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Engine, Engine Number Nine writing workshop rolls into Orangeville

August 8, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes

A local writer and author is planning a unique creative approach to writing with his upcoming workshop.

Anthony Carnovale, an Orangeville resident, will be hosting his own, independently operated writing workshop, titled Engine, Engine Number Nine.

Carnovale, who has spent over 20 years teaching English to high school students in Brampton, originally dreamed of opening a bookstore. However, he began to feel that he wanted to take a more hands-on approach to literature.

“That was my dream, but then I kind of felt that was a bit of a cop-out,” he said. “I said, look, if I’m gonna spend my life around books, I might as well try to write books. And then I just picked up a pen and a notebook, and just put pen to paper.

“It’s been uphill and downhill ever since.”

His outlook on what writing is all about has changed dramatically over his long career. It first began as a drive to prove to himself that he had what it took to write a book, and then it transitioned to proving to others that they could write.

However, his view on writing began to take on a much more personal and deeper meaning.

“I’ve learned that writing is so much more than proving something to yourself,” Carnovale said. “It’s about making time for yourself and just trying to figure things out and understanding what you’re thinking about and what you’re feeling. In some ways, it’s about figuring out who you are as a person.

“So it’s not necessarily having to share what you’re writing with other people, it’s sharing what you’re thinking with yourself.”

Carnovale said that this is the essence of what Engine, Engine Number Nine is all about, with the workshop itself born out of a question from a participant at another workshop he works with.

“One of the participants is writing a memoir, and she asked if we could discuss the process,” he said. “We hadn’t done that yet. She said that once she gets an idea in her head, she just rides that train of thought right to the very end.”

This inspired him to take a more personal approach with this new workshop.

“What I’ve learned at this point in my life is that we have ideas, and we tend to stick to these ideas, but at the expense of what other ideas might be out there,” Carnovale said. “It’s about kind of just letting go of these things, and seeing what else is out there in terms of, you know, other creative possibilities.”

He said that while the workshop does have some familiar exercises, participants can expect to be introduced to a myriad of new writers, experiences and exercises to help break the mould and look at writing in a new way.

“We still do some stuff that kind of bothers me, like prompts,” he said. “But I think what separates my workshops from other people, is that I’m bringing in a number of different resources from authors that a lot of writers in the workshop have never heard of.”

But writing won’t be the only thing that participants will be focusing on throughout the workshop.

“We won’t just be sticking with words,” he said. “We’ll look at music, we’ll look at food, we’ll listen to sounds, we’ll look at images, we’ll get up from our seats, it’s kind of the same way that I can talk in my classroom with high school students, I’m just bringing that to a group of adults.”

Participants will likely learn about one of Carnovale’s favourite writers, Ali Smith, a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. He said her writing resonates strongly with his own style and rhythm.

Rhythm, or style, is also a big factor in Carnovale’s writing philosophy.

“As I get older, I’ve learned that the writing style of the writer says as much about the story as the story itself,” he said. “It’s the rhythm, it’s the way that their ideas flow. I like a good rhythm to my writing as well, too. Because without rhythm, there’s no moving forward, and that’s just the approach I take to life.”

Carnovale encourages anyone interested in learning more about writing to come to the workshop, and maybe even learn something new about themselves.

“Come out to a workshop where you’ll learn a little bit about writing but you’ll also learn something about yourself,” he said. “Perhaps you might leave a different writer, you might even leave a different person.”

The workshop will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Westminster United Church, 247 Broadway.

Admission is $50.

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