A Typical Day at the Workshop:

Mornings
8-8:30
Breakfast in Observatory Hill Dining Hall

8:45-10:15
"Power-Up" writing session. Counselors lead exercises in their respective genres that introduce the themes or skills to be studied in the intensive afternoon workshop.

10:30-11:30
Free Writing Time. Following the morning Power Up session, young writers are given a full hour devoted completely to writing. This allows them to develop assignments or works for presentation at a Writer's Cafe or workshop session. While young writers have other opportunities to write at other times during the day, this allows them to do so in a quiet and focused environment.

11:30-12:45
Lunch in O-Hill Dining Hall

Afternoons
1:00-3:30
Afternoon Workshop. After lunch, young writers participate in a guided workshop in their selected genre -- fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, or songwriting. Guided by a staff of published and professional writers, they invent, develop, and revise material. Individual conferences with the instructor and peers help them develop a portfolio of writing. Young writers learn to use the writer's tools more effectively-- language, imagination, sight and insight, as well as the journal and word processing technologies. Young writers may submit finished works or works in progress to be critiqued by their fellow writers in their group.

3:30-4:15
Free Time.

4:15-5:30
Electives. Taught by the counselors, the electives courses are an opportunity to get exercise, have brief encounters with the eclectic, and igniting untapped parts of the imagination.

5:30-6:30
Dinner at O-Hill Dining Hall

Evenings
6:30-7:00
Elective Sign-up. Meet in your suites to sign up for the next day's electives and to do some bonding.

7:00-8:30
Evening Activity. The evening activities provide a sense of community within the workshop as well as giving young writers the option of sharing and/or performing their work for others. Past evening activities have included poetry slams, improv comedy nights, jam sessions, trips to concerts and plays put on by young writers and faculty, and dances.

8:30-10:00
Free Time.

10:00-11:00
Suite Time following evening activities and free time. The hour-long Suite Time is devoted to activities in the student living spaces, or suites. This is a period during which suitemates and their counselors bond and plan their own activities.


Weekends
Charlottesville and the surrounding area provide an ideal environment for immersing the writer in rich literary, historical, and cultural traditions. Weekends are loosely structured, allowing young writers to choose from a variety of activities as well as relaxing with friends, writing, or laundry.