build your writing practice

Crescent’s new one-day workshop

What’s a writing practice?

Practice makes practice. No calling or enterprise worthy of the name is ever perfected or learned just once.

“A writing practice” means that you make writing a regular part of your life. That simple; that complex. 

Whether  you are just beginning to write or undertaking your first (or fifteenth) novel, whether you write for self-exploration, publication, or to leave behind something that will tell your grandchildren the family history, a writing practice will add depth, meaning, and joy to your life. Ultimately, embracing writing can help you to find a clarity and deeper level of understanding unlike that provided by any other medium. For example, have you ever heard about the ‘show, don’t tell’ writing technique? Take a look at this useful overview to learn more.

Why would I need or want one, especially if I’m not thinking about publication?

Vast realms of discovery and pleasure open out to those who, with dedication, consistency, and curiosity, develop a writing practice.

Humans are by nature storytellers. Just as everyone who resides in a body — not just those who run marathons or aspire to the Olympic — benefits physically and psychologically from some form of regular physical activity, so does everyone who has thoughts and feelings benefit
psychologically, spiritually, and creatively from developing a writing
practice.

Just as a body needs to move, a human heart and soul need to discover and express meaning. Our stories create us as much as the other way around: this is something everyone who undertakes a writing practice discovers, again and again, over time.

And each rediscovery is quietly miraculous.

How does Crescent’s “Build Your Writing Practice” work? 

This 6 1/2 hour workshop —- experiential, fun, edge-pushing, tough, and tender — incorporates specific techniques and ‘directed
writing’ (sometimes called prompts or exercises). About half our time together is spent writing. The remainder goes to  interactive discussion/ and lecture, as well as reading aloud (optional) the what we’ve been working on.

You’ll leave “Build Your Writing Practice” with a sense of being more sure-footed creatively, knowing how to

• create a writing practice that works in your individual life & serves your needs

• recognize the many faces of resistance and not be stopped by them

• trust & understand a process that can seem capricious, evasive, or mysterious

• identify and use (instead of be stopped by) challenges — those unique to you, and those which are universal

• use the practice to meet your individual writing, or other, goals

• become a reliable partner to your unconscious, drawing on its wisdom

• use writing’s to solve problems, illuminate confusion, heal pain, and move through life-transitions

• invoke — respectfully — the
  muse, whatever he / she / it is to you

What will my individual Writing Practice look like? 

That depends on you: your needs, your personality, where you are in the process, your aspirations, the time available to you, the way you learn and the way you write. Every person who develops a writing practice does it a little differently.There’s no wrong
way to do it. But because some approaches are much more satisfying and lasting
then others, and the shape of a practice usually changes over time, exploring the nature of practice itself, in a small supportive group, is worthwhile, and often a life-changer.

Crescent teaches respectfully, pushing each student to his or her next level with toughness and tenderness. 

The next Build Your Writing Practice:

When: December 5, 2010, 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Where: Crescent’s home, in Westminster West, Vermont

How Much: $125, by cash or check (no credit cards on this one)

How to register: e-mail Crescent at crescent@dragonwagon.com.

To learn about when and where all Crescent’s upcoming workshops will be offered, please see calendar.