7 hours
LitArts RI
Starting at USD 0
Sat, 21 Feb, 2026 at 09:30 am to 04:30 pm (GMT-05:00)
LitArts RI
400 Harris Avenue, Providence, United States
You're invited to LitArts RI’s next Writers’ Block Party! Kickstart your writing in 2026 with a day of micro workshops designed to move you past creative barriers while building skills and community to sustain your practice. Choose from six 1.5-hour craft workshops, interspersed with time to write at LitArts RI, a brown bag lunch and a closing mixer. From world building to writing about family, navigating science to building magic systems, writing sex to writing villains—join us on Sat, Feb 21 to break your writers' block.
Opt for one or sign up for the full day of workshops for a discount! All tickets include admission to the opening discussion, time to write in the LitArts RI Creative Workspace and participation in the closing mixer.
Scroll down to view the full agenda. After purchasing either a full day or single workshop ticket(s), you will be asked to register for your preferred workshops.
Community Access Lottery
LitArts RI offers a lottery for free admission to those who are from a community that has faced institutional barriers in the writing and publishing worlds or who lack access to resources and could not otherwise afford to attend. The lottery closes 2 weeks before each workshop, at which time entrants will be notified if they are a recipient of one of the free seats. For the Writers' Block Party, recipients will be issued a Full Day Admission.
To enter the lottery, press the red "Get tickets" button at the top right of your screen, then scroll down to add a "Community Access Lottery Ticket" to your cart and check out.
Safe and Brave Space Policy
Writing workshops can be vulnerable spaces. As a literary arts organization, LitArts RI is committed to providing a safe, brave, inclusive and accessible space to all participants, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, citizenship status, age, size, abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Be sensitive, be supportive, be respectful and engage with care. Discriminatory, hateful, and threatening content will not be tolerated; we ask that you bring any concerns to our attention immediately.
Accessibility
LitArts RI is wheelchair accessible. The organization is actively committed to cultivating a community that values and reflects diversity, equity and inclusivity and to providing programming that is accessible to all attendees. Please let us know about any accommodations we can make to allow you to participate fully in this event.
Health Safety Guidelines
If you have tested positive for Covid-19 within a few days of attending an event at LitArts RI, please contact Staff so we can let others know of possible exposure. We ask that you wait 14 days or until testing negative to return to the Center.
This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Info: Please arrive at 9:30am to settle in with coffee for a welcome and orientation to the day with LitArts RI Staff.
Info: In this workshop, writers will immerse themselves in the worlds they are building by connecting to related emotions and sensations. Utilizing generative somatic exercises and guided meditation, participants will journey through the sights and sounds of their imagined or historical settings, write about them in vivid detail and access the physical and emotional environments that will help bring readers deeper into the world of their story.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
Info: Writing about or with science can seem intimidating, whether you are a scientist or not. Geared for both nonfiction and fiction writers with limited scientific training, this workshop will focus on incorporating science in an engaging manner while staying true to its source material. Participants will review the scientific process, review academic excerpts, and examine science news articles to better understand how they can be incorporated into creative work. Writers will come away with an understanding of scientific literature, how to find and meet with scientists, and how to successfully incorporate science into their writing.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
Info: Settle into a writing nook or armchair to reflect on a workshop and get some writing done.
Info: The best villains are the most human, with motivations we can all relate to. This workshop will unpack what we love to hate, reviewing the archetypes that can wreak the best havoc in your story and offering an overview of villain studies. After examining our favorite antagonists in literature and film, participants will complete a series of villainous in-class prompts suitable for writers, comic artists and sketchers alike.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
Info: Have you ever told someone that your family's story could be a book? Writing a memoir that revisits the people in your early life? Love genealogy and wonder what stories each branch in a family tree could possibly tell? Whether you're deep into a longform memoir or hoping to craft your first short story, essay or poem, this workshop is designed to introduce ways to enrich your research, to turn facts and memories into your own unique narrative forms, and to push past common stumbling blocks when writing about family.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
Info: BYO lunch to enjoy while getting to know fellow writers in the Salon. If you bring food to share, please clearly list any potential allergens (gluten, nuts, dairy, etc.).
Info: Magic systems can make your world soar, send it crashing down, or worse, insert destabilizing factors that make your reader lose their faith in your story. In this workshop, we’ll go beyond what looks cool on the page and work on building out a thoughtful, multi-layered magic system for your story that feels both credible and compelling. Participants will come away with references, examples, handouts, both fresh writing and editing ideas, and overall, a firmer grounding and understanding of the unique magical system for their story.
Open to writers of all levels and genres.
Info: This workshop explores techniques for better writing about, through, and around sex in prose. Writers will receive a primer on expectations in publishing erotic material, from softcore to explicit. Through a group study of erotic excerpts by Chuck Tingle and Samuel Delany, we will explore how authors prepare their audiences and play with expectation, linguistically and formally, and how we might do the same in our own work. Participants will leave with a fresh perspective on sex writing rooted in play and care.
Open to prose writers of all levels and genres.
Info: Meet fellow writers over refreshments in the Salon.
Also check out other Arts events in Providence, Literary Art events in Providence, Workshops in Providence.
Tickets for Writers' Block Party can be booked here.
| Ticket type | Ticket price |
|---|---|
| General Admission: Full Day | 151 USD |
| LitArts RI Member Admission: Full Day | 109 USD |
| General Admission: Single Workshop | 61 USD |
| LitArts RI Member Admission: Single Workshop | 45 USD |
| (A) Imaginative Immersion for Worldbuilders | Free |
| (B) Using Science in Writing | Free |
| (A) Antagonist Academy | Free |
| (B) Writing Family | Free |
| (A) Building a Believable Magic System | Free |
| (B) Sex Scenes That Don't Suck | Free |
| Community Access Lottery | Free |
