In addition to highlighting Barbara Turner-Vesselago’s Freefall Writing Work, this special edition of The Link is to invite you to take a look at our redesigned web page, www.keylinks.ab.ca and pass along any comments you may have.

Barbara Turner-Vesselago’s Workshop will be held at River Rock Studio July 7th – 13th 2001, near Calgary. If you cannot join us – please share the information with someone who would be interested.

Freefall is a method some writers discover spontaneously, but many have to learn or relearn: the technique of writing from the larger Self, beyond the reach of the ego and its censors. As the name suggests, Freefall invokes the courage to fall without a parachute into the words as they come, into the thoughts before they have fully formed in the mind, into the unplanned structures that take shape, without prompting, to contain them.

At first, doing Freefall with a group is invaluable. The group's spontaneous response to the writing works to free the writer from the need for self-criticism. And then the magic begins . . .

The moment when someone shifts into that deeper level is unmistakable. Everyone can hear it. As a result, the whole group moves to a new level of achievement, as in Coleridge's phrase, "the wheels catch fire from their own motion”. The results, in writing, are spectacular. Since 1982, Barbara Turner-Vesselago's Freefall Writing workshops have been helping beginning and experienced writers to overcome blocks, access energy, and establish or renew a vital connection to the written word. They have been offered across Canada, the United States, Australia and Great Britain.

In Freefall Writing workshops, participants learn by doing: powerful writing immersion is balanced by informed, personal guidance. Every word written is read by Barbara. Selected (anonymous) passages are read aloud and discussed in a supportive, small-group setting. The primary emphasis is on learning to 'let go' in writing so that the creative process can carry you. Technical aspects of the craft (scene, dialogue, structure, voice) are discussed as they arise in the course of the writing. Not only are countless short stories and articles published as a result of the workshops, but last year alone three of her students published books they traced back to their work in her workshops: Joan Bodger's “The Crack in the Teacup” (M&S, 2000); Helena McEwen's “The Big House” (Bloomsbury, 2000) and Paul Saltzman's “The Beatles in Rishikesh” (Viking, 2000). Helena McEwen states that she wrote about 90% of this book at the workshops.

Sandra Campbell, a student of Barbara’s, is publishing her first novel “Getting to Normal”. Sandra had this to say about the Freefall process.

“Through the Freefall process, I discovered the characters in my novel, “Getting to Normal”. Then, Barbara’s informed reading and feedback led me to unexpected insights on how to craft their story.

This year the Barbara’s Rocky Mountain Writing Workshop will be held at River Rock Studios, one hour from Calgary and Banff.

"Enter a world of spectacular dawns and sunsets, northern lights, falling stars and meteor showers; a world of meadow flowers and mountain vistas, of creeks in rugged canyons and clear, fast-running rivers ... shared with hawks, deer, moose, coyote, and trout shimmering in clear water."

The week-long intensive (ending as the Calgary Stampede begins) is limited to 12 participants, $1195 - $1295 tuition and full board. There are no entry requirements.

Call Pat Klinck, 403-286-6712, or Ursula Reynolds (at River Rock), 403-932-1351, for details or check these websites: www.freefallwriting.com and www.riverrockstudio.com

The following is from "An Interview with Barbara Turner-Vesselago" by Diana Kiesners of The Writing Space Journal.

DK: "Can you start by describing the way you teach, specifically the technique of Freefall?"

BTV: "Freefall is a way of writing which teaches people, very quickly, what I consider to be the essentials. First off, you don't sit around thinking about writing: you plunge in and write. And having started, you don't stop yourself. I don't mean that you write without stopping - it's not that - rather you learn to write without dividing yourself into the writer and the reader or critic. Your job is to write. To that end, you don't change anything. You learn to let it be, and then see what you've written somewhere down the line. "And once you've learned to enter another world than the one you're sitting writing in, you learn to stay there. Stop. Look around. Take in (and write down) all the sensuous details. Follow the energy that's there for you, and see where it takes you. Stay with what's happening no matter how intense it gets instead of, say, going to the fridge. In other words, you write, and let the writing teach you what you need to know."

DK: " As I understand Freefall, at least at the outset it has a lot to do with autobiographical material. Do you find that just the process of people revealing those things about themselves to other people in the group also heightens the energy of the group and makes it cohesive in a way that other kinds of writing wouldn't?"

BTV: "There are several aspects to that question. I've said to myself a number of times over the years, 'Can you say that it's going to be autobiographical material?' And this is what will happen: 'you will now write autobiographical material.' And I've never been willing to say that. I've always said, 'Write what comes up for you.' Some people will write a certain amount of autobiographical material, but some people, especially men, will often take off into something that's a complete fantasy. And that's really just as useful. You know? It's going to have all the same problems and the same criteria."

DK: "So that by saying it will be autobiographical -- "

BTV: "They will limit it to that. Yes, I think that will happen. But the other thing is, it's impossible to separate the two strands. Because when students are deeply into a scene that is no trouble for them to imagine – if they are in fact largely imagining, but think they're recalling - they will then really let go in a way that they wouldn't let go into something where they were always wondering, 'Is this believable?' Of course it's believable, it happened. So they'll just enter into it fully. And that kind of authority will open other people up. So I'm not even sure whether it's the fact that it's autobiographical material and they're revealing something about themselves, or maybe even admitting something to themselves for the first time. I think it may be just the experience of hearing somebody truly standing in their own authority, and speaking from there, that does open people up and let them say, I can have authority about things too."

DK: "And it creates a sort of context of safety."

BTV: "Yes. You know, for some reason the subject matter is never separate from the quality. When they're really, really on the current of an authentic, authoritative story, the quality of the writing is so good that people in the group begin to relinquish all their doubt about the process. So do you see what I mean about it all being intertwined? People will think, 'Oh the class is working okay, I'll jump in too.' And they will jump. [. . . ]

"It's an important question because I realize again and again that the reason that I teach these precepts is because they seem to me to be the fastest shortcuts to learning about writing. For instance, it's not my purpose that people learn to write about their past experiences. It's my belief that if they won't prevent autobiographical material from coming up, then it will teach them an enormous amount very fast about how to stay involved and immersed in a situation."

-- What's New -- Presentations -- CV of Dr. Klinck -- KeyLinks --    Our Services --    Workshops --    Selected Clients --    Testimonials --    Newsletters -- Articles -- Contact Us --