Thank you to everyone who has hung in there with me over the years. Today starts a new chapter in my business as I commit to a monthly newsletter to keep you abreast of what’s going on in my world. I hope that through this connectivity you will tell me what’s happening in your world and how I might possibly be of service to you as friend and coach.
My colleague, Celine Quinn, of Potato Hill Farm is opening her doors once again to Sanctuary Retreats. These day-long experiences are filled with writing prompts, sharing and just plain time away from the everyday life events. Our first one for 2021 is June 12, and may already have passed at the publishing of this newsletter. Not to worry, more to follow this fall. An announcement is forthcoming!
I’ve been lucky this past year to know wonderful, committed writers in both workshops and on an individual basis. Your stories have fed me and kept me going when it might have been just as easy to throw the covers over my head and say, “Forget about it.”
At Women Writing for (a) Change, the fall and spring semesters came alive with committed writers navigating novels and memoirs with our Deep Dive: Crafting Better Scenes. I’m so grateful to Lisa Rocklin, Executive Director of WWf(a)C, for having faith in my ability as a craft instructor. We are planning some exciting new courses to address both fiction and memoir issues through story development classes. Stay tuned.
My own writing has taken a wonderful turn, and I’m getting closer to publication of a memoir, once I complete a very necessary revision that was suggested by an editor at a regional publishing house. Revision is both the blessing and the nemesis of the writer. I personally love this work, as it feels like the real creative process since the challenge is how to write something that gets the point across in a more artful way.
As I write this, I am also getting ready to attend Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Novel Writing Retreat. Sadly, the campus remains closed to in-person sessions and I will be holed up in my home office on Zoom, dreaming of double rainbows over green fields and the campus in Montpelier.
For the retreat, I’ve dusted off a work-in-progress that deals with an historical issue with immigration and the American West. As I’ve reacquainted myself with the manuscript, I’m surprised once again at the work I have already put into it. My hope is to focus more deeply on figuring out how the two main characters resolve their independent issues, one a Japanese woman and the other a white man whose cultural Mormon influence has dictated much of his outlook on the world.
Looking toward July and August, it feels as if people want to relax and enjoy themselves. Not much in the way of workshops to offer for the summer. I, too, would like to sit on my porch, rock a little bit, say hi to neighbors I haven’t seen in a while, and cultivate some path forward with my coaching business that will add meaning to the lives of those I serve.
Speaking of which, I am nearing completion of a book coaching certification program to enhance my skills in helping people become better writers.
I’m in the midst of setting a schedule for information sessions that will help explain the process and give you a few pointers on what comes next when you have a story idea. Or maybe you have much of the story written, it just needs some shaping.
Browse my website for more information on how I can help you. A schedule for info sessions in the fall will be posted soon!
I leave you with this memory of summer's past–
Over the loudspeaker at the community pool, the Beatles’ song Day Tripper plays. Imagine submerging into chlorine-infused, clear, cold water. Be aware of the feeling of weightlessness, the muffled tones of the song above the water line. What is going through your mind? What do you think about now? What does the memory provoke in you?
Until next month, I bid you happy writing, happy June, happy and carefree glimpses of what life can really be.
Tina