“A writer needs three things: experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which . . . can supply the lack of the others.”
~William Faulkner~
I strive to provide group and individual consultation using instructional techniques that will be affirming and educational. I specialize in creative non-fiction and essay, with a focus on storytelling. I offer fiction or poetry classes and instruction through contracts with local writers who are accomplished educators and writers. I will also custom-design a class for a small group. I am more interested in writing process and craft than publication, though I am happy to help writers find publication assistance and venues for polished work.
Shape & Flow is a sole proprietorship I began in November 2012, beginning with memoir workshops in a coffee shop. It was difficult to compete with the cappuccino machine, so I decided to risk renting a space at Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center— a repurposed slaughterhouse with an antique mall just below my office and an art gallery around the corner. Mellwood is its own writing prompt!
I believe everyone can write creatively. I also believe that ordinary lives make extraordinary stories.
Why should you trust me to teach you? I have my MFA in creative nonfiction, published for Today’s Woman Magazine for 11 years. And I taught college literature and English composition at Spalding University for more than 10 years—from 2003 to 2014. I love to teach!
The poet and humorist, Dorthy Parker, famously said, “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” Writing memoir and personal essay engages curiosity about self and the world. Through this process, we are enlightened, and never bored.
Learn more about my business and teaching philosophy. Read my blog musings And take a look at some of my published work.