A Girl Named Eve

On Saturday, June 26, 2010,  I attended a Writing Workshop Intensive taught by Cherrie Moraga and  Adelina Anthony. My sister is a big fan so I went even though I have yet to read Cherrie's This Bridge Called My Back, Loving in the War Years, or The Hungry Woman. There's other books but those are the ones I really want to read. We did several fun writing exercises. I was relieved that we would have a chance to read and share some of our work. We filled a old conference room. There must have been 30 of us. I counted. Some sat on the floor to listen. I remember a handful of advice Cherrie gave that I committed to memory. Only you can you do. So don't worry about someone else trying to steal our work because what makes it special is us. We all have different stories to tell from different perspectives, tones, opinions. Stay humble. Don't let pride or arrogance keep you stuck thinking that you know it all. Stay humble, stay open. Keep learning. I have no problem ...

I'm so happy I finally was able to attend the UCLA Writer's Studio this year. I attended Samantha Dunn's Memoir Writing: Works-in-Progress. For those of you unfamiliar with the Writer's Studio, every year UCLA Extension offers 4 day intensive classes in Creative Writing and Screen Writing. Space is limited to 15 students per class. This year, I applied early enough to get in. The experience was trans-formative  Why? You put yourself in a room with 15 other writers and one incredible supportive kind honest sincere instructor, Samantha Dunn and you write away. Sharing. Learning. Laughing. Crying. This was a memoir class after all. One of the lessons we had from the class was to bring a picture that moves us and write about what is not in the picture. Clever. I never would have thought of that one. There were several interesting exercises we participated in, but I'd say the real lesson doesn't come from one exercise or writing tip that you suddenly get...

I've been attending a Josefina Lopez's writing workshops on Tuesdays in Los Angeles with my sister. It is an unforgetable learning experience. Josefina opens herself up and shares her professional experiences with us so that we can learn and move ahead in our own writing ventures. She clearly wants us to succeed. The classes are three hours long but I'm immersed the whole time so it feels like only twenty minutes. Each class is only $10. The best part is how much real world experience we learn from her. We leave the workshop with a long drive home but excited and contemplating the possibilities. With Josefina it feels like anything is possible if you pursue it. I get home late, wrap my arms around my sleeping husband and fall asleep completely blissed out. http://www.casa0101.org/

I went to a memoir-writing workshop recently. I don't want to be the girl who cries at the slightest thing but, in this case, I was. They asked the question: who told you, you can't write? We had to state our writing demons, and then  write out the dialog between this inner critique and our retaliation to their remarks.  Ultimately, it is only ourselves that can hold us back from our own dreams. But sometimes we've internalized the voices of others tell us that we can't.  I'd done this exercise before privately, in my own bed, in my own room, and in my own journal but never out loud. When we were done, we had to go around the table and read the dialog. I was picked the first to go. Before I could even let out a word, my throat choked up, my face turn red, and my eyes began to water. I read and cried. We all cried. I thought I had left all that hurt hidden away on paper somewhere, and there it was strangling me. I can't begin to describe that whole situation wi...