“[The writing circle] helped me immensely as I was able to get feedback on my writing in a safe and supportive way. Being with other writers inspired me and kept me motivated to continue with my writing. Your wonderful quotes, prompts and reference books provided me with resources that I would have never accessed on my own. It was like being given a writer’s toolbox filled with a limitless source of inspiring tools.” – Ginny Sargison
Women’s Writing Circle
Writing Life:
nourish yourself, honour your voice, write your stories
with Mary Ann Moore
A writing circle, whether in person or on Zoom, offers a calm, nurturing, and inspiring space where you can receive encouragement and support from fellow participants on the writing path.
In the Writing Life circle, we apply the ancient wisdom of the circle to a modern application: a sacred ceremony of writing, sharing and listening where each person is respected for their presence and contributions. A flower essence is offered (at the in-person circles) to invite and support inner exploration. No previous writing experience is necessary to embrace the fullness of your stories from life.
A House in the Rain, An Umbrella in the Sun
at Mary Ann’s home, Extension/White Rapids area of Nanaimo, BC
Tuesday, July 22, 2025, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Fee: $60
A House in the Rain, An Umbrella in the Sun
A poem by Joy Harjo has inspired the theme of the next pop-up women’s writing circle which will be in person at my home in Nanaimo on Tuesday, July 22. If you happened to be part of a writing circle via email in the spring of 2020, you’ll recognize the theme of “A House in the Rain, An Umbrella in the Sun.”
For this circle, we’ll be in person at The Hummingbird Ranch in south Nanaimo. It will be wonderful to reconnect to old friends and welcome those who are new to the writing circle. As well as time for writing, we’ll gather around the kitchen island for a cool drink and some treats while we spend a bit of social time. We get to know one another that way as well as through the writing we’ll do. The writing is about the process, what we learn on the way in, and encouragement is offered rather than a critique.
I appreciate what Rowan McCandless said in her memoir, Persephone’s Children, about having a writing community:
“The presence of a writing community in my life cheered me on whenever I felt like I just couldn’t face another day.
Our shared passion for writing was a boon to my soul;
the act of writing became my distraction,
my passion, my lifeline.”
Joy Harjo was referring to a kitchen table with her description of “a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun” in her poem “Perhaps the World Ends Here.” I love reading and writing about tables as so much happens there. Many of the descriptions Harjo uses in her poem refer to writing as well. As a self-compassionate practice, I think writing is also “a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun” just as the table at which we sit down to write. Embracing writing as a wellness practice, being inspired by poetry and prose, following writing practice topics will all be part of the circle where you can be seen and heard and amazed at what comes out of the stillness of writing together.
Writing Life women’s circle with Mary Ann Moore
Nourish Yourself. Honour Your Voice. Write Your Stories.
Theme: A House in the Rain, An Umbrella in the Sun: Writing as a Practice of Self-Compassion
Tuesday, July 22, 2025, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Fee: $60
Payable via e-transfer to creativity@maryannmoore.ca
or by cheque sent to Mary Ann Moore at
76 Colwell Road, Nanaimo, B.C. V9X 1E4
Payment will confirm your space in the circle.
Topics Covered
At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse.
We give thanks.
Joy Harjo, from “Perhaps the World Ends Here”
Intent
- To provide a safe place for people 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 Happens in a Writing Life Circle
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. An 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.
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 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.
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.
Please be in touch with any questions you may have.
“Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control.
Open the door, then close it behind you.”
from “For Calling the Spirit Back”
in Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo
Other Benefits
- 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.
“The writing circle was meaningful, insightful, moving and also fun. I felt privileged to be included among such wonderful women who shared their unique and precious experiences, feelings and thoughts.” – Rie Okamura
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