Canceled – Fate, Fortune, and the Femme Fatale: A NaNoWriMo Workshop

Unfortunately, this workshop has been canceled.

Wednesday, November 1, Tuesday, November 7, & Thursday, November 30

This autumn, you are invited to celebrate National Novel Writing Month by joining Hammond Castle Museum and CALYX Press for a month-long writing workshop designed to stimulate the senses, engage the imagination, and encourage your commitment to cultivating a daily writing practice.  Inspired by the recently discovered astrological writings of Madame Renee Longquille—the esoteric alter-identity of Irene Fenton Hammond—registration includes two guided tours and two writing workshops.   In addition, participants will receive a 1 Volume (3 Issue) subscription to CALYX:  A Journal of Art and Literature by Women,  free submission to CALYX during the journal’s 2023-2024 open reading period, and a set of prompts designed to inspire continued writing at the Castle throughout the month of November, and complementary admission to Hammond Castle Museum’s Quills to Quest Writers’ Celebration on Thursday, November 30th.  The cost of the workshop series is $115.

Workshop participants will also have the option of participating at a discounted price in the month’s, Quills to Quests: Novelists & Authors Open Writing Days. Writers may enjoy quiet access to many of the rooms within including the Great Hall from noon to 8 pm on specific dates throughout November. Tables, chairs, and extension cords will be provided for use in the Great Hall and Side Chapel. Writers are encouraged to explore the rest of the Museum but these rooms will not be formally set to accommodate writers. We encourage you to bring a small, foldable chair or small matt on which to sit if you will wish spend time writing in any of the other open rooms within. Writing Days and Workshop: $230.

Please note: WiFi and electrical outlets are not available in many areas within the Museum. Please plan accordingly.

 

 

Fate, Fortune, and the Femme Fatale: A NaNoWriMo Workshop Schedule:

Wednesday, November 1st

Fate, Fortune, and the Femme Fatale:  Writing the Female Protagonist

Coffee & pastries (8:30 – 9:00 am)

Lecture Tour:  The Women of Hammond Castle                     9:00  -10:00 am                       

Presented by: Caleb McMurphy, Director of Visitor Services & Education, Hammond Castle Museum

A lecture tour focused on the life and work of women, including Irene Fenton Hammond, Natalie Hays Hammond, Natalie Harris Hammond, and Nellie Nally Connors who were a part of the Castle community over time.  Who were these women?  What do we know about them?  What do we not know?  What stories might they tell about their own lives?     

Part I:  A Room of One’s Own:  Setting and the Psychograpic Arts                     10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Hosted by: Beth Russell, Managing Editor, CALYX Press

Having toured the Museum, workshop participants will convene for a discussion of the roll setting plays in shaping stories and the characters who inhabit the stories associated with a place.  The workshop facilitator will introduce a writing exercise inspired by the practice of automatic writing, a popular form of inspiration and entertainment practiced by Irene Fenton Hammond and her contemporaries.  Writers will be assigned to a room in the Castle at random, and will explore the physical and metaphysical nature of that space using a set of prompts provided. 

Squaring the Circle:  Creating Space for Collaboration and Critique              12:00 – 1:00 pm

Hosted by: Beth Russell, CALYX Press and Sara Stanton, Hammond Castle Museum Staff

Those who wish to do so are invited to convene in the Great Hall to share excerpts from the days work, set intentions for daily practice during the month of November, and  reflect on what we experienced and what we have learned.  

 

Tuesday, November 7th

Fate, Fortune, and the Femme Fatale:  Writing the Female Protagonist

Coffee & pastries (8:30 – 9:00 am)

Lecture Tour: Mrs. Hammond &/or The Mysterious Madame Longquille          9:00 – 10:00 am

Presented by: Caleb McMurphy, Director of Visitor Services & Education, Hammond Castle Museum

A lecture tour focused on the life and work of Irene Fenton Hammond, including her courtship with Hammond, her marriage to him, her role within the constellation of friendships they cultivated, her arcane interests and the nature of her influence, aesthetic and otherwise.    

Part II:  Astrological Influence: The Arcane Art of Character Development      10:30 am – 12:00pm

Hosted by: Beth Russell, Managing Editor, CALYX Press

After a brief overview regarding strategies for characterization, workshop participants will be invited to draw three cards from the Astrological Influences deck, a letterpress-style card pack inspired by Irene Fenton Hammond’s 1919-1921  “What the Stars Say” column, which she published in Smith Magazine under the pen name Madame Renee Longquille.  Working with the cards selected, participants will work to craft a female protagonist, an antagonist, and a dynamic supporting character  embodying the qualities associated with the astrological signs drawn, and will describe that character both directly and indirectly, exploring what the characters have to teach each other about their individual destinies and  interconnected fates.

Squaring the Circle:  Creating Space for Collaboration and Critique                12:00 – 1:00 pm

Beth Russell, CALYX Press and and Sara Stanton, Hammond Castle Museum Staff

Those who wish to do so are invited to convene in the Great Hall to share excerpts from the days work, discuss the experience of daily writing practice, and reflect on what we experienced and what we have learned. 

 

Thursday, November 30th 

Writers’ Celebration & Open Mic for Workshop Participants Who Completed s NaNoWriMo Project – 7:00 – 10:00 pm

      Welcome and Introductions by Jim Craig, Development & Special Events Manager, Hammond Castle Museum

Up to 10 Workshop participants will read a 3-5 minute selected from the work they completed over the course of the month.    

Quills to Quests: Novelists & Authors Open Writing Days  are as follows:

• Wednesday, November 8
• Monday, November 13
• Tuesday November 14
• Tuesday, November 21
• Wednesday, November 22
• Tuesday, November 28
• Wednesday, November 29

Ticket Cost: 

• For just the Fate, Fortune, and the Femme Fatale writing workshop series on November 1, 7, & 30: $115.
• For any “Quills to Quests Novelists & Authors Open Writing Days dates on November 8, 13, 14, 21, 22, 28, 29: $30 per day
• For writing the workshop series AND all the Writing Days:  $230
• A set of 35 ‘Madame Longquille’s Astrological Inspiration Cards (Optional) $15

Hammond Castle Museum Membership savings apply to the Fate, Fortune, and the Femme Fatale workshop and Members enjoy complimentary access to the Quills to Quests writing days.