Special Alchemy Sale!

Special deal: Register by September 30 and save $30!

I'm having so much fun building the guest list for Alchemy and packing the course with the juicy bits of inspiration and practical techniques that have had a magical effect on my writing. I can't wait to share all of this with you next month and help you create your own magic.

I've heard from some of you that you're eager to take the course but that your finances are not quite so eager. I understand. So I'm offering a discount on the registration price through the end of the month. Register by September 30 and save $30!

This discount applies to all three registration options, which means you can snag a really sweet deal through the end of the month. Check it out:

• Option 1 ($119): You get the 6-week course and the private online community, plus access to everything for 8 weeks after the course ends for just $119. (Starting October 1 this option will be $149.)
• Option 2 ($169): Get the course, the community, the extended access, AND one private editing or coaching session with me for just $169. (This saves you $30 off the course plus 17% off my normal one-on-one fees!) (Starting October 1 this option will be $199.)
• Option 3 ($199): Get the course, the online community, the extended access, AND TWO private editing or coaching sessions with me for just $199. (This saves you $30 off the course plus 33% off my normal one-on-one fees!) (Starting October 1 this option will be $229.)

I've created Alchemy for creative souls like you who want to learn to tell their stories so people will read -- and feel -- them. I believe that writing is an art form. And like all art forms, it's a combination of practicality and magic. That's why I designed the course to include both practical, usable techniques and nuggets of inspiration and encouragement.

If you want to learn new writing skills, be inspired, and be part of a supportive writing community, please sign-up today and save $30.

(And to say thank you to you early birds who have already registered, I'll be contacting you about giving you the same discount!)

Get more details here or contact me with questions.

The Alchemy Guest List (you're invited, too!)

Putting together the Alchemy writing course feels a bit like planning a party and then holding my breath to see who on the guest list will come. I'm thrilled to announce four of the featured guests who have RSVP'd "yes." Check them out. I can't wait to share their stories and wisdom with you, because, remember, you are totally invited. I'm keeping a spot open just for you. Will you join us in October and November?

Brené Brown, PhD: professor and vulnerability researcher at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work; expert on the topics of shame and guilt; author of the books The Gifts of Imperfection and I Thought It Was Just Me, the DVD "The Hustle for Worthiness," and the curriculum "Connections." Brené will work with us to overcome the shame that can get in the way during the writing and editing processes. We'll learn about replacing fear with joy!

Liz Lamoreux: author of Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry and Mixed Media; yoga teacher, editor, artist, workshop teacher, and creator of the Be Present retreats. Liz will help us to get in touch with our senses and to tap into the worlds inside and outside of ourselves, so we can begin to translate all of this richness into words on the page.

Kyran Pittman: author of Planting Dandelions: Field Notes from a Semi-Domesticated Life; contributing editor for Good Housekeeping magazine; a native of Newfoundland now living in the American south. Kyran will share her tips on finding the stories in our everyday lives.

Meredith Winn: a writer who finds herself having a love affair with photography; regular contributor to Shutter Sisters; Meredith's writing has appeared in Literary Mama, Midwifery Today, HipMama, Motherverse, Mamazine, and the forthcoming anthology Mother Birth (vol. 1 & 2). With Meredith we'll explore finding our artistic voices and tapping into the multifaceted, authentic parts of ourselves that help us to create.

Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing is an online course for creative souls. Join us October 11 - November 21 for a magical combination of practical writing techniques and nuggets of inspiration to help you deepen and widen your writing. (Registration closes October 5.)

Creative Courage

on the quad at VCFA (Diana F+, Kodak 400VC-3)

Last night, while feeling twitchy and nervous about writing my critical thesis for grad school, I finally had a moment of clarity about it. Not about the topic itself, but about my resistance to it. I understood, in one of those quick moments of cosmic alignment, that the thing holding me back from working on it -- the thing fueling my procrastination and resistance to the project -- was fear. Fear of not living up to my own expectations. Fear of not knowing how to put the whole thing together.

But wait. This wasn't really the moment of insight. I think I already knew I was afraid. The real stroke of understanding came in the next breath when I remembered the antidote to fear: courage. How about that? The best way to work through fear (at least in this case) isn't avoidance, but courage.

So today I'm doing my creative work with courage. I'm acknowledging that I'm afraid of this project, even while I'm excited about it. (It's called a "critical thesis," which makes it sound so much worse than it is. My topic is all about craft techniques that can create the magic and wonder of writing, so it's really a lovely thing to write.)

Today I'll be kind to myself, admit the fear, and then dive in again, full of as much creative courage as I can find. And if past experience is any indicator, I know I'll find plenty more courage and momentum along the way.

* * *

(Incidentally, I'm also working on these writing topics for Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing. Please consider joining me this fall for six weeks of writing inspiration and craft lessons. Alchemy is an online course for creative souls. And if you're reading this, that means you. Class starts October 11 and registration is open now.)

Registration for Alchemy is Now Open!

October 11 - November 21, 2010

I'm so excited to announce that full details and registration for Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing are now available.

I created this course for creative souls who want to improve their writing through practical techniques and inspirational tips. Alchemy is about transforming common, everyday objects (words) into something beautiful (your stories).

I created Alchemy for you, but I also designed it for me -- for the writer I was several years ago when my writing had plateaued and I was looking for ways to improve. So I've packed this course with techniques I wish I'd known back then. These are simple techniques with big impact, many of which I've learned while working on my MFA in creative nonfiction -- but you don't need to be interested in grad school to benefit from them. I've also included tools and tricks I've developed over the last seven years as a freelance writer and editor, along with helpful nitty gritty tips on writing basics.

During the six weeks of the course, we'll look at how to combine techniques and inspiration to deepen and  w i d e n  our writing. Each week we'll focus on a particular craft lesson and apply it to our stories. You'll choose the kind of writing you want to do, maybe blog posts, essays, articles, or a book project. It's up to you. Bring whatever stories are clamoring to be told. (There will also be prompts and nudges to help you find topics and capture inspiration if you need some guidance.) Once class is over, you'll have access to the materials and private community for eight more weeks. This means you'll have until January 16, 2011 to revisit lessons and catch up on anything you missed. (When you register, you also have the option to sign-up for private editing and coaching services with me at up to 33% off my normal rates.)

Alchemy is a combination of practicality and magic -- just like writing itself. I hope you'll join me in The Word Cellar for class next month!

Get all the details here and then register here.

Rituals & The Writing Process (In The Word Cellar)

the view from my studio window (Diana F+)

This week's topic comes from Jenn, also known as the Freelance, Unconventional Nun (which is one of the best names ever!), who left a comment back on this post. Her question deals with the writing process and finding techniques and rhythms that work for each us.

Jenn wrote:

Once you let the writing take over and you're flowing, how do you know when to stop or rather how do you separate that life you are creating on paper from the life you are creating around you? I find it hard to write for a few hours and emerge from that space with the ability to stay connected with the people, places and things around me. The feeling scares me and as a result I haven't written much in the last few months. I just start to feel like I'm going crazy and I don't want to.

What an intriguing and powerful question.

I tend to have the opposite problem: The people, places, and things around me often pull me out of my writing. I'm too easily distracted away from the page. That said, I do experience times when the writing draws me in and I'm immersed in the story.

These moments of flow feel magical to me, but I understand how an intense writing experience could be disorienting and even frightening as you come out of that focused state.

I've developed a technique that I use when I need to quiet my mind and work through distractions. It's a little ritual, really. I make sure I have something to drink next to me (usually water, tea, or coffee) so I don't have an excuse to get up for a beverage. I light my favorite candle (Lavender Leaves by Henri Bendel) and commit to writing for an hour. I even make the commitment out loud to myself: "I will write for an hour while this candle burns." Sometimes I set a gentle-sounding alarm (on my cell phone) as a way to keep myself from checking the time obsessively during that hour.

This simple ritual helps me to enter into my writing. Sometimes I struggle for most of that hour, wrestling with words and trying to stay focused. But I don't let myself check Facebook or email or go do the laundry. I keep writing. Sometimes I find the flow before the hour ends, and sometimes I don't. Either way, I've put in an hour of writing, and that feels good. When the hour ends, I can choose whether to keep going or to rest and then do another round.

I wonder if you could create a ritual or technique to help you transition out of an intense writing experience. Maybe you could light a candle when you start writing, and perhaps set a timer to go off ten or fifteen minutes before the time you need to stop writing and re-enter the world around you. By giving yourself that cushion of time, you allow yourself to recalibrate and refocus. During those minutes, you could do some yoga poses or stretches, listen to some favorite music, do a little dance around the room -- something to ground you in the physical "now" away from the page. After this little interlude, you could blow out the candle to symbolize the transition to whatever you need to do next, knowing that the candle and the story are available to you when you can return to them.

This is just one suggestion. Everyone has a different writing process. I'd love to hear other ideas and techniques in the comments. How do you stay focused on your writing? How do you leave the story-world for the physical world around you? Please share.

In The Word Cellar runs on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. Read other posts in the series here.

The first In The Word Cellar online writing course for creative souls is coming soon! Learn more about Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing. (Registration opens later this month!)