{"id":2037,"date":"2015-09-29T09:17:51","date_gmt":"2015-09-29T17:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/?p=2037"},"modified":"2015-10-02T15:12:26","modified_gmt":"2015-10-02T23:12:26","slug":"the-way-of-story-at-rowe-center-massachusetts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/?p=2037","title":{"rendered":"The Way of Story at Rowe Center, Massachusetts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

From Santa Barbara, CA, it took three planes to reach Hartford, Conn. where I was met and one and a half hour later was in a remote, rural autumnal setting in Rowe, MA. The leaves were just beginning to turn and the nearby Mill pond beckoned.<\/p>\n

It is dusk, the sacred hour…that silent pause between day and night, inviting contemplation. I sat on a nearby stone bench and gazed in wonder at Mill Pond: a crystal clear mirror of the many oak and white birch trees surrounding, towering above the still water.\u00a0I couldn’t help but notice a queer thing though. The illusory mirrored trees and 18th c. house reflected in the pond held far more mystery and allure than what stood for Reality.<\/p>\n

The next day, twenty students of varying ages and from NY, MA, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, & Tenn, & CA gathered for the weekend writing workshop (Friday-Sunday). I purposely mix experienced writers with those just beginning. They learn from one another for professionals often have a need to replenish the well and remember why they began to write in the first place. Using 5-15 minute exercises, improvisations, visualizations, lessons in craft & story structure,the group explored the width and depth of their writing, their stories – both fiction and non-fiction, prose or films. In sharing, they faced constructive if critical feedback on how to improve upon that first draft.<\/p>\n

When asked what they should bring to the\u00a0workshop, I usually reply, “Paper, pen, or laptop – and courage.” Yes, I do believe that courage is necessary for those who write, who draw from themselves in order to create something that was never there before. Incidentally, this need for courage holds true for those professionals who have written for decades!<\/p>\n

Comments from Partipants:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Way of Story: Rowe 2015<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Catherine is a true teacher. I started her workshop with a vague hunger to write more, and I ended up knowing that I simply must write more to satisfy my soul.\u00a0 Her focused wisdom and gift of teaching opened a door to the guidance I crave, both internally and externally. \u00a0– Kelebek Travers, Santa Barbara<\/p>\n

As usual, I leave Catherine\u2019s workshop feeling empowered and eager to start on my next novel. She is an amazing teacher, mentor, and human being!\u00a0 \u00a0– Marielle T., Quebec<\/p>\n

Catherine Ann Jones\u2019 The Way of Story workshop exposed me to different strategies of accessing and generating my own story. The writing prompts were fun and produce surprising results.<\/p>\n

Catherine not only understands the art and craft of writing but she has a gift for conveying her tremendous knowledge to both the experienced and uninitiated writer.<\/p>\n

Her approach is creative, engaging, and user friendly. –\u00a0Mary K., Nashville, Tenn<\/p>\n

The Way of Story: discipline and craft, intuition, and experience \u2013 an unbeatable combination! Thank you, Catherine, for a fabulous workshop. – Sarah H., Walden, VT<\/p>\n

Catherine has a special gift of combining her love of writing along with a magical way of teaching. \u2013 Linda Blake, NYC<\/p>\n

The writers workshop taught by Catherine Ann Jones has helped me to think a stronger story structure of my first draft of my first feature screenplay. An invaluable source for any writer out there!\u00a0 Thank you, Catherine!\u00a0\u00a0 – Nefeli S., Cyprus and Brooklyn, NY<\/p>\n

Great workshop! Provided a great overview of the craft and provided a framework for seeing how my work can fit into different genres. –\u00a0 Sharon, Amherst, MA<\/p>\n

An amazing story about writing story! Taught by a woman with a career that formed her perfectly to teach this subject. Catherine is key to what I got out of the program, and the attendees and their contributions served as icing on the cake.\u00a0– Richard O., Ronkonkoma, NY<\/p>\n

I found The Way of Story workshop to be very informative and useful. Catherine\u2019s feedback was insightful and constructive for writers of different levels of experience, styles, and genres.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Susan V., Cambridge, MA<\/p>\n

A rich diet of concepts and technique set against the backdrop of the best in movies, books and plays, and served up by a caring and intuitive Master of her craft. This opened me to possibilities I hadn\u2019t imagined, generating first drafts of pieces that I\u2019ll be revising for months to come.\u00a0 \u2013 Mike K., Nashville, Tenn.<\/p>\n

Catherine\u2019s workshop was wonderful because she met everyone in the room where they were. There was represented everyone from seasoned writers to rank beginners and everyone left with something valuable. Highly recommended.\u00a0 – Lindy G., Damariscotta, ME<\/p>\n

This is to thank you for bringing the Way of Story workshop to my part of the world.\u00a0 It is being nothing short of a turning point for me. I have been in a no-mans-land for some time now, weighing when and how to transition out of my work as a therapist.\u00a0 Of course, I will always write, but there is a difference between \u201calways writing\u201d and \u201cbeing on fire with pursuing a specific writing project (as you might say between a need and a desire).\u00a0 Thanks to your workshop, I have the latter.\u00a0 I am resurrecting the stories, plays and screenplays that I never sent out\u2014perhaps because without the lens you gave us for seeing story structure (and much more), they would not have been picked up in any case.
\nWhether they will be find a market now or not remains to be seen.\u00a0 The point is that thanks to you, it now feels possible that they will. And so the journey begins!<\/p>\n

– Sarah H., Hardwick, VT<\/p>\n

Former students often ask me to suggest a reading list of some of my favorite books and films. Here are three for now:<\/p>\n

BOOKS & FILMS:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Non-Fiction: Proust was a Neuroscientist <\/em>by Jonah Lehrer<\/p>\n

Fiction: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Lovely Bones<\/em> by Alice Sebold<\/p>\n

Film\/Television: \u00a0The \u00a0Last Tango at Halifax<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 BBC series, available on Netflix<\/p>\n

For consultations, card readings, online courses, schedule of future workshops, please go to www.wayofstory.com\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Herald\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Santa Barbara, CA, it took three planes to reach Hartford, Conn. where I was met and one and a half hour later was in a remote, rural autumnal setting in Rowe, MA. The leaves were just beginning to turn and the nearby Mill pond beckoned. It is dusk, the sacred hour…that silent pause between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catherine-ann-jones","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2037"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2050,"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037\/revisions\/2050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayofstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}