Tag: writing class

That’s a Wrap: Six-Week Writing Class  

Last fall I began a small group writing class of only six people, meeting weekly for six weeks. The format and style of this class were unlike any previously offered, with the added bonus of convening in my home classroom. I just wrapped up the second series of six-week classes, and I wanted to share with you more about this newer teaching platform that I offer.

My in-home classroom.

In the past, I’ve taught larger classes, for nine weeks at a time. I’ve also done many, many workshops and speaking presentations to big groups. There is something about being in a small group, though, that makes for a much different class experience. I’ll let some of my class members share their thoughts.

“Being with the same six writers for the six-week class helped,” said Cheryl Floyd, “because we were able to get to know each other better, learn to recognize our writing styles and see growth between submissions.”

“With only 6 people you really get to know the writing voice of each person. I was more invested in what the others wrote because I was closer to each person in the group,” said Becky McGregor.

Read more

Enriching The Villages

Good news, friends in The Villages and surrounding towns. I am coming to you! After many, many requests from the Writing Your Life community, I am headed to The Villages to teach.

In April 2017, The Villages Recreation Department established The Enrichment Academy, a new division of lifestyle services that focuses on

Read more

Read a Life Story, Write a Life Story

Read a Life Story, Write a Life Story

Learn how to write your own life story as you read a published memoir in my upcoming class, Read a Life Story, Write a Life Story, in the Rollins College Lifelong Learning program. In this class that runs Wednesdays, February 3, 10, 17, & 24 from 10:30am to noon on the Rollins main campus, we’ll examine the work of a well-known memoirist,…

Read more

They Vivified Their Writing

They Vivified Their Writing

A great group came together on Saturday, November 7th to learn more about vivifying their writing, and they did just that. We discussed what makes people lifelike, the best way to create a story timeline, what an effective title includes, effective ways to open stories, how to capture the feel of a place, and many other topics. Darlyn Finch Kuhn,…

Read more

The Celebrators

The Celebrators

I had the opportunity to speak with the Celebrators on April 3rd. The Celebrators are a non-profit club for Town of Celebration residents over 50, who gather regularly to volunteer and socialize. Our morning together was a joy! We had a lively full house filled with energetic and enthusiastic folks. We heard many many wonderful responses to the poem “Where…

Read more

Bringing Your Ancestors to Life

Bringing Your Ancestors to Life

In the last month, I’ve had the great pleasure of spending time with genealogists in Flagler County, The Villages, and Sarasota. Many of them have been researching family history for thirty years or more; one woman dedicated much of the last sixty years to discovering branches of her family tree. That’s a lot of names, dates, and places, but it…

Read more

The Villages Genealogical Society

The Villages Genealogical Society

Thank you so much for the warm welcome to The Villages Genealogical Society. I was quite impressed  with your group and the quality of writing in the few exercises we read. I’m sure yours was wonderful, too. Here’s a link to a copy of the poem I read, “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon and some of the responses written…

Read more

Raising the Dead – Writing about Your Ancestors!

Raising the Dead – Writing about Your Ancestors!

You’ve been looking at those boxes of information, the binders of data you’ve so painstakingly assembled  over the years of researching your family history. You wonder if your children or grandchildren will treasure all the copies and photographs and documents as much as you do. Unfortunately, they probably won’t. That’s why it’s so important to take the information you have…

Read more

Fall 2012 Writing Marathon

Fall 2012 Writing Marathon

What a lovely day on the lake.  The Fall 2012 Writing Marathon held on Lake Fairview on Saturday, November 3rd, couldn’t have been more perfect. The weather was ideal, we had a great potluck, and people went out and sat by the lake to write.  How inspiring. Throughout our day we used a variety of motivational writing prompts designed to help…

Read more