Volume VII, Issue 46
November 19, 2018
Word of the Week: Thanksgiving
Dear ,
I hope you have a wonderful day Thursday, celebrating blessings with loved ones!
As for me, I'm thankful to connect with you through this zine, as well as for my family and friends. (And I'm thankful Richard loves to grill our turkey, so I don't have to mess with it. Plus, it's pretty delicious.)
And thankful for the Sunset Inn, a true home away from home for me, where this photo was taken Sunday—and for the seven beautiful women pictured here (some of us squinting
a bit in the sun) who "retreated" with me there.
We wrote and wrote and wrote, and listened, and supported and suggested, and laughed and cried together. . . It was a weekend of
breakthroughs and forward progress, and seeing their shining faces as they read their work sure made my heart happy. (If you'd like in on the fun, the next retreat is February 22 - 24, 2019. I don't have it on my website yet, but you can call the Sunset Inn at 888.575.1001 for details and/or to register.)
Now it's time to unpack my bags and prepare to host Thanksgiving dinner for 16. (Well, Baby Ellie doesn't eat much!)
Don't forget to do some writing this week about what you're thankful for. This week's featured writing by Minneapolis poet Tim Nolan will get you started. Enjoy!
Love and light,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
THE GIFT OF MEMOIR:
How to Get Your Most Meaningful Life Stories on Paper with Ease
(Preserving Family History; Writing for and about Your Family; The Art of Memoir)
NOW TAKING REGISTRATIONS FOR THE
NOVEMBER 29, 2018 SESSION!
Just for you, a MONTHLY Gift of Memoir class to help you get your most meaningful life stories written. 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.
You will learn and practice the fundamental tools and steps needed to both capture individual events that have been important to you, reflecting on the impact and meaning as well as what happened, and the process of collecting events together into a full-length memoir or book of essays—whether this is for
personal reflection, to share with family and friends, or to publish to reach a larger audience.
And you'll have the opportunity to share one of your stories (up to 1,200 words) with the class to receive feedback and guidance in moving forward.
Our 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.
* For the benefit of participants, an audio recording of the class will be made each week so that participants are able to listen to classes they miss and/or review material covered at any convenient time and place. These recordings are available throughout the class session, along with all handouts, in a shared
Dropbox folder.
WHERE: The WordPlay studio, Ballantyne area. Directions will be sent upon registration.
WHEN: Thursday morning, November 29th, 9:30 a.m. –12:30 p.m.
COST: $65/three hours.
Or save by taking the series of seven for $335. The dates are:
November 29
December 20
January 31
February 28
March 28
April 25
May 23
Feel free to try out the first class before committing to the series. If you'd like to continue, the cost of the first class will be deducted from the total.
TO REGISTER: Please send an email with your contact information to info@wordplaynow.com and the subject line: “Gift of Memoir” and we’ll reply with more information. Hope to have you there! CLASS SIZE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS.
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THE SEVEN ENERGIES OF WRITING WINTER RETREAT
(Writing as Renewal / Creating New Writing / Tools and Techniques to Enhance Creativity and Productivity in Your Writing Life)
Renew and delight yourself. The Winter Writing Retreat is an opportunity to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. This year, in addition to enjoying various seasonal prompts that elicit beautiful material for essays, poems, stories, articles, and/or self-reflection, we'll
be writing through the lens of what I call the "Seven Energies of Writing."
If you’ve ever had a hard time getting started writing, finishing what you’ve begun, or gotten stuck in the middle (“writer’s block), knowing how to engage in the most helpful “energy of writing” at each stage of your process—and on any given day—will be a game-changer. Throughout the day, as we celebrate the
coming of the winter season, we’ll explore—and practice—the ins, outs, and benefits of all seven of these energies. You’ll learn invaluable tools and strategies you’ll use again and again to write with maximum ease and effectiveness. Yes, you can be more productive, creative, and fulfilled, no matter what kind of writing you do or how experienced you are!
You’ll also enjoy a communal lunch (you’ll pick what you like from the Panera Bread menu), and private time that can be used to work on your own writing in any way you like and/or play with your choice of "energy-related" writing prompts and methods. You’ll take home new ideas, new
drafts, and new possibilities.
$97 includes lunch and supplies.
WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration.
WHEN: Saturday, December 15th, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. To pay online, please click this link to check out using PayPal.
Thanks for the Italian chestnuts—with their
tough shells—the smooth chocolaty
skin of them—thanks for the boiling water—
itself a miracle and a mystery—
thanks for the seasoned sauce pan
and the old wooden spoon—and all
the neglected instruments in the drawer—
the garlic crusher—the bent paring knife—
the apple slicer that creates six
perfect wedges out of the crisp Haralson—
thanks for the humming radio—thanks
for the program on the radio
To read the rest, click here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55881/thanksgiving-56d237e14cbe4
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 "Thanksgiving."
PROMPT: Write a list of ordinary things that you're thankful for, in poetic form, in prose, or as a simple list.
OPTIONAL: Write a Thanksgiving scene, as a part of a work of fiction or memoir, or as an essay or poem.
It's fun to play with prompts in community with fellow writers, and to be able to share the results when you're done. You can find out about WordPlay classes, workshops, and retreats here.
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.
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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