Archive for the ‘Art / Craft / Teaching’ Category

Writers On Writing; Women On Writing; She Writes; He Writes

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 14, 2012, noon to 2:00pm, while I (Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan) will be on the “Writers on Writing” panel at Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Avenue, Oakland, CA with Kim McMillon, Yolande Barial, Joan Gelfand, Stephanie Dale, and Judith Cody . . .

Margie Yee Webb, author of Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings, will be at California State Fair . . .

and Joanna W. Biggar, author of That Paris Year, will be speaking in Sacramento, CA. While visiting Joanna’s blog, I found her post about another  colleague – Cara Black! http://joannabiggar.org/2012/03/10/cara-black-and-my-own-paris-noir/

I met Joanna at Book Passage, Ferry Building, San Francisco on July 9, 2012 when I was interviewing Carol Sheldon, author of Mother Lode, who was being honored by Left Coast Writers.

That got me thinking about  SheWrites.com and Jodi O’Donnell-Ames, founder of Hope Loves Company and author Judith Marshall.

www.shewrites.com

Q: Who can be a member of SHE WRITES?

A: We welcome individuals who consider themselves writers!  You don’t need to be a published, professional writer, but most of our members are, or aspire to become so.  When you fill out your profile, please use a name rather than a business.  We prefer first and last names, but we understand if there’s a good reason you need to use a pseudonym.

Businesses: We will not approve businesses as members.  We do not allow unapproved vending on SHE WRITES.  If you wish to promote your services to the writers on the site, there are a few options: 1) advertise with us 2) pitch our SHE NEEDS HELP team, and we will consider promoting you on a case-by-case basis. See our terms of use for further clarification.

Men: We welcome men.  Our reasoning is twofold: 1) legal2) philosophical.  We would not want to be excluded from a site called HE WRITES because of our sex or gender.

While looking up Women On Writing, the annual conference held at Skyline College in San Bruno, CA, I came across Wild Writing Women.

Oh how I love being Coach Teresa!

I cheer for writers & readers (women and men, teens and children)!

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Coach Teresa says: “I love helping writers build their platforms and published authors fortify theirs with individualized coaching.”

As coach and author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she advices: “Make your name synonymous with the issues you write about.”

Teresa has built her own platform happily; her novel Love Made of Heart and her short play Answer Me Now carry the theme closest to her heart: mother-daughter relationship.

Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps clients identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story in their manuscripts.

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CA State Fair line-up of authors for July 22-28, 2012

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CA State Fair line-up of authors for July 29, 2012 last day of fair

Writing Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here to cheer for author Margie Yee Webb who does so much for colleagues, aspiring writers, and communities to promote literacy and animal welfare.

What’s Margie’s book? Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings: Insight and Inspiration for a Wonderful Life

“The playful maxims with equally delightful photographs in Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings inspire readers to fall in love with life.” – Teresa LeYung- Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart; Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days

Margie will be at the fair these dates: * July 14 * July 16 * July 23 * July 24 * July 29 *

Margie Yee Webb, Author-Photographer of Cat Mulan's Mindful Musings--photo by Coach Teresa

I see that Naida West, Sandy Baker, Hazuki Kataoka & D. Battino, James Van Eaton, Denise Lee Branco, Margaret Murray will be exhibiting too!  Cheers to Margie Yee Webb and all the authors! For the full list of California authors at the state fair, with Naida West as Author Manager:  http://www.bridgehousebooks.com/events/statefair2012.htm

For state fair general information and directions to the fairgrounds: http://www.bigfun.org

Cat Mulan's Mindful Musings: Insight and Inspiration for a Wonderful Life

Coach Teresa asks: “What to do when you are asked to change your script or manuscript?”

In 1999, after receiving helpful comments on my 350-page manuscript Love Made of Heart from three generous colleagues (Luisa Adams, Martha Alderson, and Susan Canale), I plunged into rewrites.

I remember my sitting at the computer keyboard . . . and letting narrator Ruby Lin take over the story-telling.  I paid attention and transcribed.

In 2000, my agent  Stacey Glick at Dystel Literary Management (now Dystel & Goderich Literary Management) asked me to make the mother-character Vivien Lin  in my novel “more accessible.” So, I asked my protagonist Ruby Lin and her mom Vivien for help.

The answer I received (from these two muses) was . . . “Show the mother not only as the parent-archetype but also as the maiden-archetype.”

To make this kind of change (affecting character arc and plotline), I had to rewrite many scenes.

My colleagues’ comments and Stacey Glick’s request had compelled me to tell a “deeper” story.

Then editor John Scognamiglio at Kensington Publishing NY asked me for more rewrites . . .  I’ll save that story for another blog post

Love Made of Heart inspires adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families

Fast forward . . .  Love Made of Heart is read in colleges and universities.  My job as author is to welcome discussions about the themes and using the themes to spread awareness. Here’s my mission statement:   I, Teresa LeYung-Ryan, use Love Made of Heart to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families.

I am forever thankful to the folks who had asked for “changes.” I am forever thankful to my muses and my own common sense for guiding me through rewrite.

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When a client seeks my advice about rewrites, the first questions I ask are these: 

“What does your protagonist want most?”

“Does she/he get what she/he wants at the end of the story?” and “If your answer is ‘no,’ then, what does she/he gain at the end of the journey?”

You rewrite to make your story flow.  You rewrite some more until your story flows.

I love editing my clients’ manuscripts. I love helping them identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story.

to sneak preview the exercises for Day 1, go to Amazon books

Even when I’m wearing my other hat  . . . as Platform-Building Coach Teresa, I remind clients about rewrites . . .

“What is your website or facebook page saying about you?”  “What is your signature block saying?”  “What is your phone’s outgoing-message saying?”

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playwright Teresa LeYung-Ryan (Answer Me Now), actress Stacey Marie Kerr, director Lennie Dean invite you to the Redwood Writers 10-Minute Plays at 6th Street Playhouse, Santa Rosa, CA June 29, 30 and July 1, 2012

Recently I was asked to make changes to my short-short play Answer Me Now (a monologue) that had won an award from the Redwood Writers Playwriting Contest.   As a matter of act, Director Lennie Dean asked me for changes on three occasions.  My initial reaction on all three occasions was oh no.  However, the internal-processing each time (a matter of seconds) lead me to answer my own question “Will rewriting/cutting lines… make the piece flow ‘better’?”  The answer was “Yes!”

If you are going to be near Santa Rosa, CA on July 29, 30 or July 1st, please come by 6th Street Playhouse and see and hear the results of rewrites.

For more information about dates and times, please click here.

For tickets, please click here.

Redwood Writers winning playwrights with directors and actors invite YOU to 10-minute plays June 29, 30, July 1, 2012 -- photo by Jonathan Hayden

For bios of all the playwrights, please click here.

For tickets to:  Workshop with GARRET JON GROENVELD
Debunking the “Write What You Know Myth” – 10-Page Plays and Unlimited Potential    July 1, 2012, 10:00 AM-12:30 PM
6th Street Playhouse – GK Hardt Theatre
Tuition: $10.00 – purchase by phone  (707) 523-4185 ext. 1

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps clients identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story in their manuscripts.

“I love helping writers build their platforms and published authors fortify theirs with individualized coaching.”

As coach and author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she says: “Make your name synonymous with the issues you write about.”

Teresa has built her own platform happily; her novel Love Made of Heart and her short play Answer Me Now carry the theme closest to her heart: mother-daughter relationship.

Teresa created the annual “Immigrant Experience Writing Contest” and cheers for all contestants.

http://writingcoachteresa.com  for her Blog, events, and other resources.

The Woman in the Photograph; Girl in the Mirror; Woman in My Dream

Good Day!  Coach Teresa here . . .

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Dear friend Diane Ichiyasu emailed me about Mani Feniger‘s new book The Woman in the Photograph

For more information about Mani and her events http://manifeniger.com

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Girl In the Mirror by Kate Farrell

Sylvie Dawson is a young woman with a dangerous secret: an abusive boyfriend who is stalking her. Forced to hide in her godmother’s country home for the summer,she struggles with isolation and creeping terror. When her godmother tells her the ancient story of Psyche and Eros, Sylvie is inspired to begin a journey of self-discovery. Will she be able to overcome her fears and live the life she was meant to live?  http://www.girlinthemirror.info/

What is Kate Farrell doing these days?  Visit her at: http://wisdomhasavoice.com

Lennie Dean directs Stacey Marie Kerr in Answer Me Now (10-minute play written by Teresa LeYung-Ryan) as Jonathan Hayden sets up shot

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here again . . .  A remarkable dream about my mother and me has become the centerpiece of my 10-minute play Answer Me Now.  My heritage is Chinese.  When director Lennie Dean asked me to consider changing a few words in my script to fit the actress’s heritage, the “alarms” went off in my head. Oh no, I thought . . .  I don’t want my words altered.

“Stacey Marie Kerr’s heritage is Jewish,” Lennie said.  “Instead of calling her mother ‘MahMa,’ she would be saying ‘Mameh’ and instead of referring to her father as BahBa, she would be saying ‘Tateh.’  Think it over, tweaking a few words makes the piece personal for the actress on stage.” Lennie added.

I thought it over in the next three seconds of that phone conversation.  “Yes!  From now on, I would tweak those pronouns and the words ‘China’ and ‘Hong Kong’ to fit the actress whoever she may be.”  Asian, Jewish, Italian, Russian, American, Australian, African actress?  I can see them and hear them! I’d be honored to change a few words to fit each woman.

I met Stacey Marie Kerr on June 2, 2012.  She said she has “adopted” my monologue, she has made the words hers.  I couldn’t be more pleased. Thank you, Lennie and Stacey!

Thank  you, Linda Loveland Reid, for creating the playwriting contest!

Teresa LeYung-Ryan’s 10-minute monologue Answer Me Now (middle-aged woman asks her dead mother a question) is one of nine winning-plays to be produced by Redwood Writers & 6th Street Playhouse Play Festival in Santa Rosa, CA.

2012 Performance Dates:

• June 29 – 8:00 PM
• June 30 – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
• July 1  – 2:00 PM

For my Events Page, click here.

I am so looking forward to seeing Stacey on stage and my friends in the audience.

For poster of winning playwrights and contest judges: http://www.6thstreetplayhouse.com/home-old/article/article/167/

For tickets:
http://www.6thstreetplayhouse.com/online-ticketing/show-availability/?show=328

If you prefer talking to real person, call (707) 523-4185 and leave your phone number for a ticket rep. to call you back.

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Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps clients identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story in their manuscripts.

As coach and author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she says: “Make your name synonymous with the issues you write about.”

Teresa has built her own platform happily; her novel Love Made of Heart and her short play Answer Me Now carry the theme closest to her heart: mother-daughter relationship.

Teresa created the annual “Immigrant Experience Writing Contest” and cheers for all contestants.

http://writingcoachteresa.com  for her Blog, events, and other resources.

June 12, 2012

Writing Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan Has Fun with Colleagues at San Mateo County Fair 2012

Please click on the title bar of this post, scroll down, and submit a comment – what were you doing at the Literary Arts stage area?

Literary Arts Director Bardi Rosman Koodrin happy to greet audience at San Mateo County Fair

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children's book author and poet Ida J. Lewenstein performs at San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts stage

5:00-6:00pm  Playwrights Teresa LeYung-Ryan, Ollie Mae Trost Welch,  David Hirzel (author interviews by Darlene Frank after the plays are read)

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Darlene Frank introduces playwright Ollie Mae Trost Welch at Literary Arts stage

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Martin Shane Dowd (portraying George Bernard Shaw) and Christopher Wachlin (portraying God) reads Ollie Mae Trost Welch's play SHAW

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David Hirzel reads his play A Chance Encounter with Darlene Frank

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Playwright Teresa LeYung-Ryan reads her 10-minute monologue Answer Me Now at San Mateo County Fair--photo by Martin Shane Dowd

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan’s 10-minute monologue Answer Me Now (middle-aged woman asks her dead mother a question) is one of nine winning-plays to be produced by Redwood Writers & 6th Street Playhouse Play Festival.

2012 Performance Dates:

• June 29 – 8:00 PM
• June 30 – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
• July 1  – 2:00 PM

6th Street Playhouse – Studio Theater – Santa Rosa, CA
All Tickets: $16.00 – purchase by phone  (707) 523-4185 ext 1 or online

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David Hirzel, Teresa LeYung-Ryan, Ann Foster, Darlene Frank, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Ollie Mae Trost Welch, Ida J. Lewenstein having fun at Literary Arts Stage, San Mateo County Fair

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entries of 2012 Immigrant Experience Writing Contest sponsored by Writing Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

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First Place Winner of 2012 Immigrant Experience Writing Contest sponsored by Writing Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

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Boris Koodrin Director of the Fine Arts Galleria at San Mateo County Fair chats with Darlene Frank - Writer, Editor, Creativity Coach for Writers

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Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps clients identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story in their manuscripts.

As coach and author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she says: “Make your name synonymous with the issues you write about.”

Teresa has built her own platform happily; her novel Love Made of Heart and her short play Answer Me Now carry the theme closest to her heart: mother-daughter relationship.

Teresa created the annual “Immigrant Experience Writing Contest” and cheers for all contestants.

http://writingcoachteresa.com  for her Blog, events, and other resources.

Coach Teresa’s June and July 2012

Dear Writers,

If you’re in northern California, or if you have writer-friends in the area . . .  please come by and see me . . .

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Listen to Bardi Rosman Koodrin with “Arts In the Valley” Radio Show Host Kim McMillon: http://artsinthevalley.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/san-mateo-fair.mp3

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 5:00-6:00pm 3 playwrights at the San Mateo County Fair in California

the Literary Arts stage area in the Fine Arts Department at the fair.

https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/ The fair runs from June 9 – 17, 2012.

Teresa LeYung-Ryan, Ollie Mae Trost Welch, David Hirzel (author interviews by Darlene Frank and audience Q&A after the plays are read)

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Saturday, June 16, 2012 2:00-4:00pm Authors Day at the San Mateo County Fair in California.

the Literary Arts stage area in the Fine Arts Department at the fair.

Meet Teresa LeYung-Ryan (author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW and Love Made of Heart and  Answer Me Now – her short play) and her colleagues at California Writers Club.

https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/ The fair runs from June 9 – 17, 2012.

Writing Contest winning entries will be displayed in the Literary Arts area; Teresa LeYung-Ryan sponsored the 2nd annual Immigrant Experience Writing Contest. Good luck to all contestants!

Bardi Rosman Koodrin brought literary arts to the county fair 4 years ago.

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For all events sponsored by California Writers Club – San Francisco Peninsula Branch please go to: http://www.cwc-peninsula.org/

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June 29, 30; July 1, 2012

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/coach-teresa-leyung-ryan-having-the-time-of-her-life-as-playwright/

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan’s 10-minute monologue Answer Me Now (middle-aged woman asks her dead mother a question) is one of nine winning-plays to be produced by Redwood Writers & 6th Street Playhouse Play Festival.

2012 Performance Dates:

• June 29 – 8:00 PM
• June 30 – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
• July 1  – 2:00 PM

6th Street Playhouse – Studio Theater – Santa Rosa, CA
All Tickets: $16.00 – purchase by phone  (707) 523-4185 ext 1 or online

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For all events sponsored by California Writers Club – Redwood Branch – please go to: www.redwoodwriters.org

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Monday, July 9, 2012,  6:00pm - 7:00pm
Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA  94111

Teresa LeYung-Ryan interviews Carol Sheldon (author of Mother Lode)

Left Coast Writers honors Carol Sheldon !

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Saturday  July 14, 2012, noon – 2:00pm at Oakland Public Library – Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Avenue, Oakland, CA

Join playwright, and radio host Kim McMillon  for the free Writers’ workshop “Writers on Writing.” Award-winning Australian author and journalist Stephanie Dale will help authors find their inner voice as writers. Teresa LeYung-Ryan will speak on creating your writing platform and building your brand as a writer.  Poet and composer Judith Cody discusses how to write for and publish an anthology; author and columnist Yolande Barial will demonstrate the importance of finding your passion, while author an educator Joan Gelfand will deconstruct the process of getting published. This workshop is for writers with a desire to find their voice, write, and promote their work. A reception and book-signing will follow the presentation.

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Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps clients identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story in their manuscripts.

As author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she says: “Make your name synonymous with the issues you write about.”

Teresa has built her own platform happily; her novel Love Made of Heart and her short play Answer Me Now carry the theme closest to her heart: mother-daughter relationship.

Teresa created the annual “Immigrant Experience Writing Contest” and cheers for all contestants.

http://writingcoachteresa.com  for her Blog, events, and other resources.

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here to introduce you to a colleague (Mary E. Knippel) who also wears 3 hats:

Your-Writing-Mentor Mary E. Knippel is also the author of The Secret Artist: Give Yourself Permission to Let Your Creativity Shine, is also The Unleashed Homemaker !

The UnleashedHomemaker^tm says: “Please join us for our upcoming events in 2012…

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan Having the Time of Her Life as Playwright

Redwood Writers winning playwrights with directors and actors invite YOU to 10-minute plays June 29, 30, July 1, 2012 -- photo by Jonathan Hayden

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actress Stacey Marie Kerr and director Lennie Dean review lines in 10-minute monologue Answer Me Now (middle-aged woman asks her dead mother a question) written by Teresa LeYung-Ryan

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Lennie Dean directs Stacey Marie Kerr in Answer Me Now by Teresa LeYung-Ryan as Jonathan Hayden sets up shot

Coach Teresa here.  I witnessed the readings of the nine 10-minute plays being produced by Redwood Writers & 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, California.

Nine plays  – all winners – you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll laugh some more.  Please tell a friend or two and order tickets to support 6th Street Playhouse and enjoy the show.  Go to: http://www.6thstreetplayhouse.com/online-ticketing/show-availability/?show=328  or call 24- hour voice mail:  (707) 523-4185 ext 1

playwright Teresa LeYung-Ryan (Answer Me Now), actress Stacey Marie Kerr, festival director (and director for Answer Me Now) Lennie Dean and fellow directors, playwrights, actors invite you to the Redwood Writers 10-Minute Plays at 6th Street Playhouse, Santa Rosa, CA June 29, 30 and July 1, 2012

The winning plays and playwrights include . . . .

Running order will be:

Act I

Gravediggers by Gene Griffith

Answer Me Now by Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Special Delivery by Malena Eljumaily

BFF by Jean Wong

Turn The Other by Amanda McTigue

Act 2

Dream Girl by Elizabeth VanPatten

GPS by Harry Reid

There There, Now by Nancy Lockard Gallop

The Play’s the Thang by Elaine Maikovska, J.D.

2012 Performance Dates:

• June 29 – 8:00 PM
• June 30 – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
• July 1  – 2:00 PM

6th Street Playhouse – Studio Theater – Santa Rosa, CA
All Tickets: $16.00 – purchase online or by phone

Go to: http://www.6thstreetplayhouse.com/online-ticketing/show-availability/?show=328  or call 24- hour voice mail:  (707) 523-4185 ext 1

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Processing Playwriting: Q&A with the nine winning playwrights
Join the playwrights for a Q&A about their plays, their process, and their experience with having a first production of their works.

• July 1, 4:30 PM – (following matinee of plays)

6th Street Playhouse - Studio Theater
This event is FREE to the public

actors with playwright Elaine Maikovska and director at reading of The Play's the Thang

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photographer Jonathan Haydens shows director Linda Loveland Reid publicity shots of actors

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July 1, 2012  10:00 AM-12:30 PM

Workshop with GARRET JON GROENVELD

6th Street Playhouse – GK Hardt Theatre – Santa Rosa, CA
Tuition: $10.00 – purchase by phone (707) 523-4185 ext 1

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playwrights Amanda McTigue and Teresa LeYung-Ryan love their director Lennie Dean (center)

actress Stacey Marie Kerr, festival director Lennie Dean, playwright Teresa LeYung-Ryan with The Linda Loveland Reid

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playwrights Elaine Maikovska, Teresa LeYung-Ryan, Jean Wong invite you to June 29, 30 and July 1, 2012 performances at 6th Street Playhouse, Santa Rosa, CA

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actors in Grave Diggers by Gene Griffith at reading of play

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playwright Malena Eljumaily--Special Delivery--with actors Eyan Dean & Monica McKey and director Linda Loveland Reid

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Playwrights, directors, actors at readings of nine fabulous 10-minute plays

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Processing Playwriting: Q&A with the nine winning playwrights
Join the playwrights for a Q&A about their plays, their process, and their experience with having a first production of their works.

• July 1, 2012  4:30-5:00pm – (following matinee of plays)

6th Street Playhouse - Studio Theater
This event is FREE to the public

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Teresa LeYung-Ryan -- Playwright; Author; Editor; Story Consultant; Writers Platform-Building Coach

Maria, Vicki, and other darlings who will not be able to attend–I will get DVDs for you.

Other dear friends, I hope you can make it.

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps clients identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story. As author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she says: “Make your name synonymous with the issues you write about.” Teresa has built her own platform happily; her novel Love Made of Heart and her short play Answer Me Now carry the theme closest to her heart: mother-daughter relationship. Teresa created the annual “Immigrant Experience Writing Contest” and cheers for all contestants.  http://writingcoachteresa.com  for her Blog, events, and other resources.

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here.  Who do I coach?  Writers.  I help clients polish their manuscripts and map out their publishing journeys.

Teaching at San Francisco Writers Conference every year gives me the joy of seeing colleagues and meeting other fascinating writers, one of whom being Greg Marcus.  He hooked my attention with his mission statement: “I am a modern-day Abraham who smashes corporate idols and help the chronically overworked find a more fulfilling life.”

I checked out Greg’s http://idolbuster.com  and his May 25, 2012 post “Why Work More Than 50 Hours Per week?” got me thinking about . . .

I was delighted when Greg asked me to guest-blog.

Read more  . . .  about:

Unraveling the Mystery Of Platform

First Step – Understand Your Values and Who You Are

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Editor, Story Consultant, Platform-Building Coach

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan has helped over 1,000 writers.

“Reach out, not stress out, to materialize your dearest dreams.”

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Greg Marcus says:

Thank you Coach Teresa for a great post. I’ve found that advice for writers is often applicable in business and life. Your post is no exception. Writers are a one-person business, and can’t separate the product from the platform.

Greg,

Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to guest-blog.  You are so right — the business of being a writer does require the balancing act of writing (producing) and platform-building (hooking attention).  Why get stressed out?  Instead, reach out.

Bethany Lee comments:

Thank you Greg for bringing Teresa to guest post here. This was a very informative post, and as a writer/blogger, I found myself soaking this up because I’m starting to think more about services I can sell via my blog. This idea about having a platform–making your name stand for something–is something I’ve been thinking about lately, and I’m trying to focus in on that. I think I’m close, but I also think there’s more to it than just discovering it yourself–that once you discover it, you have to promote the idea and get people to believe it too–right? Also, I was wondering about these two exercises. How do they help you to discover your platform? In other words, how do I take the stuff I come up with here and apply it to make it a tagline?

Hi, Bethany,

Greg is right-on — your honest responses to the 2 exercises from Day 1 of my 22-day workbook are eye-openers.

Your question:  ” . . . how do I take the stuff I come up with here and apply it to make it a tagline?
My questions to you:
What themes/subject matters compel you to write?
What themes/subject matters hook your attention when you’re the reader?

As my colleague Elisa Sasa Southard (the talking-tagline guru) would say: “Start with I CAN . . . ”
And I say: Speak your name; add the action-verb; complete the statement with how your work helps people.

From now on, introduce yourself with your full name. When someone asks you: “What do you do?”  . . . you answer with a sentence that includes an action verb.

Examples:

(as a novelist) Through my book Love Made of Heart, I can help mothers and daughters speak from the heart.
(as a narrative nonfiction writer)  Through my essays and speeches, I speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.
(as a prescriptive nonfiction aka “how to” writer) Through my coaching and workbook, I show writers how to gain fans before and after publication.

Also, you may be asking: “Why 22 days?”
Because . . . when we stick to something for 21 consecutive days, we develop a new habit. Why not gain the wonderful habit of building our platform/name?  On the 22nd day, we celebrate. Everyday is a good day to build your name / fanbase / platform!

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan
Editor, Story Consultant, Platform-Building Coach
http://writingcoachteresa.com

Bethany commented again:

Teresa and Greg, thank you for your responses here. This is excellent. Here’s my answer to the who are you question: I’m Bethany Jo Lee and I can encourage you to keep moving forward in your endeavors. That’s a start, maybe not perfect, but I like the lesson here. I need your 22 day book!

I just bought her book and tweeted it! I’m very excited to read it. Thanks Greg.

Bethany Jo Lee,
Your tagline: “I can encourage you to keep moving forward in your endeavors” is wonderful !
You’ll see how your tagline and the 5 secret keys in my workbook will lead you to bigger and bigger connections.
I’m cheering for you!
Sincerely,
Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan
“Reach out, not stress out, to materialize your dearest dreams.”
http://writingcoachteresa.com