Craft your True Story. Join our Writing Community.

Welcome to Shape & Flow Writing Workshops!

I am Kimberly Garts Crum, the owner and instructor at the Shape & Flow Writing studio at the Mellwood Arts Center in Louisville, Kentucky. I enjoyed a social work career before getting my MFA in creative nonfiction. Now, I guide aspiring writers in the retelling of true stories, for publication or posterity.

I am pleased to have kept my studio during the pandemic, hoping someday we might meet again, in person. Our first in-person six-week studio workshop will begin Wednesday, July 7 at 10 AM. The evening session, beginning Tuesday, June 29, will remain on Zoom, to accommodate out-of-town participants. The cost is $150 per Zoom workshop; $175 per in-person workshop. Find out more about six-week workshops here.

I also lead a monthly legacy writing workshop on the first Wednesday evening of each month.

You can read some of my published writing here.

Write, share, listen, and learn.

To inquire or enroll, e-mail me at shapeandflow@gmail.com

Be Safe. Be Peace. Write Forward.

Workshops

I want to improve my craft within a writing community.

Coaching

I want one-on-one help for my writing project.

Editing

I want an editor to help me develop and polish a manuscript.

Musings

Distracted

April 22, 2020 by Kimberly Crum, posted in Uncategorized

DATELINE—April 22, 2020. Louisville, Kentucky In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the time between breakfast and lunch ______________________________________________________________________________________ Sheltering-in-place seems like an opportunity for a fabulous writing retreat. Alas, I find myself distracted, unable to adhere to my writing mantra, “Don’t wait to be inspired. Write to be inspired.” Time seems suspended. Unnatural. … Continue reading Distracted

Writing in the Time of Corona

March 29, 2020 by Kimberly Crum, posted in Uncategorized

Come together, virtually. Write now! Greetings from my home office—a high swivel stool at my kitchen breakfast bar. I love the way the light slants through this room and I can hear the birds singing, as if all is right with the world. Here I can easily distract myself when my writing inspiration wanes and I forget to listen to my own advice—”Don’t wait … Continue reading Writing in the Time of Corona

Migration—A memoir of moments

March 3, 2020February 9, 2021 by Kimberly Crum, posted in Uncategorized

I was five years old, my brother eleven, when my father excused us from the great American dining table to move to Wiesbaden, Germany, a country the Allies had defeated in WWII, its land mass the spoils of war, divided into east and west, rebuilding but endangered still. Our ship would depart the day after … Continue reading Migration—A memoir of moments

Consider the Lowly Hermit Crab

May 15, 2019May 15, 2019 by Kimberly Crum, posted in Uncategorized

I first read about the hermit crab in Barbara Kingsolver’s essay collection, High Tide in Tucson. In this true story about a stowaway crustacean, Kingsolver creates a lively lyrical first person narrative, in which the crab becomes a metaphor for how creatures habituate to their environments. Indeed, the hermit crab makes good metaphor. When you feel cramped, find a new shell to call … Continue reading Consider the Lowly Hermit Crab

More Musings

Testimonials

“The workshop is an enjoyable, stimulating way to learn and develop writing skills with a wonderful instructor and inspired women.”

“I have learned how creating scenes, using dialogue to move the story along, and integrating the setting with the characters can make your writing more engaging.”

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