Safe Space Stories: A Writing Workshop with Paul Rozario-Falcone
By Daria Radler

Through the window, we hear the constant buzz of scooters and cars. Sometimes the noise dies down a little only to pick up again as another vehicle is approaching.

The room is filled with a busy silence — hands that move across a computer keyboard, wrists that move across notebooks and lose sheets of paper, pens that produce words which aren’t meant to be thought about. The workshop starts with a five-minute free write.

Founded by Singapore and Brooklyn-based writer Paul Rozario-Falcone, Safe Space Stories follows the Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) Method. The guiding principles of this method include:

1. Everyone has a strong, unique voice.
2. Everyone is born with creative genius.
3. Writing as an art form belongs to all people, regardless of economic class or education level.
4. Craft can be taught without damage to a writer’s original voice or artistic self-esteem.
5. A writer is someone who writes.

Enthusiastic, kind and approachable, Paul Rozario-Falcone provides the group with different prompts to spark our creativity. Still, he emphasises that anything goes: Whether we use the prompts or write something entirely different, whether we stop once fifteen minutes are up or run with our train of thought for a little while longer is entirely up to us.

As the name suggests, Safe Space Stories aims at creating a safe environment in which people write and support each other. The “rules” are based on mutual respect and positivity:

1. Everyone’s writing, including the leader’s, is treated with equal respect and value.
2. Writing is kept confidential and treated as fiction.
3. Writers can refrain from reading their work aloud.
4. Responses to just-written work reflect what is strong and successful.
5. Responses and exercises support the development of literary craft.

Ultimately, Safe Space Stories is an invitation. Free from pressure or expectations, the workshop allows for each writer to begin a new creative journey that is meant to be nothing but positive and affirming. “After all,” Paul Rozario-Falcone points out, “The hardest part is writing once we’re each on our own.”

Mark your calendars: The next Safe Space Stories workshop with Paul Rozario-Falcone is coming up on April 6, 2019. The number of participants is limited, so make sure to send an email to write@stmarksitaly.com to reserve your spot for the workshop.

You can find out more about Paul Rozario-Falcone, Safe Space Stories and the Amherst Writer’s & Artist Method by visiting the website, here.

Daria Radler: I’m Daria, a content and travel writer on the go. Originally from Hamburg, Germany, I have made the road my home in April 2016. Currently based in Italy, I do what I like best: From travel, culture and creative writing to designing websites: I create and work with new ideas.