Teaching Philosophy
Students are drawn to writing because they want to tell a story or because language excites them. My goal is to tap into that energy and help each student, regardless of ability level, make discoveries through language. I strive to establish a nurturing classroom environment where students feel safe sharing their work and ideas, and can grow as writers.Upcoming Classes
Mother Words Online, 2010 Winter Session - 10 weeks One spot available!
February 10 - April 21
Whether you are a new mom or a veteran, whether you gave birth to or adopted your child, in this online class you’ll learn how to take birth and motherhood stories and turn them into art. Weekly lectures, reading assignments and writing exercises will focus on telling details, character development, emotional distance, strengthening your reflective voice, and revision. You can expect to generate a number of short creative nonfiction pieces and one long piece. You will receive feedback from your peers and from me through online workshops.
Cost is $275 - $325 (on a sliding scale). Class size limited.
Please contact me with questions or to register.
Introduction to Creative Nonfiction - The Loft Literary Center
Thursdays, February 4–March 25, 7:30–9:30 p.m.
Memoirist Patricia Hampl says, “I don’t write about what I know, but in order to find out what I know.” Writing is an act of discovery. In this class, you will have an opportunity to write and reflect, go deep into your writing to find out what you know. You will develop an eye for seeing the true story in your writing. Assigned readings and writing exercises will be focused on telling details, creating a sense of place, developing strong characters and strengthening your reflective voice. Students will have an opportunity to receive supportive, constructive feedback from class members and the teaching artist through weekly sharing and one workshop.
To register, please visit the Loft. Please contact me with questions.
Mother Words Writing Retreat
Friday, February 26 - Sunday, February 28, 2010
Join me for a weekend retreat for mother-writers. We'll write, share our writing, discuss challenges with craft, and have time to connect with other mother writers in the luxury and quiet of Faith's Lodge. Group meetings and individual conferences will help support you as you delve more deeply into your writing and learn to take risks on the page. Come immerse yourself in the writing life with other mothers who write.
When: 4 pm on Friday, February 26 - 2 pm on Sunday, February 28
Where: Faith's Lodge, Wisconsin
Faith's Lodge is located on 80 picturesque acres in Northwestern Wisconsin near the town of Webster, less than a two-hour drive from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, less than one hour from Duluth/Superior, and about four hours from Madison. The mission of Faith's Lodge is to provide a place where parents and families facing the serious illness or loss of a child can retreat to reflect on the past, renew strength for the present, and build hope for the future.
You need not have experienced the loss of a child to attend the retreat. The Mother Words Retreat is for all mother writers. (But proceeds from the Mother Words Writing Retreat will benefit the children and families served by Faith's Lodge.)
Cost: $300 - $500 (sliding scale) – includes lodging, food and beverages, and writing instruction.
The Lodge has eight guest suites, and we can accommodate up to 20 people for the Mother Words Retreat. Each guest suite features a private bath, fireplace, balcony/patio, flat screen tv, DVD player, small fridge, and coffee maker. Participants will be sharing rooms, though everyone will have their own bed.
To register: Contact Evelyn Nyberg at Enyberg@FaithsLodge.org or 715-866-8200.
Please contact me with questions about the Mother Words Retreat. To learn more about Faith’s Lodge, visit www.faithslodge.org.
Writing Parenthood - One-day Workshop
The Loft Literary Center, Open Book, Minneapolis
Parenthood offers endless fodder for writing. In this one-day class you’ll learn how to capture your funny and heartbreaking parenting anecdotes on paper and bring them to life with sensory details and strong characters. In addition to in-class writing, we will spend time discussing how and where to pitch your parenthood stories and how to fit writing into your busy life. You will leave the workshop with a start on two essays and a page of exercises to try at home. Small copy fee payable to teaching artist.
Saturday, March 20 - 9:30 am - 1:30 pm
To register, please visit the Loft. Please contact me with questions.
What students are saying about Kate's classes:
“Kate is warm, funny and full of great ideas to help writers of every level. I loved her organized syllabus, the breadth of the essays/passages she had us read outside of class, the free-flowing discussions, and the homework assignments that generated unexpected results in my own writing. Kate creates a classroom that encourages students to open up and share their stories, both in the form of conversation and the written word. I was truly delighted by Mother Words. My writing went deeper than I expected, and I felt really inspired by the quality of the work Kate helped me produce.” –
“Kate is a gifted and lively teacher, coach, and guide. She’s got a knack for finding the creative threads in a piece, then helping students weave them together to create something beautiful. I always felt supported and encouraged in her class-which is why I took it three times! The woman is awesome!” –P
“Kate has a way of reading your writing for what it truly is and wants to become. In this way she infuses new excitement into your work and stretches you as a writer in new ways." –K
“Our classroom quickly became a community of mothers writing about every range of experience in motherhood, from infertility to SIDS. Kate’s steady presence, her preparation of selected readings designed to prompt memory as well as writerly analysis, and her gentle critical responses to our work fostered an environment that nurtured creativity, experimentation, truth-telling. Several students were repeating the class for the third time, learning new approaches and diving deeper into their own stories of motherhood. Yes, Kate Hopper IS that good!” –G
Feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of the classes I'm teaching.
What students are saying about Kate's classes:
“Kate is warm, funny and full of great ideas to help writers of every level. I loved her organized syllabus, the breadth of the essays/passages she had us read outside of class, the free-flowing discussions, and the homework assignments that generated unexpected results in my own writing. Kate creates a classroom that encourages students to open up and share their stories, both in the form of conversation and the written word. I was truly delighted by Mother Words. My writing went deeper than I expected, and I felt really inspired by the quality of the work Kate helped me produce.” –
“Kate is a gifted and lively teacher, coach, and guide. She’s got a knack for finding the creative threads in a piece, then helping students weave them together to create something beautiful. I always felt supported and encouraged in her class-which is why I took it three times! The woman is awesome!” –P
“Kate has a way of reading your writing for what it truly is and wants to become. In this way she infuses new excitement into your work and stretches you as a writer in new ways." –K
“Our classroom quickly became a community of mothers writing about every range of experience in motherhood, from infertility to SIDS. Kate’s steady presence, her preparation of selected readings designed to prompt memory as well as writerly analysis, and her gentle critical responses to our work fostered an environment that nurtured creativity, experimentation, truth-telling. Several students were repeating the class for the third time, learning new approaches and diving deeper into their own stories of motherhood. Yes, Kate Hopper IS that good!” –G
Feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of the classes I'm teaching.