“Saundra’s
workshop brought me back to myself, to my life, to engaging with the
world. She is a great facilitator, gentle, kind, supportive and easy to
talk to.” Jen G.
“This workshop turned out to be a way of finding my voice, which is not what I expected, but I suspect it’s what I needed. I was looking for bricks and mortar, what happens in plotting, where do I publish? What I got instead was the integral missing piece: How do get myself to write? Where do I find the words?” Ron B., freelance writer
Fifteen people gather round a large oak table, their feet firmly planted on the floor, their hands resting gently on their laps. The jittery chatter of just a moment ago is replaced by a deep silence. Fifteen people sit and follow their breath until a bell rings. They are given a writing topic—“Why you are here”—and the bell rings again. They are off and writing. Fifteen hands move across the pages of fifteen notebooks, the scratch of pens on paper the only sound in the room.
“This workshop turned out to be a way of finding my voice, which is not what I expected, but I suspect it’s what I needed. I was looking for bricks and mortar, what happens in plotting, where do I publish? What I got instead was the integral missing piece: How do get myself to write? Where do I find the words?” Ron B., freelance writer
Fifteen people gather round a large oak table, their feet firmly planted on the floor, their hands resting gently on their laps. The jittery chatter of just a moment ago is replaced by a deep silence. Fifteen people sit and follow their breath until a bell rings. They are given a writing topic—“Why you are here”—and the bell rings again. They are off and writing. Fifteen hands move across the pages of fifteen notebooks, the scratch of pens on paper the only sound in the room.
In my workshops I try to create a bubble in time where beginning and experienced writers can explore their deepest dreams in writing. Using Natalie Goldberg’s writing practice as a foundation, I encourage students to explore the territory of their own minds and memories, and to write from their deepest selves. In the time we are together I encourage writers to let go of the pressure to produce and give themselves permission to dig in the rich compost of their lives for material.
I offer workshops for all levels of writers and on a variety of topics. For beginning writers, I offer a place to dive in. For professional writers, I offer the opportunity to return to beginner’s mind and remember what it is like to write from desire, to follow your mind and return to the sound of your own voice. In addition to courses on writing practice, I teach workshops for graduate students who want to write with “voice,” courses on writing about art and about motherhood, and a class on reading for structure.
I have studied writing practice with Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, since 1999, and completed two year-long intensive courses with her. I began teaching writing in 1999, a few months after I completed my Ph.D. in art history. Prior to that time, I taught art history courses at the University of Texas, the College of Marin, and lectured on art for the Texas Fine Arts Association, the Huntington Art Gallery, and the DeCordova Museum, where I served for two years as assistant curator. In addition to teaching writing for U.T. graduate students and at the Writer’s League of Texas, I offer workshops for organizations and private groups, as well as individual guidance and instruction.
Upcoming Workshops
Write from the Bottom of Your Mind: Summer Writing Practice Period
Monday nights, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
June 7, 14, 21 and July 12,19,27
In this summer series we will get back to the basics: sitting meditation, walking meditation, and writing practice. It will be a time for silence and stillness, providing the opportunity to go deeper into our writing—to write, in the words of Jack Kerouac, “from the bottom of the mind.”
Cost: $199
Location: To be announced
Recent Workshops
Winter Writing Practice Retreat
Location: Austin -- To be Announced
This winter's retreat will help you set the tone for the season with a day of writing practice and meditation. May Sarton wrote that, "winter is the season when both animals and humans strip down to the marrow." While the media tells us to shop, party and overeat, the Earth gives us a different message, that it is time to withdraw, to go under.
Topics and exercises at the retreat are designed to help you go deep inside yourself, to strip to the marrow, and get grounded for the weeks and months ahead.
Open to all levels of writers.
Who Should Attend?
- Anyone interested in starting a writing practice
- Writers who want to deepen their writing experienc
- Students of past "Build a Writing Practice" classes
Writing Practice, Memory, and Memoir
Writer’s League of Texas
2 to 5 p.m. Saturdays, January 17 & 31, February 7 & 14, and March 14 & 28 (6 sessions)
For years Saundra Goldman has been dreaming of a class using writing practice to excavate material for memoir. With Natalie Goldberg coming to Austin in March to promote the paperback edition of Old Friend From Faraway: The Practice of Writing Memoir, we have the perfect opportunity.
This course provides the opportunity to delve deeply into mind and memory. Students will work through Old Friend, finishing all the exercises in the book in time for Natalie's visit. Students will also study several short memoir pieces to get some ideas for organizing their newfound material. After an introduction to writing practice, class time will be spend writing (a lot!), reading aloud, and studying assigned reading.
Who should attend?
$199 members; $259 nonmembers
Register Online
Writer’s League of Texas
2 to 5 p.m. Saturdays, January 17 & 31, February 7 & 14, and March 14 & 28 (6 sessions)
For years Saundra Goldman has been dreaming of a class using writing practice to excavate material for memoir. With Natalie Goldberg coming to Austin in March to promote the paperback edition of Old Friend From Faraway: The Practice of Writing Memoir, we have the perfect opportunity.
This course provides the opportunity to delve deeply into mind and memory. Students will work through Old Friend, finishing all the exercises in the book in time for Natalie's visit. Students will also study several short memoir pieces to get some ideas for organizing their newfound material. After an introduction to writing practice, class time will be spend writing (a lot!), reading aloud, and studying assigned reading.
Who should attend?
- Those interested in memoir and personal essay
- Any writer who want to excavate his or her own life for material
- Writers at all levels welcome
$199 members; $259 nonmembers
Register Online