Janet Thomas – Travel Writing–On the Road and Off – A Writing Workshop

When we reclaim our lives in writing, we make clear who we are, what we mean, where we come from, how we got here, and why. We get to live our lives twice, complete with the grace of hindsight as well as with the honesty that makes each life compelling and true. This memoir workshop is about getting away from these dastardly sound-bite, disposable times and diving into the depths of our lives where our stories save the world.

Writing about your travels while you are traveling requires a certain kind of attention and inattention. You don’t want your traveling to sidetrack your writing and you don’t want your writing to sidetrack your traveling. This workshop is about taking note and taking notes; staying present and reflecting back; and using travel writing as a reminder of who you are, where you’ve been, where you’re going–and why it matters. The outer journey needs the depth of the inner journey. The inner journey needs the boldness, the craziness, and the comic relief of being on the road to keep it on track. Both need quiet, reflective time back home to become a book.

Janet Thomas has been teaching yearly workshops at Deer Park since 2009. Her books include, The Battle in Seattle—The Story Behind and Beyond the WTO Demonstrations, and Day Breaks Over Dharamsala—A Memoir of Life Lost and Found. She has written plays and poetry and was the editor of a travel magazine for five years. She lives and writes on an island off the coast of Washington State in the U.S.