I have a full slate of workshops schedules for September: Fiction Writing Essentials, Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), and extended Guided Autobiography Workshops. You don’t need to register now (links are included), but save the dates and stay tuned. – Mark

Guided Autobiography 4 Week Online Workshop
Starts Wednesday, September 4, 10:00 am eastern
Register here

Guided Autobiography 4 Week Online Workshop
Starts Wednesday, November 6, 10:00 am eastern
Register here

Fiction Writing Essentials
2 Hour Online Workshop $40
Monday, October 7, 10:00 AM eastern
Register here

Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
2 Hour Online Workshop $40
Thursday, October 10, 10:00 AM eastern
Register here

I’m furiously working on a full roster of workshops, extended workshops and classes to offer starting September. Subscribe at YourWritePath.com and stay updated on all of it!

“Mark gave us a simple exercise, to pick a room and diagram it using the house we grew up in. Put in the furniture, windows, all the room’s features, and take notice of any feelings, emotions, thoughts that occurred as we did the exercise. I was astonished at the power of my memories and feelings as I thought about the knotty pine “den” where my family watched TV, sometimes ate, spent most of the nighttime hours before going to bed. I relived the distance I always felt between my father and me, the anger of my father toward my mother, my disgust with my sad depressed grandmother, who I felt almost didn’t exist for me. I became that teenage boy in Canton, Mississippi, trying to figure out how I could be so different, how I could know I was “queer”, and wondering if I would even be able to act on those feelings.” – Jim G.

We don’t do these workshops for praise or compliments, but knowing we’ve impacted someone’s life is its own reward. This testimonial from a recent Guided Autobiography workshop participant really hit home.

“While my expectation was to learn something about the process of telling one’s own story from the POV of a late in life boomer, it became for me an example of & exercise in group trust. Each attendee willingly shared often intimate personal experiences & stories intended, I think, to demonstrate how to fuel a journal, memoir or some sort of leave behind writing project for one’s family. I NEVER saw this coming & consider it a gift and the best aspect of the workshop!

You created a safe space for us all to mine & share our memories & guided us thru the pair of exercises that were, in different respects, all about self reflection and vulnerability.” Richard W.

The back has a QR code. These are for handing out at book festivals, local merchants, here, there and everywhere.

Thanks to the five participants who came to my first two-hour Guided Autobiography introductory workshop! It was a success. They all found it to be profound in some ways, thought-provoking in others, and well worth their time and attention. And I was delighted to see how effective this kind of journaling and personal exploration is, with me as a facilitator. We have liftoff!

I’ve gotten to know Mary Ann, two of the bloggers at Silver Sage Sisters, through her brother Tim and his husband Ron. They’ve become dear friends with me and Frank. We often go to the theater together at Lambertville’s Music Mountain Theatre, and then head out for dinner. We’ve also been graciously invited to Ron and Tim’s house in New Hope for special feasts, and the lovely Mary Ann is always there. Enjoy their blog! Soak up some wisdom, by women for women about women.

“Silver Sage Sisters are friends near or in retirement who have been sharing the wisdom of their experiences with each other. Glimmers of hope, ideas, learnings and failures are components of each of our lives. Freely and openly, we share our insights and experiences with other women so each and all of us know we are never alone.”