DENVER WRITERS FORUM: Toni Morrison's Rules of Writing
Details
You’re invited to a focused, craft‑driven conversation on Toni Morrison’s essential principles for writers—an evening dedicated to discipline, imagination, and the moral weight of storytelling.
## Why Morrison’s Rules?
Toni Morrison didn’t offer “tips” so much as a philosophy of authorship. Her guidance challenges writers to trust their intelligence, honor their characters, and refuse the easy or expected. She asks us to write toward truth rather than approval, to resist sentimentality, and to create work that is both artistically rigorous and emotionally resonant.
## Discussion Focus
We’ll explore Morrison’s core ideas, including:
- Writing the book you want to read
- Trusting the reader without over‑explaining
- Avoiding clichés of language, character, and emotion
- Refusing to center the white gaze
- Letting characters have their full agency
- Embracing difficulty as part of the creative process
- Understanding the writer’s responsibility to language
## What to Bring
- A passage or idea from Morrison’s interviews, essays, or lectures that resonates with your own practice
- A willingness to examine your assumptions about narrative, audience, and authority
- Questions about how Morrison’s principles might reshape your current project
- Openness to a conversation that blends craft, ethics, and imagination
## Who This Forum Is For
Writers of all genres who want to deepen their craft, challenge their habits, and engage with one of the most influential literary minds of the last century.
Our forum meets every fourth Thursday at Slater's 50/50, 3600 Blake Street, Denver. It’s an open discussion of writing, editing, and publishing issues that participants bring to the table.
Note: We get free validated parking in the garage at 3847 North Downing Street.
(Be sure to join the Denver Writers Workshop on Meetup and Facebook for more information on those activities.)