Tag: Natalie Goldberg

2024 Writing Intensive Workshop & Church: Best of Both Worlds
Christianity · My Thoughts · Writing

2024 Writing Intensive Workshop & Church: Best of Both Worlds

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Readers enjoying writing-2024 Writing Intensive Workshop

My church started at 10:00 AM this morning, and the 2024 Writing Intensive Workshop started again today at 11:00 AM, so I had the best of both worlds today. I could attend both!

My Church, Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church

I had choices this morning. Natalie Goldberg’s writing workshop offered Zazen (sitting meditation) at 10:00 AM which I love, but today is the second Sunday in Advent. Each week, I look forward to the music of Advent and the Scripture reading and hated to miss it this morning. I did the sitting meditation for most of the days this week, so I decided to attend church on Facebook Livestream. I wasn’t disappointed either but had to leave before the end which I don’t do regularly.

I’ve been attending church on Facebook Livestream almost every Sunday since the dog attack—five months today. I’m so thankful they offer online church!

2024 Writing Intensive Workshop

Natalie Goldberg’s Winter Writing Workshop began on Wednesday, December 4 and lasted five days. Surprised, I thought it was four days—so glad it was five. I’ve done several of her online retreats and trainings, in-personal book signings and presentations in Albuquerque. I’ve been a fan since 1992 when I bought her book.

I loved her focus for this workshop:

  • Writing practice—She introduced writing practice to the writing world in her book, Writing Done The Bones in 1991. This is a timed writing with a pre-determined topic with specific guidelines:
    • Kept writing no matter what
    • No editing—just write
    • Freed to write the worst junk
    • No crossing out
    • And more
  • Great literature—Natalie strongly believes and repeated often over the five days, “Reading books are your teachers.”

Schedule for 2024 Writing Intensive Workshop

Each day we followed the same schedule and all sessions are optional. Prajna Studio provide videos of Natalie’s teaching sessions to those in attendance.

  • 10:00 – 10:30 AM – Zazen (sitting meditation)
  • 11:00 – 2:00 PM – Class with Natalie. Teaching, writing, and sitting meditation. They provided a 15-minute break.
  • 4:00: – 5:00 PM – Writing, Reading, and Listening with Dorotea Mendoza, Natalie’s assistant. Writing as one big group; reading and listening in small groups of four or five.
  • 7:00 – 7:30 PM – Zazen (sitting meditation)

Natalie’s Rich Literary Focus This Workshop

Each Day Natalie focused on rich literature from a variety of cultures, then we did writing practice in response to topics she selected from each book. Here’s some highlights:

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

We started with a book of Annie Ernaux’s who won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature, but I didn’t get the title of the book Natalie read. Sorry about that!

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Natalie read to us from Dinaw Mengestu’s book, How to Read the Air. In a previous class with Natalie in 2021 we read Dinaw Mengestu’s book, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, and she asked us if we remembered reading that book before. I certainly did. Dinaw is an Ethiopian American novelist. Natalie features authors who have detailed rich prose.

Friday, December 6 2024

Natalie surprised us with guest writer, Jamie Figueroa. Jamie studied with Natalie and has used writing practice as the foundation for her own writing and her teaching of fiction and nonfiction at the Institute of American Indian Arts. We had a delightful time hearing Natalie read sections of Jamie’s new book, Mother Island: A Daughter Claims Puerto Rico. Jamie shared intimate details about her writing of this book. What an up-close and personal time this was!

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Natalie asked Dorotea, her assistant, to share her favorite author and not why he’s her favorite, but what is it about him that captured you? Dorotea’s shared her deep love and connection with Gabriel Garcia Marquez! Her choice excited me because I had studied him in my upper-level Spanish literature classes for my degree. What a tribute Dorotea paid this man, knowing more about him than I know about any of favorite authors. Dorotea first read his, The Story of a Ship Wrecked Sailor, and then went on to read all she could of Marquez’s work. A couple title she referenced: Love in a Time of Cholera and 100 Years of Solitude. I learned about the importance of translators of foreign authors.

Marquez pioneered a genre I love, magical realism, which I used in my poem, Coba—I Was There!

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Natalie began the day with Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez by Richard Rodriguez. His quote she emphasized was “There are things so deeply personal that they can be revealed only to strangers.”  Natalie ended our time together with reading from her legacy book, The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life and Language. I have that book and have pulled it out to re-read it—so rich!

Finally,

Today I attended church and celebrated Advent which fed my spirit. All week I participated in an amazing writing workshop that once again fed my writer’s soul, immersed me in compelling literature, writing practice that stretched me and the opportunity to listen to others reading their writing.

Natalie read and referenced many other authors and works too many to identify. I identified those that spoke to me!

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“Haikuing” Through Life
haiku · My Thoughts · New Mexico · poetry

“Haikuing” Through Life

Larada Horner-Miller1 Comment
Writing in a journal—haikuing

“Haikuing” through life helps me make sense of this life we’re leading in an economy of words. Yes, life’s topics inspire me to write haikus, a three-line poem with Japanese origin broken up into syllable counts: 1st line–5 syllables, 2nd line–7 syllables, 3rd line–5 syllables.

“Haikuing” While Walking

In 2021, I walked regularly and composed haikus as I walked. Nature inspired the topics easily.

bird birds usa raven. Haikuing
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
July 15, 2021
Raucous cawing of
Black birds circling above
Noisy neighborhood
July 20, 2021
See your essential
“Spiritual beingness” now
Do not dread your death!


To be present now
I must ground me to something
Earth, please touch my feet.
white cumulus clouds. Haikuing
Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com
July 27, 2021
Cloudy skies, humid
New Mexico greens up with
July rains. So fresh!


The desert greens up
With abundant July rains.
Wet, not hot, this year!
August 11, 2021
I turned sixty-eight.
Is that old now? I wonder.
Hell, no! I’m not old.
woman and dog walking at woods. Haikuing
Photo by Humphrey Muleba on Pexels.com
August 17, 2021
Walking frees my heart
And soul to connect with my
World and God as one!


Puffy white clouds hang
Suspended against blue skies.
Are they cotton balls?
August 18, 2021
Tomatoes, green now
Tomorrow ripe, red and ready.
Joy and juicy now!


One small chunky start
Cucumbers ready to burst
My mouth savors them!


You can’t eat flowers,
But they feed my soul daily.
God’s heavenly fare.


God speaks through flowers.
Multi-colored—see a splash
Of diversity!

Finally,

I write free verse poetry too, but I have always had a love affair with haikus. When I taught poetry to middle schoolers, they wrote wonderful, meaningful haikus. Recently, after attending Natalie Goldberg’s “The Way of Writing” class in 2021 and reading her book, Three Simple Lines, that fire re-ignited in me, and I have fanned the flame regularly to keep them coming.

How about you—do you do “haikuing” through life? Do you like haikus? Do you write them? If so, share one!

News, News, News!

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~Have you bought a copy of Flippo’s biography yet? Believe it or not—it’s been two years. Go here for your hardback or paperback: https://www.laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.

~For me, it’s Christmas all year long! Here’s a variety of Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

Writing Groups—A Best Kept Secret for Writers?
My Thoughts · Writing

Writing Groups—A Best Kept Secret for Writers?

Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments
Writing groups

Are writing groups one of the best kept secret in the writing world? Not for me! Currently, I take part in two groups, each one focusing on a unique part of writing.

East Mountain Writing Group

In 2016, I joined the East Mountain Writing group. This group has played a key role in my preparation for the publishing of my last three books. Presently we have four in our group, but we have had six. We meet monthly for a couple of hours and submit work to be critiqued. These in-depth critiques substantially breathed life into many of my submissions, which later became my published books.

I can’t compliment this writing group enough because of their dedication to specificity. Each time they critiqued my work, I always looked forward to their comments because I knew my writing will improve. Also, I have the privilege of reading and critiquing their amazing work.

Over the years, our socializing time has grown because we’ve become deeply acquainted with each other’s lives. Because of our longevity, our familiarity with each other’s work causes check-ups on long-term projects. The coronavirus pandemic didn’t stop us from meeting. Immediately, we jumped on the Zoom wagon for our meetings.

Colorado Writing Practice Group

In March and April 2021, I took part in Natalie Goldberg’s “The Way of Writing” class, focusing on her “writing practice.” In 1986, Natalie’s book, Writing Down the Bones, began a new practice for writers, a ten-minute timed writing practice that changed the writing world. I used this book and her idea when I taught writing to my sixth-grade language arts classes, but got away from it.

Fast forward to this year—during her class, Natalie suggested we join a writing group that focused on writing practice. So, using Zoom, I joined one in Colorado and one in New Mexico, but the New Mexico group didn’t continue.

The Colorado group started out small, with just a couple of us. Then we had some writers join and leave, but currently we have five committed members. We meet weekly at 4:00 PM MST for an hour.

This is how this group differs: our faithful leader comes up with two thought-provoking writing prompts, and we do “writing practice.” The rules are simple:

1. Keep your hand moving. 2. Don’t cross out. 3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. 4. Lose control. 5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical. 6. Go for the jugular.

Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (1986): 8.

In 1990, Natalie added a couple more rules:

1. Be specific. 2. You are free to write the worst junk in America.

Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life (1990): 3-4.

After we have done the timed writings, then we each read our writing. How it differs is the response of the listeners: all we do is listen and thank the writer—no comment, no critique! So, you might wonder about the benefit of this writing group. We’ve met weekly since March, so we’ve become familiar with each other’s’ voices, and I can see how each writer has grown as a writer during our time together. When I write, I know beforehand that I can write “the worst junk in America,” so I can risk going deeper, being authentic! My writing has improved because of this group and this discipline.

Finally

Each writing group offers something different. Each one feeds my writer’s soul distinctly. If you haven’t joined a writing group, find one that meets your needs and then commit to attend regularly.

Are you in a writing group? If so, how does it help you? Share your comments below (Scroll down)!

Starting on November 2, I joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge, a challenge to write a blog post every day of November. For the first week, I focused on writing topics.

Last Week’s Ultimate Blog Challenge Posts:

Recent Weekly Blog Posts You Might Have Missed:

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My new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better?, is now available:

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ALL FOUR E-BOOK FORMATS OF FLIPPO’S BIOGRAPHY AVAILABLE NOW:

Stop by my website for all the information you need about me & my books: https://www.laradasbooks.com

Drop by my Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B00LLQTXSM

VISIT MARY ZALMANEK, A FRIEND’S BLOG: Cooking in a One-Butt Kitchen | Eating Well in Small Spaces: https://cookinginaonebuttkitchen.com/

My Bookshelves: What Do They Reveal?
Books · My Thoughts

My Bookshelves: What Do They Reveal?

Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments
Stack of books - bookshelves

Bookshelves reveal so much about a person. All my life I’ve loved libraries and bookstores. The stacks of books, big and small, comfort my spirit, so I’ve created a mini version in our home. I have a very eclectic combination of titles, so I’d like to share my bookshelves with you.

One of my bookshelves
One of My Bookshelves

As an English major, I collected Norton’s Anthologies at Colorado State University, books three to four inches thick, forty years old, and I still can’t let them go. They feel like good old friends. While at the university, I added to that collection Milton and individual Shakespeare plays I studied in my upper level classes. I have one Louis L’Amour book, Sachett, which we read in my Shakespeare class when we were reading Julius Caesar, comparing the two characters. I’ve revisited the Shakespeare’s plays over the years when I’ve wanted to renew my acquaintance with a specific play. Also, I have kept The Iliad of Homer and The Odyssey of Homer.

Because I studied the classics, I added Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, Walt Whitman’s poetry and T. S. Eliot’s poetry. This summer, I focused on Hemingway’s writings after watching the Ken Burns’ document. I read The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast to sample one of his novels and his memoir, but I’ve labored long on his short story collections. It fascinates me how he can take a single moment in time and write it to the fullest. At the university, I studied Charles Dickens, and I’ve stored his books in our storage shed.

My other bookshelves
My other bookshelves

I love poetry. On my poetry shelf, I have several books by my favorite current poet, Mary Oliver. I also have several poetry collections, and a slim Emily Dickinson book highlighting her special poetry. I also have a local Mexican poet, Jimmy Santiago Baca’s book, Martín & Meditations on the South Valley.

Being in the Southwest, I love reading books about Native Americans. I have two classics, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and Black Elk Speaks. Surprisingly, you won’t see my favorite author, Tony Hillerman’s books on my shelf because my husband has them on his. Several years ago, I collected the Don Coldsmith’s Spanish Bit Saga series with rich stories about the Plains Indians dating back to the Spaniards coming here.

One of my favorite educational professional development workshop was the Latin America Database Workshop, and I gathered a nice collection of Latin writers like Eduardo Galeano and Rigoberto Menchú.

Over my years in recovery, my bookshelves dedicated to this vital part of my life have grown, but my mainstay is Alcoholics Anonymous. I have many other books addressing alcoholism, codependency, family of origin issues, and incest.

Because of my wide reading in recovery, I met Pema Chodron, a Buddhist nun, and stockpiled several of her books on my bookshelves. My favorite is When Things Fall Apart. I also learned about Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, in my recovery wanderings and have a collection of his poetry.

One of my largest collections is my religious books. I have an assortment of Bibles, commentaries and study aides. My favorite commentary is the William Barclay’s The Daily Study Bible Series on the New Testament. I read one of these daily.

Included in my religious collection is C. S. Lewis’ The Narnia Tales, which I reread last summer after a forty-year break. How delightful that was to revisit Narnia and get reacquainted with Aslan.

As a middle school English teacher, I collected so many books over the years to have available in my classroom for my students, but I have given most of them away. I kept limited books from teaching years like Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl and books about her life. Also, I have all the Harry Potter books, but they’re in my husband’s library. I will never forget seeing a small sixth grader carrying around his copy of one of the Potter books and it was almost as big as he was!

My professional library of books addressed class managing and other education topics, and you guessed it—writing! But I gave most of them away, except for Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequality, a book telling the sad tale of the inequality of education across the United States.

As a writer, I’ve gathered writing books for many years. Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones heads my list of Nat’s, but I have several of her books. I used that book in teaching writing to my middle school students, changing my attitude towards writing. It freed me up to see myself as a writer, and many of my students did the same. Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way changed my life many years ago with her tool, Morning Pages. I still do them every morning.

To date, I also have an extensive digital library on Kindle, iBooks and Kobo. I joined the digital world with reluctance at first. But now, I enjoy using my iPad to read a book, especially when we’re traveling.

Recently, as I looked at my bookshelves, I saw several books I bought, put on the shelf and never read. I decided it was time to read them, so I’m working my way through those titles right now.

In conclusion, I hope you’ve enjoyed your travels through my personal library. What you see here is a wide range of interests and flavors—that’s me! I believe in diversity and a multitude of possibilities.

What do your bookshelves look like if you have a personal library? What are your favorite books?

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Read, reflect and respond on the beach!

My new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better?, is now available:

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Add Flippo’s biography to your bookshelves!

~HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY? Go to the homepage on my website & pay for it there: https://www.laradasbooks.com

~Here’s Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When Its Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

ALL FOUR E-BOOK FORMATS OF FLIPPO’S BIOGRAPHY AVAILABLE NOW:

~Stop by my website for all the information you need about me & my books: https://www.laradasbooks.com

~Drop by my Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B00LLQTXSM

~VISIT MARY ZALMANEK, A FRIEND’S BLOG: Cooking in a One-Butt Kitchen | Eating Well in Small Spaces: https://cookinginaonebuttkitchen.com/