What's New:

New class dates for Fall 2008:

The next Wild Word Breakfast will be held on Saturday, September 13. Also offered Oct. 18 and Nov. 15. To reserve a spot or learn more about this lively freewriting class, please cllick on the Class Schedule page.

Writing coaching available. Thea is currently accepting new coaching and editing clients. Please visit the Writing Coaching page to learn more, then call or email if you're interested.

Sign up for the Mailing List to receive email announcements of future offerings.

Looking for more writing classes?

Check out the Bay Area teachers below:

Highly Recommended:

Laguna Writers Workshop, Chris DeLorenzo, http://www.laguna-writers.com/

Based on the Amherst Writers and Artists Method, these comforting, inspiring workshops involve freewriting exercises, optional reading around the circle, and a non-critical method of response involving recalling what listeners like and remember. Teacher Chris DeLorenzo is a great guy; fun, supportive, organized, and he makes delicious brownies!

Worth checking out:

The Writing Salon, Various teachers, http://www.writingsalons.com/

Ripe Fruit Writing, Leslie Kirk Campbell, http://www.ripefruitwriting.com/

Red Room Writers’ Society, Ivory Madison, http://www.red-room.com/

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Thea's writing:

Thea's essay, "Trying", which appeared in The Sun magazine in October 2005, was shortlisted for the anthology The Best American Spiritual Writing, 2006 (see the back page of the current edition, Houghton Mifflin, pub.). Other writers mentioned included Natalie Goldberg, Huston Smith, Gretel Erlich, and Oliver Sacks. To read the first half of the essay (I repeat: it's only the first half--a teaser!), click here.

A poem by Thea appears in a recent issue of The Cortland Review! To read the poem online--and hear Thea read it in Real Audio--simply visit Issue 30 of The Cortland Review

Got writer's block? Read Writing as the Call of the Divine: Three Steps for Dropping Struggle and Creating with Ease. http://www.psychicreadernewspaper.com/Reader/2004/4-04/index.html

See Thea's writing page to sample more poetry and nonfiction by Thea.

Creator and teacher Thea Sullivan says:

"What makes The Intuitive Voice classes different, first and foremost, is the philosophy behind them. It's my conviction that if you want to write, it means something wants to be written through you–and your job is to show up and step out of the way. I can help you move gently through blocks and fears so that your writing can become the joyful, easy flow it was meant to be. (Even revision can feel effortless-come and find out how!)

I also believe in your natural originality as a writer. I trust that each of us has a one-of-a-kind creative fingerprint, a personal constellation of sounds, tendencies, ideas, and themes that is our very own. And I offer effective tools–proven successful by hundreds of students and not available anywhere else–to help you unearth and recognize that unique writing voice. From there, it's easy to discover passionate direction for your work, or keep your on-going writing practice fresh by continually moving into new creative terrain.

A lot of writing classes make the mistake of looking only at what's on the page and not on how it gets there. While craft and revision are vital, I think this overemphasis on product puts the cart before the horse. What you write is important, but more important is how you write, since writing is, first and foremost, a process and a practice. I can help you get happily to the desk, get your pen moving, weather the ups and downs of the writing life, and stick to your goals with compassionate commitment. From there, in my experience, a strong product inevitably follows..

Finally, it's the atmosphere that makes these workshops special. My classes are always safe, supportive, and a lot of fun. Because of the shared belief in everyone's originality, a sense of warm community takes the place of competition. And while I take your writing seriously, I also know that too much criticism at the wrong moment can dampen the creative spark. So you decide what level of feedback you're ready for at any given point. Besides offering helpful suggestions and moral support, participants take delight in each other's words, share playful exercises, and cheer each other on–because writing is meant to be fun!"