PLANNING FOR 2016 ALREADY

It is not yet Thanksgiving and I am already filling next year's calendar. We are all so busy we can't wait because every day fills up before we know it.

Lisa, head of the Community Enrichment Program at Tri-County Community College said she had to have next year's calendar turned in this month. So she and I set up two Tuesday courses, 6 - 8 p.m. for me to teach in March and another in September. Both of these classes will be for those who want to write personal stories or essays about themselves, their families or pass on the stories of their ancestors. One class will be for those who have not taken classes before and the other will be a little more advanced for those who have taken my classes in the past. 

STUDENTS IN ONE OF MY CLASSES AT TCCC

Because publishing has become so much easier with self-publishing having lost most of its taint, authors are asking how to market their books. I can't begin to tell you the number of writers who have called me to say, "I have a box of my books in my closet. Now what do I do with them?"

Of course, they should plan the marketing program before the book is published. Who is the audience they want to reach? How much travel will they be able to do to read and sign books? How well do they know how to use social media to build a network of readers? Have they published anything before? Do they have a reputation as a good writer? Do they have a big email list of prospective readers or buyers of their book?

SATURDAY CLASSES IN MAY AND AUGUST AT TCCC

I will teach a couple of Saturday afternoon, two hour classes on Publishing and Marketing next summer. One will be May 14 and one will be August 13. The fee, $25.00, is beyond reasonable. 

If you live in driving distance of Murphy, NC, you might want to consider looking into taking classes at Tri-County Community College in Cherokee County. 

TCCC is where I began taking writing classes in 1995 with Nancy Simpson. That was where I met most of my writing friends I have today. Because I took that class, I learned about the NCWN-West group of writers and the critique groups that met each month. 

Within a few counties and small towns in the far western tip of North Carolina and north Georgia, we have a writing colony made up of poets and fiction writers as well as nonfiction and memoir writers. I was introduced to them all because I signed up for a course at TCCC and took a poetry class at the John C. Campbell Folk School.

When I teach adult writers, I feel I am giving back some of the joy and happiness I was given all those years ago. I hope my students find the fulfillment I did when I began learning the craft and publishing my work. 

It was Easter, the kids have their baskets. My brother Rex in red jacket. Mother in blue sweater, always cold, in front of my parents' home.

What is it about a death in the family that turns our minds to photograph albums, old letters, and keepsakes? How many of us are motivated by the passing of a loved one to finally take the time to write about our own lives or write about our loved ones? Whether we write poetry or prose, we have this need to put our thoughts and feelings into words. Even those who never thought of themselves as writers get the urge to leave behind something written.

When my brother-in-law, ( a poor description for the man I loved like a second father), died suddenly when I was forty years old, the depth of my despair poured out on paper, verse after verse, until I had covered two pages of a legal pad. Looking back on that writing now, I see it was not much of a poem, but I didn't care if it was ever published. It was my way of expressing grief, honoring him, and feeling the loss I knew would never end.

Death of a loved one brings us face to face with mortality, and we can't deny the fact that we could be gone tomorrow. Have we done what we wanted? Will we be remembered, and if so. what will be our legacy?

We want our lives to be important enough that generations to come will speak of us and tell stories about us or read what we have written and be pleased.

One of my greatest treasures is a video tape my brother, Ray, made and gave to all of us. Several members of our family met every couple of weeks and had dinner. Afterward we pulled out old gospel songs Ray had copied for us, hymns that had great harmony. My husband played guitar and sang along while a couple of us sang alto and two others sang soprano. We had only one tenor but two basses. I'll always remember the happy times we shared and I am grateful he made the videos so we can play them, remember the joy we had, and laugh at ourselves because of the way we looked - not a smile on anyone's face. We were too intent on getting our words right and staying on key.

We all have great memories to write about that will be a treasure for the next generation and generations after that.

Taking writing classes gives one opportunities to experiment on how to capture those memories and how to make them entertaining to the reader.