Upcoming WordPlay

SPINNING WORDS INTO GOLD

(Fulfilling Writing Dreams and Goals; Creating New Writing; Revising and Polishing Your Writing)

Does writing fulfill you? Do you wish you were writing more? Jumpstart your writing life and learn to keep your words flowing. Learn specific techniques and exercises to create nonfiction, poetry and/or fiction. Whether you would like to keep a journal for your own personal growth, spin stories for your loved ones, or further a career as a professional writer, experience the satisfaction of developing a writing practice that works for you-come spin words into gold.

$159 for 6 sessions.

WHERE: Queens University Sports Complex, 2229 Tyvola Rd, Charlotte, NC 28210

WHEN: Wednesdays, 1 - 3 pm, March 19 & 26, April 2, 16, 23, and 30.

TO REGISTER: Click here to register through Queens: http://www.queens.edu/Academics-and-Schools/Continuing-Education/Program-Categories/Writing-CE/Writing-%E2%80%93-Spinning-Words-into-Gold-with-Maureen-Ryan-Griffin.html 

SPRING WRITING RETREAT

(Writing as Renewal; Creating New Writing) 

Renew and delight yourself. Enjoy various seasonal prompts that elicit beautiful material which can be shaped into essays, poems, stories, or articles. After lunch with a community of like-minded writers, you'll have private time to collage, work with a piece of writing from the morning, or play with a number of other writing prompts and methods. You'll take home new ideas, new drafts, and new possibilities.

$97 includes lunch and supplies.

WHEN: Saturday, March 22, 2014,10 am - 5 pm

WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration.

TO REGISTER: Click here to register via credit card or PayPal.

Click here to print and mail in your registration with a check. 

POETRY ROCKS: TAP INTO ALL POETRY CAN DO FOR YOU

(Learning the Ins and Outs of Poetry; Strengthening Your Writing Skills; Adding a New Layer of Literary Beauty to Your Life)

3 lively, interactive, online classes PLUS a "Poetry Creation Tool" in written and audio form each weekday in April (22 in all!) PLUS extra resources and a private group forum so you can share and learn from your fellow participants. AND, an e-book that contains all your Poetry Rocks tools and resources.

Would you like your writing -- prose and/or poetry -- to be more graceful, powerful, beautiful? Do you sometimes find poetry confusing or intimidating and wish you could "crack the code"? Or do you enjoy writing and reading poems, but want a more thorough understanding of what makes a poem good? Then this poetry extravaganza is for you.

Expect a lively good time exploring what makes a poem a poem, gaining the knowledge you need to confidently create and revise poetry, and strengthening your writing skills in all genres.

You'll also have the opportunity to ask any question you've ever had about poetry but were afraid to ask!

$95 includes three 90-minute classes plus audio replays, 22 daily poetry creation tools in both written and audio form so you can put what you learn into practice, plus additional resources, as well as access to a private group forum so you can share and learn from your fellow participants. . At the end of "Poetry Rocks", you'll receive an e-book that contains all the information and resources covered, as well as your daily poetry creation tools.

BONUS: All interested participants will be entered in a drawing to get a 500-word (or shorter) poem critiqued. The six winning poems will be shared in class to illustrate the revision process.

WHEN: All April long, in celebration of National Poetry Month! The three online classes, available or via phone, web, and/or replay, are 7 to 8:30 pm, Tuesdays, April 1, 15, and 29  (or at your convenience, as these will be recorded). A poetry creation tool will arrive in your inbox each weekday in April, to be used at your convenience. The tools and corresponding audios will also be available on a special webpage made just for Poetry Rocks participants.

WHERE: From the comfort of your own home, via phone, web, or replay.

TO REGISTER: Click here to register via PayPal or credit card.
Or print and mail in this WordPlay Registration Form Spring 2014, along with a check made out to WordPlay.

Featured Writing

I Want a Leaf to Eat

by

Amanda Leigh Griffin
(at age four, as told to her mother in response
to the request, "Tell me about this picture.")

(Note that Amanda didn't know what to call the cart,
so she did what any self-respecting kid would do --
made up a word of her own. I put in the line and stanza
breaks, but the words are pure four-year-old Amanda.)

I like leaves and so am I.
But if you want me, come with me.
Thank you, brother, for putting those leaves
inside the back of my slude.

But if you see my slude with my brother putting in leaves, 
then you 'would make up a story just like this story.

But if you have no food,
you come to my house and get some of my food. 

But if you see me right inside an egg,
you would see my shoelaces sticking out of the egg.
You would still see my sock.

But if you have no lamp,
come to my house and borrow my lamp for when you need it. 

If you have no feelings, come and borrow my feelings.
I'm always happy; that' s what you say.

But if you want me, come to see me. I've got a rocking horse 
and lots of leaves inside my room to play in.

MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and two collections of poetry, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."

Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn -- and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours!