Workshop Details |
Workshop description:
Learning from the Masters: The Journals of Published
Authors
Joy E. Held, Instructor
In 1951, Pulitzer prize winning novelist John Steinbeck “warmed-up
his writing arm” with a letter to his editor each day before working on East
of Eden. Those letters were later published as Journal of a Novel: The
East of Eden Letters. Crime novelist Sue Grafton (“A” is for Alibi) kept
a journal for every book she wrote that included ideas, positive self-talk, and
more to help her stay on track. Author Anne Lamott has written two memoirs that
are formatted like journals, and Virginia Woolf’s diaries examined what it was
like to be a female author in the world of writing and publishing during the
1930’s and 40’s.
It’s refreshing and renewing to read the journals of published
authors and recognize some of our own struggles in the pages of those who forged
successful careers before us. We’ll look at the journals of the authors mentioned
and explore what we can learn from them and how we can emulate some of their
personal writing habits to support our own lives and work.
Each lesson will include:
- examples of journal
entries
- narrative lesson on a
particular aspect of journaling for writers
- an activity for you to try
- discussion questions for
deep learning
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Instructor Bio |
Instructor bio:
JOY E. HELD, A.A.S., B.A., M.F.A. is an author, freelance
editor, educator, Yoga Alliance Registered yoga and meditation teacher, college
English professor, certified Journal to the Self facilitator, and workshop
presenter with over 500 articles published in trade magazines, newspapers, and
literary journals. Her historical romance novel Message to Love was
published in 2010 by The Wild Rose Press. Her nonfiction book Writer
Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity will be released from
Headline Books, Inc. in spring 2020. Joy is a member of Romance Writers of
America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, Northeast Ohio RWA, and the
Author’s Guild. She holds degrees in education, journalism, and an M.F.A. in Writing
Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. |
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