Creative Circle Writers Group

The group is facilitated by playwright and author Jules Corriere, who writes the monthly radio show “A Night with the Yarn Exchange” which airs on NPR station 89.5 FM, and is the author of over fifty community plays around the country. While Jules has a degree in creative writing, she believes her most important training as a writer was in working with other writers, such as Jo Carson and Studs Terkel, who provided the style of appreciative feedback and suggestions which is modeled in this group. She believes each writer has a unique view of the world, and that the purpose of the Creative Writing Group at the McKinney Center is to nurture that unique, individual idea into its fullest version, creating something fresh and honest.

The group meets twice a month on the second and fourth Thursday from 10:00-11:30 AM. Each member is asked to bring work, no longer than 8-10 double spaced pages long. The group will read the work together, and participate in a workshopping session which consists of providing feedback about the strengths found within the work. The author has the opportunity to ask questions of the group if more critical suggestions are being sought. These questions may ask about issues such as clarity of plot, characters, setting, time period, language, etc.

In some instances, writers are provided with content material, such as oral histories gathered as part of the Jonesborough Story Initiative. Jules will provide guidance on turning the source material into pieces for performance to be used on the Jonesborough Yarn Exchange radio show, and for possible other uses, such as articles, magazines, and books that are developed through the Initiative. Several members of the group have contributed material for these productions. All writers who submit material for consideration will be provided with recognition as a contributing writer in the program if their work is chosen to be part of the performance. In these instances, more vigorous workshopping may be done with pieces, in order to craft the work into suitable skits for the on-air productions. In these cases, special interest is paid to the division of voices, and other elements of writing for radio and performance, such as sound effects, music, and special character voices

All participants, whether writing for possible production in the Jonesborough Story Initiative, or for personal use, will experience individual attention and guidance from the facilitator and fellow members, and each person will have an opportunity to share their work at every session. If work is not ready, writers are still welcome to come listen to the work of others, participate in the discussion, and be inspired by the ideas of others.