltas, we will turn poems over and over to heighten your craft and compel the reader forward. 

In this workshop, participants will: 

• Use surprise to create leaps in logic 

• Learn techniques to use voltas to strengthen your work 

• Break patterns to create momentum 

• Remove connective tissue to create risk and danger 

Want to join us?

In this workshop for beginners, though all levels are welcome, we will unpack what makes a great poem, learning how to translate our emotions, experiences, and observations into language to reveal beauty and vulnerability. We will explore our whole creative self using easy and replicable strategies to help you share your story and get clearer about what you have to say. Expect to leave with two new poems and a feeling of power and excitement. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Remove personal block for expression and creativity 

• Explore personal history through the lens of creativity 

• Examine emotion through imagery and metaphor 

• Bring clarity to their feelings and experiences through writing 

Want to join us?

Want to get feedback on your work? Help hone your work & clarify your vision? Five participants (names drawn from registrants) will have the chance to get feedback from Kelly and the group.

Not selected? That’s okay; there’s still much to learn. Join us to learn creative advice that will tighten your work across genres.

Want to join us?

Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas in this generative workshop to embrace the odd and highlight the specifics. In this workshop, we will play with the surreal, the fictional, the unbelievable to write poems so hauntingly specific and oddly unforgettable. Find out what adding a little weird can do for your writing.  

In this workshop, participants will: 

• Play with replicable exercises to add surprise and strangeness to their work

• Push language to create new sonic and emotional patterns 

• Use sensory detail and diction to play with characterization and worldbuilding

• Emphasize play to reshape, reinvigorate, and “weird up” all drafts

Want to join us?

It's not what you say, but how you say it. Why not say it in a way that will get you noticed? Learn from award-winning poet, educator, and editor Kelly Grace Thomas how to create language that will help you and your writing stand out from the crowd. You’ll learn craft techniques to revive language, evoke surprise, and create a voice full of vitality and vigor. We will also read and discuss authors such as Paige Lewis, Kaveh Akbar, Patricia Smith, K-Ming Chang, and more. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Revive voice and defy expectations 

• Transform language to create surprise and capture attention

• Play with syntax to keep readers engaged

• Set your writing apart from others 

• Learn replicable techniques to transform your writing 

Want to join us?

Open and Close with a Bang

Learn to make an unforgettable entrance (and exit). In this generative workshop taught by award-winning poet, Kelly Grace Thomas, you will learn how to open poems in a way that keeps readers reading, and close in a way that makes them want to read again. Using a number of simple and replicable strategies, you will learn how to use conflict, conceits and characterization to craft poems that leave lasting impressions.

In this workshop participants will:

• Learn how to create and sustain tension for the first line to the end 

• Apply editing techniques to get to the heat faster 

• Craft through lines to play up and play down

• Evaluate multiple beginnings and endings to measure impact

MINE ENDLESS MATERIAL FROM MUSIC AND MEDIA

What if Lana Del Rey could give you dating advice, or you could get a pep talk from Frida Khalo? Pop culture is ripe with poetry. Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas to mine the zeitgeist and write poems packed with power and pizzazz. We will use the lens of media and genre to examine everything from the latest blockbuster to the five o'clock news. Expect to read contemporary writers that use media as a mirror to forge new reflections. We will read and discuss poems by Danez Smith, Megan Falley, Patricia Smith, and more.*

In this workshop, participants will:

• Use pop culture elements to add structure and surprise to their work

• Practice and apply the power of persona 

• Use form and genre specific language to break patterns and expectations

• Leave with three fresh and fiery new drafts 

* reading material subject to change

SIGN UP HERE

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, BUT HOW YOU SAY IT. So why not say it in a way that will get you noticed? Learn from award-winning poet, educator and editor, Kelly Grace Thomas, how to create language that will help you and your writing/poetry stand out among the crowd. In this workshop you will learn craft techniques to revive language, evoke surprise and create a voice full of vitality and vigor. We will also read and discuss authors such as Paige Lewis, Kaveh Akbar, Patricia Smith, Kristin Chang and more.

YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION

Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas for a three-hour generative workshop where we’ll examine how the right title sets a poem up for success. In this workshop, we will examine how titles (and epigraphs) can do the heavy lifting to work multiple levels, inform every stanza, tighten arguments, and provide a container for tension, revelation, and economy. We will read and discuss poems by Ruth Awad, Jenny Qi, Patrica Smith, and more. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Write titles so strong readers will return to them after the poem is over

• Reframe thinking about the importance of a title

• Gain confidence in building context before the first stanza

• Learn how using metaphor as title can act as a vehicle for commentary

• Apply a five-step exercise to create strong titles quickly and efficiently 

SIGN UP HERE

BECAUSE BIG STORIES THRIVE IN SMALL CONTAINERS. 

Join award-winning poet Kelly Grace Thomas for a three-hour generative workshop where you will examine how to pack an unforgettable punch through the art of narrative. You will learn how to create tension with timing, write setting as a character, and balance detail, exposition, and dialogue to make your poems unforgettable. We will read and discuss poems by Ellen Bass, Danez Smith, Shira Erlichman, Ada Limón, and more. Expect to leave this workshop with three solid fresh starts and a new vehicle for your story! 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn how to establish setting as a character that speaks for itself 

• Sharpen point of view

• Discover the impact of both macro and micro

• Get in late and leave early to leave the reader wanting more 

• Use specificity to amp up sensory detail and create unforgettable portraits 

SIGN UP HERE

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING WITH EVERY POEM YOU READ

In this workshop, you will become a poetry mechanic. Together, we will look under the hood of poems and take them apart to see how they run. Then you’ll learn how to use similar structure or technique as a template to elevate your own language and generate new material. This workshop will teach you how to analyze craft and apply the same to your own poetry with confidence and precision. We will read and examine poems by sam sax, Franny Choi, Brandon Melendez, and more. 

In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn how to read for craft instead of content 

• Learn how to identify and replicate specific techniques and structures using their own material

• Be able to identify and explain what makes language surprising and effective 

• Create endless prompts from any poem

SIGN UP HERE