– Jane
· · · Jane’s Thread · · ·
Working with Ken Nelson – My Next Retreat
If I had any doubt as to why I had selected Ken Nelson to co-lead a retreat with me this November, he quickly and naturally provided a perfect reminder. "Would you like to have a cup of tea, sit outside, and get settled before we begin the planning?" he asked when...
Ready to Begin a New “Semester?”
How many times have you moved that to-do on your list, catalog clipping, or invitation to deal with at another time? With the hurricane-like weather prediction and lots of catching up to do after a really delightful time with family, I cleared my desk today,...
A Darling Killed
I had my final memoir draft call today with my writing coach. I'd sent her the last 5 chapters to review before she gets married next week. It went well, even when she asked me to cut one of my favorite episodes. Faulkner is the one who initially stated, "In...
Memoir Home Stretch
When I returned back to New York City after my Semester at Sea in May, 2014, I recognized that I wanted to tell a bigger story, more than simply a travelogue. I took my first writing course the following month at Kripalu, led by the inspirational writer/performer...
Clients Appreciated
Before I left on my two-week writing retreat I held a client appreciation event for the remarkably amazing women I've worked with over the years. Nearly 50 women joined me on Thursday, July 13 at the Westport Woman's Club for networking, a revealing group activity,...
Writing Retreat – Leaving Tomorrow
I know everyone says this, but I can't believe how quickly these two weeks have gone! I arrived 13 days ago, and I leave tomorrow afternoon. I'm completely satisfied with the experience and am also eager to go back home. I wrote 12 pages today, and if I complete 8...
Day 12 – 10 Pages = Dinner Out!
With only one full day left to go after today on my writing retreat, I wanted to keep my output up. I hit the keyboard at 8am and finished printing out the first 10 pages of Chapter 8 by 2pm. I knew that I'd be driving to Stowe later in the afternoon to meet good...
Day 11 – Which Road Would You Travel?
With no plans at all on my calendar today, I wanted to break up my writing hours with an outing at lunchtime. I'd read positive reviews of the Norwich Square Cafe on TripAdvisor, so put it into googlemaps and had to pick from three alternate routes. Since they were...
Writing Retreat – Day 10
Wow, double digits for my time here in VT, which means I have only a few more days left in my two week rental. I've gotten great traction on my page count and am feeling satisfied regarding my output. I love the writing life as well as being completely independent...
Day 9 of Writing Retreat – A Day Off
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. In the spirit of that quote, I took a good part of today off. There was an Al-Anon convention in Brattleboro that I thought I'd check out. It was well attended, and I stayed for two of the breakout sessions. Then, as I...
Writing Retreat – Day 8
If you're currently working on a writing project or are considering this art form in the future, I highly recommend that you find a great coach to work with. After several days of working on my revisions for Chapters 4 and 5, I met with my coach, Melissa Petro,...
Writing Retreat – Tomorrow will be one week.
Maybe I'm going a little stir crazy, but my eyes definitely deceived me when I took a walk tonight after dinner. Writing is so sedentary, and not having errands to do or subways to catch, I'm on my derriere for great lengths of time here in Vermont. I wanted to add...
Writing Retreat – Day 5
Woke up this morning to temps in the 40's! By the time I had the wherewithal to take note, it was slightly warmer, but fall-like. Lovely to have that big down comforter on top of me. Great headway today on Chapter 6. It's all about when I got into 12-step recovery...
Writing Retreat – Day 4
What the what?! I could not be further removed from traffic, honking and crowds in my little cabin off this dirt road in Vermont. So why did I need to put on my noise-cancelling headphones at 10am this morning? Walking up the driveway to my car, I saw the offending...
Writing Retreat – Day 3
One of the ways I edit my writing is to print it out, read it aloud into my phone's recording device, then listen back to my words to hear how they sound. I can catch repeats, oversights and inconsistencies that way. I also notice if the words flow and if what I'm...