Volume III, Issue 48
December 29, 2014
|
Dear ,
Oh, the enthusiasm of a young child! In this photo of my daughter
and grandson, you can see the glee on Rhys's face as he takes off running for the umpteenth time this particular morning. Like reading his favorite books, popping bubbles we blow for him, and pushing his trucks through the house, each time is as fresh and interesting as the time before.
I hope you're feeling this way about the New Year to come, no matter how many January 1's you've already seen. There's something so enticing about those 365 days spread out
in the near future, waiting to be filled with new things -- and things to do again, and again, and again.
My treat to you as the New Year draws close is a lovely piece WordPlayer Susan Staley shared in one of my Under Construction classes this past fall called "Do It Again" --
enjoy!
And if writing is something you want to do again in the New Year, and you live in the Charlotte area, check out the January opportunities below -- including a new session of "Under Construction" to support you. And keep posted for many more opportunities in 2015.
Love and light,
Maureen Upcoming WordPlay
UNDER CONSTRUCTION - starts January 14th!
Register now to reserve your spot before they fill up! (Fulfilling Writing Dreams & Goals; Creating New Writing; Revising & Polishing Your Writing) This class is designed to fulfill your writing dreams and
projects. You’ll set goals and support structures and watch your writing flow! You’ll also get feedback on your work (any genre) and learn revision tools. Jumpstart your pen and receive the knowledge and inspiration you need to write, whatever your preferred genre. Each week, writing prompts will generate material for new writing or further a piece in process. Through examples of accomplished writers, you’ll learn techniques to aid you right where you are in the process.
WEDNESDAY MORNINGS WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, NC 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Wednesday mornings from 10 am to noon.
January 14th, 21st and 28th, February 4th and 18th, March 4th, 11th and 25th, April 8th, 22nd and 29th, May 13th
COST: $395 for 12 classes
TO REGISTER: To register online, click here. Or email info@wordplaynow.com for details on registering by check via mail.
THURSDAY EVENINGS
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, NC 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Offered Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm.
January 8th, 22nd and 29th, February 5th and 19th, March 5th, 12th and 26th, April 9th, 23rd and 30th, May 15th
COST:$395 for 12 classes
TO
REGISTER: This class is near capacity. (Class size limited to serve participants.) If you're interested in a spot, email info@wordplaynow.com for details and availability. ----------------------------------------------------------------- GIFT OF MEMOIR - starts January 8th!
Register now to reserve your spot before they fill up! (Preserving Family History; Writing for and about Your Family; The Art of Memoir) Our life stories are a precious legacy. Putting them in writing is a gift to all who know and love us—they can be treasured and enjoyed for generations to come. It is also a gift to ourselves. As best-selling author Rachel Naomi Remen says in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom,
facts bring us to knowledge, but stories bring us to wisdom. If you are interested in writing family and/or personal life stories—those significant tales of adventure, transition, love, loss, and triumph, as well as lovely everyday moments from times past or the present, come learn specific tools and techniques to retrieve and record them. WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000
East Morehead Street, Charlotte, NC 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Thursday mornings,10 am – noon.
January 8th and 22nd, February 5th and 19th, March 5th and 26th, April 2nd and
23rd
COST: $259 for 8 sessions.
TO REGISTER: To register online, click here. Or email info@wordplaynow.com for details on registering by check via mail. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CHECK OUT THIS UPCOMING OPPORTUNITY, TAUGHT BY WORDPLAY CREATIVE CONSULTANT WENDY GILL*.
THE
ARTIST'S WAY: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (Expanding Our Creativity; Creating Joy and Fulfillment in Our Lives) Are you
ready to discover the joy of creativity? Using the proven tools and structure of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, this course will spur your imagination and guide your journey toward creative self-expression.
Our 2-hour sessions include weekly check-ins, hands-on activities, and creativity exercises. The encouragement and support of this small in-person community (what Julia Cameron
calls a “creative cluster”) will help you fully experience the power of The Artist’s Way.
COST: $195 for 13 two-hour sessions over 13 weeks WHERE: Downtown Matthews, NC WHEN: Thursday evenings, 7-9 PM, January 8 – April 2, 2015
*Wendy H. Gill was a special education teacher for 22 years. One of her greatest joys as an educator was adapting stories, rhymes and songs to engage her students and instill a love of books. She left full-time teaching in 2000 to create a literacy enrichment program for young children. She is currently a writer, producer, and the owner of Professional Communications, a creative video production agency. Her poems and essays have appeared in a variety of regional and national publications.
More WordPlay opportunities here. WordPlay Success Story
"...I no longer ask the question, Am I a writer? I write and that makes me one. However, my writing has transformed. I have written pieces I never imagined could have come from me. I have found a safe place to explore what is inside and have found a community that is honest and generous with their wisdom and experience. Maureen has guided the process, and her insights and
input have inspired me to want to write more."
Meet Susan Staley
Susan Staley is a wife, mother, daughter, teacher, musician, artist, and now, a writer. She deeply believes that we were all made to create—to make art. Living fully involves living creatively, and for
her, writing is another expression of that journey.
What Susan says about WordPlay
For me, writing a blog became a reality because someone close to me believed I had
something to say. So great was her belief, one morning she called me saying, “Susan, I set up a Wordpress blog for you. All you need to do is give it a name and hit ‘publish.’”
Months passed before I mustered up the courage to hit that publish button, not because I was short on ideas but because I wasn’t sure I had the gift of expressing them. For most of my life, I have been in the company of some pretty incredible writers. My role has always been editor, supporter, coach, sounding
board, never in the foreground, always in the back. With every blog post, I always had a nagging feeling that my place was in the shadows, supporting those who write.
Several months ago, a good friend of mine, a phenomenal writer I might add, asked me if I would be interested in taking Maureen’s Under Construction class. Since I am in a season of discovery and never miss an opportunity to have an adventure with my friend, “yes” seemed like the only answer. Perhaps, this class would
finally help me answer the question, Am I a writer?
The class was filled with talented people, bringing their unfinished offerings—memoirs, novels, short stories, essays—to share with the class. I was in a room full of writers and wasn’t sure I belonged. But from day one, Maureen’s gentle and encouraging manner made me feel welcomed.
Several months have passed, and I no longer ask the question, Am I a writer? I write and that makes me one. However, my writing has transformed. I
have written pieces I never imagined could have come from me. I have found a safe place to explore what is inside and have found a community that is honest and generous with their wisdom and experience. Maureen has guided the process, and her insights and input have inspired me to want to write more.
I’m still Under Construction, and for that I am grateful.
Featured Writing
Do It Again
by
Susan Staley
If I believed in reincarnation, I would think my husband was a hamster in a previous life. He took up running for a season to fight off the spread that comes with middle age. Six days a week we would drive together to the local park to punch in our exercise time cards. Like
clockwork, my man would wander over to the long track surrounding the soccer fields and begin his daily trek in the form of laps. His direction was counterclockwise and his pace was steady. He both maddened and amazed me as I watched him run for 40 minutes without stopping. I was in awe that someone could run consecutive laps around a path without dying from sheer boredom, but knowing that he could do this day in and day out made me crazy. That man did this for several years—same park, same
path, and same direction. The only thing he changed was his clothes.
I am not a hamster, but if I were, I would be rearranging the shavings on the bottom of my cage every couple of months and changing my hamster wheel workouts daily—clockwise, counterclockwise, outside the wheel, inside the wheel, and, of course, off the wheel.
I grow tired of doing the same thing over and over again especially when it comes to creativity. When I approach art, I want to sit down and create. The
idea of doing studies, sketching rough drafts, doing the same thing over and over again makes me crazy. In my mind I can hear my stern ninth grade English teacher, Sister Mary, say to me, “Do it again.”
I hated those words, one, because in those days papers were done on a typewriter, not a computer, and two, I felt rejected every time she said them to me. Rejection is not a good motivator. Neither was Sister Mary.
The phrase do it again took on new life and
meaning one Sunday morning as I was listening to our friend preach a sermon. He loved using rich literary quotes and powerful movie clips to illustrate his points. For the life of me, I can’t remember what this particular message was about, but I will never forget the quote he used from GK Chesterton’s book, Orthodoxy.
"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it
again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal
appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."
I felt those three small words press into my soul—do it again. Children and God relish those words and never tire of them. It made me think about how my babies laughed over and over at the same silly face I made and how our boys watched their daddy build a block tower for the umpteenth time just waiting to knock it down again. Each face and each tower seemed new to them. They had
such a sense of wonder and were surprised and delighted by everything they encountered.
I want to be a child. I want to be like my Father who never wearies of making those daisies that bring me such joy. I want to have His “eternal appetite of infancy,” not growing old and disinterested in life. I want to approach the mundane, routine things creatively, with a sense of wonder every time. I want to take pleasure in doing the same things over and over and over again because I can. I
want to do it again.
WordPlay Now! Writing Prompt This is WordPlay -- so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's "again." PROMPT: Write about what you want to do again in the New Year. A list is a great format for this. And if you're in the process of writing a novel or short story, make a list of "do it again's" for one of your characters.
|
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! |
|
|
