Here’s a list of WordPlay Classes/Retreats and Workshops designed to boost your creativity — some are currently being offered; all are available. WordPlay’s programs are flexible by design and can be customized to meet the needs of interested groups, whether you’re looking for a speaker to inspire your members regarding the power of language and story or a workshop for participants to explore their goals and dreams and/or learn about the benefits and rewards writing offers — mentally, physically, and spiritually. For rates and more information about how WordPlay can serve you or your group, call 704-494-9961 or email maureen@maureenryangriffin.com. Want to take something that isn’t currently offered? Ask to have it scheduled. If there are at least six committed participants, it will be put on the calendar.

COASTAL WRITING RETREAT: Connect with Your Creativity at the Sunset Inn (Writing—and more—as Renewal and Inspiration) / 1 weekend session

Back by popular request: a weekend writing retreat full of activities to reconnect you to your creativity. Renew yourself, whether you are a practicing writer, closet writer, or as-yet-to-pick-up-the-pen writer! The techniques and prompts we’ll use will spur your imagination, and can be used to create nonfiction, fiction, and/or poetry—the choice is yours. There’ll be ample free time to savor your beautifully appointed private room with king-sized bed, private bath and balcony, the large porches with rocking chairs and swings, and the coastal setting. For more information on the Sunset Inn, which is a five-minute walk from Sunset Beach and is next to a peaceful marsh where herons and cranes live, see www.thesunsetinn.net. You’ll return home refreshed, with new ideas and energy for your writing. $392 includes retreat sessions, two nights’ lodging, two breakfasts and Saturday lunch. We’ll eat Saturday dinner at a local restaurant (not included.) You’ll need a copy of Spinning Words into Gold, available for $23.76 at retreat. Or order a copy now:

WHERE: The Sunset Inn, 9 North Shore Dr., Sunset Beach, NC 28468
WHEN: Friday, November 12 - Sunday, November 14, 2010 and
Friday, February 25 - Sunday, February 27, 2011
TO REGISTER: Contact the Sunset Inn at 888.575.1001 or 910.575.1000. Register early — this is a popular event! The Inn will hold your reservation with a credit card.

CONNECTING WITH YOUR CREATIVE SELF (Writing& Collaging as Self-exploration) / 1 or more sessions
In honor of “fresh starts” (New Year’s, September, Advent, etc.) — a workshop chockfull of writing and collage activities to reconnect you to your creativity. We’ll use exercises from Spinning Words into Gold to play with language in fresh, new ways. You’ll leave with at least one new draft of a poem, essay, or short story, and renewed energy for your writing and/or your life. If you don’t yet have Spinning Words into Gold, you’ll need a copy, available for $23.76 (includes tax).
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this workshop be offered again, or to arrange to have this workshop held for your group or organization.

CREATING YOUR FUTURE (Naming Dreams & Goals; Setting Them in Motion) / 12 sessions
What dreams would you like to set in motion? What accomplishments would most fulfill you, fin any and all areas of your life? in this powerful class, you’ll gain proficiency in five skills that will deliver a future you design for yourself. You’ll need a copy of Dave Ellis’s Creating Your Future, available through amazon.com.
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this class be offered again, or to arrange to have this class held for your group or organization.

DELICIOUS MEMORIES (Writing about Food) / 1 or more sessions
Food not only nurtures and sustains us, it’s a rich source of metaphor and memory! We’ll explore our connections with food as we write of when, where, what, with whom, how — and even why — we ate! You can use your food writings to create a family cookbook, creative nonfiction, poetry, a food blog, etc. -- or just for your own pleasure.
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this workshop be offered again, or to arrange to have this workshop held for your group or organization.

THE HEALING POWER OF WORDS (Writing As a Healing Process) /
5 sessions
What benefits can writing provide – physically, mentally, spiritually? Are some ways of writing more healing than others? And can we create quality literary work as we heal? In this workshop that incorporates Dr. James Pennebaker’s ground-breaking ideas, we’ll discuss and implement ways to use writing as a transformational tool. And, if you’re looking, you’ll find the genesis of new poetry, creative non-fiction, and/or fiction. Warning: Laughter likely. Inspiration guaranteed.
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead St., Charlotte, 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Wednesdays, September 15 - October 13, 2 - 4 pm
TO REGISTER: Click here to download a printable registration form to mail in. Or register online:

ILLUSTRATING OUR AUTHENTIC SELVES (Expanding Our Creativity; Collaging & Writing as Self-exploration) / 1 or more sessions
“Think fun. Think delight,” as we embark on collaging what poet W.H. Auden calls “a map of our planet” using images, quotes, photocopies of photographs, menus, fabric — your intuition will lead you! And we’ll be writing and reflecting too, to awaken insight and ideas that will enrich your creativity in all areas of your life.
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this class be offered again, or to arrange to have this class held for your group or organization.

MOTHERWORDS (Preserving Family History / Writing for and about
Your Family / The Art of Memoir) / single or multiple sessions
Check out a blog about this workshop here! Learn how to write to, for, and about your family quickly, easily, and from your heart, whether you’d like to write about your children’s childhoods in the making, your own childhood, and/or your family’s history. Practice techniques that will enhance your appreciation of the special gifts of motherhood, nurture your own creativity, and capture your family’s priceless moments on paper to treasure always. $25/1 session. OR save 10% -- pick any 3 sessions for $67.50.
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead St., Charlotte, 28204
WHEN: Thursday, May 13, 10 am – noon
TO REGISTER: Click here to download a printable registration form to mail in.
Or register online: MOTHERWORDS SINGLE SESSION:

PICTURING YOUR SOUL (Collaging & Writing as Self-exploration) 1 session
A workshop combining intuition and imagery for anyone who enjoys self-exploration, using the process of SoulCollage® as described in Seena B. Frost’s book, SoulCollage.” We’ll write as well, to interpret the language of symbols, dreams, and archetypes, to awaken inner wisdom, and to explore the mystery at work in our lives. Also discussed will be the use of visual images to create powerful fiction, nonfiction, and/or poetry. $60 includes supplies. Repeater's special: If you've taken this workshop before, pay $35. Bring your own lunch with you, or run out to nearby Stonecrest (or Trader Joe’s or Earth Fare) to pick one up. $60/1 session. Repeater's Special: $35 (if you have previously attended Picturing Your Soul).
WHERE: 6420 A-1 Rea Road, Suite 218, Charlotte, NC 28277
WHEN: Saturday, August 21, 10 am – 4 pm
TO REGISTER: Click here to download a printable registration form to mail in.
Or register online. Just click on the "add to cart" button under the retreat you'd like to attend:

FIRST-TIME REGISTERING:

REPEATING:

SEASONAL WRITING RETREATS (Writing — and More — as Renewal / Creating New Writing) / 1 session each
Renew and delight yourself. Seasonal retreats are opportunities to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. Enjoy various seasonal prompts; they have not failed to elicit beautiful material that can be shaped into essays, poems, stories, or articles. After a communal lunch, you’ll have private time which can be used to walk a wooded trail, collage, work with a piece of writing from the morning, etc. You’ll take home new ideas, new drafts, and new possibilities. $75 includes box lunch and supplies.
WHERE: Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church, 9704 Mallard Creek Rd., Charlotte, NC 28262
WHEN:
Fall Equinox Retreat: Saturday, September 25, 2010, 10 am - 4 pm
Winter Solstice Retreat: Saturday, December 18, 2010, 10 am - 4 pm
TO REGISTER: Click here to download a printable registration form to mail in.
Or register online:

FALL EQUINOX RETREAT:

WINTER SOLSTICE RETREAT:

SPIRITUAL JOURNALING (Writing as Spiritual Connection, Enrichment, and Guidance) / 1 or more sessions
In this workshop, we'll practice methods of journaling and meditative writing for spiritual enrichment. These easy techniques can deepen our appreciation and experience of scripture and shed new light on ways that God is working in our lives.
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this workshop be offered again, or to arrange to have this workshop held for your group or organization.

THE ARTIST’S WAY: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity* (Expanding Our Creativity; Creating Joy and Fulfillment in Our Lives) / 13 sessions
Are you ready to set your creative dreams and goals in motion? This empowering, nurturing course will spur your imagination, deepen your faith, and inspire the best in you. *using Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this class be offered again, or to arrange to have this class held for your group or organization.

THE ARTIST’S WAY* ONE-DAY WORKSHOP (Expanding Our Creativity; Creating Joy and Fulfillment in Our Lives) / 1 session
Based on the best-selling book by Julia Cameron, this lively workshop will help you tap into your own creativity— through writing, collage, and other exercises. Stretch your thinking! If you are curious and ready to invigorate your life, this day is for you. Designed to spur your imagination and inspire your best ideas (whether you think you have “artistic talent” or not). A great way to jumpstart your creativity
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this workshop be offered again, or to arrange to have this workshop held for your group or organization.

THE VEIN OF GOLD: A JOURNEY TO YOUR CREATIVE HEART: SETTING OUT and THE KINGDOM OF STORY (Writing as Self-exploration and a Creative Art) / 6 sessions
Are you interested in “mining” your life for the essays, poems, stories you know are there, waiting to be written? “The road to authentic art is through the self,” writes Julia Cameron in her companion book to the national best-seller, THE ARTIST’S WAY. In this class based on the first two sections of VEIN OF GOLD, we’ll use a variety of exercises and techniques designed to excavate (or become better acquainted with!) the writer/”creative artist” in you.
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this workshop be offered again, or to arrange to have this workshop held for your group or organization.

WALKING IN THIS WORLD: THE PRACTICAL ART OF CREATIVITY* (Expanding Our Creativity; Creating Joy and Fulfillment in Our Lives) / 13 sessions
A second course in an amazing journey toward discovering our human potential *using Julia Cameron’s Walking In This World. Full of valuable new strategies and techniques for breaking through new creative ground.
WHEN: Not currently scheduled. Contact maureen@maureenryangriffin.com to request that this workshop be offered again, or to arrange to have this workshop held for your group or organization.

WRITE LIKE A GENIUS (Expanding Our Creativity; Learning New Tools for Our Writing and Our Lives; Creating Writing) / weeklong session
Discover your own genius as you learn to apply seven fascinating approaches of Leonardo da Vinci to your writing. These techniques enliven non-fiction, poetry and fiction. Expect fun, inspiration and writing galore in your preferred genre, with opportunities to share your work. You’ll need a copy of Michael Gelb’s How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci.
WHERE: John C. Campbell Folk School in the North Carolina Mountains (Brasstown, NC). $512 plus room and board.
WHEN: August 30 - September 5, 2009, all week long!
TO REGISTER: Call 1-800-FOLK-SCH or online at www.folkschool.org.