The first ever Creative Cusp workshop on June 21 & 22 was a great success. Thank you to all of the participating writers who joined us in the Ocean Beach heat.

Here’s a sample of some of the writing exercises we worked on:

I sent us adventuring around Ocean Beach on a mission to snare an overheard fragment of dialogue, haul it back and use it as the basis for brewing up a short piece. I also had us conjure up an alternative ending to a chapter from a best-selling novel.

Jon Oropeza launched his series called “Kill Your Babies” with an exercise he claimed was “borrowed from a drawing class.” We also teamed up on an experiment in introspective and extraspective writing.

“Great dialogue is about two people having a disagreement,” Joe Kane led both dialogue and flash fiction exercises. We were challenged to tell an entire story in the length of one page.

Billy Hughes invited us to borrow and expound upon a line from verse found in books of poetry that he brought with him. The exercise prompted Joe to remark that “good writers borrow, great writers steal.” Billy also challenged us to take on the same situation from multiple points of view, writing the same scene from first, second, and third person perspectives.

Words were written onto the page and that was our biggest goal. The Ocean Beach setting brought interesting objects and characters to us as we sat and shared ideas.

Participating writer Brooke R. said, “I loved writing and participating in the workshop. I felt inspired. I appreciated the feedback on my work. What a great weekend!”

That’s what we want to hear. Write on Brooke!

Hey Abbie, what can I expect this weekend?

We will be writing. Be ready to write.

I am very excited about this weekend. Jon, Joe, Bill and I met on Monday night and devised a very interactive weekend for y’all.

Since this is our first workshop, we will probably be a fairly small group. Participation will be key. If you know of someone who may want to attend, please have them contact us. It is not too late

How to prepare for the Creative Cusp weekend workshop:

Bring clothing that you will be comfortable in. Be ready for all weather possibilities even though it will probably be warm all day.

Please bring a blanket or a towel to sit on. You can bring a chair if it is low to the ground.

We will provide bottled water and a light snack on Saturday. Lunch is not scheduled until 1:00 p.m. You will have an hour for your lunch break and there are many places to eat within walking distance of our scheduled meeting area.

Please bring a journal or a pad of paper to write in/on. We will not be able to plug in, so please do not plan on using a laptop during the workshop.

Don’t forget sunscreen.

Saturday is scheduled to come to a close around 4:00 p.m.

On Sunday at 11:00 a.m., you will have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with any of our Guest writers. We’ll tell you more about that when we see you.

Sunday’s workshop will begin at noon and will end by 5:00 p.m.

There will not be a scheduled lunch break on Sunday. You are welcome to bring a lunch with you if you wish.

Be ready for the expected and the unexpected. We will be walking, moving and talking through Ocean Beach.

We cannot wait to meet you.

- Abbie

We’re so excited about the first Creative Cusp workshop coming up next weekend!

This project has taken over my life and I love it. Working with Jon Oropeza is a blast. He’s talented, smart and he cracks me up. We have both been spending a lot if time promoting The Creative Cusp: putting up fliers, talking to people, hanging out with other writers, writing blogs, adding friends to Myspace and Facebook. Spreading the love. Busy but loving it.

We would like to thank everyone who has shown interest in the Cusp and we value your support.

We’re fortunate to have two interesting and creative Guest writers for our first workshop. Billy Hughes has his MFA in Creative Writing from SDSU, with an emphasis in Poetry. He teaches English and Writing and works in the SDSU library. Billy resides in Ocean Beach, surfs and is a genuine, nice guy.

Joe Kane is a freak and I mean that in the best way. I love Joe Kane and you will as well as soon as you meet him. Joe has his MFA in Creative Writing from SDSU, with an emphasis in Fiction. Joe is originally from Ohio, but don’t let that fool you; he is a part of San Diego now.

We are also going to be honored to have Jenny Minniti-Shippy and Deniz Perin as Guest writers in July.

Looking forward to seeing all of you next weekend.

Write on.

Abbie

Abbie Berry is the founder of The Creative Cusp. She writes short fiction as well as teaching and coaching other writers. She lives on, loves on and loves Golden Hill.