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DIVING DEEPER: A Writing Workshop – WRITERS' CIRCLE NEWS - #7 May 4, 2008
Dear Friends and Diving Deeper members,
I don't know about you, but time seems to be rushing by faster and faster, and life seems to be more and more all over the place, so many things going on… So many of my dear friends are going through intense experiences.
For me, there are moments when everything feels 'too much' and out of control. A dear friend suggested that now is truly a time of 'no control' - we used to feel we had some control even when we knew we didn't… but now, there isn't even that feeling left..!
Well. We have our Diving Deeper pod, we have our writing. This seems to be the one 'constant' in my own life - my writing. When I'm able to take time for my writing, everything seems to settle and calm down.
Since our last Newsletter, there have been more changes to the group….. change is the one thing we know will happen, right?!
Even this Newsletter is going to be a little different…
Read on for some little snippets from our moderators, some words from one of our dearest Diving Deeper participants, Tom Howe, and even original artwork from Nono!
AND: We have the Truly Bad Writing Award: from now on each Newsletter will feature a link to a piece from this fabulous completely NOT truly bad writing board. Is yours here? You'll have to scroll down to find out, and if you haven't contributed a piece, well, hey, it's about time you do! Go Here for details ! 
GENERAL NEWS:
Diving Deeper has gone 'semi-private' (or semi-public, if you prefer). This means that if someone wants to join, they have to make a little more effort than simply clicking the 'join now' button. They need to email one of the moderators and ask to be invited. We made this change to help deepen and protect the space of the workshop environment.
NEW MODERATORS AND NEW BOARDS:
We have two new moderators, Sparrow and Leigh-Anne (aka quietlaughter).
We have a 're-defined' or re-enlivened board, Writing as Spiritual Practice
Leigh-Anne has taken over the helm of this board. I'm delighted because a large part of Diving Deeper process is a spiritual aspect.
Leigh-Anne has this to say about the Writing as Spiritual Practice board:
“There are many different ways that we can explore what is sacred and spiritual in our lives - in many cases we begin to find the sacred in everything as we dive in and our own inner growth and personal development finds a spring board or stepping stone in doing so. This board builds on the assignments left by Alex Noble, and introduces some new assignments, different approaches to writing as a spiritual practice.
The Diving Deeper process can become a meditation - a form of concentration that allows a person to reach a point of stillness; from this place, as is true for other forms and styles of meditation, we can experience writing in a different way. Experience tells us that writing can be very healing - which is a lovely side-effect of Diving Deeper into writing itself. Whatever our path, religious or spiritual background, writing can become part of our spiritual practice or a means of expressing our spiritual path, and gives us the opportunity to understand ourselves better, understand our purpose or what path we are meant to follow in this lifetime. The assignments found in this board, as well as any of the other assignments available in the Assignment Archive can be used as a means of accessing the sacred in ourselves and the sacred in the world around us.” 
Den helige anden, i akryl och struktur. Ingår som den mellersta i treeningheten
(The holy spirit, in acrylic and structure. The middle piece of divine trinity)
by Pirjo Zeylon - aka Nono
WORDS FROM OUR MODS….
I'm asking all our moderators to introduce themselves a little - today we will hear from our three newest mods, Sparrow, Leigh-Anne and Andrea (drechanteuse):
Sparrow:
“I arrived here in October, certain that I had nothing to say since I hadn't written anything since high school, but knowing that I needed to write. Then, my life capsized and this place suddenly became my personal floatation device. What worked so well for me here was the “just do it” approach. I tend to over-think, and the process of opening a page, chewing on a thought for a few seconds, trusting, and diving in was tremendously liberating. I thought I would be involved exclusively with prose; poetry was the furthest thing from my mind, but I found that I loved writing poems. This place is full of surprises when you start diving.
Our best work in anything, writing or bricklaying or brain surgery (if that is your thing) seems to come with a sense of flow: we allow ourselves to be carried in the great river of creation, and we become instruments for our given medium. The best thing we can do is Get Out Of The Way, and I think Diving Deeper helps us do just that, whether we are aspiring writers or just want to get to know the sound of our very own voice.
I am cheering for you!!
Sparrow”
Leigh Anne
“I first joined DD in November 2007. I was in the practice of writing daily when two years ago I came to a dead stop in my writing. After a long period of struggle, I happened across Diving Deeper here on Gaia - and following my instincts I joined. Through the assignments, I found myself opening on a personal level as my writing opened and feel like I have only just begin to go more deeply into it. I have found that I can push myself in my writing, try on new forms like screen writing for the first time. The challenge is wonderful and I plan on continuing to stretch myself as I continue to grow as a writer. My main focus has been to develop my prose writing skills here. In the past I have written mainly poetry, and have had several poems published, and won a few contests but in a small and moderate way, which is how I prefer. I have a few books of poetry kicking around as well as a website floating around on the web. I have written a novel, the manuscript that is currently tucked away in a box somewhere in my studio. I have written non-fiction essays and handbooks/ texts and guides in the past. I am not too concerned at the moment about becoming published - I simply love to write. That in the end will always be my main goal. My interests are quite varied and I often draw on my personal experience when I write anything. My educational background is a prime example of how varied my interests are: I have a degree in English Literature and French Literature, as well as a degree in Theatre. I have two other degrees in Anthropology and Psychology. My insatiable thirst for knowledge informs my writing as much as my personal experience does. My life is pretty full - two daughters, a great husband whom I am very proud of for the work he is doing as a motivational speaker, have a busy day job as a special events and fundraising coordinator for a local charity. I volunteer teaching yoga classes for seniors twice a week, help out with a group called Art for Aids International, paint and work on the side as a photographer. Whenever I have a spare moment - I find myself writing now - and that is entirely due to Sandra and Diving Deeper!
la”
Andrea:
“About moi said Miss Piggy, I can't remember when I wasn't writing. When I was about yay-high to the fender of my grandfather's Ford Fairlane, I used to pound the keys of my grandmother's antique typewriter until I had a story. Lacking an audience, I'd stuff my work in an envelope, and go next door to have the neighbor's poodle read it. The neighbors were very nice, always had milk and cookies, and never burst my bubble with the facts: Poodles don't read. I continued to write throughout school, winning art and poetry contests here and there, getting published in illustrious publications such as “The Dean Martin Fan Center Magazine,” and having a cartoon strip televised by Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show on CBS, eventually hitting the big-time in Victorian Homes Magazine. I studied just about every type of writing you could imagine - creative non-fiction, playwriting, screenwriting, picture book writing, writing young adult novels, etc… I worked for Universal Music Group, where I got to write about jazz, and run the first broadband streaming music video website. Then, in December 2001, due to the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, Vivendi (new owners of Universal) laid off our entire department. It was a confusing time. I scrambled, and decided to pursue a career in teaching. I longed for getting off at 2:30 P.M., and 6 week vacations to b used for the purpose of writing and creating art. What I had not predicted was that the effect of the No Child Left Behind Legislation was going to be to stress teachers out so much that there would be no time or creativity left to do anything with. I was truly miserable. Keyword: drained. Now, for the happy ending. I located an old friend on Zaadz, and I was hopping around the site when I saw something amazing. It said, “So and so posted a message in Diving Deeper - A Writer's Workshop. Chimes went off, angels sang, and my trembling finger clicked on the link.
I arrived. I joined. I wrote. (Sounds like that needs to be translated into Latin, but I never studied it.) I stuck my big toe into the poetry board, went knee-deep into truly bad writing, and finally did a cannonball into the prose section. Since then I've been diving regularly and for extended periods (with virtual tanks of oxygen, of course.) I moderate the Screenwriting/Playwrighting board, which is new and exciting, but mostly, I know longer feel sad or drained. I am fulfilling my believed intended purpose: I write. I gave my husband the hiccups for three days because he laughed so hard at my “Feast of the seven Fishes” story. Now, that's a sense of accomplishment. When my principal come in to berate me nowadays, I don't flinch. I just listen with this strange glow in my eyes, thinking, “You'll be great material for an assignment in Diving Deeper.” Shhh! Don't tell her the secret. And when my doctor asks me if I exercise regularly, I can now honestly say, “I dive.” Okay, that's my story. Off to Glendale for a Medianoche sandwich and a bit of surgery. Andrea P.S. About the screenwriting /playwrighting board: The Diving Deeper Screenwriting/Playwrighting Board is a place for writer's to practice writing in the screenwriting or playwrighting formats, but also, it allows writers to dive into the process of really showing the action maybe a bit more clearly than is possible in poetry or prose. Screenwriting is also a great way to differentiate character voices, to show intention, and develop character arcs. There are specific Screenwriting/Playwrighting assignments posted, but any assignment can be completed in these forms. If you have never tried it before, don't worry. I offer gentle guidance, and help you through the rough spots. I'm not worried about formatting the page to Hollywood standards here, I'm all about what's on the page itself: the writing. Don't be scared. Dive in! Splash around and have some fun. (We've even got virtual floaties if you need them.)”
 Gubben och jag, i krita och bly. Ögonblicksverk likaså och den blev en GUBBE!
The old fellow and me, in chalk and lead. Catching the moment and it became an OLD FELLOW!
by Pirjo Zelon aka Nono
NEW ASSIGNMENTS:
Since assignments are such an integral part of the Diving Deeper workshop, I'm going to list a few of the latest ones – if you haven't done an assignment recently, see if one of the following catches your eye. Remember that most of them are designed to take no longer than 20 minutes or so…. no excuse not to fit one in sometime….!
THE TRULY BAD WRITING AWARD
goes to…. Sparrow for her 'Trooly bad riting' 
TOM HOWE INTERVIEW
DD mod Synerjyz fearlessly agreed to interview Tom… here it is, in multiple parts (Tom or Syn or the interview, I'm not sure…)
Part i:
Tom, What does Diving Deeper mean to you?
Diving Deeper, to me, is a miracle. A place where we combine spirituality with writing, the most perfect Sunday sundae that could ever be conceived. Here, as writers, we are not so much concerned with esthetics as with truth, the truth of ourselves that has never yet been spoken. Diving Deeper is some kind of mystic reality, where change is possible, where the block is tackled, by untackling it in some strange cosmic way. Writing using the Sandra method reminds me of those scenes in Shakespeare in Love, when everything seems to be going to the dogs you just go:
“Don't worry, everything will turn out okay.”
“But how?” (gazing around in wild dismay)
“I don't know. It's a mystery miracle.” to be continued…. in our next newsletter!
With love and a group hug to everyone …. 
Sandra
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