Upcoming Events
Yes, You Do Have a Story to Tell!
A Creative Lab for College-App Essay Writers
In-Person
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
7:00–8:15 p.m.
Weston Public Library
87 School Street, Weston, MA, 02493
In-Person and via Zoom
Thursday, May 2, 2024
7:00–8:15 p.m.
Wellesley Free Library
530 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA
Sponsored by the Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries
“I have nothing to write about!”
That’s a common reaction from students facing the college-app essay project. From here, an emotional cycle can whirl: the initial doubt that gave rise to the statement invites further worry that obstructs creative thinking. The absence of progress makes the statement feel like fact. What’s true is that the statement is never true.
Other students may feel they have a promising idea for writing but struggle to find a way in.
This instructive writing lab for soon-to-be college applicants — and their parents! — helps students step beyond doubt or worry and toward possibility and progress.
Drawing on more than a decade of coaching young writers through thousands of essays, Allan Reeder, Hillside Writing’s founder, helps attendees to see the college-app essay as an opportunity for self-discovery. The most effective, memorable essays develop through an organic process of building from the specific details of the writer’s experience. Allan teaches students how to shape memory into material. The process positions students to write what only they can write, and to ask the questions that reveal the value of their experiences.
The pressure to appear exceptional can be paralyzing for applicants. Let’s replace that pressure with genuine curiosity, which turns out to be the engine behind exceptional essays.
Students and parents should come ready with pen, paper, and imaginations.
Life Stories Lab:
Discovering Your Story and How to Write It
In-Person
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
7:00–8:00 p.m.
Cary Memorial Library
1874 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA, 02420
In this instructive creative lab, attendees will take their wish to write stories from their lives into inspiring practice. Allan Reeder will lay the groundwork for moving from your initial impulse to write into a process of personal discovery. Building from the specifics of a moment, you’ll engage your own imagination to recapture a scene that holds the promise of a truth that you can share from your life. Come get inside your vivid story and learn how to invite others in through your writing!
Receive Updates
Please join our newsletter to receive information about all Hillside events, in addition to writing tips, support updates, and new blog posts from our coaches.