Workshop
Diaries in the end
are about making
connections...
about breaking into
your own store
of preserved memories...
Alexandra Johnson
Leaving a Trace
Stories have to be told
or they die,
and when they die,
we can't remember who
we are or why we're here.
Sue Monk Kidd
The Secret Life of Bees
What sort of diary
should I like mine to be?
I should like it
to resemble
some deep old desk...
in which one flings a
mass of odds and ends
without looking
and find that the
collection had sorted
itself into a mould,
transparent enough
to reflect the light
of our life.
Virginia Woolf
Location: Fincastle Community Center, Fincastle, Virginia
Workshop Fee: $65, includes cost of instruction, participant packet,
tools for the harvest, annotated bibliography, prompts
for further exploration and motivation, and take-aways
for using and celebrating your harvest; paper, pens,
coffee/tea, muffins. (Feel free to bring your own cold
drinks and other snacks.)
Discounts: Previous coupons will be honored OR register with a
friend and each of you will receive $10 off the cost of
the workshop.
Where do you begin?
What do you do with your discoveries?
Do you ever wonder how you got where you are
when this wasn't the life you'd planned?
Do you celebrate the person you were?
Are you grateful for the person you are?
Rereading past journals and diaries is an excellent method for discovering your
life's themes and gathering details to include in your memoirs.
In this half-day workshop we'll spend time exploring "harvest" techniques,
practice a few and create a plan for continuing. We'll discuss how to delicately
handle "bruised berries"--hurtful memories. Bring a few of your own journals to
gain practical, hands-on experience working these techniques.
Don't worry! No one will read your journals!
You share only those discoveries you want to share.
We'll laugh; we'll cry; we'll grow in wisdom.
This is our plan for the morning:
~ Lay the groundwork with an introductory session;
~ Share the Ground Rules and Harvest Tools;
~ Discuss both Course Goals and Personal Goals;
~ Learn and Practice Harvest Techniques;
~ Write and Share those discoveries you've gleaned and are comfortable sharing;
~ Celebrate the Harvest and discuss further Celebrations;
~ Learn how to continue filling your Harvest Basket with "Take-aways".
techniques. ** Don't worry! You will NOT be required to read any entries! **
~ If you wish, you may bring a new, blank journal for recording your discoveries. There
will be paper available but you might prefer a favored notebook.
~ Dress comfortably and casually. Bring a light cover if you tend to become too cool in
air-conditioned spaces.
~ Feel free to bring your own cold drinks and snacks. We will have coffee and tea and
breakfast muffins available in the early morning.
~ Please don't wear any perfumes. Some people are allergic and the workshop will be
conducted in an enclosed space. Thank you.
