Claim Your Joy in 2021 Story Summit Writing Class
By: David Paul Kirkpatrick
Tags: Writing Tips, Claim Your Joy In 2021, Debra Landwehr Engle, Amy Ferris, Writing Prompts

Claim Your Joy in 2021 Story Summit Writing Class

If your writing mojo went missing in 2020, it’s time to bring it back, get ready for the new year, and Claim Your Joy in 2021 with this remarkable writing class. The Story Summit Writer’s School will be conducting a 2-day LIVE workshop on Monday, December 28 and Tuesday, December 29 to help get your new year of writing off to an inspiring start.

It is specifically designed to take advantage of the quiet time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The 6-hour workshop will be led by the co-directors of the Story Summit Writer’s school, Amy Ferris and Debra Engle.

“What a great way to start this new year!” Says Story Summit co-founder, David Paul Kirkpatrick, also the co-founder of the MIT Center for Future Storytelling and the Former President of Paramount Pictures. “Amy and Debra are two of the finest writing coaches and educators in the field. It’s six hours designed to reconnect you with the sheer deliciousness of the creative process — and give you tips and strategies to make the coming year your most productive yet.”

The schedule is simple:

Amy and Debra will co-teach both days — December 28 and 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. Eastern (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific).

“It’s time to get excited about your story ideas, elevate your view of your future, and

spend time with other writers who will cheer you on,” says Debra Engle. “It’s all about joy and clearing out old patterns and fears that keep you stuck. Along with Amy Ferris, I’ll guide you to a new way of seeing and experiencing the joy in your writing — and your life.”

“Amy Ferris is the godmother of writing prompts,” says Kirkpatrick. “Amy will instantly take you to the heart of who you are as a writer. She’ll affirm you and your dreams so you can start 2021 with new confidence and clarity. I’ve worked with some of the greatest screenwriters of the 20th century. I am auditing the class, as there is always something new and profound I learn from the Amy and Debra.”

The class is for any writer — poet, novelist, screenwriter, non-fiction author, short story writer, blogger or song-writer. “It’s about impulse and flow. Think magic meets mojo,” says Amy Ferris, “ and you’ve got a glimpse of what this course is all about. We’ve planned 6 hours of prompts, inspiration, motivation, writing, encouragement and community — all during the quiet break between the holidays. It’s the perfect way to keep the good cheer going. You’ll be spending time with other people who understand why the words, I am a writer are so sacred to you. What better gift could you give yourself this year?”

The LIVE workshop-class will include:

— Visualizations and guided meditations to help you imagine your future.

— Exercises to get clear about what you want to write and why.

— Ways to commit to your writing so you’ll follow through.

— Practical tips for setting up a writing practice to fulfill your goals in 2021.

By the time the class is over, Debra and Amy want you to have a joy journal that will motivate you well into the future. So please choose a favorite journal to use for your Claim Your Joy writing. And go ahead — start filling it with quotes, pictures, poems and other reminders of the writing magic inside you.

To enroll or learn more, please go here.

More on Amy Ferris and Debra Engle

Amy Ferris

Amy is an author, a screenwriter and television writer, a journalist and editor. Her adaptation of the movie Funny Valentines (Director, Julie Dash — Daughters of the Dust) was nominated for a Best Screenplay award (BET). Her memoir, Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis was adapted into an off-Broadway play in 2012. She has contributed essays to numerous anthologies. Amy curated and edited the collection Shades of Blue, and co-edited the anthology Dancing at the Shame Prom. She created the monthly column, The Ovary Office, in collaboration with Women’s eNews highlighting and illuminating women in politics. She serves on the Advisory Board of The Women’s Media Center and is on Faculty at Kauai Writers Conference. In 2015, she co-founded The Milford Readers & Writers Festival along with Sean Strub, Robert Levine and Suzanne Braun Levine. In 2018 Amy was honored by Women’s eNews as one of its 21 Leaders for the 21st Century for her activism, her passion and her commitment to women’s voices.

Debra Engle

Deb has been a storyteller all her life. She is the #1 bestselling author of The Only Little Prayer You Need featuring a foreword by the Dalai Lama. In addition, she’s written three other books of nonfiction and a novel and is a two-time winner of the Nautilus Award, honoring better books for a better world.

Deb holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and has worked as a book and magazine editor, publisher and mentor for writers worldwide.