WRITING CLASS IN MARCH BEGINS MARCH 12

The writing class, Writing Stories for Your Children and Grandchildren, at Tri-County Community College in Murphym, NC will be postponed for one week. 

The classes will begin on Tuesday, March 12, one week later than was originally planned, 3 - 5 p.m. each Tuesday for six weeks. So we will end this course a week later than planned.

We have met our minimum for the class and I am looking forward to meeting new writers and greeting some of my former students.

In spite of the title, this class is for anyone who likes to write true stories. We write narratives about our lives for our family or for publication. 

Back in the fifties friends gathered for a party

My students have run from age 21 to 92. All have had wonderful stories to tell. One young woman is now writing guest posts for a blog, Busted Halo, as well as writing her own story on her blog.

She is being paid for her writing, and had never thought she could do that until she took my class at John C. Campbell.

Another student published her memoir last year. We never know until we try, just what we can do. 

Nadine Justice with her memoir, I'm a Coal Miner's Daughter  But I Cain't Sang

Mary Ricketson and Nadine Justice will read at JCCFS Thursday night

JOHN C. CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL

Mary Ricketson, Poet and writer

              On Thursday, February 21, 2013,  John Campbell Folk School  and  NC Writers Network West sponsor the monthly reading in the Keith House by members of NCWN. The reading is free of charge and open to the public.  Poets Mary Ricketson and writer, Nadine Justice will be the featured readers.  

Mary Ricketson’s poetry has been published in her chapbook, I Hear the River Call My Name, Lights in the Mountains, Freeing Jonah IV, Freeing Johah V, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press,Your Daily Poem, Journal of Kentucky Studies, various magazines and in Disorgananza, a private collection distributed among family and friends.  She won the gold medal for poetry in the 2011 Cherokee County Senior Games/Silver Arts.  She won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest national poetry contest.

Mary writes a monthly column, Woman to Woman, for The Cherokee Scout.  She is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network, a mental health counselor, and a farmer.

Mary says she writes to satisfy a hunger, to taste life all the way down to the last drop.  She gains perspective from family and friends, her Appalachian home, and her life’s work as a counselor.

Writing poetry places her in kinship with her own life.

Mary Ricketson is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Murphy, North Carolina.  She brings more than thirty years experience to her work, with twenty-five years in private practice.  She is a founding board member of  REACH.  She has a special interest in women’s issues, victims of abuse, and family and couple relationships.  She offers innovative ways to effect change in difficult life patterns, including Journey to Intuition and Neurofeedback.  She is listed in Who’s Who in American Women.

Nadine Justice

Nadine Justice divides her time between a mountain-top cottage in north Georgia and her home in Atlanta. For the past few years she has worked on a memoir which was published last year. Excerpts have been published in an anthology by the Georgia Mountain Writers Club. She also enjoys a successful career as an interior designer. Her design work has been featured twice in Better Homes and Gardens and in Atlanta Custom Home magazines.

Nadine grew up in West Virginia and is the daughter of a coal miner. She is married to a retired federal agent, and enjoys spending time with her four “perfect” grandchildren.

Nadine is a new member of the North Carolina Writers' Network. She will share portions of her book, I'm a coal Miner's Daughter, But I Cain't Sang, at the reading on Thursday night. 

Book Party for Nadine Justice at Writers Circle

Writers Circle studio was filled with joy, encouragement and congratulations for Nadine Justice, author of I'm a Coal Miner's Daughter, But I Cain't Sang, her memoir on the theme of perseverance and belief in one's self. 

Nadine read a couple of excerpts from the book, answered questions, and talked about how she came to write the book. Friends from her writing group in Georgia as well as friends from her first class with me, at Tri-County Community College, were on hand to honor Nadine on her published book. Several Netwest members came and met the new author.  

Nadine Justice stands beside the cake with the photo cover of her book. It was too pretty to cut, but we finally made the first slice.

Linda Smith, Vicki Dumsford, Ash Rothlein, Liz Rothlein, Maren Mitchell

On left Ash Rothlein and on right, Idell Shook

Cake 

Glenda, Ash and Liz Rothlein, Ginny W

from left, Staci Bell, Linda Smith, Joan Howard and Ginny  Walsh

A very big thank you to Staci and Ginny for all there help, and to Joan Howard.

Nadine Justice, new author

Today I had lunch with a new author. Her name is Nadine Justice. 

About five years ago I met Nadine when she registered for a class I taught at Tri-County Community College in Murphy. Nadine said she was working on a memoir. She read some of her stories about her life and I could see she indeed had a story and was a storyteller.

Over the past five years we have remained close as she took more of my classes, and I met her and several members of that first class for lunch every few months. Nadine has a home on a mountain in Union County Georgia, and a lovely home in Cumming, GA. She stays busy with her clients and her family, especially her adored grandchildren. 

In the past year, Nadine made her book, I'm a Coal Miner's Daughter, But I Cain't Sang,  a top priority while continuing her successful career of interior design in Atlanta. The book was released this month.

Readers go on the journey with her as she takes us from a coal camp community in West Virginia to Zonguldak, Turkey. We see this little girl grow up, make mistakes, live through divorce, bad marriages, fight hunger for her and her kids, but never giving up on herself or her dreams. We see inside her large southern family, a father who loses his arm in a mining accident, but never looses his work ethic, a complex mother who deals with her own secret desires as well as the death of her children.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read memoir. It is honest, heartbreaking at times, but the author tells her story with no apologies or glossing over the facts. Nadine ends the book with a touching poem, Who Am I? I believe, like most writers, she learned the answer through the "memory snapshots" in this book.
To order copies of this memoir, email: nadine@unitedwriterspress.com

I'm a Coal Miner's Daughter, But I Cain't Sang
by Nadine Justice
United Writers Press
ISBN 978-1-934216-83-5

Soon to be in bookstores

Writers Circle classes 2013

CreateSpace self-publishing class, October 27 cancelled due to illness of instructor

Writers Circle hopes to hold this class at a later date, possibly next year.

Writers Circle schedules no classes from November - April. If you are a writer or teacher of writing, and want to teach a class in 2013, contact us by email:  nightwriter0302@yahoo.com.

Check out the Schedule page on this blog to see classes as they are listed on the 2013 Calendar.

Bring Anything but Poetry to This Class

Four Week Writing Workshop with Glenda Beall


nightwriter0302@yahoo.com


If you write fiction, non-fiction, true stories or anything that is not poetry, this workshop will help your writing.

The class meets two hours each Wednesday afternoon, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. beginning October 17 - November 7.
Bring your short stories, your memoirs, your flash fiction, and we will work on them together. Polish and submit your short pieces.

E-mail: Glenda, nightwriter0302@yahoo.com

Call: 828-389-4441

$25.00 for 8 hours of instruction



Glenda at Writers Circle in Hayesville

 "Hurry and register. I'm waiting for you."

Thursday, December 1, will be the final class for the present Creative Writing course.
We will hold a two hour class 10:00a.m.  - 12:00 on non-fiction, memoir writing, and from noon until 2:00 p.m. we will discuss publishing - all kinds - all ways - and the pitfalls to be aware of in self publishing.
If you are not already enrolled in this course, but would like to attend either or both classes on December 1, please email for registration info.

Writers Circle will not hold classes again until next spring.
Join me at Tri-County Community College for a seven week writing course in April, 2012. Gosh, can it be as close as it seems?

We will have another great season of writing courses next year. Check with us so you don't miss anything.
You can contact me at nightwriter0302@yahoo.com with any questions.

A Delightful Day on a Mountaintop

Nadine, Ash, and Vicki



Nadine, Ash and Glenda

On this beautiful autumn day I was invited to join four former writing students at the home of Nadine J. on top of a mountain in north Georgia. We sat on her nicely appointed deck and feasted on a lovely lunch, enjoyed a bottle of wine with various desserts and laughed at the clever remarks of our dear friend, Ginny.

One of the nicest perks of teaching adults is finding friendships in the class. When the course ended, Ash Rothlein, a WWII veteran, enjoyed the others so much he invited them to the home he shares with his lovely wife, Liz, where they continued sharing their stories. I was included. Since that time, several years ago, we have all come to love each other.

Nadine's gritty and memorable stories about her childhood growing up in a coal mining camp will soon be compiled in a memoir. Meanwhile she designs interiors for fine homes all over the country.

Ash is involved in trying to reach descendants of those brave men buried above the beach in Normandy where he plans to be on the seventieth anniversary of that battle and on his 90th birthday. His writing consists of articles about his mission on D-Day for the Citizen-Times and other newspapers. Today he said he wants to motivate people to think about the lives lost in that war and the way our country came together as one after the fighting was over. Ash believes America can return to the way we were then. He is speaking to college students and sharing his story with all who listen, and those who listen find him captivating.

Writing has brought me joy in many ways, but finding friends such as Ginny, Vicki, Nadine, Ash and Liz is like the cherry on top of the whipped cream on the hot fudge sundae. We wrote down what we are thankful for in 2011, and these good friends were at the top of my list.

Renaissance Rebecca posts about Your Life -- Your Stories

Writing at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC  is an experience that can change your life. Tonight I read a post on a blog by a former student, Rebecca. She tells about her experience at the folk school and how the writing class she took there made a difference in her life. That is all a teacher can ask, to make a positive difference in the lives of their students. Rebecca gave me permission to post the following on our Netwest Writers blog in 2010.  I'm sure she won't mind having it published again here, in an abbreviated form.
From Renaissance Rebecca:
On Christmas morning when I was seven, I received my first diary. An avid reader, I loved the idea of writing down my own personal thoughts and what transpired during my days.

I never intended anyone to read the words I had written. But my siblings apparently thought I had something juicy in there. I had to change the hiding spot often so my siblings wouldn’t steal it.
Twenty-six years later, stored in my parents barn, is a twenty-two gallon plastic container filled with years of my thoughts. Despite all these words written, I never considered myself a writer. Though I didn’t know the technical definition of a writer, in general I figured that they wanted their words to be read. I didn’t. Upon reading The Diary of Anne Frank, I felt such pity for the girl – she was just writing in her diary and someone thought it a good idea to publish it for all the world to read! I was sure that wasn’t her intention. I was so sure, in fact, that I wrote in the front of my diary that year that I did not want mine to be published ever. But that the guilty sister who always stole it could have the honor of reading it upon my death.

No, I never intended my words to be read. So when I found the John C. Campbell Folk School in the book “100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life,” I wanted to take a blacksmithing course. When the catalog came, I skipped over any writing courses. I realized there was one week in March that was a perfect time for me to go, so I flipped to see what courses were being offered that month. The last one was “Your Life. Your Stories.” Hmm. I loved our family stories. And would love to get them down on paper. They said beginners were welcome. I never in my life thought I’d sign up for a writing class, but it was the one of most interesting to me on the page of courses being offered that week in March.

My fear that I’d be accused of being too young, of not having lived long enough to have anything to write about only proved partially true. I wasn’t the youngest – at 31, I was the second youngest in our class of eight. And though no one said anything, I later found out that the woman who would become the most inspirational to me had her doubts about us younger girls when she first saw us. She held her tongue on that, but thankfully spilled out her words of wisdom to us over the next five days.

When the youngest student in our class confessed to having a blog, we all asked if she could show us how to set one up. And here’s the great thing about the John C. Campbell Folk School – the teachers modify things to fit student requests. So all of us gathered around our fellow student’s computer one evening and she gave us an introductory blog lesson.

And here I sit, writing for anyone in the world to read. This is what I love about life. That you can change – or don’t have to. And it’s your choice. That you can say, “Never will I ever…” and then ten or fifteen or fifty years from now find yourself doing something you never said you’d do. All because of a book you picked up from the travel section at the bookstore.





photo by Ellen Andrews

Nine Instructors for Classes at Writers Circle

Writers Circle - New Season of Classes Beginning in March
Classes are taught at the studio of Glenda Beall in Hayesville, NC. Contact glendabeall@msn.com for registration information or call 828-389-4441.

Saturday, March 12 – Instructor: Estelle Darrow Rice: POLISHING PROSE AND POETRY. This workshop is intended to guide participants in the process of enriching their work to the delight of themselves and their readers. Participants will be asked to submit several pages of an unfinished manuscript, preferably a first or second draft that they will use in the workshop.Estelle Darrow Rice is a poet and writer of short stories and personal essays. She holds a BA degree in Psychology from Queens University, Charlotte, NC and a MA degree in counseling from the University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL.

Her work has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. She has published a book of spiritual poems, Quiet Times.

Rice teaches workshops at Writers Circle in Hayesville. She stresses finding the creative seed that is in all of us as we explore the essence of people, and things that surround us.

We are now taking registration for this class.
Call 828-389-4441 for more information. Leave a message and your call will be returned.
Send check for $30.00 made to Writers Circle, 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904


(these classes by Glenda Beall are postponed until July)
Wednesday classes – six week course. Sign up for one, two or for all six.
Contact glendabeall@msn.com or 828-389-4411

Instructor: Glenda Beall: Let's Write!

Write stories for yourself, your family or for publication. In these classes we will mine for memories using prompts that help recall the details of characters and the scenes that set your stories apart. We will take a journey through our lives, choosing the most interesting facets to put on paper. Using elements of fiction, participants learn what will keep readers enthralled with their stories.

Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. - March 23, March 30, April 6, April 20, April 27, May 4.

Individual classes - $2 0.00

Registration fee for six week course. $75.00
Now taking registration for this class. Call 828-389-4441.
Leave a message. Your call will be returned.

Sunday afternoons, March 20 and 27, Instructor: Karen Holmes – Engage Your Audience: Techniques for Reading Your Work in Public

Sharing your work with an audience enhances the joy of writing. But you’re not alone if you get the jitters or you feel you don’t come across well. Becoming a good reader is all about practicing and gaining confidence. Plus, there are a few tricks you can learn to help you sound like a pro! In this class, you’ll practice enunciation, projection, timing, proper body language and using a microphone. In the first class, you’ll receive a gentle critique using a video camera (if you’re comfortable with this), and you’ll learn tips to help you improve. Then you’ll have time to practice on your own before returning for the second class, where we will polish your technique further and discuss how to choose and order your works for a program that reaches audiences in the best way. Open to writers of any genre.
About the teacher: Karen Paul Holmes, a published poet and business writer, enjoys reading her work in public and receives lots of good feedback from her audiences. Her public speaking experience includes presenting workshops at international business conferences.

April 30- Saturday – Poetry Memoir - 10:30 - 3:15
Instructor: JoAnn Dropp
Have you always wanted to write your memoir as a gift to your loved ones or as a way to tell your story, but felt overwhelmed at the thought of writing an entire book on your own? Through a series of guided writing prompts, I will show you how to write your memoir one poem at a time. You’ll have the freedom to write your memoir chronologically, by theme, or start from present day and work backwards – it’s all up to you! Participants will need a 3-ring binder, loose leaf paper and pens.
JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp holds a B.S. in English from the State University College at Brockport, New York and an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. She served as a student editor for The Louisville Review from 2009-2010 and currently works as an editor and writing mentor in Kennesaw, Georgia.

JoAnn has been a member of The Georgia Writers’ Association since 2009, where she serves as the poetry workshop facilitator and editor for the group’s newsletter. JoAnn’s available workshops and classes include: Poetry Memoir, Visual Journaling, Introduction to the Poetry Workshop, and Enjoying Poetry for the First Time.

Fee -$38.00
Send check made to Writers Circle, 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904

Other classes will be offered this summer by instructors, Mary Michelle Keller, Ronda Birtha, Paul Donovan and Rosemary Royston.

NEW SITE FOR YOU

I have added a new blog to our sidebar. Check out Judy Goldman's http://judygoldman.com/blog/

The first post I read is filled with advice for anyone who is writing a book and hopes to publish one day.
Learn about agents, query letters, and more.
Are you working on a novel, a memoir, a book of short stories?
Tell us about your book.

Registration begins February 1 for Spring Writers Circle Classes

Estelle Rice - March 12 at Writers Circle in Hayesville, NC

We have several instructors lined up for Spring Classes at Writers Circle in Hayesville, NC.

March 12, at 10:30 a.m. Estelle Rice will kick off our second season at Writers Circle. Estelle’s classes are such fun because she digs deep to find new and exciting things to bring to her students. Registration begins February 1. contact: nightwriter0302@yahoo.com


Karen Holmes will teach two Sunday afternoons, the 19th and 26th of March. She will instruct us in Reading Out Loud. Writers often present their work at public readings. Part of Karen’s course includes videoing each student’s performance.
Glenda Beall will lead a six week course beginning 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 23 with following classes March 30, April 6, April 20, April 27 and May 4. Want to write memoir or family stories? Write for your grandchildren; write for a newsletter, stories to share at family reunions, or any place you want to share your writing. Prompts, tips and detail instruction on making your work grab the reader on the first page.

On April 31, we have a new instructor, JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp, who recently received her MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. She teaches ESL classes in Cobb County, Georgia and is the poetry workshop facilitator for the Georgia Writers Association in Kennesaw, Georgia. She will teach poetry memoir. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

In May, Ronda Birtha will begin a series of three Saturday classes on Using Social Media to Promote Your Writing.
On May 4, Saturday, Rosemary Royston will hold a poetry class. More information later.
Michelle Keller will teach three classes on Wednesdays, June 15, 22, 29. She brings her knowledge of genealogy and writing to the students who want to write true stories about their ancestors.

Paul Donovan plans more Spiritual Writing classes to be held at Writers Circle. More information forthcoming when the schedule is complete.

Email Glenda Beall @ nightwriter0302@yahoo.com for registration information.

Five Ways to Get Started Writing Your Memoir

On Tuesday, June 12 and July 20 and August 24, we will hold classes for those who want to write creative non-fiction. (See Writing Classes on Home Page)
This genre includes memoir. Below I have a few tips for anyone who wants to write about her life, but has no idea where to begin.

List the events or dates that were turning points in your life, beginning with your birth
Examples: Birth, 1940; Elementary School 1946 -1950; Mom and Dad divorced;
University of GA – two years; Military years; Early Marriage, 1960 – 1970; Death of my Mother, 1975; My first job; Mary’s diagnosis; Don’s heart attack, 1987;


Label each File Folder with one of the life changing experiences or dates.

For each folder, make a list of things you remember that happened during this period of your life. Keep this list in the folder. Update the list as you remember more stories.

Research – Locate photographs, certificates, articles, letters, newspaper announcements, and diaries, anything that pertains to your memories. Stash these in proper folders.

For example, a photo of you at four would not go into your elementary school folder. A photo of your mom holding you as a baby would go into the Birth, 1940 folder.

Choose one folder with the most memorable events – Choose one memory from that folder that brings back images, smells, sounds, colors, or feelings you can express in your writing. Try to think about how you would tell that experience to your child or grandchild.

As you write your story, remember who you want to read your book. Is it for your family alone or do you want to publish it for a wider audience?
Remember, few of us write well enough or have a story of such magnitude, that New York Publishers will grab up our manuscript from the hundreds they receive every day. You can find many ways to self-publish your book without paying large sums of money, or you can pay a Print On Demand publisher.


On June 12, William V. Reynolds will lead a workshop on self-publishing at Writers Circle. You might want to take this class before you write your book.

Memoir by Laura Bush impressed her daughters

Today I saw Laura Bush give an interview on television. I always admired her – the way she handled herself as first lady. Her daughters were on with her today, and they are certainly attractive and intelligent women.

Laura has written a memoir about her life and I want to read it. I am not a member of her husband’s party, but Laura seems to be a woman I’d enjoy knowing.

I was impressed when one of her girls said she had been reading the book and sobbed through most of it. She learned much about her grandparents that she did not know and she also learned much about her own mother who had not shared the details of her childhood.

This is why we should write about our lives for our children and grandchildren. We might think they have heard us tell our stories, but many times, the kids aren’t listening as carefully as we think.

Would your children cry if they read in your words what life was like at your house when you were five or ten years old. Would they see the image of you as a little girl or a little boy in clothes you wore back in the fifties or sixties?
If you write the story about an incident that made a big impression on your life and how you raised your kids, would your child cry or smile or have an Aha moment?

Laura Bush caused the death of a good friend in a car accident when she was seventeen. Her parents didn’t let her go to talk with the parents of her friend or even attend the funeral. They wanted to protect her. That event has been on her mind all these years and it had an affect on how she taught her children to face death of a friend or loved one.

All our lifetime experiences affect our future relationships and behaviors. As I have said before, we are a product of what has been written on our walls.

Are you writing about your life for your family? Just write a few pages each day and your family will cherish them when you are no longer here to tell the stories. How have events in your childhood contributed to your method of parenting or grand parenting?