All workshops are free and walk-in. No pre-registration is required.The Lake Erie Lit Festival is a proponent of access to learning and the sharing of knowledge. We’re host to several literary workshops to help stimulate your imagination and finesse your creative techniques.

2025 Lake Erie Lit Fest Workshop Lineup

1pm: Building Unique Characters through Objects Presenter: Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal, Gannon University creative writing teacher and Managing Editor of the Best of the Net Anthology (they/them)

Description: Successful fiction often relies on characters who stick out from the page and grab our attention. Like Sethe in Toni Morrison’s Beloved or Esparanza Cordero in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street or Samad Iqbal in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. Think Wednesday Addams or Samwise Gamgee or Sherlock Holmes. Or even The Misfit from Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find. This workshop explores one approach to developing memorable characters like these: the use of objects a character holds dear. We will look at examples of character-defining objects then generate a scene or beginning to a story that connects an object to your central character. Then, I will be available to answer questions or discuss the object- character relationships you have written. In the process, I hope we are able to draw out fully dimensional characters who can drive a narrative and pop for your readers.

2pm: Comfortable Being Uncomfortable with Public Speaking Presenter: Terrell Woodard (he/him)

Description: Inspirational Toastmasters award-winning speaker will talk about public speaking and how it is possible to make it comfortable.

3pm: Bringing Poetry to Life with Acting Techniques Presenter: Teresa Testrake Description: Social worker, actress, and poet will demonstrate how to use live theater methods to enhance performance of poetry.

4pm: How to Start Journaling (and stick with it) Presenter: Karen Fatica Geiger MA/CCC-SLP, CJF, Author, Accelerator, Book Coach (she/her)

Description: Not sure where to start? Start with a pen. In this mini session, you’ll learn:

• Why journaling works (and all you need is 5 minutes).

• Three prompts that create greater self discovery

• One 5-minute ritual that sticks - no perfection required.

**Attendees, please bring a journal/notebook and a writing implement.