On Wine and Writing

By Lisa Palley, Palley Promotes 

 What happens when you mix a cocktail with writing? Sometimes it’s the best material you’ve ever written, sometimes there are gems hidden between the froth and the ice cubes, and sometimes it’s a paper basketball doomed for the wastepaper basket. Or in this day & age, a reverential push of the delete button.

Sometimes writing does get lonely…so come on out & get social. Have your first drink on us at Miami Book Fair’s monthly First Draft event. Every month First Draft is hosted by a guest instructor to tease a story out of all willing and interested participants. “I love writing, I love to drink. So why not do a mash-up…and see what happens,” said First Draft creator and director Nicole Swift. “We’ve been hosting them for about a year now, all over town, and they are just so much fun. We even have groupies. And some real work gets done.”

On Thursday, Sept. 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Books and Books/Arsht Center, the guiding hand of author Roxanna Elden, who has 11 years of teaching experience — nine as an English and writing teacher at Hialeah High School — will explore one’s interior mind and imagination to explain the unexplainable. “It’s as open-ended as it sounds,” said Roxanna. “There will be several prompts and exercises that are in some way tied to this theme. They’ll be adaptable for a wide range of genres and writing styles.”

Swift explains the process: each First Draft has a theme, and the instructor, always a well-known published author and experienced teacher, will ask each First Drafter to compose their thoughts for the page or screen upon that theme, in whatever writing style one finds comfort. It is up to each individual to decide whether to read their work aloud. A break is taken to drink, eat and socialize, and then the next round begins.

Said Swift, “Everyone is respectful of each other. We’re asking everyone to share something they’ve had 10 minutes to write down, after a drink. Oh yes, sign me up! But honestly, we’re all sharing the same space, everyone is polite and gracious. And we’re all there to have a good time, make some new friends and work on expanding our creative practice and strengthening our writing muscles.”

Mark your calendar for the upcoming Drinking/Writing with First Draft:

* Thursday, Oct. 5 with Vanessa Garcia @Books and Books at the Arsht

* Thursday, Nov. 17 Instructor TBA @ The Porch

* Thursday Dec., 8, with Nick Garnett @ Books and Books at the Arsht

RSVP by visiting MiamiBookFair.com