Annoucements & Updates
Life May Have Been Your Enemy but a Writing Teacher is a Friend:
A writer sends me her work, she says "you are the writer for me. I am dying to be taught. My work is attached."
I write back, we set up time to speak, I take a deposit, I read her work and I make my comments. We set up time to speak but hold on...the writer disappears. When I send an inquiry, the writer is hostile and defensive. It turns out I am not the "the writer for her" after all and it also turns out the writer is not "dying to be taught."
It is not easy to hold my center in these situations. I work hard to remind myself that I am still the same writing teacher and the same person. It is the writer who has shifted. One moment hopeful, the next hostile.
There is something about memoir that seems to draw out the most poison in people and rather than seeking to be freed of the poison, so many keep it inside, curl up around the pain and attack anyone who might draw near with a solution.
A thought: If you cannot "respond" to advice and critique but instead are stuck in the "reaction" phase (negative emotion tinged with discomfort), it is not time to get feedback.
Wounds take time to heal--years in fact. Some wounds will never heal and that is our lot as human beings. Change is hard. Waking up is very hard. Making the shift from reaction to response requires effort.
While I love to help writers grow, I will admit this is the least pleasant and most perplexing aspect of my job. The writer who knows if she is processing vs. writing is the wise writer indeed. If you find you are needing to process, that's okay. Take your time. And when it's time to write, remember, you will need to let people read your book and you will be served by gaining the distance necessary to hear what they have to say. Life may have been your enemy but writing teachers and editors are your friends.
~
The Download Class at The Attic Institute is nearly full! Do not miss an opportunity to learn, at a very affordable price, how to get your memoir off to the best start possible. CLICK HERE to learn more.
The Portland Master Class is at half capacity. That means we have room for about seven more writers. Will you be one of them? And...if you are not in Portland but would like to take this class long distance...let's talk! I have devised a perfect way for you to attend so that class fits into your schedule. jennifer@jenniferlauck.com or CLICK HERE to sign up.
The Phase III: Market, Sell and Publish Your Memoir class is coming. I am testing brand new material, pulled together this month which teaches you everything I know about getting your book in front of agents, editors and publishers. You can get published and this program will open your mind to how it can happen. Ask questions by writing me at jennifer@jenniferlauck.com or CLICK HERE to sign up.
A writer sends me her work, she says "you are the writer for me. I am dying to be taught. My work is attached."I write back, we set up time to speak, I take a deposit, I read her work and I make my comments. We set up time to speak but hold on...the writer disappears. When I send an inquiry, the writer is hostile and defensive. It turns out I am not the "the writer for her" after all and it also turns out the writer is not "dying to be taught."
It is not easy to hold my center in these situations. I work hard to remind myself that I am still the same writing teacher and the same person. It is the writer who has shifted. One moment hopeful, the next hostile.There is something about memoir that seems to draw out the most poison in people and rather than seeking to be freed of the poison, so many keep it inside, curl up around the pain and attack anyone who might draw near with a solution.
A thought: If you cannot "respond" to advice and critique but instead are stuck in the "reaction" phase (negative emotion tinged with discomfort), it is not time to get feedback.Wounds take time to heal--years in fact. Some wounds will never heal and that is our lot as human beings. Change is hard. Waking up is very hard. Making the shift from reaction to response requires effort.
While I love to help writers grow, I will admit this is the least pleasant and most perplexing aspect of my job. The writer who knows if she is processing vs. writing is the wise writer indeed. If you find you are needing to process, that's okay. Take your time. And when it's time to write, remember, you will need to let people read your book and you will be served by gaining the distance necessary to hear what they have to say. Life may have been your enemy but writing teachers and editors are your friends.
~
The Download Class at The Attic Institute is nearly full! Do not miss an opportunity to learn, at a very affordable price, how to get your memoir off to the best start possible. CLICK HERE to learn more.
The Portland Master Class is at half capacity. That means we have room for about seven more writers. Will you be one of them? And...if you are not in Portland but would like to take this class long distance...let's talk! I have devised a perfect way for you to attend so that class fits into your schedule. jennifer@jenniferlauck.com or CLICK HERE to sign up.The Phase III: Market, Sell and Publish Your Memoir class is coming. I am testing brand new material, pulled together this month which teaches you everything I know about getting your book in front of agents, editors and publishers. You can get published and this program will open your mind to how it can happen. Ask questions by writing me at jennifer@jenniferlauck.com or CLICK HERE to sign up.
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