Class One: Vessels for Heartwarming Tales

Class One Powerpoint

Exercise: The Skeleton

Reading: The Little Matchstick Girl by Hans Christian Andersen (example for exercise above)

Reading: The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen

Reading: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry 

Class Two: Theme and Emotional Resonance

Class Two Powerpoint

Exercise: The Full Picture

Reading: “A Child’s Christmas In Wales” by Dylan Thomas

Recording: Dylan Thomas reading “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”

Exercise: How To (Passing on Holiday Tradition Through Story)

Class Three: Festive Sense Impressions and Heartwarming Emotions

Class Three Powerpoint

Exercise: Ten to One

Exercise: Creating a Rich Setting for a Fun Holiday Character

Exercise: Gannon Hill

Exercise: Exploring the Emotion of Joy

Exercise: From Despair to Hope

Reading: “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote

Reading: Library of Congress article on “A Christmas Memory”

Class Four: Character and Resonant Distance — Techniques of Nostalgia and Reflection

Class Four Powerpoint 

Exercise: Things You Carry

Christmas Greeting from 1513 AD (given to me in the handwriting of my late friend, the poet Rob Stilwell — this was my holiday item I brought in for “Things You Carry”)

Exercise: An Early Memory Part One —The Child as Narrator

Exercise: An Early Memory Part Two — The Reminiscent Narrator

Exercise: The Double Ending — Two Points in Time

Exercise: What Mayhem or Scene is Happening Elsewhere?

Reading: “Skater” by Ted Kooser

Reading: Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

Class Five: Childlike Wonder and Imagination

Class Five Powerpoint

Exercise: Exploring Childlike Excitement

Exercise: Write A Story Using A Holiday Event As A Unit of Time

Image by harald heuser from Pixabay