Laurie Gough’s latest book…
S T O L E N C H I L D
Although Laurie Gough was an intrepid traveller and travel writer who had explored wild, far-off reaches of the globe, the journey she and her family took in their own home in their small Quebec village proved to be far more frightening, strange and foreign than any land she had ever visited…MORE
“…a book that belongs among the classics of parenting.” ~Michael Shermer, American science writer, columnist for Scientific American, founder of Skeptic, author of Why People Believe Weird Things, The Believing Brain, and The Moral Arc
Interview on CTV National News
Video from Macleans Article
In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write a famous author and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond - and his response is magnificent:![]()
“Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:![]()
I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don’t make public appearances any more because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.![]()
What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.![]()
Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her. Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you’re Count Dracula.![]()
Here’s an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don’t do it: Write a six line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. Don’t show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?![]()
Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash receptacals. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what’s inside you, and you have made your soul grow.![]()
God bless you all!"![]()
Kurt Vonnegut
Have a passion for writing and travel? I'm giving some writing workshops at the San Miguel Writers' Conference and Literary Festival in Mexico this coming February (a memoir writing workshop and a travel writing workshop). Join me!
sanmiguelwritersconference.org
Type: Workshop Genre: Memoir Level: Beginner–Intermediate Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2023 Time: 9:00–11:00 a.m. CST This workshop offers you tools from the master memoirists, as well as the instr...
Have a passion for writing and travel? I'm giving some writing workshops at the San Miguel Writers' Conference and Literary Festival this coming February (a memoir writing workshop and a travel writing workshop). Join me!
sanmiguelwritersconference.org
Type: Workshop Genre: Memoir Level: Beginner–Intermediate Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2023 Time: 9:00–11:00 a.m. CST This workshop offers you tools from the master memoirists, as well as the instr...
Every single person has a story to tell that will break your heart. What’s your story? ![]()
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Join me for a full-day writing workshop at my home (includes yummy lunch, snacks, coffee, and of course dark chocolate!) where you’ll learn how to bring your stories to life, learn techniques of the writing craft, and, if you’re comfortable, get valuable feedback on your writing. ![]()
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In deciding what to write about: what haunts you? What are your obsessions? What stories never leave you? As for the writing itself, how can you make every sentence more interesting, more alive, more lyrical and true? How can you show more and tell less? What’s the narrative arc in your story? How can you create a compelling opening to hook your readers? How can your story be raised above the level of an anecdote? What are the stakes in your story? How can you create narrative drive? What’s the main idea of your story? You’ve finished polishing, now what?![]()
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And so much more….![]()
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Laurie’s bio:![]()
Laurie Gough is a journalist and award-winning author of three memoirs: Kite Strings of the Southern Cross: A Woman’s Travel Odyssey; Kiss the Sunset Pig: An American Road Trip with Exotic Detours; and Stolen Child: A Mother’s Journey to Rescue Her Son from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Over twenty of her stories have been anthologized in literary travel books and her books have been translated into several languages. She has been a regular contributor to The Globe and Mail, and has written for The Guardian, The L.A. Times, Maclean’s, The Walrus, USA Today, The National Post, Canadian Geographic, among others. She lives in Wakefield, Quebec, where she works as a freelance editor. See: www.lauriegough.com![]()
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Saturday, November 5th, 10:30 am--4:30 pm. The ideal is for participants to bring some writing with them to share and receive gentle feedback on. ![]()
$125 inclusive![]()
Email for more details: [email protected]![]()
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I'm giving a full weekend writing retreat in August in the Gatineau Hills. Lots of writing instruction, feedback on your writing, time for swimming, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, storytelling around the campfire and so much more. Catered by The Village House in Wakefield. Please join us!