I need your feedback
I have a decision to make about whether to change the venue of my one-day memoir writing workshops. The workshops I ran earlier in the year were well attended and I received some great feedback from the participants. However I had to cancel the last couple of workshops due to low bookings. While, some writers who usually attend had clashes with other arrangements, I began to wonder whether the travel hike to Ourimbah and back to Sydney is maybe a bit much on a monthly basis.
One the possibilities is to run the workshops in Sydney instead. I am getting some feedback about a couple of venue options. What I really need to know is would you be more likely to attend a one-day workshop if it was held in Sydney as opposed to Ourimbah? The more feedback you give me, the easier it would be for me to make a decision.
Thanks for your help
Eileen
Just Sit Down & Write
Skeletons & Dirty Linen
Just Sit Down & Write
Memoir Writing Workshop
TAKING BOOKINGS NOW
Ask any writer you know if they have a fear of actually sitting down and putting words on the page. Most will confess to have a long list of often ‘valid’ ways to avoid the challenge of their writing practice.
There are some exceptions. Popular writer James Patterson signed a book deal in 2009 to write 17 books by the end of 2012. That’s a book every three months. In the last 12 months he earned US$91 million. If he’s scared he doesn’t let it stop him from writing.
The rest of us are mostly cowards who avoid the hard stuff with similar excuses we use to avoid physical exercise. It’s too cold, I’m tired, and I’m too old to start, what’s the point?; any reason to postpone taking action. Whatever way you look at it, it’s not the actual practice that causes procrastination but the fear of failure. Do I have the tenacity, the imagination, the skills I need to write?; why would anyone want to read my story?; I’ve got too many pressures; I need to do the laundry.
Memoir writing has its special scary devil called – The Truth. Avoiding the truth, whether it’s being afraid of what others will think or upsetting our own family, or, worst of all, having to dig into those dark places where our own truth lies buried is especially tough for memoir writers.
This workshop we will talk about these fears. I’ll show you some of the psychological skills that I use to push past the scary stuff, as well a couple of practical devices that really work for me and other writers I know.
Address: 18 Kauri Court, Ourimbah
Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Contact: Eileen Naseby
0416 181 645 or en@eileennaseby.com
Cost: $120 per workshop, includes lunch
Spring Memoir Writing Workshops – Book Now!
Skeletons & Dirty Linen
Spring Memoir Writing Workshops
TAKING BOOKINGS NOW
CREATING A SCENE
Sunday 8th September 2013
JUST SIT DOWN & WRITE!
Sunday 13th October 2013
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR WORK
Sunday 10th November 2013
CREATING A SCENE
Scenes are where the real business of writing takes place. Scenes are a gathering together of set-ups and payoffs, of ideas and perspectives, of hopes and disappointments, of plot and story.
A scene is to story structure what a heartbeat is to the body, the pulse that sets the reader alive. You create this rhythm by what you bring to each scene, by making use of the human senses to describe the action and the setting from the point of view of your character.
As Chuck Palahniuk says:
“Your story will always be stronger if you just show the physical actions and details of your characters and allow your reader to do the thinking and knowing. And loving and hating.”
This workshop offers you the opportunity to find how to breathe new life into your scenes.
JUST SIT DOWN & WRITE!
Ask any writer you know if they have a fear of actually sitting down and putting words on the page. Most will confess to have a long list of often ‘valid’ ways to avoid the challenge of their writing practice.
There are some exceptions. Popular writer James Patterson signed a book deal in 2009 to write 17 books by the end of 2012. That’s a book every three months. In the last 12 months he earned US$91 million. If he’s scared it he doesn’t let it stop him writing.
The rest of us are mostly cowards who avoid the hard stuff with similar excuses we use to avoid physical exercise. It’s too cold, I’m tired, and I’m too old to start, what’s the point?; any reason to postpone taking action. Whatever way you look at it, it’s not the actual practice that causes procrastination, but the fear of failure. Do I have the tenacity, the imagination, the skills I need to write?: why would anyone want to read my story?; I’ve got too many pressures; I need to do the laundry.
Memoir writing has its special scary devil called – The Truth. Avoiding the truth, whether it’s being afraid of what others will think or upsetting our own family, or, worst of all, having to dig into those dark places where our own truth lies buried is especially tough for memoir writers.
This workshop we will talk about these fears. I’ll show you some of the psychological skills that I use to push past the scary stuff, as well a couple of practical devices that really work for me and other writers I know.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR WORK
Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to discuss their work and the specific problems they are face with at this point of the their memoir project. Limited places. More details to come.
Address: 18 Kauri Court, Ourimbah
Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Contact: Eileen Naseby
0416 181 645 or en@eileennaseby.com
Cost: $120 per workshop, includes lunch
Find out more…
Ursula: A Voyage of Love and Drama by Eileen Naseby
Searching for Self
There’s more to you than meets the eye
Skeletons & Dirty Linen | Advanced One-Day Memoir Writing Workshop
How much do we really know about ourselves? There’s the Open Self we let others see, and the Private Self, the parts we hide. There are also two more selves we rarely encounter. The Blind Self, which is what others see in us that we cannot see, and the most enigmatic of all the Undiscovered or Unknown Self.
This workshop will demonstrate how to better understand the relationships at play in your memoir, and how to reveal these, and all those ‘unknown’ factors, to your readers.
Thank you so much for a wonderful day on Sunday it was truly enjoyable, motivating and helpful – like minded interesting people with fascinating stories to tell, ideas and solutions related directly to our struggles with the pen, inspiration – led from the top guiding us to the next level. Not to mention fabulous food and a great kitchen hand!!
Carolynn King, workshop participant
DATE Sunday July 14
TIME 10.00am – 4.00pm
PLACE 18 Kauri Court, Ourimbah?
COST $120.00 including lunch
Bookings & Info | Contact Eileen
0416 181 645 or en@eileennaseby.com
Skeletons & Dirty Linen Reading List
Thanks to everyone who jumped in and fired off your favourite memoirs to recommend to my workshop students. If anyone else has any others that spring to mind let me know.
Here are the first 50…
Author | Title | |
1 | Maya Angelou | Even the Start Look Lonesome |
2 | Maya Angelou | Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now |
3 | Jean Bauby | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly |
4 | Anthony Burgess | Confessions of Anthony Burgess |
5 | Austen Burroughs | Running with Scissors |
6 | Mary Carr | The Liars Club |
7 | Jung Chan | Wild Swans |
8 | Laura Shaine Cunningham | Sleeping Arrangements |
10 | Edmund de Waal | The Hare with the Amber Eyes |
10 | Simone de Beauvoir | Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter |
11 | Joan Didion | The Year of Magical Thinking |
12 | Annie Dillard | Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek |
13 | Annie Dillard | A Writer’s Life |
14 | Patrick Leigh Fermor | Time of Gifts |
15 | Janet Frame | An Angel at My Table |
16 | Anne Frank | Diary of a Young Girl |
17 | Raymond Gaita | Romulus, My Father |
18 | Elizabeth Gilbert | Eat Pray Love |
19 | Rita Golden Gelman | Tales of a Female Nomad |
20 | Vivian Gornick | Fierce Attachments |
21 | Robert Gray | The Land I Came Through Last |
22 | William Horwood | The Boy with No Shoes |
23 | Clive James | Unreliable Memoirs |
24 | Frank McCourt | Angela’s Ashes |
25 | Norman Lewis | I Came, I Saw |
26 | Franz Lidz | Unstrung Heroes |
27 | Barry Lopez | About this Life |
28 | James McBride | The Colour of Water |
29 | Patti Miller | The Mind of a Thief |
30 | Henry Miller | The Colossus of Marrousi |
31 | Jessica Mitford | Daughters and Rebels |
32 | Rick Moody | The Black Veil |
33 | Sally Morgan | My Place |
34 | Vladimir Nabakov | Speak Memory |
35 | Michael Oondaatje | Running in the Family |
36 | Amos Oz | A Tale of Love and Darkness |
37 | Ruth Park | A Fence Around the Cuckoo |
38 | Ruth Park | Fishing in the Styx |
39 | Paul Rusesabagina | An Ordinary Man |
40 | Susan Swingler | The House of Fiction |
41 | Desmond Tutu | No Future Without Forgiveness |
41 | Peter Ustinov | Dear Me |
43 | Jeanne Winterson | My Place |
44 | Tobias Wolff | This Boy’s Life |
45 | Lidia Yuknavitch | The Chronology of Water |
46 | Lech Walesa | A Way of Hope |
47 | Clifton Pugh | Patterns of a Lifetime |
48 | George Jackson | Soledad Brother |
49 | Les Murray | A Life in Progress |
50 | John Elder Robinson | Look Me in the Eye |
Starting June 24 & June 26 – Central Memoir Writing Workshops- Day & Evening Classes
Kick Start Your Memoir - Skeletons & Dirty Linen
Week 1. Learning to let go
Using examples and exercises, you will discover how to let go of your natural inhibitions so you can free yourself to write creatively.
Week 2. Marinate your head with research
Information gathering can be both exciting and rewarding, and the more you discover, the richer your story will be. You will find how to maximise your research skills using specific techniques and resources.
Week 3. Use detail to tell it how it really was
Every scene should say ‘it happened like this’ instead ‘this is what happened.’ At any given moment our lives are determined by a myriad influences. ‘Am I feeling hot; are my feet aching; am I in a hurry; what am I hoping for; or what have I just lost?’
Week 4. Looking from the outside
The structure of any memoir writing project revolves around pivotal turning points linking the present to its past and future. Discover how to find the beginning, middle and end of your chapters as well as your story.
Daytime Workshops
Wednesday June 26, July 3, 10 & 17
10.00- 12.00am
Evening Workshops
June 24, July 1, 8 & 15
6.30pm-8.30pm
4 Workshops Only $140.00
For bookings and information contact Eileen on 0416 181 645
Six Tough Rules For Memoir Writing
The First Rule of Memoir Writing
Your memoir is not about you!
I’m not usually bossy. In fact I tell my workshop participants that rules are an anathema because they can be very inhibiting. A rule is quite different to a discipline. For instance I know that I get some of my best writing done if I get up at 5.00am because my brain is always more alert at that time. So my personal rule is to try and discipline myself to always get up early. This ‘rule’ works for me but it won’t necessarily work for you because you might write your best stuff at the midnight.. The most important rule is to focus on what really works for you.
Having said I hate rules I’m now about to break my own rule by setting this list for you.
My Six Most Important Rules for Writing Memoir
Rule 1.
Your memoir is not about you
Never play for sympathy. Readers don’t care about you personally. They’re only interested in story, and universal themes such as abandonment or betrayal. What they really want to find out is how you dealt with whatever it was that was dished up to you.
Rule 2.
Tell the truth
Don’t make stuff up after the event to make yourself look good. The Germans call it Treppenwitz – ‘staircase wit’. Come clean about your failures and weaknesses. It will be much more interesting than trying to show your readers how clever you might have been at the time.
Joan Didion said in Slouching Toward Bethlehem, “The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.”
Rule 3.
It’s not your job to judge
Relationships are very complex. There are very few all bad or all good characters, even in your family. Saints have their flaws, and devils their soft spots. Let your reader decide whether to love or hate the people you are writing about. Your job is to describe them as honestly as you can with all their complexities.
Rule 4.
Your memoir is not your psychotherapist
If you’re really serious about being published don’t treat your writing as a treatment for your emotional wounds. Some people won’t agree, but believe me, if this is your ultimate goal you’ll lose your perspective. Make sure you write from a distance, which is probably the best therapy anyway.
Annie Dillard said in her book A Writing Life “This is not a meditation… but a despatch from the desk.”
Rule 5.
You don’t have to start at the beginning
Even experienced writers get bogged down when they try to write chronologically. Start with a scene that really excites you. Then you can work forward and backwards from this point.
Rule 6.
Do mountains of research
Unless you’re a writing genius you should leave no stone unturned. The more you know before you start putting your story down, the better your writing will be.
American writer, David McCullough says, “Marinate your head.”
Central Coast Beginners’ Memoir Writing Workshop
Want To Write Your Life Story?
Skeletons & Dirty Linen
Beginners’ Workshop – Ourimbah
This workshop will introduce you to the art of letting go of your writing inhibitions, research techniques, and structure. At the end of the workshop you will have an idea of where to begin your memoir, and how to plan your structure. You will also take away a short piece of writing inspired by your own creativity.
“The timing was perfect. The stories that have been
incubating in my head for so long are finally hatching”
- Jack, workshop participant
date: Wednesday June 12
time: 10.00am to 12.30pm
place: 18 Kauri Court, Ourimbah
cost: $35.00
bookings & info: Contact Eileen – 0416 181 645 or en@eileennaseby.com
Lightning bolts & Karl Marx. Stop waiting for inspiration.
There was a time when I didn’t need to look for inspiration. In those days I thought it came out of the sky. I just churned out my writing. Back then my poems and stories brought me heaps of praise. I won competitions. I was regularly published in the Sunday papers. At one stage I had to decide between becoming an author or a tightrope walker. I even wrote my poems as I practised my circus routines. I didn’t actually have access to a tightrope so I had to make do with a rickety fence. Inevitably a nasty fall ended my circus career before it even started. That was when I was eight.
As I grew up, the praise eventually stopped, and with it the ‘inspiration’. I found another career. I married, had children. Boxes full of scribblings attest to my persistence, but inevitably the flow slowed to a trickle. Then in my early fifties I swallowed my pride and went looking for stimulus in a creative writing course. The most important thing I discovered was I was not on my own. Virtually everyone in my class had suffered a similar experience. The second and most important lesson was I must never sit around waiting for inspiration to arrive like a bolt out of the blue. My gut feeling should have already warned me lightning never strikes twice in the same place.
What I did discover was I had to do the hard yards first. I had to keep putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard no matter what. I had to accept that much of what I would write would be rubbish, but never to allow my humiliation to force me away from my desk. Eventually I found if I worked hard enough, in the end, inspiration did inevitably arrive. To my old self this would have seemed like a lightning bolt, but now I know better than that.
Maria Popova has just published a Daily Ritual: A Guided Tour of Writers’ and Artists’ Creative Habits on her Brainpickings website. Apparently Mark Twain would ‘go to the study in the morning after a hearty breakfast and stay there until dinner at about 5.00.’ He is said to have always skipped lunch. Now I find the thought of that quite scary.
However if you’re interested in productivity, and really want to scare yourself, then you should read Guardian writer, Oliver Burkman’s, article on How To Be Productive and Creative, The Karl Marx Way.
Creativity tips from Karl Marx
You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. - Jack London