Writing Life: a six-week women’s writing circle in Nanaimo, B.C. (also on Zoom)
Nourish Yourself. Honour Your Voice. Write Your Stories
Theme: Practices + Ceremonies for Your Writing Life
In the Writing Life women’s writing circle, we write from our lives and create writing lives, offering solace and encouragement to one another. In person in Nanaimo: Wednesday, January 18 to Wednesday, February 22, 2023, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (six Wednesday mornings + A Writing Life salon and pot luck lunch on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 11 a.m.) Fee: $300 payable by cheque or e-transfer before the circle begins (see further info below) On Zoom wherever you are: Thursday, 19 to Thursday, February 23, 2023, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific time (six Thursdays + a salon on Thursday, March 2 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pacific time) Fee: $300 payable by cheque or e-transfer before the circle begins (see further info below) We have so little of each other, now. So far from tribe and fire . . . . . Danusha Lameris says in her poem, “Small Kindnesses.” I like the way the line quoted says “so far” which means there is hope for a change. And then the next line offers a different meaning. We may be so far from where we began or our ancestors began and the various ways they gathered together. And yet we live on the land in community with people and everything else that surrounds us. We have the opportunity to meet around a fire which could be a candle in the centre of a circle of chairs. In the Writing Life women’s writing circle , we apply the ancient wisdom of the circle to a modern application: a sacred ceremony of writing, sharing and listening where each woman is respected for her presence and contributions. The late Richard Wagamese said: “Ceremony is a road to the true nature of our selves.” Part of the ceremony in the writing circle is the creation of a container for a sense of safety, to lessen the anxiety, and to honour the women and the stories they are writing and giving breath to. I suggest, when writing on your own, you also create a ceremony. Light a candle if you wish or burn some incense or sage and take three deep breaths. As you light the candle, you can think of it as Kim Krans has said, a call to reigniting your creative fire so you can cup your hand gently around those things you’ve forgotten and protect the flame no matter how harshly the winds around you blow. I invite you to be in touch if you’d like further information or to sign up for one of the writing circles. No previous writing or circle experience is necessary to open yourself to the fullness of your stories from life.
what happens in a writing circle:
One of the times I feel most at home is in the weekly women’s writing circle in my living room. It’s true, I’m in my own home but the feeling of being at home is being able to speak from the heart, be listened to and to offer the opportunity for others to do the same. We share what matters to us, how we’re really doing, what anxiety we may be feeling, and take some time to speak up about and for ourselves. “Now I become myself. It’s taken / time, many years and places” as poet May Sarton wrote. In the Writing Life Circle we write from our lives and create writing lives. We write for the love of it. I offer inspiring readings, poems and prompts as doorways to our own stories and “your own way of looking at things.” Much of our inspiration and creative stimulation comes from one another as well as from the work of other writers. There’s no critiquing and no previous writing experience is necessary. Responses to one another’s writing is meant to encourage and support. While some of the writing may be considered “journaling,” it has value as acknowledging an event or an emotion and may offer some fresh insight. Lines from those journaling entries may make their way into future pieces of fiction, a personal essay or a poem. We also look at the many various forms your writing can take whether prose or poetry. While we may talk about publishing possibilities, the important aspect of the circle is to claim the fullness of your own life, to write your story for yourself first before you consider the aspect of crafting it to share elsewhere. If you are already writing, this gives you the support of others and some further insight into what you’ve been working on. The weekly circle feels like an anchor and an oasis. The four directions and the centre remind us to stay connected to the seasons of the earth and the seasons of our lives. We follow guidelines in the circle so as to create a safe container. I also offer a flower essence each week as Nature’s support for our safe container, the process of uncovering and the integration of what has been discovered. (The flower essences are either from Raven Essences in Ontario or Spirit of the Island, flower essences I’ve co-created with Nature on Vancouver Island.) As Heidi Smith says in The Bloom Book (Sounds True, 2020), “Flower essences are subtle medicine that expand our awareness and bring us back into greater equilibrium.” Four Laws of Respect What we say in the circle stays in the circle. We ask each other for what we need and offer what we can. We listen with compassion and curiosity, avoid judgment. From time to time we will pause to gather our thoughts. Three Practices of Council/Circle Listen with attention. Speak with intention (contributing what has relevance, heart and meaning to the topic of the moment) Contribute to the well-being of the group by remaining aware of our impact and contributions. from “Circle Agreements” in Calling the Circle by Christina Baldwin [testimonials backgroundcolor=”#f7f7f7″ textcolor=”#dd3333″]
what if you don’t have writing experience?
“Writing” can be a frightening word if you’re used to being judged for it. In the Writing Life Circle we transform thoughts into words, memories into insight and new possibilities. Inherited stories become invented stories, recreated by you. As there’s no pressure to perform, you’re free to explore. I follow circle guidelines as noted above from Calling the Circle: The First and Future Culture by Christina Baldwin. The guidelines give us structure in the space just as we look for structure in the story.
benefits of the writing life circle
Some women may write another piece of their story and that way keep up the momentum. Others may be open to exploring in the moment as if writing in a journal. Everyone benefits from the circle by listening with attention and speaking with intention. We create a sacred space in which to let our stories reveal themselves. Other benefits include:
- An exploration of your relationship to silence and stillness,
- A variety of writing prompts to get you started,
- Guidelines for your own journaling practice and various other forms,
- References for reading and inspiration,
- Support from a circle of women who are also writing,
- Witnesses to your creative journey,
- A creative boost and a reminder that your creativity makes a healthy impact on your life and on the world.
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fee
The fee for the six-week circle (whether in person or on Zoom) is $300 due before the writing circle begins. Payment will confirm your space. (Do check first, by email, to make sure a space is available.) Please get in touch if you’re in need of an instalment plan. If the fee makes it impossible for you to participate, do get in touch as there are angel funds available. Email: creativity@maryannmoore.ca Please send your cheque made out to Mary Ann Moore to 76 Colwell Road, Nanaimo, B.C. V9X 1E4. Or, if you do online banking, consider sending an e-transfer to creativity@maryannmoore.ca. Please note, once you have paid and if your plans change before the circle begins, your fee will be applied to a future circle. There are no refunds once a circle has begun. Notes will be sent to you if you happen to miss a week. the setting for the in-person circle at my/Mary Ann Moore’s home in Nanaimo, B.C.: 76 Colwell Road (about 15 minutes south of downtown Nanaimo) questions If you haven’t been to a Writing Life Circle before, it’s a good idea to have a chat with me, Mary Ann, in advance. Please contact Mary Ann Moore at 250-591-7990 or creativity@maryannmoore.ca. the intent of the writing life circle
- To provide a safe place for women to tell their stories.
- To find the still centre of ourselves and of the circle.
- To write what has heart and meaning for us.
- To realize our role as leaders in a circle of leaders.
- To remember the divine feminine and embrace our female and male teachers.
- To become a community of peers slowing down to a natural rhythm.
what a former writing life circle member has to say: [testimonials backgroundcolor=”#f7f7f7″ textcolor=”#dd3333″]