An Invitation to Southwestern Michigan Writers

If you're a writer in Michigan's Great Southwest this summer, you’re invited to Write2theEnd!

The #Write2TheEnd Writers Workshop(TM) is a summer course for writers like you who are itching to commit to That Project (you know the one) and see it through.

The place to be if you're a SW Michigan writer this summer.

#Write2TheEnd will provide tools, inspiration and accountability that encourage participants to complete either writing or editing a major project. We will focus solely on helping writers accomplish their quantifiable goals on a specific project in a specific time frame.

We invite you to join Write2theEnd facilitators Ami Hendrickson and Kim Jorgensen Gane at 420 Main Street (the old Masonic Temple at the corner of Elm and Main in downtown St. Joseph) on Wednesday, May 28, at 6:30 pm, for a FREE, no obligation, informational meet & greet.

The #Write2TheEnd Writer’s Workshop will take place on Monday afternoons and evenings (regular meetings will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m., with support hours/writing space offered before and after) through the summer.

It's time to fill that blank page...

Participation is $495 (less than the cost of eight weekly rounds of golf or eight meals out at a good restaurant :D). The fee includes a full hour of individual, one-on-one coaching with each facilitator, to be scheduled over the course of the 8-week period. If you know this is for you, reserve your spot now, with the PayPal button at the top right of the page.

To ensure personal attention from both facilitators, the workshop is limited to 15 participants. Each participant will set a personal Ultimate Goal for the Workshop on Day 1.

At the end, each person who has MET HIS or HER GOAL WILL RECEIVE $100 BACK.

#Write2TheEnd begins June 16 and ends on August 4.

We would love to have you join us on Wednesday the 28th. When you come, bring along with any other writers you think might benefit from writing to the end with us this summer! We look forward to answering any questions you might have then — or send an email to info (at) write2theend [dot] com for more information.

Imagine You Can Write2theEnd

by Kim Jorgensen Gane

Writing has become my way to salvation--my way to myself. I can no more imagine my life without writing than I can imagine my life without my family, or without an appendage I've been accustomed to using my whole life.

For those of you local to southwest Michigan who have followed my journey as a writer and thought, "me too ... someday." That day is here.

Editor, full-time working writer, and friend, Ami Hendrickson, and I are here to support you, inspire you, light a fire under you—to help YOU make someday today.

We're holding a free, no obligation informational meeting to introduce you to our joint endeavor, #Write2TheEnd Writers Workshop™.

On Wednesday, May 28, at 6:30 pm, in the old Masonic Temple, downtown St. Joe, at the corner of Elm & Main (420 Main St.), we will give you an overview of our syllabus and answer any questions you may have. In addition, you will leave with a small sample of what's to come; a mini-tool you can employ immediately to help move your writing from parked to forward.

I've overcome and come to own the permission and the soul pieces of writing for myself, and I believe I can help you do the same. I can assist with transformational writing, with essays, persuasive writing, blogging, and memoir. I can also help you see the value in being open to coaching, which I believe is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves.

It’s difficult to be objective about our own creative endeavors. It’s easy to fall in love with our own words. Someone who truly has our best interests at heart—who believes in us—is invaluable in helping us see our goals to fruition. And seriously, Ami blew my mind when she introduced me to our first get-it-done tool. The tools, the HOW, the discipline, the next steps, that's what I need and I look forward to digging in to what Ami has to share, right beside you.

If you're thinking, "this summer just isn't the time," then perhaps you need to either give yourself permission to let go of your dreams of being a writer and move on to something else wonderful & fulfilling—but please do move on and actually do something else—or give yourself permission to take this course and see what you can accomplish right now. Chances are, if this opportunity appeals to you and you let it pass, someday will never come. The excuses only get better, believe me.

But consider this: how many summers have gone by since you first dreamed of writing that great American novel or memoir or screenplay or stageplay, or since you’ve let a completed project fester in a drawer? This is the summer you could turn dreaming into finishing--into writing to The End--Your End. If you could do it yourself, you would have by now. You need a team, a tribe of like-minded individuals to help you succeed in the goals we share.

Is your life worth less than mine? Is it worth less than your mother's, your father's, than your child's? There are many ways to support and to parent and to care for others. Ami and I agree that caring for ourselves—that leading fulfilling, joy-filled lives—is an important way to care for those we love, and provides a beautiful example for our children, and the joyful lives we hope they grow to lead.

Nowhere else will you get such a powerful combination of tools, know-how, practical and functional writing advice, combined with the coaching and inspiration that will help you overcome your writing hurdles. There's a reason Ami and I have found one another. We each fill the other's gaps in ways that can help turn YOU into a powerful FINISHER where your writing goals are concerned.

We want this for you. We want this for you badly enough that we’re willing to give you back $100 at the end of the eight weeks when you meet the goal you set on the first night. But we can't want it more than you want it.

Join our Facebook group, even if you’re not local to southwest Michigan, for free writing tips, engaging discussion, and inspirational posts. And please, if you’re able, join us in person on Wednesday, May 28th. We look forward to welcoming you, and any writer friends you’d like to bring along.

---> This is an excerpt from Kim's GANEPossible blog post. (Read the post, in which she also explains why she is happy to be wrong about the narrator of The Book Thief and why the movie makes her "wear the title of writer like a badge of honor.") 

The Writer's Golden Rule

Want to kick your writing into high gear, all the way to The End? (Whatever "the end" means to you.)

Want to finish a first draft?

Want to polish a completed draft that's sitting in a drawer or on your hard drive?

Want to write, polish and submit a short story for publication?

Want to self-publish your ebook?

Want to simply define yourself as a writer and produce something to show for it?

If you're like many writers, you know the real question isn't "What do you want?" It's "What are you going to do about it?"

 

You know there is a difference between wanting a thing and doing a thing.

Many people want to write. They talk about it, fantasize about it, wish they had the time to do it. But they never take their dream of writing seriously enough to make it a reality.

And that is tragic. Because if you don't write your book, no one will.

Writing can be difficult. It's a solitary undertaking that non-writers rarely understand. But there is no escaping the Writer's Golden Rule...

The Writer’s Golden Rule: 

No one is more committed to my writing and my success than I am.

Why not do what you've always wanted? Why not write to "the end?"

At a #Write2TheEnd Writer's Workshop, you'll become part of a small, dedicated community of up to 15 other writers -- just like you -- who have decided that nothing, nothing, is going to stand in the way of making their dream come true.

You'll meet weekly with facilitators who will cheerlead, troubleshoot, and provide clear, actionable suggestions you can immediately apply to your project.

At #Write2TheEnd, we won't hold your hand --

-- but we'll applaud every step you take toward the finish line. YOUR finish line.

It's true: No one is more committed to your success than you are. But a #Write2TheEnd Writer's Workshop introduces you to a whole group of people who come close...