2020 Creative Writing Programs
"You can’t write an image, a metaphor, a story, a phrase, without leaning a little further into the shared world, without recognizing that your supposed solitude is at every point of its perimeter touching some other. You can’t read a poem—a good poem, at least—by someone else, and not recognize in their experience your own face." Jane Hirshfield
Nurture your creative spirit and enjoy the company of other women writers in a small group setting. All of our workshops are designed to bring your writing to life and to support you in finding the best writing in yourself and others.
Current Writing Workshops are Online Only e-mail me at [email protected] to sign up and for more information. The online groups are not currently meeting in Real time, no zoom etc. We Read the lesson, write, post our writings, and comment on others work at our convenience each week. Set aside about 2 hours for this workshop each week. The Women Who Write Workshop starts every six-weeks. Our next session is from May 25th to July 3rd. Workshop Fees: Sliding Scale $50 - $75 - pay what you can. At This time I am offering Special Discounts for anyone in financial need. email me for details. Here's what We Do In the Women Who Write Groups Each Monday at noon I'll post the lesson and writing prompts for that week. We use the prompts or our own to write. This is a free-writing workshop. Free-writing instructions are included for those who have never done this and for those of us who need to be reminded each week. See the Home Page for more on free-writing or what we call writing practice. The focus is not on a polished product but on the process of writing. Free-writing involves starting with a lead-line and keeping the typing hand or pen moving from anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes. Then we post - share what we've written - on the writers page. Sharing our unedited writing is one of the most powerful tools the group offers. We are asked to post at least one writing per week. We may also post another of any kind - free-writing from a lesson here, any previous writing, morning pages, journal entries . . . We read others posts and make comments on each piece. How to give feedback will be made clear. Comments can be as brief as one line. Space is Limited and Private.We can sign in under a pen name and remain incognito if we like. We respect confidentiality and do not share anything outside of the group. Groups are kept small, from 5 - 8 women. No drop ins. Women-Only. All skill levels welcome: Beginners, professionals, dabblers, artists & creatives, anyone wanting to write for any reason, wanting to connect with their inner knowings, inner creatives - connect others. "This is the most primitive, essential beginning of writing. The trust you learn in your own voice can then be directed into a business letter, a novel, a Ph.D. dissertation, a play, a memoir.” Natalie. Goldberg Come join us. Learn and practice the art of free-writing in a safe fun educational space. Enjoy our sacred space and take the time to let your creative self play. Learn and polish essential creative writing skills. Work on a personal writing project or use the weekly prompts and feedback to expand your writing cache. Write to heal, to produce, to learn, or just for the fun of it. The writing group is a place to enjoy and discover your creative gifts, to meet others of your kind and, most of all, to WRITE. "Writers are people who write. Get in motion. Any way is right.” Marvin Bell “For the gift that you gave us of writing, in this particular way, I will always be grateful! I enjoyed the experience immensely, and it gave me great gifts that I am sure will stay with me for the rest of my life and affect ALL of my creative endeavors. For this, THANK YOU SO MUCH, Rae!!!” Sadie Writing Retreats Our Next Women-Only Writing Retreat is on hold. Possibly a week in October 2021 at The Sisters of The Mississippi Abbey in Iowa . . . Perhaps . The Women's Writing Project Retreats provide us with all we need to enter into our world of imagination - solitude and group support to write, to edit, to paint, to engage our best creative energies. Participants are welcome to journal, draw, sing, start or finish a creative project - book, memoir, poem, painting, or song. Our days are completely our own. We can walk, sit on the porch, hole up in our rooms – whatever we want. The idea is to spend our time writing. Write, edit, or create in any direction. I am available anytime for private consultations as a writing coach. At night we gather for 2-3 hours in a writing workshop setting where we can read what we’ve written that day, (or bring in art for show and tell) or bring in previous writing work for feedback. Each night we do a short group free-writing. “It WAS a wonderful time, and I so appreciate all you did for us to make it such a safe, comfortable, warm, heart full of love environment that allowed us/me to have such good breakthroughs.” . . . “The retreat is the only place I can really immerse myself in my writing. No interruptions, all the solitude I want and someone to get me moving when I'm stuck, someone to read to at the end of the day, valuable feedback and support.” The Women's Writing Project - Complete Workshop Offerings Women Who Write: Weekly creative writing basics & cutting edge skills practice for any woman with a pen – all levels. Women Writer’s Critique & Support Group: Bring any of your writing to this group of talented fellow writers for feedback. Creative Memoir: Get group support & apply top creative writing skills to your ongoing or starting-from-scratch, memoir. Write To Heal: Discover & speak your truth, balance emotions & learn writing techniques to resolve issues, remove obstacles & move forward with clarity & joy in life. The Illustrated Journal: Collage, art, Imagination & Creative Journalling. The Practice of Poetry: Boost your poetry writing skills & get essential feed-back on your poems. Teen Creative Writing: Access your creative edge for personal, school, or college-bound writing. Ages 14 – 19. Women Who Run With the Wolves: Our study & writing group leads women deeper into their own knowing. Based on this popular book by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom: A personal health journey, study & writing group with Dr. Christiane Northrup’s 12-steps for healing our bodies, ourselves. Coming Soon The Dangerous Old Woman Writing Workshop Based on The Dangerous Old Woman: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes Dr. Estés asks, "Did you know, you were born as the first, and the last and the best and the only one of your kind, and that eccentricity is the first sign of giftedness? These are two of the crone truths I have to offer you." If you have any doubt, come join us at the fireside of The Dangerous Old Woman for the soul-healing wisdom that will ignite your creativity and support your highest calling in life. Three decades in the writing, The Dangerous Old Woman presents part one of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés' masterwork. In six "inspire 'til you're on fire" sessions, Dr. Estés animates the archetypal patterns of the Wise Woman through her original stories, poetry, and blessings. Old While Young, and Young While Old: We are born with two forces that give us every lens we need to see who we really are: the wild and ever-young force of imagination, which contains intuition and instinct, and the wise elder force of knowledge, which holds boundaries and carries the heart of the visionary. Through captivating stories and insights, Dr. Estés illustrates why this twofold way of being "old while young, and young while old" is the secret to holding and replenishing the center, thus living wildly and wisely ensouled amidst life's travails and triumphs. Your Legacy: Wild and Wise, Both "If you are not free to be who you are, you are not free," says Dr. Estés. Begin and deepen the work of bringing your one-of-a-kind legacy into the world following the trail blazed by the Dangerous Old Woman. She who stops at nothing to nourish, protect, and guide us in the offering of all our creative gifts. Stories, Poems, and Blessings Include: "The Angelic Ten": Old Guidance for One's Sanity. "Standing in My Danger": The Good Meaning of the Word "Dangerous". "Snow White": When Gifts Have Been Poisoned. Grandmother Wisdom: "Los Cinco Espiritus, The Five Women Spirits". "The Vashinger and the Return of the Vampires". "The Ruby Red Fox": About Seduction. "Las Tres Osas, the Three Old Re-Weavers of Torn Lives". "The Man Who Hated Trees": Nature, the Unrepentant Mother. "The Jealous Girls and the Old Woman Under the Lake". "When a Good Mother Dies": What Gifts Ever Remain. "The Precious Museum Tree": The Hidden Life. "What Did You Dream? What Did You Dream?" Contact Info The Women's Writing Project Rae Bird Cell: 641 919-0547 e-mail: [email protected] Online: TheWomensWritingProject.weebly.com or Facebook.com/The-Womens-Writing-Project The Stone House Retreat space at The Sisters of The Mississippi Abbey |