Day two of the 2026 Young Writers’ Workshop was filled with reflection, creativity, observation, and imagination as our young writers explored the connections between nature, writing, art, and storytelling.
The day began in the garden with a reflective nature-writing session facilitated by Maranda. Our young writers spent time observing a piece of nature and writing flash nonfiction inspired by trees, sticks, and flowers. They connected these natural objects to personal memories and experiences. A tree reminded one writer of a willow tree, a stick reminded another of childhood games played with sticks, and a flower reminded another young writer of the personality of her cat. Afterwards, the young writers shared excerpts from their garden flash nonfiction. Their pieces were rich with vivid descriptions and strong memories.
After a brief break, our young writers moved back into the UMB Auditorium and our visiting writer, Linzi Garcia, arrived. Linzi began her session by inviting the young writers to introduce themselves through something they absolutely love. She also asked them to share a song that deeply resonates with them. The young writers enthusiastically discussed the songs they connect with, why those songs matter to them, and how they might write about them.
Linzi then asked the group how they know when they are writing well and what they learned from writing in the garden. The young writers reflected on the role of observation, memories, emotions, and even those moments when they “cringe” while rereading their work.
Next, they were challenged to spend five to ten minutes writing continuously about one particular thing that they absolutely love without editing or slowing down. The goal was simple: write as much as possible about a subject they cared about. At the end of ten minutes, Linzi read her own piece first before inviting the young writers to share. The group wrote about things they love most — dance, food, cats, and more. It became a wonderful opportunity to understand not only what they loved but also the deep connections they felt toward those subjects. Their writing was witty, thoughtful, and absolutely brilliant.
After sharing, the young writers discussed what they loved about one another’s writing and what stood out to them. They also reflected on what surprised and delighted them about their own work. They were then asked to underline words and phrases they found especially interesting. As a creative challenge, they used only those highlighted words and phrases to create entirely new pieces of writing. The results were interesting and engaging, and the young writers eagerly shared them with the group.
The workshop then shifted to poetry. Linzi introduced the young writers to the haiku form and challenged them to transform their longer pieces into haikus. After sharing their poems, they walked around the room and wrote haikus inspired by objects that caught their attention. They wrote about signs, strangers, switches, and other everyday details, discovering how careful observation can spark powerful writing. The session came to an interesting end with our young writers sharing what they wrote.
The young writers then enjoyed lunch from Panera with Linzi before heading to the galleries in the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art for a Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) tour.
Led by the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Emma Kellogg, the tour focused on two paintings. The young writers carefully examined each artwork and worked together to unravel the stories hidden within them. In one painting, “No Masters,” they interpreted the image as depicting friction between a couple living in two different worlds. Using visual clues, they attempted to determine the personalities and relationships of the people portrayed.
The second painting, “Whale, Magpie, Tornado and Fire,” inspired equally thoughtful discussion. The young writers explored themes of sadness, loss, and death, interpreting tornadoes, fire, a sick whale, and a captured bird as metaphors for struggling with depression. Their observations demonstrated remarkable creativity, empathy, and critical thinking.
The afternoon continued in Hale Library with a world-building session facilitated by Aidia.
Aidia introduced the young writers to the concept of world building and showed them how to create imaginative worlds using paint, brushes, colors, and paper.
The young writers were fully engaged, creating worlds inspired by imagination and creativity. As their paintings dried, they considered the structures, landforms, and characters that might exist within their worlds. They then developed outlines of their worlds based on the environments they had imagined. One group created a world called Islands of Leviathan, while another developed an unnamed world that continues to take shape.
After concluding their world-building session, our young writers spent time freewriting in the Great Room on the third floor of Hale Library. Surrounded by the beautiful architecture and quiet atmosphere of the space, they had the opportunity to let their imaginations wander and put their thoughts on the page without restrictions.
After an exciting afternoon of creativity, the young writers returned to the UMB Auditorium at the Beach Museum for the final activity of the day: an improv game facilitated by Maranda. In the game, one young writer played a host of a party who had to determine the secret identities of the party attendees. The young writers enthusiastically embraced their roles, dropping clues and staying in character throughout the activity. By the end, the host successfully deciphered every character, bringing a day filled with fun and laughter to a memorable end.
Overall, day two reminded us that stories can begin anywhere –with a flower, a painting, a song, or even a single carefully observed detail.
Tomorrow promises to be more fun and creative! We look forward to bringing you more updates.
– Ruth Okon, Program Assistant
K-State Young Writers' Workshop 