Volume V, Issue 33 August 15, 2016 Dear ,
Some places are harder to drive away from than others. For me, the John C. Campbell Folk School is on that "harder" list. This special school that offers classes in everything from blacksmithing to woodturning to quilting to Native American jewelry making to throwing pots on a wheel to chocolate making to, yes, writing (and this is only a partial list of this past week's offerings!) is imbued with both beauty and
spirit.
If it weren't for my rich community of friends, family, and fellow writers—and my sweet husband—it would have been hard to pull myself away at week's end.
And these four special ladies I spent the week writing with were very hard to say goodbye to! Cheryl, Pat, Mary Ellen, and Debbie had just given a great reading to a standing room only crowd before this picture was snapped
and we were still basking in the applause.
As I drove away from the Appalachians toward my husband on Saturday, I couldn't help but think of the radio commentary I heard shortly before I came to the folk school in which WordPlayer Patrice Gopo speaks of watching her
husband drive away from the mountains. Check it out below. It's lovely and loving—and thought-provoking and timely, and I thank Patrice for her graciousness in allowing me to share it with you.
Love and light, Maureen Upcoming WordPlay
(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 and methods. Each week, writing prompts will generate material for new writing or further a piece in process, whatever your preferred genre. Through examples of accomplished writers, you’ll learn techniques to aid you right where you are in the process.
WHERE: South Charlotte area (Tuesday evenings) OR Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 E. Morehead, Charlotte, NC 28204 (Wednesday mornings)
WHEN: Tuesday evenings OR Wednesday
mornings, starting in September. COST: $419 for 12 sessions
TO REGISTER: Please email us now at info@wordplaynow.com if interested. We have just a few spots available and would be happy to talk with you about participating in Under Construction.
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(Writing about Food in Any and All Genres)
Food not only nurtures and sustains us, it’s a rich source of metaphor and memory! We’ll explore our
connections with food as we write of when, where, what, with whom, how — and even why — we ate! You can use your food writings to create a family cookbook, individual essays, stories, or poems, scenes in fiction or memoir, a food blog, etc. — or just for your own pleasure.
More WordPlay opportunities here. WordPlay Success Story
"...I like to think that Maureen helped me stand on my writing legs. I arrived in her class with wobbly limbs, unsure if what I did counted as writing or even mattered. Maureen's affirmations about my work strengthened those shaky writing legs. She helped give me confidence to stand tall and believe that I am a
writer."
Meet Patrice Gopo What Patrice says about WordPlay
When I moved to Charlotte almost six years ago, I had been writing a little over a year. The words were filling pages of my spiral bound notebook, but I didn't know where to go next or what to do with my work. A Google search landed me
at WordPlay's website. I signed up for Maureen's Summer Solstice retreat, then her class on writing micro essays, then her class on writing as a healing process, then her Under Construction class... Well, you get the idea. Aside from being filled with wonderful writing information, inspirational prompts and encouraging words, I like to think that Maureen helped me stand on my writing legs. I arrived in her class with wobbly limbs, unsure if what I did counted as writing or even mattered.
Maureen's affirmations about my work strengthened those shaky writing legs. She helped give me confidence to stand tall and believe that I am a writer.
These days with two small girls, I don't take nearly as many classes as I used to, but I still regularly reference Spinning Words into Gold. I often submit my work for publication, and I am happy to say that I have accumulated a few
acceptances woven in with a string of rejections. Of course the acceptances are exciting, but I still revel in the fact that this once wobbly-legged writer feels confident enough to submit her work. Every time I submit an essay, I celebrate just as I believe Maureen would want me to! Featured Writing For My Husband Driving Down a Mountain
by Patrice
Gopo After Dallas, after St. Paul and Baton Rouge, after too many men gone with skin the shade of you, after all this, I waved good-bye. A week we’d spent here in the cool of these mountains, and the plans already in place for just me to remain. I stood amidst the perfume of sweet air and sharp evergreens, stood with my
hand raised while you journeyed away. Next week, I called after you. I'll see you when you return next week. 130 miles between this mountain and our home.
And earlier that morning, after we'd wandered the short stretch of a small town's main road, after we popped into a furniture store that smelled of stained pine, and after, yes after, I saw a row of black sambo dolls perched on a dusty shelf—an image
I wanted this world to burn long ago. After all this, I pulled open the door to an art gallery and heard a bell chime. The shop owner, with her silver hair and firm wrinkles etched into her pale face, she ushered us through the entry way. Our senses took in the white walls, the cream shelves filled with orange and red glass, the scent of canvas and pottery, ink and paint.
You must be newlyweds, she
said. You and me, we glanced at each other. You touched my arm, and your lips parted into that familiar grin.
Listen to as well as read this commentary in its entirety at this link:
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 "away."
PROMPT: Isn't away an evocative word? The number of idioms containing it tell the story, from objects that are "a stone's throw away" to having something "eat away" at us to being "carried away," and more. Seems like the perfect word for a technique I call the "Sprawl," also known as a mind map. It works like this:
- Put the word or idea you want to write about (in this case,
away) in the middle of a blank sheet of paper.
- Moving out from that center, free associate words and phrases for ten minutes, letting one lead to another.
When one strand of your Sprawl runs out, come on back
to the center and go out in a different direction. You may want to circle your center word, or all your words. You may want to connect your words and phrases with lines. Experiment.
- Look over your Sprawl. Pick the most evocative idea, and Sprint until you have explored it as fully as you can.
- Craft your Sprint into a piece of writing.
Whether you write from
your own perspective or create a scene for a novel, craft a poem or an essay, write about someone far away or only a heartbeat away, I hope you enjoy both the process and the results. 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 three collections of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can't Be Wrong, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. One of her long-held dreams came true in July of 2015 when Garrison Keillor read one of her poems on The Writer's Almanac. 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! |
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