Mindful Writing: Refine
Mindful Writing: Refine
February 13th, 8p-9:30pm ET on Zoom
Time to revise the concept of revision through artistic Refinement. What does it mean to revisit our work, and how can we establish a mindful process that aligns with the deeper meaning of our story? This session engages the relationship between the meta concept of our Big Picture and the meaningful minutiae of detail (precise rather than trivial). By paying close attention to how we engage with more unwieldy passages in our work, we begin to recognize patterns that can be streamlined to enhance the artistry and clarity of our prose.
The Mindful Writing Series invites you to explore your story as well as your writing life with a fresh, inspired perspective. We’ll examine what prompts us to share our stories, why we make particular narrative choices and what we’re truly hoping to elucidate. What do we know, and how do we come to know it? What do we not know that might open a path to curiosity? How may we learn to or perceive anew and write about the discoveries?
In this session, we mindfully investigate ways to:
Frame – How to problem-solve by sustaining a cohesive and coherent narrative throughline
Drain – Fill up and let go to truly sense how less becomes more
Play Insane – Why a wild and crazy choice can shake up reality and reveal added clarity
Together, we’ll explore the Refinement process as an organizational path to hone structure and language. We’ll also consider factors of what Hungarian-American psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi termed the flow state, when as writers, we get so lost in our creative process that we step away from the concept of time. Join us for this transformative mindful writing experience that shifts us from depletion to inspiration, sparking the depths of our imagination, inviting the flow of new words.
Lara Wilson, a writer, teacher and 40-year meditator, devotes her life to exploring the intersection of mindful wellbeing, nature immersion and storytelling. Intent to share the meditative practices that helped her through years of breast cancer treatment, she established the mindful wellness educational collaborative Be Well Be Here, a 501c3 nonprofit in Concord, MA. Lara’s short stories have been published in The Kenyon Review, StoryQuarterly, American Fiction, Confrontation, Indiana Review, and the Chicago Tribune Book Section as well as anthologized in Printers Row and Hacks: 10 Years on Grub Street. Her essays have been featured on NPR / WBUR’s Cognoscenti and in a collection honoring her mentor, the late Andre Dubus. Lara holds a master's degree in English and American literature from Harvard and a graduate certificate in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University; she also earned certification in restorative yoga (RYT-200), Reiki (Level II) and advanced mindfulness trauma training (TSMa). She and her husband are the parents of four beloved adults, two of whom were married last year. Ask about her passion for forest bathing and equine experiential learning – and share your story!