(Photo by Kristina Cyr)
So many of us have the urge to write, yet we have trouble committing to it. This fall find inspiration and structure in a class devoted to the practice of writing memoir – September 21 – November 17..
Prompts will fuel timed writing sessions both in and outside our meeting time. Memories will surface and the writing process – based on Natalie Goldberg’s landmark book Writing Down the Bones – will instigate reflection on their deeper meaning.
Goldberg’s Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir will serve as the backbone of our curriculum. Together we’ll read and discuss the memoir Temperance Creek by Eastern Oregon writer Pamela Royes as well as several memoir/personal essays. A deep study of quality writing can help us learn and grow ourselves as writers.
All writing levels welcome, from aspiring to professional. Your goal can be as simple as recording memories for your grandchildren or as grand as publishing a full length memoir. By the end of our eight weeks together, you’ll be armed with tools to take a writing project anywhere you want it to go.
“Too often we take notes on writing, we think about writing but never do it. I want you to walk into the heart of the storm, written words dripping off hair, eyelids, hanging from hands.”
– Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend from Far Away
Dates/Time: Thursdays September 21 – November 17 from 10-11:30 AM
Location: Hawthorn Healing Arts Center, 39 NW Louisiana Drive (next to Troy Field)
Cost: $185
More info and to register: http://www.sarahcyr.com/blog/memoir-writing-fall-2017 (or can shorten to www.sarahcyr.com)
Cultivating a Writing Practice
Short: Do you have a yearning to write but don’t know where to start? This workshop will help you gain the necessary tools to cultivate a consistent writing practice. All levels welcome. Content inspired by Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones.
Long: Do you have a yearning to write but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you already write but have trouble sticking with it? This workshop will help you gain the necessary tools to cultivate a consistent writing practice in your life. Writing regularly helps build writing muscles and improves endurance. Gain a growing familiarity with your voice, both on the page and out in the world. This course is good for all levels. Beginners and seasoned writers are welcome. Content of the workshop is inspired by the teachings of Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones. Bring notebooks, fast writing pens and datebooks (paper or digital).
Date/Time: Sunday, October 1 from 10:00am to 3:30 pm
Location: COCC Health Careers Center, Room 230, 2600 NW College Way, Bend
Cost: $89
More info and to register: http://www.sarahcyr.com/blog/2017/8/14/cultivating-a-writing-practice