The Power of Your Story: Rethink, Reframe, Re-Story Your Life [Lake LBJ Room] noon-1:45pm
Jeanne Guy, Austin TX

"If you want a better life, it's time to write a better story."
—Jeanne Guy, the Great Self-Proclaimed Re-Story Expert

The Circle Process will help you:

• Create new possibilities
• Remember what's important
• Remember to celebrate your life
• Be a mess
• Do what you can do
• Do what you think you cannot do (credit: Michael Bungay Stanier, Coach)

If you're not creating your life story, who is? You can choose to create your life rather than live by default. Jeanne can't re-story your life, but she knows you can. Join her as she leads us on an exploration of self-discovery to help us all rethink, reframe and re-story our lives.

Re-Story Circles are based on Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea's Circle process (The Circle Way: A Leader in Every Chair).

"We are the constant harvesters of our own and each other's lives, what the Quakers call 'listening each other into being.' Through hearing another's stories, and having our stories heard, we see who we are, and who we might be, and how our lives matter."
—Christina Baldwin

It's 10 pm, Do You Know Where Your Story Is? Seven Steps to Successful Story Structure [Lake LBJ Room] 2-3:45pm
Matilda Butler, Corvallis OR, & Kendra Bonnett, Milbridge ME
Do you get so involved in the mechanics of writing that your true story gets lost? Do you worry about story structure but aren't sure how to develop, much less follow, one that is appropriate for your story? You want to write from your heart and tell your story. Yet, just like a house without a strong foundation and frame, the elements of your writing—character development, emotional expression, sensory description, strong dialogue, and time and place—may collapse under their own weight without a well-designed and executed framework for your memoir.

In our pre-conference workshop, we'll arm you with a powerful set of tools, techniques and devices to build a framework for your writing that will let the meaning of your story shine through. We call our simple, seven-step process Structural Alchemy™.

Let's play the Build-A-Story Game: Memoir-Writing Edition and in the process have fun building our memoirs by mixing and matching the components of a well-structured story. You'll play, write and share in this workshop.

As a bonus, you'll leave with an extra copy of our Build-A-Story Game that you can share with your writing group or writing friends. Come join us for an afternoon of story structure fun that will prepare you to successfully frame your memoir.

Our goals for the workshop:

1. Introduce participants to the critical role of story structure and the building blocks (tools, techniques and devices) for framing the memoir.
2. Provide participants with our seven simple structural steps for creating a strong story framework that can support the memoir.
3. Give participants hands-on opportunity to apply each step of Structural Alchemy by playing our Build-A-Story Game: Memoir-Writing Edition.
4. Motivate participants to use effective story structure by sharing their writing and analyzing successful approaches to story shaping in the ensuing discussion.

Methods we'll use to achieve these goals:

1. We'll use a PowerPoint presentation to introduce the components and formulas for story structure.
2. We'll describe the seven principles (steps) of Structural Alchemy and show examples.
3. Participants will team up in pairs to play our Build-A-Story Game: Memoir-Writing Edition and apply each of the seven principles to build story structures.
4. Teams will share their stories with the group.
5. To drive home the seven steps, we'll open the workshop to a discussion about story structure using the results of our Build-A-Story Game writing as a starting point.
6. Participants will have a chance to ask questions about Structural Alchemy.

Benefits participants can expect:

1. Participants will understand the concept of story structure.
2. They will see how a lack of story structure gets in the way of the message of their memoir.
3. They will have experience with an fun story structure game that will encourage them both during the workshop as well as in the future to examine the seven structural elements as they write their memoir.
4. They will have an opportunity to share their writing with other participants.

1. Finding Our Voices:

   Writing the Truth: Issues, Ethics & Poetic License: [Lake Austin Room]
   Suzanne Sherman, Sebastopol CA

   Truth can be a "sticky wicket" in memoir writing—essential to the craft but sometimes hard to write. We'll look at truth and its many angles and uncover ways of handling it in memoir writing. Topics explored will include:

   • the difference between truth and fact, and issues of perspective
   • exact truth versus emotional truth
   • writing for yourself, and writing for an intended audience
   • methods of handling truths that are hard to write about
   • issues of revealing "family secrets" and questions of privacy

   It's emboldening to understand the value of right timing for the inner critic, and we'll also discuss that. We'll identify allowable "poetic license"—what can be fairly changed or recreated for literary merit. You'll learn how to write scenes when you don't remember all the details or exactly what was said. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, voice your concerns, and share inspiring anecdotes from your own writing life.

2. Nuts & Bolts:

   KISS: Keep It Short & Simple!: [ELC Room]
   Fran Reynolds, Columbia MO

   Writing short, simple pieces such as six word autobiographies, fifty-word short memoirs, headlines, blurbs and "hint" pieces lead to longer stories, better word choices and tighter writing. In this workshop short, simple writing strategies will be introduced, practiced and shared.

3. Putting Our Hearts on Paper:

   The Wedding of Fact and Imagination: The Essential Partnership in Writing Life Story: [Lake Travis Room]
   Gail Straub, West Hurley NY

   Your inner life, what you make of your story in the realm of your imagination, can be radically different than the outer facts of your life. This is what makes writing about your life so radically liberating. No one can create your story except you. When fact and imagination are in intimate partnership the most transformative and effective writing occurs. Through this essential partnership hidden patterns emerge, your story begins to fit together not in a linear chronological fashion, but in a fluid mysterious way that is often astonishing. With creative writing exercises, drawing colorful symbols, and group dialog we practice this critical partnership. Together we explore:

   • How to access the deeper regions of your imagination.
   • How to get your linear brain out of the way to make room for you untamed creativity.
   • How to recognize the facts that are important to include in your story.
   • How to marry the facts with your imagination in order to write a life story that liberates you.
   • How to balance fierce discipline with openhearted creativity in the writing process.

4. Storytelling: Ways & Means:

   Juicy Writing With Fruits & Veggies: [Lake LBJ Room]
   Jan Seale, McAllen TX

   Does peeling an orange bring to mind a long-ago Christmas stocking with a prize orange in the toe? How about the sweet air on pickling day? Or what to do with a humongous zucchini crop? We're washing, peeling, chopping, slicing, and cooking them anyway—Why not use fruits and veggies as springboards for writing? Whether you dice them for metaphors in poems, or launches, examples, or subjects in prose pieces, they are there in all their great variety for us to use as we write. We'll consider how these gifts from the earth can energize us to write about almost anything, with examples of poems from Erica Jong, Wislawa Szymborska, Mary Oliver, and Grace Paley. You'll get clever prompts for launching a couple of pieces of writing, with time to enjoy sharing your word salad with others. Come write healthy and juicy!

1. Finding Our Voices:

   How 20 Minutes a Day Can Help You Become a Better Writer: [Lake Austin Room]
   Helen Leatherwood, Beverly Hills CA

   "I don't have time" is the common reason many of us put off writing. This workshop helps to dispel the illusion that time is a real stumbling block. Come and see how just 20 minutes a day can help you fulfill your goal to be a better writer. We will write, discuss strategies to ward off that pesky inner critic, and discuss the possibility of putting your writing on a daily blog. Come and join us for a fun-filled workshop that shifts writing from work to pleasure.

2. Nuts & Bolts:

   Expanding Your Publishing Options: eBooks, PODs, Self-Publishing, Oh My!: [ELC Room]
   Kendra Bonnett, Milbridge ME

   If you're wishing you could have published your book 30 years ago when all you needed was a agent, wake up, stop dreaming and get yourself to this workshop. Never have there been fewer hurdles between you and getting published. And new publishing platforms appear almost daily. We'll take you through the options, show you the pros and cons, help you know what you should be looking for...and above all giving you practical advice on how to focus your marketing efforts in this crazy free-for-all publishing marketplace.

3. Putting Our Hearts on Paper:

   Life Lessons from the Crossroads: [Lake Travis Room]
   Joyce Boatright, The Woodlands TX

   Remember those times you stood at the proverbial fork in the road?

   Explore the crossroads in life's journey that bring us to major pivotal points. Write to discover the personal meaning of the twists and turns that span your life. Through reflective writing, we'll be able to gain new insights about what serves us still, what we need to leave behind and what we need to create in order to be present in the Eternal Now.

   By recounting and examining the choices we have made at these crossroads, we capture the intricate, unfolding story line of our personal life stories.

4. Storytelling: Ways & Means:

   Beyond Words: [Lake LBJ Room]
   Mitzi Boyd, Fort Worth TX

   We'll explore creative ways to expand and enhance our stories through tactile mediums. I'll motivate participants to use their creativity—beyond their use of words—with many examples of collages, art quilts, handmade books, scrap booking, and I encourage attendees to bring their own projects to share! We'll spark our imaginations!

1. Special Panel Session: The Power of the Circle: [2:15-3pm: ELC Room]
   Moderator: Barbara Miller, Austin TX
   Panelists: Pat LaPointe (Prospect Heights, IL); Leia Francisco (Kerrville, TX)

   Writing circles are the heart of Story Circle Network. They are powerful avenues for creativity, the telling of one's story and the best way to get the most from your Story Circle membership. This workshop will provide information regarding facilitation of face-to-face, internet and OWL circles. Bring your questions.

   Special Session: Keep Your Day Going With Restorative, Relaxing Chair Yoga: [2:30-3:10pm Lake Travis Room]
   Regina Moser, Austin TX

   Feeling like you are ready for a break? Yet, still feeling the desire to learn more? Thinking about caffeine?

   You are invited to take a moment from the best conference ever to quiet your mind and focus on relaxing and restoring your body. Regina invites you to sit down for awhile and learn gentle movements, designed to restore your energy and create a sense of calm. Regina will encourage you to focus on your breath and lead you through a series of gentle poses that will have thinking blissful thoughts. As you leave class feeling reenergized and refreshed you will leave with a handout that encourages you to care for your body and to focus on knowing the joys of the three V's: Vim, Vigor and Vitality.

   No yoga experience or mat required for this gentle seated practice.

   Special Session: LGBT Conversation: [2:30-3:10pm Lake Austin Room]
   to be announced

   workshop description coming soon...

1. Finding Our Voices:

   Creating an Awesome and Sustaining Blog: [ELC Room]
   Judy Miller, Zionsville IN

   Are you considering blogging? Are you new to blogging? Have you been blogging for some time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, "Create an Awesome AND Sustaining Blog" is for you.

   After this interactive session you will discover possible themes and come away with ideas on how to create a blog that resonates with you, one that inspires you to write for and post to on a regular basis. You will also learn what an effective blog post is, understand the "dos" and "don'ts" of blogging, and have useful tips to use to unlock the common "bloggers block."

2. Nuts & Bolts:

   Memoir Writing: Brighten Your Leaf on the Family Tree: [Lake Travis Room]
   Marilyn Collins, Rogers AR

   Join this lively, interactive workshop for both beginning and seasoned writers. Dust off your boxes of notes, dig out your pictures, and focus on the most fascinating main character you know, YOU. You'll hone the skills needed to write and recognize the worth of your stories, unscramble memorabilia, and write lively, interesting copy. You are the only person who can write the truth from your point of view. Share life as you saw it happen. Whether you are writing for family members or for publication, this workshop is for you.

   You'll leave with a beginning structure for your book or story collection and inspired to keep writing—and not put your project back under a bed or in a closet. Everyone has a special story to tell. Come write and share yours.

3. Putting Our Hearts on Paper:

   Moments of Being: Writing a Spiritual Memoir: [Lake Austin Room]
   Linda Joy Myers, Richmond CA

   In London during the 1920s, Virginia Woolf belonged to the Memoir Club, a group of women who met for sixteen years writing and reading memoir stories in a rarified, for the time, atmosphere of trust and exposure. There for the first time she revealed the sexual abuse by her step-brother, the harsh rules of her father and Victorian society, and the tragic loss of her mother and beloved brother. In poetic prose in the book Moments of Being, she captured special moments of timelessness and suspension from ordinary consciousness where we find beautiful examples of how memories operate upon us and the direct experience of consciousness filtered through time and memory.

   Today, we are lucky to be able to gather, write, and share, with the support of others to honor the many moments that quilt together our lives—joys and sorrows, planting and reaping, fullness and emptiness, birth and death—the dark and light moments of our lives which illuminate the meaning and purpose of our journey. A spiritual memoir is a way to explore these layers of who we are, to meditate upon and honor each moment as a lesson—first for ourselves and then for others.

   In this workshop, we establish the arc of your spiritual journey by creating a timeline and a list of significant moments. You'll write some stories that honor and illuminate your life, which we will share and discuss. Witnessing and sharing are part of the spiritual journey, seeing who we are reflected back to us in a circle with others.

   Together we will ponder what it means to be a woman during the times we've lived, and think about how history and time and family have shaped us. We'll write from the heart about who we are and where we have come from. You might want to write about topics such as grace, loss, love, anger, fear, compassion, and forgiveness.

   Reflecting on significant life topics IS a spiritual memoir—it does not have to include religion, though it may, or deities, though it may. You can write prose or poetry, whatever form best suits the feeling and shape of your moments of being.

4. Storytelling: Ways & Means:

   Of Journeys and Treasures: [Lake LBJ Room]
   Betsy Boyd, Maryville TN; Cindy Flora, Clearwater FL

   It is said that life is a journey. In reality, life is many journeys. Some occur in a series, some take place at the same time. Some bring pleasure into our lives while others challenge us. Some take us far away from our beginnings to places we'd never expect, and some take us home. But they all have one thing in common: we gain something from every journey we take.

   As writers, we typically choose to process our life experiences through our words. In this workshop, we'll have an opportunity to express both our spoken and written words through the creation of our individual Native American talking sticks. As we speak and share in the traditional Native American story telling circle, our sticks and words will lead us to a deeper understanding of our journeys and treasures and to the stories we need to write.

   Participants can expect to enjoy a creative and cross-cultural way of thinking about our individual journeys and to share them with each other. We will leave the workshop not only having made connections with our own journeys and their meanings, but also having developed a sense of community with each other through sharing our journeys and treasures. We will also leave with our talking sticks, a physical reminder of our past journeys, our journey together that day, and our journeys yet to come.

1. Finding Our Voices:

   Harnessing the Present Moment for Deep, Authentic Writing: [Lake LBJ Room]
   Carolyn Scarborough, Austin TX

   Do you ever wish you could snap your fingers and find yourself overflowing with creative inspiration? Ideas pour out that aren't stilted and superficial, but powerfully connected to your deepest truth. Time passes as the writing flows.

   If you'd like to step into this experience at will, rather than crossing your fingers and hoping to access it, then join us! We'll start with looking at the habits and thought patterns that block this connected writing, and then we'll practice ways to tap into it.

   Specific techniques are tailored to move us out of the narrow confines of our heads and into the greater aliveness and clarity sourced from our bodies and our inner witness. We will practice a variety of methods and notice the difference in our writing. Leave with greater clarity about what throws you off track, and how to get back into the flow and express what you're really here to say.

2. Nuts & Bolts:

   Writing Alchemy: New, Fast, Fun, Cool, Quick-Start Method: [ELC Room]
   Matilda Butler, Corvallis OR

   You asked for it: In response to your feedback on our 2010 pre-conference workshop, Writing Alchemy is back...quick-start style. Writing Alchemy helps you be the best writer you can be and take full advantage of all the writing tips, techniques and methods you've learned. It takes the opportunistic and accidental out of writing and gives you a system that makes you more strategic. You'll be in control of your writing...what we call a "purposeful writer." You'll create more memorable characters, capture in words a fuller range of emotion, make dialogue carry part of the story, write with vivid descriptive detail and bring the time and place of your story to life. The Writing Alchemy Quick-Start Method boils the system down to the basics. So you can attend this workshop at 9am on Sunday and be putting it to work for you by 10:30am. It's that easy. But don't let "Quick Start" fool you; this is powerful stuff. And if you went to the original pre-conference, "Quick Start" will reinforce and simplify. Join us for a refresher.

3. Putting Our Hearts on Paper:

   Let the Words Spill Forth: [Lake Austin Room]
   Lynn Goodwin, Danville CA

   Write is a verb, so we will write using prompts designed to open creative portals, erase writer's block, and energize a writer's soul. How will we do that? Step by step! 1) Open the notebook, 2) Open the mind, 3) Open the heart and 4) Let the words spill forth! Come let yourself enjoy writing, regardless of where you are on your writing path.

4. Storytelling: Ways & Means:

   Our Stories, True Stories: Research for Memoir and How To Do It: [Lake Travis Room]
   Marlene Samuels, Chicago IL

   What makes a memoir compelling? A good story and its context, that's what! And those are based on exceptional credibility and depth. Credibility depends upon factual accuracy and a memoir's richness—its depth and complexity also derive from details and their accuracy.

   How do we create believable scenes for events we may not remember accurately or those that may have taken place well before we even began our own lives? Perhaps in lands we've never seen or will see?

   All writers know that scenes are set in time and place, geographically and historically. Setting includes scenery, topography, clothing fashions, news worthy events, prevailing scandals, popular books, best restaurants, famous people, natural disasters—you name it. These must all be written about accurately.

   Successful memoirists write truth and employ extensive research to enhance it. Writers consult sources that range from public material such as newspapers, magazines, books, and the internet to private ones including personal interviews, correspondences, diaries, photographs. There is a plethora of material many of us tend to overlook.

   The story is yours but I can help you improve your research skills. Good research is key to achieving credibility and depth in your story.

1. Finding Our Voices:

   The People on the Page: [Lake LBJ Room]
   Mary Daniels Brown, Ballwin MO

   Who, exactly, is telling your life story? Every piece of life writing presents two characters: the "narrating I," or the narrator; and the "narrated I," or the protagonist or main character of the story. The relationship between these two is crucial in producing an engaging narrative. The narrator must convey empathy for the protagonist while at the same time maintaining sufficient distance to show the protagonist's flaws and to demonstrate lessons learned. In this workshop we will examine passages from some published memoirs to learn how to recognize these two people on the page. We will then use what we've learned to craft appropriate narrators for some of our own life stories.

2. Nuts & Bolts:

   Rewrite Your Life: How to Transform the Tragic, the Ordinary and the Dull-as-Dirt into Compelling Memoir: [Lake Travis Room]
   Donna Johnson, Austin TX

   Learn to sift through and shape the events of your life into a vivid narrative. Participants will learn to construct a Lifeline™ which can serve as an outline and the basis for a storytelling persona. The importance of voice, tone and persona as they relate to memoir will be emphasized through group discussion and the work of published authors.

3. Putting Our Hearts on Paper:

   Pearls of Wisdom: Memoirs about Mother: [Lake Austin Room]
   Kate Farrell, Sebastopol CA

   A mother-daughter relationship is often the closest of all, like the two sides of an oyster shell. In the best of times, the sheen of the inner shell encases their bond, but often an irritant within or without creates a pearl. Layer upon layer of experience produces a lustrous wisdom that is frequently untold, too closely held. A memoir about Mother is the perfect way to express the pearl of experienced truths.

   In this workshop, we will explore techniques to describe and distill the stories about Mother and to share their value with others: a string of pearls, a legacy of feminine wisdom. We'll select key experiences and produce two pieces of writing: one reflective commentary and one a story, the elements of memoir. We'll read our works, discuss the process, and review next steps in writing.

4. Storytelling: Ways & Means:

   Journal Writing for Memoir: Capturing the Past, Present, & Future: [ELC Room]
   Amber Lea Starfire, Napa CA

   Have you ever wondered how journaling can help you write your memoir? Whether you've been keeping journals for years or you're curious about the benefits of journaling, "Journal Writing for Memoir" is for you.

   In this workshop you'll learn valuable techniques to enliven and use journaling for memoir writing, including how to:

   • Mine past journal entries for details and insights,
   • Use open-ended prompts to uncover the deeper truths and meanings of your memories, and
   • Develop journaling practices today to benefit your future memoir writing endeavors.

   Discover how to use your journal to capture the past, present, and future.

It's Saturday night in Austin TX—what would you like to do after you've enjoyed a fine dinner at one of Austin's many great restaurants? Well, you might take in a film, or visit Austin's disco district (the River City is widely known as the Live Music Capital of the World).

Or we could all hang out together and swap stories.

Swap stories?

Hey, what a great idea! After all, isn't that what Story Circle is all about? And who has more stories to swap than women—women who have loved and laughed and cried and succeeded and failed and survived and, yes, triumphed! Creative, canny, crafty, clever, courageous women. Women who have lived ordinary, extraordinary, and sometimes downright outrageous lives!

So for Saturday night's entertainment, we offer you—ta da! (a flourish of trumpets and rattle of drums, please)—an open mike!

And all you have to bring is you, and your story. Maybe it's a piece you've already shared with your Story Circle, or a poem or two that you've just finished, or a short autobiographical fiction piece. Maybe it's a story to be sung, or danced (if you need music, let us know ahead of time). Or perhaps you'd like to bring a piece of art that you've made—pottery, painting, textile, whatever—and tell us how and why it is part of your story. The sky's the limit, gals, and the only thing we have to fear (as some famous man said once) is fear itself. So let's see how many different stories, and how many different ways to tell a story, we can all come up with.

To give each story-teller a chance to participate we will be dividing into three separate meeting rooms and will ask reader to limit her turn at the mike to five minutes including opening remarks. (Please note that it takes ONE minute to read ONE double-spaced page or to read ½ single spaced page and plan accordingly.) There are a limited number of spaces available, so sign up will begin Saturday after dinner and will end when all places have been reserved and Open Mic begins at 8pm. Whether you come to read, listen, share or all of the above, we look forward to seeing you there! And please bring a copy of your piece to post on the Story Wall—and plan to email it to us, as well, for sharing with the attendees!

Remember that wonderful '60s song that began "When you come to San Francisco, be sure and wear flowers in your hair"?

When you come to Austin, Texas, be sure to bring a story from your heart. We're eager to hear it, y'all!

^*Session topics are still tentative.