When I told you that John’s Christmas present to me was a ticket to the Gunnas Masterclass in Writing, several of you asked me to share how the day went. I just got back to the hotel and I’ve got so many words spinning around in my head.
Catherine Deveny is an author, stand-up comedian, speaker, mum and lover and all of those talents and abilities were on show today. She’s probably good at a whole lot more things but she doesn’t blow her own horn much. What I do know is that she’s the most confident woman in her body that I’ve ever met. I wish I could say the same thing. I grew up with my mother telling me not to eat this or that or I’d get fat and nobody would like me. To say my mother was often unkind is the nicest thing I can say.
The writing class was held at Bishop Sessa in Surry Hills in Sydney and upstairs is a lovely room with a huge window giving lots of daylight. In the center of the room was a big wooden table made up of lots of small tables. Everyone came in right at 10am and Catherine met us at the top of the stairs and asked our name. Even before we had our name tags on, she remembered all the names.
She gave a quick overview of the day and then went around the room pairing up one person with the person next to her (or him – there was one man in the group) and our job was to get to know this person, why they were there and what they wanted to get out of the class. Five minutes later, we each got to introduce this person to the group of 20 students.
Sarah sat next to me and she is a ghostwriter who has many stories of her own inside her head. She came along to the class to put away her procrastination and get on with choosing a title and getting her first book off the ground. This is the second time she’s attended this class and in the past year she’s started a blog and is moving forward with her stories. She’s started several books and hasn’t finished one yet. The “Gunnas” was written for her.
Catherine encouraged her to give it a go because she had a lot to offer. We went around the room. One woman wanted help getting her thesis done for her PhD and next to her was a woman who wanted to write My Life as a Whore and next to her was a marriage celebrant who wanted to write a book of poetry and nice things to say at weddings. Catherine, who hates marriage, thought she should write a manual on love ceremonies or weddings without religion or the state being involved.
Next to her was me. Gina introduced me and said I’d written blog articles for our dating site and my food blog and Catherine asked about that. I said I’d been quite successful but I’d never gotten my writing into a marketable stage. She told me with all the writing that I’d done and how much I wanted it, it was time to:
She stamped me!! It took about an hour to go around the room and hear all the stories about why people were there and what makes them want to write.
Over the six hours of the class we learned that we should just shut up and write. Turn off Facebook and Twitter and the TV and everything else we use as an excuse and start the Gunnas challenge. Write for one hour every day for 4 days a week for a month. We should write first thing in the morning, whenever that is for us. After the month, writing for an hour will become a habit. Stop the excuses and just write.
There are three reasons that keep most people from writing and they are:
- Procrastination – always finding something that needs doing rather than writing.
- “My words are shit” so why bother writing at all?
- “I worry about what people will say.”
Write anyway. Write as if none of that matters. One of the things she told us that really stuck in my mind was, “It’s not going to kill anyone if you tell your stories.” I do worry that my writing isn’t good enough and to that she said, “Even if you are the juiciest peach in the world, not everyone is going to like peaches. Let it go.”
According to Ann Lamott, author of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, there are three steps to writing. The down draft – just start writing. Get anything down by pencil, crayon or computer. It will be shit but that doesn’t matter, just write.
Second, is the up draft and that’s where you fix it up and remove all the crap that doesn’t tell your story. Finally, the third and final step is the editing. Catherine says get an editor to edit, a proofreader to find the spelling and grammar mistakes and a designer to get a kick-ass cover. It’s worth it, especially after all the time you’ve put into your work.
“Writing is horrible. I once met a well-known writer at a writers convention and I asked him which he liked better, reading or writing and he looked at me as if I was an idiot. ‘I would rather lick a pathway through a pile of shit than write.’ So it’s okay to think writing is hard,” Catherine told us. That image will stick with me til the day I die. I mustn’t be good enough because I still love writing. Maybe that’s because I only write for you and me and it doesn’t matter how anyone else feels. If you and I are happy, I’m okay with that.
We had great coffee, lunch was sandwiches, salads, pates, candied walnuts and apples, albacore tuna, lamb fillets and so many other things that it’s difficult to remember now. This was a writing class and not a food blogger day so I only took a few photos.
Would I take the advanced Gunnas writing masterclass? Absolutely. I have my fingers crossed that she’ll do one in Brisbane so I don’t have to travel so far to attend.
Now I’m off for dinner with Tania, Charlie Louie, Drew and Nagi. I can’t wait.
Sounds like sage advice… 😀 What a great experience to of had I always panic about the writing side of things I know I have room for improvement but until I can find the magic formula I will just need to get on with it or get off the pot!!!!
What an experience!
Writing’s a bitch. That’s why I love her!
What an experience, I wish I had been there too! Sometimes I sure need something like that.
Very interesting… you know, we have graduate students that at some point need to write their PhD thesis. Some of them will face doing so in a foreign language – we had our share of CHinese students, and it is not easy for them at all.
even though we never took advanced writing classes, actually I think Phil did, but decades ago, we give one advice for our students that echoes what you got: write for one hour without interruptions, first thing in the morning. That’s when your mind is fresh and you can be real productive. TUrn off everything, email, phones, set a countdown timer for 60 minutes.
the problem is, they agree but rarely follow it to a T.
oh, well – it is a great piece of advice, though!
I’ve been to 3 sci-fi writers’ workshops with a friend in support of her effort to be a published writer. (She went on to have a short story published in a collection of Star Trek fanfiction put out by the franchise so I give myself a mental high five for that.)
I once challenged myself to write and finish a story. I wrote and submitted a ST fanfic to a zine which I read myself and whose standards for acceptance were, IMO, decent . It was accepted with minimal editing corrections. I wrote another story which was also accepted. And then I realized that I had gotten the writing bug out of my system. Having been both a reader and a writer, I know which one is harder to do. Luckily I like reading more than writing. 🙂
Sounds like a great experience and I hope you get to go to the Masterclass
Thanks Maureen – I thought of you several times yesterday and knew you would be having a great time – so kind of you to share. Look forward to hearing about dinner from at least one of you:)
Now THAT sounds like a class I want to take!! Thanks for sharing your notes Maureen :0 Sorry about the mix up re: dinner, see you in a few hours for brunch!! N x
Sounds like a great day, full of really useful advice and motivation. GG
Sounds like a fabulous class… and you must be dedicated to travel that far! Are you staying long in Sydney? More importantly, are you coming to the Berra?!!!
Love your style of writing Maureen. Keep doing what you do……Have just visited your blog after seeing your name crop up on other blogs. Will be visiting more often! This Gunnas looks fantastic and a must for newbie bloggers like me. Thanks for posting.
I have taken a couple of college courses on writing, and while I always forget the finer nuances taught after a few months, the only thing I remember is: Write, even if it’s shit. Oh well, not that it has done much. But I know it works, just not convinced it will work for me, lol! Thanks Maureen, this as a good read.
Oh I am so jealous…& so stoked fro you!
Yes please, bring on Brisbane….
& thanks Maureen, for all your sharing (beautifully :))
Wow, what an amazing experience, I would love to attend a writing class, your husband was so thoughtful!!
Sounds like a great class, thanks for sharing Maureen
Bahaha love that motto. I agree – procrastination in my worst enemy when it comes to writing but once you really knuckle down it’s amazing what suddenly pours out!
nice one, looking forward with the impact of this masterclass in your writing….
Thanks for sharing the class Maureen. Sounds like a very informative and inspiring one. I think there’s a writer in all of us. I really enjoy reading your blog/posts. Looking forward to reading your book/novel if you choose to write one. That chocolate slice thing looks quite amazing! 🙂
Sounds like a terrific class! The most important thing to learn about writing is that everyone’s writing is shit. At least for the first draft. It’s rewriting that makes bad stuff good. And then more rewriting. And more rewriting after that. Ernest Hemingway would rewrite parts of some of his books over 100 times — mainly finding words to throw out. The second most important thing is to apply seat of pants to seat of chair, and just do it. And then get to work rewriting that lousy first draft. 😉
I so agree about turning off all social media. I find I get much more done when I do that!
Have you read “Bird By Bird” Maureen? It’s absolutely brilliant and the best book I could recommend on writing.
I wonder if Catherine will bring her classes to Adelaide?
That definitely feels like a class I would love to attend. The three reasons for not writing are so aptly said. Nice.
So happy that you could attend it. Writing is an ongoing learning experience.
Have a great Monday my dear.
What an awesome class, thanks heaps for sharing your thoughts. I can’t believe how many years I took to get over those 3 points/excuses people make about procrastinating over not writing. Totes sounds like a class I’d enjoy. 🙂
Happy week ahead to you!
My grandmother was like your Mum. She’d measure me with a tape measure and tell everyone how fat I was, commenting to my cousin that she couldn’t understand why she liked me since I was so ugly. It’s hard to break free of that dreadful body image, isn’t it? I’m so glad we don’t have to believe them anymore, that we love our chubby selves with our very own wobbly bits and know that we are beautiful and good enough. XOXO Your class sounds really interesting.
Thanks for the rundown on the class, how quickly did you put that up. You are incredible. Sounds like a great class and one I would love to do
That’s so special that John gave you a writing class for Christmas. He’s very thoughtful. What a day! It sounds like a very interesting and informative class and I’m glad you were able to glean some tips from it. I really enjoyed catching up with you and John for dinner – now that was special! xx
It was a wonderful day! I didn’t get to meet you but I wanted to tell you that when you started talking about your blog I knew who you were straight away and I think you’re a wonderful writer and clearly a great cook ????
Eeek that should be !!! Not ??? ????????????
Glad to hear that it was an inspiring class. LOL at the quote from the writer about which he would prefer! 😛
That’s is a class I need badly.
Great advice and that saying would make a great tattoo! You are already a gifted writer, so I’m excited to see how you develop your stories even more!
What an incredibly motivating experience this was, Maureen – thanks so much for sharing it with us 🙂
Sounds like a very interesting class. You took terrific notes too! I guess her suggestions and advice could carry over into all areas of our life. I too wish I was that confident! Thanks for sharing this – good food for thought.
What an amazing time! Thank you for sharing your experience Maureen, there’s so much good advice in this post!
Have fun at your dinner!! Wish I could join all you lovely ladies. I’m still giggling at your stamp!!!
I bet the dinner with the girls was fun. 🙂
I sometimes feel a bit unsure in my writing, that’s because I tend to make proposition mistakes in the English language. Sometimes I have good days but then I also experience bad writing days, that’s when I don’t feel inspired. The challenge sounds like something I should start out. How much do you end up writing in an hours time? Do you include the editing in that too? If I don’t bother about the grammar I can write so much more freely, it’s a release. 🙂
PS You are a great story teller and writer.
This is why I love blogging, the community is always so lovely and complimentary. It sounds like you got a lot out of the class, are you still doing the disciplined writing? I have to have the words inside me, otherwise, there ain’t nothing coming out. Not even good or bad, just nothing. It was difficult when I blogged everyday so I quickly developed a number of scheduled posts in case I wasn’t inspired that day, but now a days I’m blogging once per week and I barely have a post ready a day before it’s due. But fortunately, I haven’t missed a post unless I planned to miss it.
This is so inspiring for so many of us. Thanks GREG
LOVE Bird by Bird and all the great advice Ms. Catherine offered…Thank you for the reminders…Writing in the morning is wonderful…And the teacher’s comments about peaches is a kick-in-bottom incentive to forget about the almost got published stories of the past and simply WRITE ON! P.s. Fascinating group of characters in your class =)
One guy only amongst all the girls? ^.^
Catherine sounds like a very self confident person who knows what she is doing. I will take the advice with the writing but 1 hour does sound like a lot. I think I will do it that way; whenever the power is cut I will just write until the lights come back. 🙂
So John’s gift was quite worthwhile as I can read.
Maureen, I’m so proud of you and tickled that you followed up on your writing dream. (Yay, John, for the gift!) Recently I acquired “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron and it’s been immensely helpful getting me back into ‘writing’ too. You GO, girl!
I needed to read this today, Maureen! I am trying to put together this one post for a large group platform. I have the ideas in my head, but for some reason, have procrastinated so long. It is time to…well, as your stamp said 🙂 Thanks, friend.
Sounds like it was an interesting and eye opening day. So did you go for more writing inspiration for the blog, a story book, or are you going to write a memoir (which would be so very interesting 😉 )?
Well at least you took a photo of the most important food! Sounds like my mother and your mother used a lot of the same words! I just write and I am happy to do it. We all have our different reasons but sometimes it is because it is too hard to get my butt out of the chair! Great class, Maureen and thanks for sharing!
Maureen, you crack me up, you are so funny! And, you are a great writer, I love reading your posts. How I wish I could be at one of these sessions. I bet that lady’s story about ‘My Life as a Whore’ would be a riot! 🙂
Great looking pictures and those brownies…..umm-ummm!
wow that class sounds wonderful and love hearing your thoughts, love the shot of that delicious chocolate dessert
Sounds like you had an interesting day, Maureen. I’m sure you had a lot to contribute as you are already a writer and a storyteller, and it sounds like you are ready to take it to the next level!
Maureen, what an incredible experience! Perhaps one day I’ll take such a class and get shaken out of my writing lethargy!
Great advice! You know they say you can only be an expert at something if you do it for at least 10,000 hours. Oh my goodness that would stress me out for doing it for a total of 10,000 hours but if you look at the time it takes to get a post written, proofread and all of the other things most of us are well on our way to 10,000. Writing for one hour every morning is a brilliant idea.
Wow, what an experience Maureen…very inspiring…and I definitely would benefit from the classes…
Enjoy the rest of your week 🙂
Wow, what a day you had, sounds like lots of food for future thought too!
Sounds like a fantastic workshop!!! The stamp says it all. 🙂
Writing better stories is one of many things I want to improve for my blog. What a great gift John gave you! I wouldn’t sign up for this kind of thing myself (I’m too lazy…), therefore nothing is improving. Thank you for sharing the tip you learned from the class. It takes effort in the beginning to write for 1 hour for 4 days a week. But I can see it will become habitual. I already love your writing (especially you write as you were talking to me) and love the comfortable feeling I receive while reading. Good luck with your writing challenge. 🙂