The “Yes, And…” of Writing: Improvising to Unblock Creativity with Lillian Li

The "Yes, And..." of Writing: Improvising to Unblock Creativity with Lillian Li quantity

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Editor's Note

The “Yes, And…” of Writing: Improvising to Unblock Creativity with Lillian Li
Saturday, December 5
12 PM – 3 PM PT / 3 PM – 6 PM ET
Online

Do you ever find yourself staring at a blinking cursor, waiting for the perfect sentence to appear? Or how about finding yourself stuck in the middle of a story, worried that whatever move you make will be the wrong one? This workshop will help you apply the spontaneity of improv comedy to the focused craft of creative writing. We will use improv’s core principles—such as “Yes, And,” embracing mistakes, and rapid-fire ideation—as tools to silence your inner critic and get your ideas flowing onto the page. By applying these techniques to your writing practice, you will learn how to:

• Silence the Inner Critic: Learn why “perfect” is the enemy of “done.”

• Bypass Blocks: Use low-stakes prompts to jumpstart your narrative.

• Expand Ideas: Practice the “Yes, And” and “If this is true…” improv methods to turn a single sentence into a full scene or story.

While there will be opportunities to play improv games, any workshop attendee can choose to opt out at any time. However, be ready to write, whether on a current project or a new prompt provided during the session.

Scholarship
We have one scholarship available for this intensive. Scholarships are awarded via a random lottery drawn at least a week before the intensive. Please submit your name here to enter.

BIO: Lillian Li is the author of the novel Bad Asians, and Number One Chinese Restaurant, which was an NPR Best Book, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize and the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Her work has been published in the New York Times, Granta, One Story, Bon Appetit, Travel & Leisure, and The Guardian. She has been performing improv since 2021, most recently as part of Hear.say Theater’s Friday night house team, and has been featured at the Detroit Improv Festival and Yes Ann Improv Festival.