Author’s Talks:
Imagination and Creativity:Writing Workshop
Enrique engages the class with drawing, prompts and word association games. He teases out experiences, and descriptions that are then set down as single word lists to be used to build a story. As the short, short stories grow, tools for effective editing and ordering of ideas are introduced. Time is allotted for reading out loud to hone presentation skills.
The objective here is to give young writers the tools to organize and make use of the wealth of information stored in our memory. At the heart of this lesson is the artist’s point of view that creativity happens when we learn to harness our wild imaginations using teachable methods and tools.
Writing Process
Enrique shares the twists and turns in his life that put him on the road to writing. He explains how his books begin, the steps from rough draft to final manuscript and the strange, (to a visual artist) but very worthwhile process of working with an editor. Enrique always reads chapters that were deleted from his books to start the discussion on how to keep the plot moving and character development. The objective is to show how a novel, goes from a twinkle in the imagination, to a book on a certain shelf of your local bookstore. It’s hard work, but it’s fun, and not as lonely (thanks to the editor) as you think! Questions are encouraged and an amusing Power point presentation is included.
History of Cuba and the Caribbean.
In weaving the compelling story of the Caribbean and Latin America, the author cuts loose a host of colorful historical characters such as the Cacique Hatuey*, Black Caesar the Pirate, Padre de las Casas, Jose Marti and even Teddy Roosevelt. High quality Power point illustrations keep the audience engaged.
