This Spring, Opportunities to Grow a Writing Practice

Local writer Sarah Cyr will host two opportunities this spring for writers to grow their writing practice. Writing Practice, a 10-week class aimed to aid in the cultivation of a regular writing habit, will be held Tuesday mornings from April 3 through June 5. The Spring Series is a program of three Saturday afternoon workshops, with each workshop focusing on the development of a different writing skill.

“When I signed up for Sarah’s class, I had little motivation to be creative in my personal time and seemingly no time to write,” says Shelby Little, a manager at TDS Telecom, the parent company of BendBroadband. “I’ve now found a way to access my creativity again with an active writing practice. Sarah makes her students feel capable and connected to a larger community of writers. She provides practical tools to overcoming common writing hang-ups.”

Cyr’s work has appeared in Newsweek Magazine, ARTNews, The Boston Globe, and Cosmopolitan. Her teaching style is heavily influenced by Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones). Cyr has attended two writing retreats with Goldberg, and will begin a yearlong writing intensive with her this year at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe.

Both offerings will be held at Hawthorne Healing Arts Center in downtown Bend. Writers of all levels and abilities welcome.

Additional information about the Spring Series:

Saturday, April 21 – Writing Off the Page
In honor of National Poetry month, poetry will serve as prompts for our own writing. Breathe the inspiration of Jane Hirshfield, Gary Snyder, Rupi Kaur and others and witness how your own writing takes flight. Poetry and prose writers both welcome.

Saturday, May 12 – Writing as Mindfulness Practice
Similar to meditation, writing can serve as an entry point to a more mindful state. You’ll come away with a handful of prompts you can use time and time again to feel more connected to the present moment.

Saturday, June 9 – On the Road
Summer is time for travel. Learn how to document your experiences through a writing practice on the road.

Register for 1, 2 or 3 workshops. Workshops run from 1-4 PM at the Hawthorne Healing Arts Center,
39 NW Louisiana Ave, Bend, OR 97703 (next to McMenamins in downtown Bend).

$30 per workshop or $75 for all three

Register in advance at http://www.sarahcyr.com/blog/2018/3/7/the-spring-series.

Additional information about Writing Practice class:

Writing practice is the cultivation of a regular writing habit in response to prompts. For ten weeks this spring, grow your practice in a supportive, warm community of writers of all levels and abilities. Each week we’ll use timed freewriting sessions in response to prompts to crack open our writing, and in turn, ourselves. Prompts encourage memoir/nonfiction-type writing.

Learn from themed discussion about the development of specific writing skills and habits and the deep reading of Ann Patchett’s memoir Truth and Beauty.

All levels welcome; beginner writers encouraged.

Held Tuesdays 10-11:30 am from April 3 – June 5 at Hawthorne Healing Arts Center
39 NW Louisiana Ave, Bend, OR 97703 (next to McMenamins in downtown Bend)

$200

Register in advance here: http://www.sarahcyr.com/blog/2018/3/7/writing-practice.

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