The Mindful Writer

The next session of “The Mindful Writer: Cultivating Your Fearless Writing Voice” begins Thursday, January 15, 2009. Classes meet in North Berkeley from 7:00 — 9:30 p.m. and run for ten weeks; the cost is $275 for the entire session. Below is a description of the class as well as comments from former students. If you are interested in this or future sessions, please contact cwmalcomb@hotmail.com or 510-559-9076.

About the class:

Mindfulness is full attention on the present moment. In this workshop, we’ll explore how to use this practice, both formally and informally, to discover and write our deep stories. We’ll write from personal experience, using exercises to generate and hone topics, address “writing blocks,” respond to others’ work, and craft finished products. Students will “publish” and share at least one finished piece, and receive individualized feedback from both peers and the teacher. Suitable for experienced and beginning writers alike, this workshop provides a safe, inspiring place to coax forth your inner writer.

What former Mindful Writer students say:

“Chris created a very comfortable, supportive process of inquiry into writing. He shared his passion for mindfulness and writing in a way that inspires my own.”

“I truly feel the freedom and safety to write from my heart without fear in longer glimpses after taking this class. I look forward to ‘coming back’ to my practices, again and again, without shame or guilt.”

“Chris allows each writer to develop courage to put word to paper and share it with the world. I enjoyed his encouraging and generous spirit…I have also felt healed by the transformative power of writing about some of the intense experiences in my life. I feel really grateful to have taken this class.”

“I feel like I’ve been given a mini ‘Master-class’ in writing! [Chris’s] knowledge, experience, and sharing gave me many tools to approach my own words in a more informed, and ‘writerly’ way.”

About the teacher:

Chris Malcomb has practiced mindfulness meditation for six years. He has taught private writing classes and facilitated workshops for the California Association of Independent Schools, the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute, and the Prison University Project at San Quentin. His essays have appeared in San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Common Ground, Teachers & Writers, and KQED Perspectives. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of San Francisco.