What is SoulCollage?
SoulCollage is a creative, fun tool for easy, intuitive, artful Self-exploration and Self-expression developed by Seena B. Frost, M. Div., M.A. It is an artistic, creative process that is accessible to everyone, even those people who believe they have no artistic ability.
Using imagination and intuition, each participant creates his or her own deck of collaged cards from simple materials: magazine images, photographs, scissors, glue, and heavy card.
Each card represents some aspect of the Self; this practice honors the personal journey of each individual, while promoting personal growth and self-acceptance. Continue reading
2017 Winter – Turning your Life into Story… and into publication
Facilitated by Sue Reynolds
Place: OSHAWA – Trent University in Oshawa, Room 105, 55 Thornton Rd S, Oshawa, ON L1J 5Y1
Times: 7:00 – 9:00 pm.
Dates: Monday nights, January 30 – March 27 (please note – there is no class on Feb. 20)
This 8 week course shows participants how to find the germs of story in personal experience (their own or those of their family and friends) and transform them into short fiction.
Through the study of existing short stories and learning writer’s craft techniques, authors will experiment with their own tales.
Homework can be submitted privately for individual feedback each week.
By the end of the course writers will produce one or two polished stories and, if they choose, “put a stamp on it†– i.e., identify a contest or journal they think is an ideal market for their story and send the piece off.
Susan Lynn Reynolds is a writer, teacher and psychotherapist. She teaches writing through workshops in the community, in college continuing education programs, and in social services settings. She writes and has won awards for her YA novel, short stories, poems and non-fiction.
She has been leading writing groups since 1998 and has been certified to lead workshops in the Amherst Writers method since 2002. She is licensed to work with groups doing expressive writing for wellness as well.
She has been leading writing workshops for female inmates at Central East Correctional Centre for 12 years, a program for which she received the June Callwood Award for Outstanding Volunteerism.
To REGISTER
| Registration for Non Members
$220.00 + HST |
Registration for Writers’ Community Members
$198.00 +HST |
A One Day Retreat Workshop: Your One Wild & Precious Life – the Poetry of Presence
What is the dance between silent, experienced embodiment and translation of that experience into language?
Having engaged with active thought and language, how do we return to the silence again afterward?
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Your One Wild & Precious Life
– the Poetry of Presence
A One Day Workshop with Tanya Porter and Sue Reynolds
“Every moment contains a poem – if you haven’t found the poem you haven’t gone deeply enough into the moment†Ellen Bass
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On October 1st, 2016 join therapeutic writing facilitator Sue Reynolds and the gifted yoga and meditation teacher Tanya Porter for a day of embodied presence and reflective writing.
A day for you to grow still, to refresh and renew in a beautiful environment.
Through the day we will experience the replenishment and nourishment of (very easy) yoga and meditation.
Then transitioning from the yin to a more yang state, we will move into reflection and expression of our experience through writing.
A day of deep stillness and profound personal presence to nurture you.
Tanya and Sue were interviewed about this program on Whistle Radio (aired May 24th)
Please click the links below to listen to the program:
(Please scroll to the bottom of the page to register)
Date: October 1st, 2016
Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Place: Uplands Writing Retreat, between Uxbridge and Port Perry.
Cost: $110.00 plus HST. Delicious lunch provided!
Registration form at the bottom of this page
The Facilitators:
 Tanya Porter founder of The Inner Space, is a classical yoga and meditation teacher with over 20 years of experience. She is also a multi-disciplinary performing artist, educator and holistic energy practitioner specializing in over 25 years of Theatre, Drum, Dance and creative wellness programming for all ages. Tanya developed Rhythmic Re-framing®, a healing modality that combines meditation, affirmation, boundary work and vibrational healing through drumming. Questions? Contact: tanya@theinnerspace.ca
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 Susan Lynn Reynolds is a writer, teacher and psychotherapist. She teaches writing through workshops in the community, in college continuing education programs, and in social services settings. She has been leading writing workshops for female inmates at Central East Correctional Centre for twelve years, a program for which she received the June Callwood Award for Outstanding Volunteerism. She leads professional training for Amherst Writers International and the Toronto Writers Collective and is the Executive Director of Amherst Writers Canada.
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Registration for Your One Wild & Precious Life
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CANCELLATION POLICY:
If we receive your cancellation notice up to five days in advance of the retreat, (for instance, if the retreat is on a Saturday, we must hear from you by midnight on the previous Sunday) you may choose to apply your deposit to a future retreat or receive a refund (minus a $20 administration fee).
If you cancel with less than five days notice, (in the example above, for instance, it would be anytime Monday or later) and your spot cannot be filled from a waiting list, no refund will be made. However, you are permitted to sell or gift your spot for that date to another person. If you do this, please email or call Sue (905-985-8389) right away to provide the contact information of your replacement. Since Sue provides lunch, it is important that she know of any dietary restrictions etc.
NOTE: *If a retreat is cancelled for any reason, such as severe winter weather creates dangerous driving conditions, Sue will email and call all registered participants. In this situation, participants may request a full refund or transfer their payment to a future retreat date.
A portfolio of SoulCollage cards
It can be hard to explain SoulCollage to someone who hasn’t tried it. So here are some examples of cards. The slide show may take a minute to load.
One thing to know about SoulCollage is that it’s just enormous fun. You can get lost for hours choosing images intuitively or intentionally. Then there’s the assembly of the card. Working out which images belong with which. Each of these cards has a name, a persona, and wisdom to share if I choose to engage with it. This all becomes gradually clear as I engage with the process.
Are your fingers itching to start cutting and pasting to make your own?
2015 Summer Weekend Writing Retreats near Toronto
Slideshow of the Uplands location at the bottom of this page.
July Retreat:
Thursday Evening, July 16, to Sunday Afternoon July 19.
Uplands Writing Retreat near Uxbridge, Ontario.
August Retreat:
Thursday Evening, August 20, to Sunday Afternoon August 23.
Uplands Writing Retreat near Uxbridge, Ontario.
Sue Reynolds has been hosting and facilitating single day writing sanctuaries for 10 years. In the mornings, participants write from prompts that Sue provides. Then they have the opportunity to read their freshly created poetry and prose in a supportive group environment. After lunch, writers enjoy a few hours of silent writing time. Writers are enriched and delighted by these day-long immersions and often find that their writing has surpassed their expectations.
A few years ago, participants lingered and protested that they didn’t want to go home – they wanted to stay forever and keep writing! Someone suggested the idea of a Sanctuary Pyjama Party and the Residential Sanctuary was born.
Now in it’s 5th year, the Residential Summer Sanctuaries have been relocated from the Orillia location to the Uplands Writing Retreat which is located halfway between Port Perry and Uxbridge on the beautiful Oak Ridges Moraine.
The retreat begins on Thursday evenings with a light meal and an introductory session of writing. After a full-fare breakfast on the remaining three mornings, Sue provides prompts to launch writers into their craft. Afternoons are spent in silence – writing, walking, swimming, resting. Participants meet in the late afternoon to share their new writing, although sharing is always completely optional. The retreat winds up mid afternoon on Sunday.
Guests may choose from modest, private or semi-private accommodations. All delicious and healthy meals are included.
OPTIONAL: restorative yoga will be provided locally Friday and Saturday evenings. (The cost for this optional activity is extra – approximately $20 per session.)
Slideshow from the Uplands Retreat Location:
Ellen Bass Workshop Toronto, Oct. 24 & 25, 2015
Photo by Irene Young
Ellen Bass is an extraordinary poet, teacher and author.
Having been lucky enough to study with her in California and in Mallorca, Sue and James dearly wanted to bring her to the writing community in Toronto.
The stars (and the International Festival of Authors!) have finally aligned.
Ellen will be here teaching a 2 day workshop and reading at the IFOA the weekend of October 24 & 25. The way Ellen teaches poetry is not to be missed!
Click here for more information about the weekend, and to register
Biography:
Ellen Bass’s most recent book of poetry, Like a Beggar, was published in April 2014 by Copper Canyon Press. Her previous poetry books include The Human Line (Copper Canyon Press), named a Notable Book by the San Francisco Chronicle, and Mules of Love (BOA Editions), which won the Lambda Literary Award. She co-edited (with Florence Howe) the groundbreaking No More Masks! An Anthology of Poems by Women (Doubleday).
Her poems have appeared in hundreds of journals and anthologies, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The American Poetry Review, The New Republic, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and The Sun. She was awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Elliston Book Award for Poetry from the University of Cincinnati, Nimrod/Hardman’s Pablo Neruda Prize, The Missouri Review’s Larry Levis Award, the Greensboro Poetry Prize, the New Letters Poetry Prize, the Chautauqua Poetry Prize, a Fellowship from the California Arts Council, and two Pushcart Prizes.
Her non-fiction books include Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth(HarperCollins), I Never Told Anyone: Writings by Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse(HarperCollins), and The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse(Harper Collins), which has sold over a million copies and has been translated into ten languages.
She currently is teaching in the low residency MFA program at Pacific University and has taught poetry and creative writing in Santa Cruz, CA and at other beautiful locations nationally and internationally.
Click here for more information about the weekend, and to register
Pen In Hand, Ink On Page – Friday Morning Edition Winter 2015
Whether you have an ongoing project (like a novel, group of short stories, or book of memoirs) or just need some stimulation to get you writing, this faciliated writing space is designed to create time to devote to your work.
Each week this group will focus on some aspect of the writing craft, as well as writing in class to prompts designed to support you in your writing process. Leave each class with new pieces of writing begun to inspire you through the coming week and new understanding of techniques designed to improve your skills as a memoirist, non-fiction or fiction writer.
Each week there is also OPTIONAL homework, where you will get one on one feedback on your work.
6 Weeks – January 9, 16, 23, 30, (NO CLASS February 6th) February 13 and 20
Time: 9:30 a.m. to noon
Because it’s winter, if we have to cancel because of bad weather, we will replace cancelled dates at the end of the series, so please also keep February 27 and March 6th available as replacement dates if necessary.
$180 plus HST
(50% deposit required upon registration)
Location: Uplands Writing Retreat, halfway between Port Perry and Uxbridge.
Space available in Writers’ Sanctuary
this Saturday September 6th, and other dates this fall as well.
Click this link to register: https://goforwords.com/writers-sanctuary/sanctuary-dates-for-2014/
If the writer in you is feeling neglected, if you need a day away to concentrate on your writing project, if you are working on a project but feeling a bit stuck, or if you want to write but don’t know where to start, a one-day Sanctuary Writer’s Retreat may be just what you need: a day of bum-in-chair, support from other writers, and a nurturing, no-excuses environment, where everything is looked after and all you need to do is write!
At a Sanctuary, we begin at 10:00 a.m. Writers are welcome to arrive a few minutes early to settle in, grab a coffee or tea, and muffin or some fruit and chat with the others.
The morning is spent doing a series of on-the-spot timed writing exercises to stretch those stiff writing muscles and get the creative writer in you feeling more relaxed, focused and perhaps even a little experimental.
After the delicious lunch (provided) the afternoons are spent in silent communion with other writers, working either on a computer or by hand on whatever project is preoccupying you as a writer these days. If you don’t have a laptop but want to work on a keyboard, you will be provided with a computer. Your Word file can be emailed to you at the end of the day.
Uplands is in a peaceful rural location, so you are also welcome to go out for a walk on quiet country lanes if you need a break. There’s even a couch or two if you need your afternoon nap for half an hour to wake up refreshed and ready to write some more!
Writing is over at 4:00 p.m. for those who need to get home, but if you wish to stay, there will be an opportunity to sit a while longer, to share some of what you’ve been working on and to debrief, discuss issues of craft, etc. The day is finished by around 5:00.
Click this link to register: https://goforwords.com/writers-sanctuary/sanctuary-dates-for-2014/
Radical Restoration for your Artistic Body and Soul
First published in “SURFACING” – the Arts magazine for Durham Region
By Susan Lynn Reynolds
When I was first hired to be the writing teacher for a combined yoga and writing retreat three years ago, (and every year since) it seemed like a dream come true. Go south for two weeks in the middle of winter to spend my time doing yoga, enjoying the southwestern coastal area of Costa Rica, and facilitating a writing group every day? Where do I sign up!
It proved to be far better even than I’d imagined. First of all, it turned out that the yoga teacher, Esana Lotfy, teaches yoga the same way I facilitate writing groups. For both of us, effective practice for all participants starts with loving kindness and compassion. It’s crucial that participants not “should†themselves in their process, whether it be beating up on themselves because they think they “should†be more flexible, or whether they think they “should†write differently, more grammatically or somehow just “better†than they do.
“Shoulding†all over oneself is the first step toward injury in yoga, or toward a really bad case of writer’s block. Continue reading
Writers’ Sanctuary is moving!
Well, I have big news. Some of you may have heard the tectonic rumblings over the last six months. It’s been up and down and back and forth for some time now, but just before we left for Spain, it was confirmed that James and I will be moving to the other house on the Uplands property.
This is exciting for many reasons, not least of which is the view (pictures below). Also, the main room is quite a bit bigger than the living room in this house, so there will be lots of room for writers at Sanctuary now!
And in the silent afternoons – you can watch your thoughts on the surface of the pond, or listen to the waterfall.
There is space for one retreat room as well, so if you need to get away locally for a few days to write… Details to be announced soon!
Intimacy and Solitude – Writing to Transform
with Sue Reynolds
Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness†to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude†to express the glory of being alone.
— Paul Tillich
Few things in life give us greater heights of joy or depths of frustration, sorrow and anger than do our adult relationships; but satisfying connection is the single most important predictor of health for us as human beings.
This six week course will use focused explorations and writing as a way to explore participants’ relationship to the dual concepts of intimacy and solitude.
Participants do not have to have previous experience with writing – just a strong desire to engage with the powerful questions that can transform their understandings and experience of both Self and Other.
Facilitated by Sue Reynolds
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Susan Lynn Reynolds is a writer, a writing instructor, and a practicing psychotherapist. Her specialty is the therapeutic use of journaling and expressive writing.
6 Weeks – Wednesday October 9th to November 20th, 7pm to 9:30pm  $180
(Please Note:Â there will be no class the night of October 23rd).
Cost: $180.00 for the course plus $23.40 in HST.
INKSLINGERS – September 12th – Get Your Poetry On!
WRITE â— CRAFT â— READ
NEXT INKSLINGERS NIGHT: THURSDAY September 12th, 2013
Inkslingers is delighted to announce that this month’s guest host for our Workshopping segment will be Nichola (Nicki) Ward Read more below.
INKSLINGERS offers a poetry evening (2nd Thursday every month) at the ever-gracious-to-poetry Black Swan Tavern – 2nd floor. This evening is designed to get poets and aspiring poets all writing, revising, and performing..
WRITE
The first hour (beginning at 7:00) will consist of writing exercises facilitated by Sue Reynolds designed to give you an hour to write poetry then-and-there. Bum in chair. Engaged and present and productive. This event is open to anyone as long as they have come to write. Bring a pen and paper.
Sue Reynolds has been leading writing workshops in Canada and internationally for 15 years. Many poems and short stories written in exercises with Sue have gone on to literary publication and to win prizes in competitions. (Recently, a short story begun by a participant in Sue’s Sanctuary won the $1000 Amprosia prize and one of the participants in the Novel Approach course she taught with James just signed a 2 book deal with Simon and Schuster for the project she wrote in that course). The costs of Sue’s workshops run between $80 to $300 per day, but she is leading these exercises gratis because she believes that much of the best poetry happens in that energy of writing community.
CRAFT
The second hour (from 8:10 to 9:10) consists of workshopping poems that writers have revised to the place where they now want input from fresh eyes.
Bring 15 to 20 copies of a poem (no more than 30 lines) that you want to present for feedback. Each participant will have a maximum of 7 minutes to both read the poem and receive feedback on their work from those in attendance who wish to make constructive comments. (Further feedback may be offered in writing on the submitted copies).
We are normally able to review 7 or 8 poems during this hour.
The Craft portion of the evening is facilitated by a guest facilitator. We’re delighted to announce that Nicki Ward has agreed to come back and facilitate as our guest host for September. Nicki is just fresh from the new mounting of her astonishing one-woman performance of Jackie’s Not A Real Girl.
READ
The final hour (from 9:20 to 10:20) is an open mic. Writers may read a poem they created in the first hour of the night, or may read something they bring with them for this purpose. Each writer will have 3 minutes to perform a poem. After each poem is read, the audience is asked to support each reader with kudos for aspects well handled, and any suggestions for ways to make reading the poem more effective. It’s all about learning the entire craft!
This portion of the evening will be facilitated by Creative James Dewar, host of Hot-Sauced Words Poetry Performances, Now in it’s sixth year (Third Thursday every month!) at the Black Swan Tavern.
In the event that we have more poets signed up than we have time available, the Craft and Open Mic slots will be allotted by draw.
154 Danforth Ave. (2nd floor) just east of Broadview)
September 21 – Poetry Workshops – Rhymes at the ROM
A Poetry Workshop (not necessarily in Rhyme!)
in one of the most evocative sites in Toronto
The Royal Ontario Museum is a gorgeous storehouse of anthropological, geological, and paleontological information and artefacts. On September 21 we will spend a day of experiencing these “prompts” through sensory, emotional and cognitive ways.
Poets will be given prompts and exercises and encouragement throughout the day designed to help you engage with the bones of your material and your craft.
At the end of the day, there’s an optional reading at a local restaurant to try out one of the new poems you’ve created.
Sharing is optional of course.
Date: September 21, 2013
Time: 10:30 to 4:30
Registration: $70 – covers entrance to the ROM, all workshop activities, and one drink at the Happy Hour Reading afterwards at a local restaurant starting at 5:00 p.m.
Poetry is Community! Experience the connection.
REGISTER HERE:
Please note – when you hit “Send” you will be transferred to the payment page.
CANCELLATION POLICY –
Refunds are available until September 7th minus a $25 administration fee. After September 7 there are no refunds. However, registrations are 100% transferrable to another poet with notification so if you are not able to make it, and you can find another poet to take your place, your registration will be refunded completely.
INKSLINGERS POETRY NIGHT – August 8th – Get Your Poetry On!
WRITE â— CRAFT â— READ
NEXT INKSLINGERS NIGHT: THURSDAY August 8th, 2013
A couple of years ago, I used to lead a free workshop for an hour or two before our Hot-Sauced Words Poetry Performances, (Third Thursday every month at the same location). But the timing was awkward – over the dinner hour – and for a variety of reasons I discontinued it.
But ever since then, people who attended it have been asking “When will you bring it back?”
A few months ago, the stars aligned. We began the Inkslingers Poetry Night in Toronto the second Thursday of every month. This Thursday, August 8th, is the next one. It’s like a free workshop – poets come and write to prompts, then pieces are workshopped (you don’t have to submit a piece to be workshopped – you can just observe and offer your own thoughts – and in the last hour poets perform and have their at-the-mic techniques tweaked if that would be helpful to them.
It’s all done in a constructive and supportive way.
INKSLINGERS will now offer a poetry evening (2nd Thursday every month) at the ever-gracious-to-poetry Black Swan Tavern – 2nd floor. This evening is designed to get everyone writing, revising, and performing.
WRITE
The first hour (beginning at 7:00) will consist of writing exercises facilitated by Sue Reynolds designed to give you an hour to write poetry then-and-there. Bum in chair. Engaged and present and productive. This event is open to anyone as long as they have come to write. Bring a pen and paper.
Sue Reynolds has been leading writing workshops in Canada and internationally for 15 years. Many poems and short stories written in exercises with Sue have gone on to literary publication and to win prizes in competitions. (Most recently, a short story begun by a participant in Sue’s Sanctuary won the $1000 Amprosia prize). The costs of Sue’s workshops run between $80 to $300 per day, but she is leading these exercises gratis because she believes that much of the best poetry happens in that energy of writing community.
CRAFT
The second hour (from 8:10 to 9:10) consists of workshopping poems that writers have revised to the place where they now want input from fresh eyes. The Craft portion of the evening will be facilitated each month by a special guest facilitator.
To derive the best value from this segment, please bring 15 to 20 copies of a poem (no more than 30 lines) that you want to present for feedback.
Each participant will have a maximum of 8 minutes to both read the poem and receive feedback on their work from those in attendance who wish to make constructive comments. (Further feedback may be offered in writing on the submitted copies).
We normally review 7 or 8 poems during this hour.
The Craft portion of the evening will be facilitated by a guest facilitator.
READ
The final hour (from 9:20 to 10:20) is an open mic. Writers may read a poem they created in the first hour of the night, or may read something they bring with them for this purpose. Each writer will have 3 minutes to perform a poem. After each poem is read, the audience is asked to support each reader with kudos for aspects well handled, and any suggestions for ways to make reading the poem more effective. It’s all about learning the entire craft!
This portion of the evening will be facilitated by Creative James Dewar, host of Hot-Sauced Words Poetry Performances, Now in it’s sixth year (Third Thursday every month!) at the Black Swan Tavern.
In the event that we have more poets signed up than we have time available, the Craft and Open Mic slots will be allotted by draw.
154 Danforth Ave. (2nd floor) just east of Broadview)
Poetry Workshop September 21: Rhymes at the ROM
I’m delighted to announce that James and I are facilitating a writing workshop at the beautiful and historic Royal Ontario Museum. This has been in the works for a long time – I’m delighted it has finally come to fruition!
A Poetry Workshop (not necessarily in Rhyme!)
in one of the most evocative sites in Toronto
The Royal Ontario Museum is a gorgeous storehouse of anthropological, geological, and paleontological information and artefacts. On September 21 we will spend a day of experiencing these “prompts” through sensory, emotional and cognitive ways.
Poets will be given prompts and exercises and encouragement throughout the day designed to help you engage with the bones of your material and your craft.
At the end of the day, there’s an optional reading at a local restaurant to try out one of the new poems you’ve created.
Sharing is optional of course.
Date: September 21, 2013
Time: 10:30 to 4:30
Registration: $70 – covers entrance to the ROM, all workshop activities, and one drink at the Happy Hour Reading afterwards at a local restaurant starting at 5:00 p.m.
Poetry is Community! Experience the connection.
Click the Dinosaur picture to the left to go to Inkslingers to register.
Pat Schneider’s 2013 Ontario Retreat
All the details are now in place!
October 20-25th
Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity!
Limited to 12 participants. .
To visit Pat’s website, click HERE.
We are thrilled to announce that Pat will be returning in fall of 2013 from the evening of October 20th to after lunch on October 25th. This retreat will consist of writing with Pat for four hours every morning. The rest of the day is given over to each retreatant continuing to write, read, relax, walk, meditate or whatever needs to be done to support your writer’s soul, in community with other writers.
A manuscript may be sent ahead of time for one on one consultation with AWA facilitator Sue Reynolds who will be aiding and supporting Pat during the retreat.
This autumn the Pat Schneider Writing Retreat, hosted by Inkslingers/GoForWords, is being held at the beautiful West Wind Inn on Buckhorn Lake about 1.5 hours northeast of Toronto.
Owned and operated by two generations of the Jensen family since 1991, the well established Westwind Inn is located near the country village of Buckhorn, Ontario. Situated in a truly spectacular setting of natural wilderness in the Kawartha Lakes region, this 60 acre private country estate possesses charm and privacy.
Each room has a private fireplace and comfy sitting area. Single rooms have a couch, double rooms have a deep easy chair.
The dining area overlooks the lake.
Air conditioning
Alarm clock
Boat Launch
Fax available
Games room
Hairdryer available
Ice Maker
Internet – wireless
Ironing facilities
Jacuzzi
Laundry facilities
Movies in room
Non-smoking rooms
Private bathroom in room
Private garden grounds
Quiet location
Radio in room
Restaurant
Sauna
Self controlled heating/cooling system
Shower
Spa
Swimming pool – outdoor
Tea and coffee making facilities
Television
Terrace
TV room
PLEASE NOTE: There are only 2 spots left as of the end of June. To book your spot go to Inkslingers at this link.
Registration Fees:
Single: $1700 + HST
Double: $1550 + HST
A deposit of $500 is required to secure your place in this retreat. Â Please click the “add to cart” button to pay the deposit via PayPal or via credit card through the PayPal portal.
Follow up payments are scheduled as follows: Â August 1st, your second payment of $500 is due.
Final payment of the balance of your registration is due September 30th.
If you need to arrange a payment plan, just let us know. We’ll do our best to accommodate your needs.
Cancellation Policy:
Your deposit is non-refundable, but 50% (i.e., $250) may be used for a future GoForWords or Inkslingers workshop, class or retreat. For cancellations before full payment deadline, all but your deposit is refundable. After the full payment deadline, any refund of the remainder is at the discretion of the organizers. If we or you can fill your space, we’ll refund your payment, minus $250 administrative fee. If you find that you cannot attend the workshop, let us know as soon as possible and we’ll try to fill your space with someone from the waiting list.
After the full payment deadline, we become locked into the total cost of your stay with the resort and our commitment to Pat Schneider to fill the retreat. However, should you have to cancel, we will do our best to work things out.
Writing Stories from our Lives
A community outreach writers’ evening in York Region
I’m delighted to have been asked to lead a special May evening event for the Writers Community of York Region.
On Friday night, May 10th, I’ll be leading an evening workshop on “Writing Stories from Our Lives”. The first part of the event will be covering the philosophy and practices of memoir writing, and the end of the evening will be targeted towards how to turn life stories into fiction. The evening will be interactive as well – that is, you’ll actually do some short writing exercises.
If you have a story—or many stories—from your life that you’ve been longing to put onto the page, come out for this evening of writing lessons to help get you started, or help you continue with your project.
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Here’s the promotion:
Humans are the Story Species. It’s one of the few characteristics we share across cultures, across genders, across ages — we understand our lives and ourselves through the stories we tell.
And we all have stories to tell from the living we have done: times of laughter and celebration; moments of closeness and transformative intimacy; and times of difficult challenges overcome or endured.
And sometimes the best way to tell the truth is through fiction. The final segment of this evening will be notes on how best to take the material of your lives and use it to create great short stories, poetry, or longer works of fiction.
If you have a story—or many stories—from your life that you’ve been longing to put onto the page, come out for this evening of writing lessons to help get you started, or help you continue with your project.
Sue Reynolds has been facilitating writing groups and helping writers write and get published for nearly 20 years now.
She was awarded the June Callwood Award for Outstanding Volunteerism for her work teaching writing to incarcerated women in the Ontario Jail system.
She’s a former president of the Writers’ Community of Durham Region, past Vice Chair of the national Canadian Creative Writers and Writing Programs, and is one of the top creative writing teachers in Canada – LinkedIn just acknowledged her as one of the top 1% most endorsed for Creative Writing in Canada.
Sue’s workshops are engaging and very popular – why not sign up now and reserve your spot?
Master Class on a Writer’s Voice
I’m delighted to have been asked to teach a Master Class at the Ontario Writers’ Conference. I’m tackling an ambitious project there – my workshop will be on the writer’s voice. Here’s the blurb from the conference:
Voice Lessons
Think Hemingway. Think Austen. Think Faulkner.
A Writer’s Voice is possibly the most ephemeral, and arguably the single most important element of a writer’s craft. Voice is a writer’s literary fingerprint. Voice makes the difference between writing that’s effective, elegant and memorable, and journeyman writing that, although it may convey the message, is limp and lacklustre. Voice is crucial (particularly in the Canadian literary market) in convincing a publisher to sign on a new author.
How do you develop that distinctive fingerprint for your own narrative? How do you develop an equally transparent clarity of voice for your characters?
This interactive Master Class will clarify participants’ understanding of voice and the elements that contribute to it. Through study of examples and experimenting with the elements in exercises, writers will identify what elements of voice are already working well for them and which techniques can be employed to strengthen their voices.
Summer Residential Sanctuary
Please Note: The Residential Summer Sanctuary for 2013 is now FULL. If you would like to put your name on the waiting list in case of cancellation, please fill out the registration form and indicate that in your optional message space. Thank you.
or Writing Heaven
with Susan Lynn Reynolds
Thursday August 8 to Sunday August 11, 2013
Participants arrive Thursday evening and settle in. We will gather for a 7 pm introduction and launch into the first “on-the-spot timed writing exercises to stretch those stiff writing muscles and get the creative writer in you feeling more relaxed, focused and perhaps even a little experimental.â€
Each morning will be spent in silence. Writers can meditate, write, walk or just sit and gaze out over the river until after breakfast, when we gather for a morning of varied sensuous and poetic prompts. We are invited to share some of this fresh work with the group, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. Continue reading
Life Writing: Journalling as a Spiritual Practice
Time: 10:00 to 4:00
Place: Utica Memory Hall (map below)
Cost: $85
$75 for WCDR, WEN, WHEN, PWAC members
Many people keep a journal. For some it’s a diary of day to day events. For others it’s a place where they can express feelings that they are afraid to share elsewhere. Other writers use it as a record of creative projects, or memoirs, or family events. Some use it as a place to record dreams, whether they occur in wakefulness or while sleeping.
No matter what the reason for keeping a journal, those who do so acknowledge the profound effect it has on their lives. The journal is a place for solace and revelation. Time spent journalling allows space for reflection. Journal writing connects the dots and helps us to see the larger picture.
But those who journal often confess that they feel that they’re not “doing it right” or that they’re embarrassed by the nature of the entries that they make – too negative or too whiny. And what should they do with this very personal writing later on?
Join Sue Reynolds for a day of investigation into the art and science of journal writing. Participants will explore exercises that can take their writings beyond everyday entries. Writers will leave the workshop having experienced number of different techniques that can allow them access to their own inner wisdom.
This is a wonderful gentle way to begin with one of the best writing teachers I have taken a workshop with. She provides such a gentle supportive environment and creates a safe space to express yourself. It really helped me to incorporate journal writing into my daily life. – Clare Bolton
Susan Lynn Reynolds has been journalling for over 20 years and has studied with some of the leaders in the field of writing as a spiritual practice and for
therapeutic benefit. She is a published author and poet and leads many workshops in various forms of writing.
To register, pay through credit card or PayPal below, or call Sue: 905-243-4836
$85.00
$75.00 Member Price for Journalling workshop
Map to the Utica Memory Hall here
In the summer of 2013 I was invited to do a TEDtalk on “Shining the light on our Changing Communities”. I talked about the therapeutic writing program I do with incarcerated women. You can view the talk here.
