Stretch your writing muscles and banish the winter blues with Writers’ Workshops at the Merry Barn. Kat Kassidy offers workshops for kids and teens, and Diana Mullins facilitates a six-session series for adults.

“Mythology of Place: An Adventure Around the World,” is geared toward writers of all abilities currently in grades 3-5. Get your map, compass, and writer’s notebook, and prepare for an exciting adventure to the far reaches of the globe, exploring cultures through their myths and creation stories. As we travel back in time, we’ll storytell, and create maps and artwork. Returning to Maine, we’ll craft our own imaginative myth about the natural world. Mythology of Place meets from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the following Mondays: Jan. 8, 22 and 29, Feb. 12 and 26, and March 4. Participants will share with family and friends at an Authors’ Tea on March 4. 

Creative Exploration of Place is intended for writers in grades 6-8. Get in touch with yourself and grow as an author and an artist as we connect with the natural world. We’ll hone our senses, document what we observe, and let our creativity run wild as we focus in on the rich imagery and descriptive details that are special about a place. Through nature journaling, storytelling, and experimentation with artistic mediums and writing genres, we’ll begin gathering ideas for stories and poems. Creative Exploration meets from 3:30-5 p.m., on the following Thursdays: Jan. 11, 18 and 25, Feb. 1, 15 and 29. Participants will share with family and friends at an Authors’ Tea on Feb. 29.

Registration for each program is limited to 8. The cost is $225, and financial assistance is available.

Kat Cassidy brings 25 years of experience in teaching writing to kids and a passion for helping them send their voices into the world. Her students are frequent contributors to writing contests including the Maine Literary Awards, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and the NCTE Promising Young Writers program. Kat runs Write to the Sea, which provides writing support and coaching services for Midcoast Maine youth.

In the Writers’ Workshop Series for Adults, participants will experience the writing process in community while creating a portfolio of work. Each session will focus on a different genre: poetry; personal narrative; creative nonfiction and various essay forms; short fiction, flash, and micro-fiction. Workshops begin with craft lessons and mentor texts, then participants are given extended time to write (either on the day’s genre, or a new or ongoing project of their own). Effective revision techniques, conferring, feedback, and self-evaluations will lift the quality of writing and breathe life into our words.

The workshops run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., on Jan. 17 and 31; Feb. 7 and 28; March 13 and 27. Limited to 12 writers. There is a sliding scale costs. Financial assistance is available.

Diana Mullins is a writer, editor, and educator who has taught writing, reading, and theater arts in Maine and California. She is a National Writing Project Fellow and her research on collaborative writing and revision practice was published by Harvard Education Press. Her poetry, creative nonfiction, and short stories appear in Ruminate Magazine, Bridge Eight, The Razor, Common Ground Review, and Porcupine Literary.

Workshops are held at the Merry Barn, 417 River Road, Edgecomb. Register at www.merrybarn.com. Contact stephaniemcsherry@merrybarn.com with questions.