Sonoma County Writing Practice offers seasonal eight-week writing practice sessions throughout the year. Sessions begin mid-January, mid-April and mid-September. Two four-week “intersessions” are also offered beginning mid-July and the end of November. A writing practice session includes eight two-and-a-half hour weekly meetings held in a stately Victorian on a quiet, semi-residential street close to downtown Santa Rosa. Seasonal day-long workshops ranging from a day to a week in length are held periodically.

   The heart of the writing practice structure is the “ten-minute write”—a spontaneous effort inspired by a “jump-off” line. While daunting at first, the “write” forces us to keep our pen moving, preventing us from from struggling with words or thoughts in a way that so often paralyzes our hand. The process is inspired through meditation, poetry and most importantly, recitation and “recall.”

   No one is ever required to read their “write” aloud, but for those who do, the writing circle “recalls” those words or lines that particularly strike them. This is a gentle, positive and nonjudgmental mirroring process designed to alert us to strengths in our writing. In this way writing practice builds our confidence, craft and self-esteem.