More writers’ workshops set to answer demand

CLEAR LAKE — They met for the first time Wednesday. Minutes later, they were sharing their feelings like old friends. When it was time to leave, they hung around.

“When are we meeting again?” someone asked.

In five weeks, Dion McInnis will be back at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Bay Area Boulevard. McInnis, a writer, photographer and speaker, is the founder of Her Legacies Foundation, a nonprofit that celebrates women’s lives and preserves their stories.

His monthly workshop supports the foundation’s work, but is broader in scope and is not limited to women participants.

“The commitment is to writing,” he said.

Those who joined him for the first meeting Wednesday were inspired, and they have plans to return.

Nassau Bay resident Martha Garrison liked the workshop’s dynamics.

“He throws out a challenge,” she said. “He makes you think.”

After losing her husband of more than 50 years about eight months ago, Garrison hopes to find comfort in writing and give new meaning to her life.

“It will help me discover who I am as a single individual,” she said. “I feel like a whole new world is opening up for me. I don’t want to be an author. I just want to use this to look at new things. There are so many stories to tell. I’d like to put them down into words.”

Poetry, fiction, nonfiction — all genres are welcome.

Don’t expect McInnis to critique your work, though. That’s not his mission, nor his vision. He is there to listen. He is there to trigger people’s emotions, stir recollections, spark images and promote understanding. He is there to encourage others to keep their writing flowing.

“Get it started,” McInnis told the group. “Don’t shut down, even if you trip over some words. See where this takes you. Words are our friends. We don’t have to structure them or capture them. Just play.”

Leslie Kriewaldt, the store’s community relations’ manager, said McInnis’ previous poetry reading and writing sessions had left local writers wanting more.

“When Dion approached us, we said, ‘Sure,’” Kriewaldt said. “There was an interest. There was so much enthusiasm. This will be the place where they can meet on a regular basis.”

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What: Writers’ workshop.

When: 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. — Second Wednesday of every month.

Where: Barnes & Noble bookstore located at 1029 W Bay Area Boulevard.

For more information, call (281) 333-3322, send e-mail to dion(at)dionmcinnis.com or go to www. dionmcinnis.com