Winter Sched, Reg / How To Begin Your Story

Winter Session Starts As Of Sat, Jan 8th, Choice Of:
Wed 7pm - West L.A
Thurs 12pm - Pasadena
Sat 10:30am - Venice
Sun 11am - Venice

EARLY REG DISCOUNT-  6 or 10 wk sessions
Reg by 12/20- 6wk workshop- $240, $260 after /10 wk workshop - $385, $425 after 

TO REGISTER
Please send a $100 check (non-refundable) write the class day you're reserving space for on the memo line of the check to:
Terrie Silverman
P.O. BOX 35404
L.A. CA 90035-0404  

REMAINDER OF TUITION DUE:
for the 6wk session- 1st day of class/10 wk session- by the 3rd class


How To Begin: Take The Leap

Starting a new year brings possibility. There's momentum to start. We have a fresh slate. Imagine taking the leap to create the idea or story we've been pondering. Or carrying around for years but aren't sure how to start. We  may think we should know where the story starts in order to begin.

The answer is that not only do we not have to know where the story starts. We won’t know until we've let the story unspool from our subconscious.

Allow yourself to lay out the whole field of the 1st draft and then play with the possibilities of what makes sense for the story and the journey we want the listener or reader to take. We need the perspective of looking down at the whole field of the story to determine whether to start at the beginning, middle or the end of the story or even somewhere in-between.

Therefore, All We Need Is The Willingness To Begin

And then we write and write to discover the story that wants to be told without worrying about the structure until we've fully investigated the story. If we try to edit or structure while we're creating, our creative instincts are stifled because the two sides of the brain are competing. Since the right hemisphere is our imagination and the left side is the analytical, they crash into each other if we are creating and editing or structuring simultaneously and we lose the flow of our creative impulse.

Find A Home For Your Writing

Invite your imagination to play by creating a conducive environment. Experiment with the time and place that enhances your creative process. Pay attention to the light, mood, time of day and ambience of your writing environment Do you need silence, music or background sounds? Are you content in a cozy coffeehouse or seated by a favorite window in your house.

Once you've had a flowing writing session- notice what elements contributed to it and make that part of your writing practice.

If You're Feeling Stuck

Take a walk, put on music you love and dance. Movement is great for the muse because it gets us out of our head, it relaxes us- it gets us out of the critical left-brain.

Encouragement To Begin:

Write Wild

Our creativity isn't logical or structured; so give yourself permission to write thoughts, lists, fragments, stream of consciousness. Wild and messy means you're trusting the gold of your subconscious.

Let Go Of Structure

Structure is the step after you've created. Try to stay in the creative moment. We want structure because it makes us feel in control. Creativity is about embracing the unknown

Have Passion For The Mystery

We're trying to figure something out, so allow the mystery to compel you to keep writing

as you get closer and closer to answer what you or the protagonist are grappling with

Commit To Discovering

Sometimes we have to trick ourselves to do the work as well finishing the story or project. If you're engaged in the investigation and discovery of what you really want to express with the story, as a way to take the pressure off worrying about whether  the story is good. Write to discover an epiphany, which will supply you the arc of the story and thus the ending.

If you need more guidance and support for your idea, story or project, I offer:

*Coaching

*Script Consultations
* Creative Tune-Ups

Interviewing: Listening To Write

Listening to Write

In honor of Story Corps' National Listening Day, November 26th, which invites people to 'Celebrate by interviewing and recording people you care about...' I invite you to use interviewing: the act of questioning, as a tool, as well as a stimulus to write. Questioning brings about a thought-provoking intensity between the interviewer and interviewee, making the listening urgent, purposeful and a catalyst for more questions and stories.

I believe we write to find an answer to something we're grappling with, to understand a memory or theme in our life. And so we investigate it through writing. And through this process, we may, and quite probably will have an epiphany. 

In the questioning, we get to discover the core of the story, what is true for the narrator (or protagonist) and learn the perspective of other people or characters in the story.

 What happens when we are truly listened to? We may come up with answers that surprise us. Who would you interview? Consider not only what questions you'd ask but what would you chose not to ask. Who would you want to be interviewed by? What will you and your interview partner discover in the listening and being listened to?

Writing Guidance: The Interview- Actual Or Imagined

There are a number of ways to use an interview in your writing. Here are some possibilities:

YOU ARE THE SUBJECT

Consider interviewing someone who's known you for years and ask them their observations about you- what's their earliest memory or first impression? How would they describe your appearance, personality, etc? If you have access to anyone who knew you as a baby, toddler-this can be fascinating.

HISTORICAL

Interview people who were the generation that you're writing about. Perhaps they can offer eye witness accounts of an event or remember what their parents told them. Specific day -to-day details can give a rich context to the time period. And you don't have to know your interview subject. Go to a Senior Center. They will be delighted to share their experiences.

THE IMAGINED INTERVIEW

Allowing you to take the leap and 'create' an interview is a great tool to discover

a different perspective and an authentic point of view. Conduct an interview with a person or character in your story by writing down questions for them and then let your imagination run wild as you 'answer' the questions from their perspective-- WITHOUT WORRYING IF YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. Trust wherever the answers go. If you’re writing about an earlier time in your life, you can use the perspective of that younger 'You' to ask the questions.

THE SELF-INTERVIEW

Interview yourself from different time periods in your life. For example, the present day 'You' can interview the teenage 'You' (and vice-a-versa.)

After you've conducted the interview you can decide if you want to include it in your story*, use it as a jumping off point to write, or as reference to add details and context to your story. Interviewing is a way to capture the truth in that moment, for the truth, since it's based on our subjective memory changes and evolves. 

*The journalistic rule of thumb in getting permission to use the interview is to have the tape recording device in full view and hitting 'record' when the interview commences, so the subject knows the interview is being recorded. If it's a family member, you can discuss your intentions and impetus- be it preserving family histories, research, etc. or, you can just tell them I'm making you do it.

If you want to share your interviewing experience- you can post it here or Creative Rites on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/Creative-Rites-Writing-Performance-Creative-Expression/136905296360119?v=wall//)

Keep giving and receiving stories!

Your faithful Creative Rite-er,

Terrie 

Watch me transform from writing coach to ballerina 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jweB7rskrw0

Holiday Writing Guide

How can we keep our creativity flowing while preparing, participating (and recovering from) the holidays? The anticipation, expectations, family rituals, connection, joy and perhaps loneliness make the holidays a rich season for writing, remembering and documenting.

What if you were a reporter assigned to cover your family holiday? Whether you want to go back to childhood holidays or actually document this year's holidays, writing gives you a perspective of this charged, familiar event. You may notice more ironies and absurdities. And it's a great opportunity to practice applying the five senses. What are the tastes, smells, sounds, tactile and tableaux images that you are witnessing? Or that you remember?

Write about what you love and what drives you crazy about the holidays. And if you'd like to find the joy, humor and absurdities of the holidays--I'm offering a Finding The Humor In The Holidays Workshop in Pasadena and West L.A. Here are 2 workshops to keep your creativity flowing as you enjoy (and cope with) the holidays-

Creative Tune-Up: A two session workshop to inspire and guide you to begin, continue or finish your project and still be able to enjoy your creative process.

Workshop Description: 

Receive guidance inspiration & motivation in this workshop that’s guaranteed to get you having fun while creating. Give yourself the gift of creative expression and reconnect to the joy, freedom and playfulness of being creative. All levels & genres welcome.

Choice of:

Thursdays,

 12-2 pm, 12/2 & 12/9 -Pasadena

Sundays 11am -12/5 & 12/12 in Venice

Reg by 11/26- $70, $90 thereafter

Finding Humor in the Holidays Workshop: Mine the comedy, joy & absurdity in the ‘happiest’ time of year.

Workshop Description: They’re coming, charging towards you, and are inescapable. Welcome to the holiday season. A time of hope, expectations, nostalgia, and memories. The holidays become a yearly marker for who we are and who we want to be, along with the drama and joy of family and traditions. You’ll explore the dreams and fears that are inextricably connected to the holiday while mining the comedic absurdities.

Choice of:

-Wed 12/8 7pm - West L.A.

-Thurs 12/15 12pm - Pasadena

-Sun 12/16- 11am - Venice

(If the Sunday class fills up –sat 12/15 @10:30 in Venice will be added)

Reg by 11/24 -$35 /$45 thereafter.  

Workshop Registration: 

Send a check with the date(s) 

of the workshop you’re registering for on the memo line of the check. This will reserve your space. 

Please send your check to:

Terrie Silverman

P.O. BOX 35404                                                                                                                                

Los Angeles, CA 90035-0404


EXTRA SPECIAL DEAL-

Reg by 11/24 for the Creative Tune-Up & the Happy Holidays workshop - $90