What It Is? Creative Lab

Event Idea: “The Unthinkable Mind" A Writers Connect Creative Lab Frequency: Bi-weekly Inspired by: What It Is by Lynda Barry Writing isn’t always about perfect sentences. Sometimes it’s about scribbles, memories, doodles, and strange little ideas that sneak in through the side door. Every other week we gather to explore creativity the way Lynda Barry teaches it—through images, memory, drawing, and spontaneous writing. Her book encourages writers to reconnect with imagination and childhood curiosity to unlock stories hiding beneath the surface. This isn’t a traditional critique group. It’s a creative playground for writers and artists. What Happens at Each Meetup Every session includes three simple pieces: 1. Warm-Up (10–15 minutes) Quick creative exercises to wake up the imagination: Memory sketches Random word prompts Doodles that become stories “Write without stopping” exercises 2. The Barry Experiment (30–40 minutes) A playful activity inspired by What It Is, such as: The Memory Map – draw a place from childhood and write what lived there The Image Trigger – use a random picture to generate a story Four-Panel Life Comic – tell a moment from your life in simple panels Object Stories – write about an ordinary object that holds a memory 3. Writers Connect Circle (20 minutes) We talk about: what we wrote what surprised us what’s hard about writing right now the strange life of being a creative person No pressure to share. No perfection required. Who This Is For Writers Artists Journalers People who used to write Anyone curious about creativity If you can hold a pen, you belong here. What to Bring Notebook or sketchbook Pen or pencil Optional: colored markers, collage scraps, or photos The Spirit of the Group This is a place to write, experiment, vent about writing, and remember why we started creating in the first place. Because sometimes the best stories start as a messy doodle in the margin.