Do you think there’s a writer hidden inside you, but you’ve no idea how to find them? Writer and life coach Vicki Pinkerton may be able to help.
She’s running a workshop called Writing from the Core, in Whitehorse on Feb. 7, to help participants discover their inner writer.
There’s an infectious calmness about Pinkerton that bodes well for the workshop. Her friendliness and kind sense of humour are likely to make the most timid of would-be writers comfortable enough to reveal a syllable or two.
Not that the workshop is about the nuts and bolts of craft, says Pinkerton. “It is a day to explore your writing self and begin working to your potential.”
There are no prerequisites for the workshop, explains Pinkerton, who lives in Ontario but is often in the Yukon visiting family.
“This course is for experienced writers, those who would like to become experienced writers and those who haven’t crept out of the bottom drawer yet to claim themselves as writers.
“As a life coach, I want to put the focus on who your inner writer is and how you may step in her way. The day will introduce you to the inner writer struggling to get out, start a dialogue between you and that writer and expand what you are able and willing to do as a writer.”
Pinkerton is well aware of the vulnerability many writers feel.
“I have been a writer since early childhood, my most prolific period coming before teachers and other adults made me see that what I was doing was very childish.
“My first three novels were written and published, self-published, when I was in Grade 3. They were hand-bound in construction paper, self-illustrated, when I still believed I was an artist too, and stapled on the kitchen table,” she says.
“After that, I kept my writing a secret until I was in my late 30s.”
Acknowledging that “writing from the core” is “rather like getting naked on the page,” Pinkerton says: “When you are reading a book that just grips you, it is because of universal themes. It is because the writer has somehow envisioned what it is to be you, and you can absolutely understand where she is coming from.
“Conversely, the only way that writer can get into your mind like that is to be totally open about who she is, to expose all of her rough spots and foibles.
“The big question then becomes, will ‘they,’ the readers, get it?” Pinkerton asks. “I think there is a very fine line dividing our writing from who we are, so to write is to invite rejection not only of one’s writing but one’s self.”
One way Pinkerton helps workshop participants feel comfortable with each other is by encouraging everyone to bring a lunch to share. Other tools include meditations, writing exercises and games.
Anyone keen to meet their inner writer can sign up for the workshop by calling 633-4924.
The workshop takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hellaby Hall. Registration closes on Feb. 5.
For more information, visit www.lifelinescoaching.org.
