31 Creative Prompts for Summerween

30 Stories in 30 Days
DATE: 4 Weeks Starting July 1st
TIME: Asynchronous via Writing Workshops

This generative workshop is chock full of 30 writing prompts for short story writers. Whether you write micro fiction, flash fiction, or short stories, these 30 prompts are meant to inspire and support you in this unique writing challenge. You've heard of NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month), where poets write 30 poems in 30 days, and you've probably heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), where writers try to write a novel in a month. Now, you can do the same with short stories. Whether you're writing to a specific theme, assembling stories for a collection, or want to try writing a series of connected stories, this workshop will explore new contemporary structures like The Tryptich or The Wikipedia Entry.

Grow with Van Gogh: A 70-in-70 Challenge for Creatives 
DATES: 10 Weeks Starting Tuesday, September 1st, 2026
TIME: Asynchronous via Writing Workshops

Secluded in a small village outside of Paris, the famous impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh spent the final 70 days of his life doing what he loved: painting every day. This remarkable period and astonishing burst of creativity inspires this unique workshop. Grow with Van Gogh is a 70-day challenge for writers, artists, and all creatives looking to generate new work and push their boundaries.

Sip + Create Goth Night
DATE: Saturday, October 10th, 2026
TIME: 4:30PM - 6:30 PM
LOCATION: Merge Art Studio, 2000 Nance St. Studio B-126
​Bust out your black velvet because this is an art night for the goths! To celebrate Halloween and spooky season, join MERGE for a special all-black painting and poetry night. The challenge for this sip and create will be to create artwork that pairs dark poetry with our favorite color: Black (or maybe really really really dark gray). Attendees are welcome to dress up in their spookiest duds. Hosted by your resident emo, Holly Lyn Walrath, "Houston's most darksome poet".

Journaling for Writers
DATES: Four Weeks Starting December 7th, 2026
TIME: Asynchronous via Writing Workshops
Journaling is proven to boost mental health and help focus your thoughts — and for writers, it can be so much more than that. In this creative writing workshop, you'll learn a range of journaling techniques geared specifically toward the writing life, exploring journaling not just as a way to process and track your thoughts, but as a method for improving your craft and building a sustainable career as a writer.

Sip + Create Rock Painting for Summer Gardens (+ Plant Swap!)
DATE: Saturday, August 8th, 2026
TIME: 4:30PM - 6:30PM
LOCATION: Merge Art Studio, 2000 Nance St. Studio B-126

​Unwind with a refreshing drink and get creative as you transform ordinary rocks into colorful garden art. In this fun, beginner-friendly workshop, you'll learn simple painting techniques and design ideas to create unique decorations that add personality and charm to your summer garden. No experience needed—all supplies included!
Also, participants are encouraged to bring a plant (or clipping) to swap with their fellow gardeners.

Sip + Create Van Gogh's Sunflowers
DATE: Saturday, September 26th, 2026
TIME: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
LOCATION: Merge Art Studio, 2000 Nance St. Studio B-126
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In this writing + art workshop, we'll explore one of the most iconic artists of all time: Vincent Van Gogh. Inspired by Van Gogh's famous sunflowers, we'll paint sunny summer sunflowers and incorporate Van Gogh's writing into our creative practice. Van Gogh was not only a talented painter but also a lifelong letter writer. This unique workshop will give you an opportunity to learn about Van Gogh's life and create a piece of art in the spirit of one of the most popular artists in history.

Writing the Book-Length Poetry Collection
DATES: Four Weeks Starting October 5th, 2026
TIME: Asynchronous via Writing Workshops

This online poetry workshop is built for new and emerging poets ready to gather their work into a cohesive manuscript. Open to all levels and all genres of poetry, it's ideal for writers who have poems on the page but feel overwhelmed by the task of shaping them into a chapbook or full-length book. By the end of this online writing class, you'll have the skills to move from a folder of individual poems toward a publishable manuscript — and a clear understanding of how to submit and market your book of poetry.

Sip + Create Fifth Ward Art Walk
DATE: Saturday, November 14th, 2026
TIME: 4:30PM - 6:30 PM
LOCATION: Houston's Historic Fifth Ward (Starting and ending outside Saint Arnold Brewing at 2000 Lyons Ave.)
Houston is an art-lovers city! Join us for a guided tour of the art murals of Houston's historic Fifth Ward. This tour starts and ends at Saint Arnold Brewing and explores the nearby artwork, including Saint Arnold's famous art cars, Meow Wolf, and other neighborhood art. Come with your walking shoes ready to learn about the history of Houston and its many talented muralists.

Sip + Create Holiday Cards
DATE: December 12th, 2026
TIME: 4:30PM
LOCATION: Merge Art Studio, 2000 Nance St. Studio B-126

​Join us for a cozy holiday card-making sesh where you can explore your creative side and make your own poetry-themed holiday cards. In this creative session, we'll use books and texts from the December cultural holidays — Christmas, Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa—to write poems and create our own holiday cards. Learn about the world's holidays, enjoy a cozy holiday beverage, and meet other creatives.

Self-Paced Course: 30 Poems In 30 Days
DATE: Ongoing
TIME: Asynchronous, Self-paced via Poetry Barn
PRICE: $149
This class came out of NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month), which happens every year in April. Similarly, the goal of this self-paced class is to write 30 poems in 30 days. However, you might write one poem a day, or several poems in a day, and then give yourself a break. It’s totally up to you! Whether you’re writing to a specific theme, assembling a group of poems for a chapbook, or you want to try writing a longer poetic sequence, this workshop is meant to support you with generative prompts and experiences to get you creating plenty of new work.

Self-Paced Course: Journaling for Poets
DATE: Ongoing
TIME: Asynchronous, Self-paced via Poetry Barn
PRICE: $99
Poets are observers. One way to keep track of your observations and ideas is through a writing journal. In this workshop, we'll cover the basics of journaling for poets, not just as a method of processing and keeping track of your thoughts, but as a method of improving your writing life and working towards a career as a writer.  In this workshop, you'll cover how to manage large ideas or projects, track submissions, create goals, revising, and more, all while exploring popular methods of journaling to find the one that works for you. If you feel out of sorts or disorganized in your writing life, this workshop is for you!

Self-Paced Course: Queer Poetics
DATE: Ongoing
​TIME: Asynchronous, Self-paced via Poetry Barn
​PRICE: $99
This workshop is an intersectional primer on LGBTQIA+ writers throughout the history of poetry. We’ll explore poets like Walt Whitman, Adrienne Rich, Allen Ginsberg, and Audre Lorde, but also the contemporary queer poets who have catapulted into the mainstream like Jericho Brown and Danez Smith. We’ll write poems alongside and inspired by the voices of queer poetics. This class is meant both for writers who want to explore their queerness and for writers who want to learn more about the history of queer poetry.

Self-Paced Course: Writing Resistance Through Erasure, Found Text & Visual Poetry
DATE: Ongoing
TIME: Asynchronous, Self-paced via Poetry Barn
PRICE: $99
Hybrid poetry forms can be a powerful form of resistance. From Jerrod Schwarz’s erasure of Trump’s inaugural speech to Niina Pollari’s black outs of the N-400 citizenship form, contemporary poets are engaging with the world through text, creating new and challenging works of art. Heralded by the rise of the “Instapoet,” visual works are a way to take poetry one step further by crafting new forms and structures that often transcend the page.