STORY CIRCLE NETWORK (SCN)

I am starting a Story Circle at my house.  If you like to get to know other women by sharing your stories and listening to their stories, then you will enjoy our Story Circle.  I will have two gatherings a month, one at night and one in the afternoon.  You can come to any or all of the gatherings.  Each gathering is a separate entitiy.  You can miss any gathering and never be behind, and there is no homework.  We will be talking, reading, writing, and listening.  You choose how you want to be involved.  You do not have to talk or write.  You can just listen and eat cookies if you like! 

The initial gathering will be next Tuesday, August 24th, at 7:00 pm at my house.  I will send out emails/invites with more information.  Beginning in September we'll be gathering the first Tuesday evening (7:00 pm) and the 4th Sunday afternoon (2:00 pm) of each month. You can come to one or both of the gatherings.  I will send out email reminders.  I hope you will come and see what's happening.  Nothing is required.   

I have a badge on my blog that will take you to the Story Circle Network if you want more information.  This is their formal description of their purpose:

The Story Circle Network (SCN) offers the only lifewriting program designed exclusively for women.  Since 1997, our nonprofit organization has provided learning/writing opportunities in memoir, reminiscence, journaling, poetry, family stories, kitchen table stories, writing-as-healing, writing for personal growth and spiritual development, poetry, blogging, and other areas. We teach general writing skills, organization, and critical editing, as well as technical skills in book design and development, online marketing, blogging, and other internet-related activities.

You do NOT have to be a member of SCN in order to come to our Story Circle. I am the only one who has to be a member. However, if you want more information about joining, go to http://www.storycircle.org/.

I truly hope you will come and enjoy the fellowship and be inspired by women's wisdom.


      

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THE WRITERS' LEAGUE CLASSES

The Writers' League of Texas (WLT) is an organization in Austin, Texas, with its office on Congress near the capitol building.  It holds free monthly meetings with speakers and discussion, and a variety of classes on topics from how to write a novel, to how to get published, to how to set up a website.

I went to one class on setting up a website taught by a professional in the Austin community.  Although I didn't understand everything he said, the class expanded my concept of how a website is structured.  An additional benefit was I met and shared stories with several people in the class.  One woman who was in a band in the 60's/70's while attending UT told me several hilarious stories.  She encouraged me to come to the next free monthly meeting.  The WLT office is small, so the class size is small; we sit close together, encouraging conversations.  There is a nominal yearly fee to join ($45/yr), and members get a big discount on classes and on the annual Agents and Editors Conference in June.  Networking opportunities and new friendships are waiting to be discovered whether at a monthly meeting, a class, or the annual convention.

I am trying to decide whether to sign up for the memoir writing class or the class explaining the steps to getting published.  The memoir writing class is all day Saturday, August 21st, and the deadline to sign up is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 18th.  It is $99 for members.  Since I am writing my memoir, I will probably go with that class.

If anyone is interested in going to meetings or attending classes, let me know, and you can ride with me.