The Writer's Room: Using Creative Fear as a Compass

“What Are You Afraid to Write? Using Creative Fear as a Compass.” The idea would be a conversation about the places writers tend to pull back, either because something feels too weird, too personal, too vulnerable, or simply too risky, and how that fear can sometimes point us toward the material with the most energy and the most distinctive voice. I’d share a few examples from my own work and then lead a short writing exercise inviting people to write toward the thing they’ve been avoiding. No one would have to share unless they wanted to. Facilitator | Micheline Auger Micheline Auger’s work spans playwriting, screenwriting, journalism, producing, and film directing. From her award-winning debut with Poop - A True Story, based on her avant-garde experience as a living art piece in a downtown NYC gallery, Micheline has continually pushed the boundaries of storytelling. Featured in American Theater Magazine, the NY Times, NPR, Bust Magazine, and New York Magazine, Micheline crafts stories that captivate, challenge, and resonate with the issues of the day. For her screenwriting, she has been recognized by the Writers Lab, an initiative backed by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman and the Austin Film Festival, among others. Her short film script Dead Girls was a Sundance Collab Top Pick, while her directorial debut, Little Piggy, garnered Best Director by the UVFA, as well as clinching a nomination for Most Outrageous at the Orlando Film Festival.