Introduction

 

For ten years I have had the pleasure of facilitating a creative writing workshop at the Fredricksen Library in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. It began as a complement to a literary magazine I had been publishing at the time, PHASE, which at the end of its run, had published fifty central Pennsylvania authors (selected over time from five hundred submitted manuscripts). I was searching for new voices, interesting stories for the magazine, and I had been noticing writers making some of the same mistakes in those five hundred manuscripts that most first-time authors make when they put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).

The repetition of mistakes led me to create a writing workshop that addressed them, but also allowed for creative discussion and expression. The goal I set for each class was to try to polish a story to the point of confidence: continue to work on the story outside of the workshop, form writing and critique groups, pick up a book or two from the recommended reading list distributed at every workshop, and work at the craft.

Only then can a writer begin to send his or her babies out into the world to the myriad literary magazines, many of them now on-line, or develop a short story into a novella or novel.

In 2003, word of the workshop had reached Robert Craumer, a Camp Hill resident who was seeking a way to memorialize his beloved wife, Natalie, who had succumbed to cancer. Natalie had been a voracious reader, having read her way through four libraries, and having penned a few articles and short stories herself. Mr. Craumer set his sight on his hometown library and learned more about the writing workshop. He had decided that not only was this a perfect way to honor his wife, but it would further her love of stories by giving education and opportunity to other aspiring central Pennsylvania writers.

The Natalie D. Craumer Writer’s Workshop at the Fredricksen Library in Camp Hill was born. Offered free to the community, it is a workshop comprised of a maximum of fifteen participants, some of whom have become familiar faces over the years. The workshop, offered in the fall and the spring, always fills quickly. And whether it is because of the camaraderie that is encouraged in each session, the wealth of information and discussion, and the participants’ willingness to complete assignments — or all three — the stories that emerge always overwhelm me in their breadth of creativity, voice and structure.

Here are twenty-five stories, written by workshop participants from nearly every year, many of whom have gone on to win competitions, publish their stories in literary journals, and even write and publish novels. The stories were either developed, or grew from seeds planted during the workshop. The writing levels represent intermediate to advanced, and each story is vibrant and engaging without the distractions of heavy-handed philosophy and stylistic tricks. The stories pull you in, and in some cases, teach you something about life. They also range from mainstream to literary fiction to fantasy, science fiction and satire.

To say that I am proud of each of “my” writers is an understatement. Their passion for story led them to the workshop, but their dedication to work at their craft landed them within the pages of this anthology as well as other publications.

A huge thank you to Lawrence Knorr, publisher, Sunbury Press, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, who recognized the little gem that is the Natalie D. Craumer Writer’s Workshop at the Fredricksen Library. All profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the library so that the written word can continue to be enjoyed by all who walk through its doors.

Thank you, Mr. Craumer, for your belief in and support of creative writing. Thank you, Fredricksen Library, for offering the workshop twice a year and giving us a home. Thank you, Lee Johnson, for suggesting the workshop in the first place! Thank you, Jessica Nupponen, the library’s community events director, for your excellent support in all things administrative: registration, scheduling, materials and the endless handout copies of which I never seem to run out. You have been my right arm. And thank you, writers, for hanging in there, exercising your minds, and crafting these excellent short stories.

 

 

Enjoy!

Ann Elia Stewart

Workshop facilitator