It is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception and compassion and hope.
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Only
ONE
INTERP WRITING INTENSIVE
in 2011
and it's
THIS SUMMER in Taos, NM | | Extra-early bird registration is open! | |
Click here for more info and to register today!
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Extra-Early Bird Registration
is open
for the
Interpretive Writing Intensive
Register now and save $150!
August 8-13, 2011 San Geronimo Lodge Taos, NM
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The (Real) Writing Life
Ah, the romance of the writing life: The writer, alone in her garret, hunches over her desk, ink-stained fingers gripping the
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Dillon, Colorado (not my back yard)
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pen skritch-skritching across the page. Light from a small candle sputters around the tiny room. Outside, winter howls.
The reality of the writing life is a bit different.
Today, the wind is howling (though most days it isn't) and there's a bit of snow left from the recent storm. No candle; there's so much paper in my office that candles would pose a serious fire hazard, and I prefer my electric desk lamp anyway. No garret, either; a spare room in my very ordinary suburban tract house serves as my office.
And isolated, marooned in a sea of words?
Not a chance.
The computer beeps and burbles. I check my email, resist the temptation to browse boots (50% off! Free shipping!), and click open a client's attached file. Yellow rectangles of highlighting stripe the page, interspersed with bits of pink. Red text gallops recklessly through the staid black text of the earlier draft. It's editing-in-progress: our comments, changes, questions, and suggestions argue back and forth in a colorful tangle.
The phone rings. Twenty minutes of brainstorming with a colleague to figure out more (and more creative) ways to approach a difficult story. Umpteen phone meetings, with email and bits of writing in between each. Email from my co-author on a new play we're writing. Lots of email from my co-author.
The play is a rush job. We began writing the second week of November, and the first performance is 6:00 p.m. on New Year's
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MoeMoe (Michael Toland)
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Eve. The advantage of email is that she can't hear me howling in aggravation at her requested changes. The disadvantage of email is that neither one of us really understands why the other one is feeling so aggravated. I send an email: Let's meet at the coffee shop that's midway between us.
Writers invariably work in collaboration, not isolation. Depending on the particular project, collaborators might include multiple writers, one or more editors (developmental, substantive, line, copy), content experts, artists, stakeholders, costumers, set designers, photographers, fabrication specialists, and more.
 | | Emily (Erin Rooney) & Nick (Brett Shafer) |
This collaborative community encompasses myriad personalities (some clashing), different approaches (some at complete odds to each other), diverse opinions (often contrary, occasionally cantankerous), and competing demands on time (see clashing, at complete odds, contrary, cantankerous). Some days, it's enough to make even the most dedicated writer long for a garret.
The concept of the play is mine: incorporate three traditional stories, each from a different culture, that address the long nights and short days of winter within the context of a contemporary story. In my head, I know exactly what it will look and sound like, what it will feel like--the structure and rhythm of it. My co-author pushed the idea into something resembling a theme: Together, we can make it through the night. We divided the stories between us and pounded out first drafts, swapped, pounded out second drafts.
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Woodpecker after the sun
(Rebekah Robson-May)
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Threw out the third story (one we'd invented because we couldn't find a traditional story we liked) when our entire cast threatened to revolt (they were right), researched some more, and finally found a traditional story that we liked and adapted it. We're a long ways from done, and we're at an impasse on the revisions. Rehearsals begin in four days.
I remember to breathe, grab the most recent printout, and head to the coffee shop.
I remind myself that collaboration is never easy, and that the challenges of collaboration are actually a good thing. The tension that arises from the mismatched personalities, approaches, opinions, and demands can result in amazing creativity, as long as we remember that we are working together for a reason. If we lose sight of that reason, it all falls apart.
My co-author settles with her coffee at a quiet table near the window. I settle with my chai. We've settled at this table in this coffee shop so often during this project that the guy working the counter claims they're going to name the table for us. Name it for the play, we tell him.
 | Buzzard before the sun
(Reece Albrech) |
We go through the script again, and again. We talk about hissy fits and frustrations with the play, with the process, with each other. We gradually realize that the central problem is one of writing style: overwriting and outrageousness (me) versus cautious and contemplative (her). What we need--and what we eventually achieve--is midway between these two extremes.
Alone, we can each get there: she by building up her sparse, restrained approach; me by paring back and toning down. Alone, it takes each of us a long time. Together, we have a chance of meeting the deadline.
If your creative process and writing style are significantly different from your co-author's, collaboration can be especially tough. But having radically different approaches--combined with respect for your co-author, confidence in your own ability, and 100% conviction that everything you are doing is for the
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Possum before the sun
(D Pfohl)
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good of the final product--can result in highly creative, professional-caliber work in a much shorter time than it takes to write the work by yourself.
Creative collaboration isn't about one of you bowing to the other. It isn't about giving up what you truly believe to be most important. It may involve compromise, but it isn't about compromise. It's about finding the best way to further the story.
Sounds simple, and some days it is. But most days, creating the story is a story in itself, replete with conflict and tension, wise advice and wild goose chases. From the first glimmer of an idea to final curtain call, we interact with other human beings--face to face when possible, via today's technology when necessary.
I was going to end this article by using creative collaboration as a metaphor for world peace. Is that metaphor overwritten and outrageous? or just exuberantly optimistic? I'm convinced that if our leaders collaborated the way I believe collaboration can and should work, we would finally have world peace. After all, my co-author and I are still talking to each other. We're even better friends now than before we jumped into this project. We're already talking about collaborating on another project. Hmmm. My co-author would probably say I've said enough.
We're both right.
Comments? Questions?
Tell us!
970/416-6353
888/886-9289
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That's right, I'm offering only ONE Interpretive Writing Intensive in 2011.
It's at San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, New Mexico, August 8-13 (Monday night through Saturday morning).
Grab your spot now!
Extra-early bird registration saves you $150 and is open through March 30 (assuming space is available).
Tight travel budget? Sign up for a shared room and save even more. Register yourself and two or more friends (even if you're not from the same site) and save an additional fifty bucks each.
Don't wait--register today!
Can't make it to this one? Here are some options:
- Bring Greenfire Creative to you: We offer 1- to 4-day writing workshops for interpreters for your site or organization.
- Sign up for one-on-one writing coaching with Judy.
- Delegate writing, editing, and related tasks: We're a full-service freelance company, from concept development and research to final proofreading.
- Wait until 2012 and hope for the best.
Call 888/886-9289 (toll-free in the U.S.) or email for details and pricing.
Scroll down for more info about the Taos workshop, or call (888/886-9289), email (judyb@greenfire-creative.com), or visit our website (http://www.greenfire-creative.com).
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Improve your writing this summer with the
Interpretive Writing Intensive
August 8-13, 2011 San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, NM
Freeman Tilden said interpretive writing should be
"concise, focused, inspirational, and engaging."
Lofty goals for any writer!
- What makes interpretive writing interpretive;
- How to create writing that connects with the reader;
- Techniques for strengthening language, including pacing, language use, and word choice;
- Strategies for organizing;
- How to write for any length or space;
- How to write for different media, different audiences, and different uses;
- How to write for maximum impact;
- How to write even if you think you can't;
- How to take your writing "off-site";
- Humble punctuation;
- Accessing--and improving--creativity (or, the Muse will visit if chocolate is involved);
- Dealing with writer's block (or, how to get the Muse to visit if you're out of chocolate);
- and MORE.
Improve your writing this summer at the Interpretive Writing Intensive, August 8-13, 2011 at San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, New Mexico.
Extra-Early Bird Registration Now Open
Register today and save!
Register today to take advantage of the Extra-Early Bird discount--$150.00 off the regular registration! Register three or more people at the same time and save another $50 per person! Extra-Early Bird Registration prices effective through midnight, March 30, 2011 or until workshop is full, whichever happens first. To ensure a quality experience with plenty of individual attention, workshop size is limited to 15 people. Registration is first-come, first-served.
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Improve your writing this summer
at the
Interpretive Writing Intensive,
August 8-13, 2011
San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, New Mexico.
REGISTER BY March 30 and SAVE!
Extra-Early Bird Prices good through midnight, March 30, 2011 or until workshop fills, whichever comes first.
Extra-Early Bird Shared room: $1775.00
Extra-Early Bird Single room: $1900.00
Extra-Early Bird Commuter: $1170.00
Optional--Extend your stay: $80.00 per night (includes breakfast) Sunday night before and up to four nights following the workshop, based on availability.
Shared and single rooms include 5 nights lodging at San Geronimo Lodge, 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 4 suppers; workshop and materials, one half-hour individual consulting session, instructor review of one previously submitted writing sample, and snacks, coffee, and tea.
Commuter includes parking at San Geronimo Lodge, 4 lunches, and 4 suppers; workshop and materials, one half-hour individual consulting session, instructor review of one previously submitted writing sample, and snacks, coffee, and tea. Commuter registration fee does not include lodging or breakfast.
Built in 1925, the San Geronimo lodge was one of the first hotels in Taos, and the first "resort" hotel. This enchanting inn offers historic charm with all the comfort and convenience of modern day lodging.
For more info about San Geronimo Lodge,
click here.
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