[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Be
sure to visit the
Letter from Joyce Archives
Look for the February 2004 release of The Usual Rules in paperback!
January 15, 2007
Dear Friends,
A quick note here, before I take off for Lake Atitlan (to write and swim and run the Fourth Annual Lake Atitlan Writers' Workshop). I wanted to tell you about a few upcoming opportunities to work with me, and to share a few thoughts on a subject dear to my heart: the art of storytelling. (No way to talk about that one without discussing my mother, as some of you may know, who still holds the prize in my book for the best storyteller I ever met.)
Meanwhile, for those of you not joining me at the lake for next month's writing workshop, I wanted to tell you about some upcoming opportunities to work with me -- both at my home in California and at Lake Atitlan, this coming summer. And in case you haven't picked up on this yet -- I want to tell you what, in my mind, constitute the prerequisites for attending one of my workshops:
A desire to explore telling your story. Or the ones you dream up. A desire to learn something new, and to take yourself somewhere you've never been. A spirit of adventure.
As for the rest: we'll take care of that part.
First off: The Guatemala option. Lake Atitlan, my favorite place on the planet. Due to the great response I've had to this winter's workshop, I'll be hosting another group of writers at the lake this summer -- July 5-13. Teaching with me for that one will be two terrific writers and teachers: Ann Hood (doing fiction and sharing some nonfiction duties with me) and Dorianne Laux, poetry. I've taught with both of these writers in the past, and chose to invite them not only because of my admiration for their craft, but because they're such terrific teachers, and also (this is crucial) I know how much fun it will be to get to spend a week in their company.
I like to think of our Lake Atitlan workshop weeks as a wonderful party. (A party where you also WORK.) And I know we'll have a terrific time with Ann and Dorianne. So if coming to the lake to explore writing with me is something you've been meaning to do -- and putting off -- I hope you'll take this opportunity to join us. You can find out much more about the Lake Atitlan Writing Workshop at my website, JoyceMaynard.com.
(In case you need any more convincing I'll just mention that July is a fantastic time to be at the lake. There will have been some rain in June -- which makes things even more green and lush than usual. But the sun will be shining every day, and the temperature will be perfect.)
I'll plan on posting more details about the July workshop shortly, but for now, you can read the current workshop information to get a pretty good idea of how our time will go. (The structure -- including optional night in Antigua -- will be the same as this February's workshop, though I'm guessing we'll need to raise our prices slightly. I always do my best to make this week as affordable as possible, however.)
Finally, as promised -- and because we've been talking here about writing and storytelling -- I thought I'd share with you an essay I published this month in a new magazine called Canteen. This one is called A Storytelling Life. It's about my education as a writer, and about some of the tools I believe will stand a writer in the best stead, as she approaches her craft. You can find that essay -- and many others by me -- on the JoyceMaynard website.
And just to let you know: the paperback edition of my book, Internal Combustion (The Story of a Marriage and a Murder in the Motor City) will be published on February 8. An essay of mine on becoming a West Coast gardener (or planning to become one) appears in the February issue of Sunset Magazine.
And I'll be home in March. Look for news, soon after my return, about upcoming pie parties at my house (and possibly elsewhere). As I did last time around, I plan to raise some dough to put a Democrat in the White House, by teaching pie. (And if you come and join me for one of those pie parties, I promise there will be a frilly apron like the ones in the picture, just waiting for you.)
With friendship,
RECOMMEND JOYCEMAYNARD.COM TO A FRIEND
