Joining the Conversation

Catharine H. Murray3 Comments

For over a decade now I have been teaching people how to use writing as a way to heal, to give voice to the stories that have been waiting inside. When we allow ourselves to write, we get in touch with, nurture and listen to parts of ourselves that may have been forced into hiding long ago. The result is the metabolism of our experiences to help us move forward into living brighter and more powerful lives.
 
Writing to heal ourselves is only the first step in the process. What comes next is moving these stories out into the larger world where they can work their magic on others. When stories are shared, readers feel seen, understood, less alone. And by sharing our stories publicly we place ourselves where we belong: firmly standing in the collective conversation. Despite internal recordings that suggest otherwise and might be running on repeat, each of us has a right to speak and be heard.
 
The courageous act of sending our work out into the world moves us out of shame and fear and feeling small. And when we let go of our stories and poems, we are trusting that they will find their way  into the hands of those who need to read them as much as we needed to write them.
 
But how do you create a collection? How do you decide which of your pieces are right to share, which stories you want to tell?
 
I will answer these questions and more in an interactive, online workshop Sunday November 9th from 1 to 4 PM EST. In Create A Collection, whether you are putting together a book of personal narrative pieces, poems, short stories, or a full length memoir, I will lead you through prompts and exercises that will help you find structure and vision for your collection. We will practice techniques for revision and how to make your inner critic work for you instead of against you.
 
Click the link for more information.
 
(The option to join in an additional hour of personal feedback on your work is currently available.)

And if you’re in the area this Sunday afternoon, October 19th, stop by to say hello and visit one of Portland’s hidden gems, the library at Mechanic’s Hall for BACK TO THE BOOK FAIR. I’ll be there.

Finally, on Tuesday, November 18th at 6 PM I’ll be giving an author talk at the South Portland Library.

Hope to see you in the coming month!

Traveling Again

Catharine H. Murray4 Comments

It’s time to leave another winter behind. This year mine was spent house-sitting a cozy two-hundred-year-old farm house where I stayed to keep the mice away and the pipes from freezing in the cold Maine winter. Watching the snow fall, the ice flow out on the Kennebec River below, and finally the hundreds of daffodils bloom on the hillside below, sometimes I was able to sit still and find some time to write.

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Most of the time, though, I was teaching classes, making new friends at pickleball, and hanging out with my eldest son who was my housemate from Christmas to Easter. I loved having a place I could feel settled and a place to host family and friends for dinner parties and long visits.

I also got to get away to spend a long weekend in North Carolina with my Tuesday class where we worked together on finishing our collection of mini-memoirs to be published in the fall. (I will send out an announcement for our debut reading when I have it.)

The owner of the farmhouse arrives tonight, so I am on my way out this afternoon. Closets (all but one) and drawers are emptied and everything I’ll need (or want) for the next six weeks — spring sweaters, summer dresses, pickleball paddle, hiking boots, sandals and bathing suits– ready to be packed into the car.

Transitions tend to make me cranky, so this past week was rocky, especially when my son moved out to begin his own adventure (apartment in Portland, a new job, and school). Of course I was happy for him, but a little sad for me.

Trying to get to the bottom of my melancholy, I question this funny life I have with no permanent home. Why don’t I want to settle down? Why am I content to come and go, a house-sitter whose schedule is subject to other’s schedules? I didn’t find any answers this week, but I decided not to worry about it. It’s working for now, I tell myself, and I’ll feel better soon. And today, the day I finally go, I do feel better. It feels good to know all that’s left to focus on this morning is a shorter list of tasks. Finally, as I load the car, water the plants, and scrub the kitchen sink, I feel excited about what’s ahead, knowing I’ll be back soon enough.

First stop will be Portland to visit friends and see Cody’s new apartment. After that, I’ll drive down the New England coast, visiting more friends with a stop in New York City to see Tahn on my way to Long Island. There, longtime friend Kecia Ford and I will host Memoir 101: A Women’s Writing Weekend in the Hamptons, where I will have the privilege of working with a small group of women on the powerful work of writing to heal, work I feel lucky to be able to do. It is an honor and a joy to accompany people on their creative journeys, at whatever stage they may be. Finally, I’ll head back to Portland to catch a flight to Denver to visit family there, and then in June, spend a few weeks in mid-coast Maine with family.  

With the magic of online classes, I can continue teaching writing and seeing clients throughout my travels. When I’m settled again for the summer, between hiking, camping, beach visits and early morning lake swims, I will decide when the next writing class starts and keep chipping away at the next memoir.

Lucky me.

Memoir 101 Starts Tuesday, January 21st at 4 PM

Catharine H. MurrayLeave a comment

If you have not already taken this class, I hope you will join us.

This online class is a wonderful way to become part of a supportive community of emerging writers as you dive into the adventure of self-discovery with instruction and inspiration.

We meet each week on Zoom for five 90-minute sessions.

To learn more and register, click here.

Memoir 101: Writing Your Stories

5-week Zoom Class

STARTS JANUARY 21st 2025 at 4 PM EST.

$347 for the 5-week series

Partial Scholarships Available

Contact: catharinehmurray@gmail.com  (207)347-9396

  • Do you want to write your memoir but don’t know where to start?
  • Are you a beginning writer who doesn’t feel qualified?
  • Are you part-way there and in need of inspiration?

In this 5-WEEK SERIES of 90-minute live classes, learn to tame the chaos of memory into the art of memoir. Find your voice as you learn to write from your heart, create memorable scenes, and bring your characters to life. Classes will include lectures, Q & A, writing practice, daily prompts and a community of support for your work and process.

“Captivating and structured just right,

the class opened my mind to a different way of writing.”

“I was pleased to find I could dip into a tender place and write.”

“Thanks to this class, my work has been published!”

“I was able to write about what has haunted me for 25 years.”


Catharine H. Murray, MFA, is an author, editor, writing guide and book coach. Her memoir, Now You See the Sky (Akashic Books, 2018), topped Portland’s Best-Seller list for Non-fiction in January, 2019. Murray leads online classes and workshops to help people use writing as a tool for healing. She is trained as a Traumatic Incident Facilitator and works one-on-one to assist clients in working through grief and trauma. Venues for her talks and workshops have included Ocean Park Writers’ Conference, Harvard University, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Maine State Prison, and the University of New England. Murray earned her BA from Harvard University and her MFA in Creative Writing at USM’s Stonecoast Writing Program.

Readings, Classes and Writing Prompts

Catharine H. MurrayLeave a comment

Happy New Year!


I hope this finds you well and looking forward to a year of happiness, prosperity, peace and CREATIVITY. To nudge you in that direction, I wanted to share some opportunities to get you writing in January…
Weekly Writing Prompts

Provide a strong start to your writing practice each week with a writing prompt delivered to your inbox early on Sunday mornings.Thanks to the user-friendly platform Patreon, with a monthly subscription of $7, you can receive a writing prompt every week AND connect with other emerging and accomplished writers. In addition, you can share your thoughts, questions, and creative triumphs in the ongoing conversation about writing memoir. Check it out HERE.



Monthly Online Classes

First Monday of each month on Zoom. Video recordings available.These classes are drop-in and open to writers of every level. No experience necessary. From 6 PM to 7:30 PM the first Monday of the month, we will meet online in my Zoom classroom to learn and practice the craft of writing. I will be available to answer your questions and provide writing time to practice the craft point of the day. This class is a Patreon subscription of $47/month, so outside of class, you can connect with other students through our discussion board to initiate weekly workshops of your own or discover useful resources. And if you can’t be there on Monday nights, you can watch the video recording whenever it is convenient for you.
January 1st
30 Poems in 30 Days

I will be assisting my friend the amazing poet and teacher Sarah Carson in this online class. Each day we will celebrate poetry by reading and writing in a different poetic form. By the end of the month, you’ll have 30 new drafts and an appreciation for poetry’s many styles and iterations. Click the link for more info and to register TODAY.
January 5th
Sunday, 7 PM EST
Memoir Church

Join me and a dozen other memoir writers as we read short excerpts from our current work on endings and beginnings. Zoom link HERE.
(And if you didn’t catch the December show when I was the featured author, you can see it on Youtube at this LINK.)

CLASSES STARTING THIS MONTH

January 8th – February 5th, 2025
Wednesdays, Noon-1:30 EST, Zoom
Wednesday Workshops: Getting It Done!
Tuition: $297/Five-week class

This class is open to anyone who has taken a memoir class from me before. In this 90-minute weekly class, we focus on both craft instruction and revision through the effective tool of workshopping. Please contact me if you would like to enroll.

January 10 – February 14, 2025
Fridays, 1-3 PM EST, Zoom
Little Frankensteins
Tuition: $467/Five-week workshop

I have space for a few more writers in this small-group workshop class where application of specific literary forms leads to explosions of innovative poetry and prose. For more information, click here.

January 21 – February 18, 2025
Tuesdays, 4-5:30 PM EST, Zoom
MEMOIR 101: Writing the Stories of Your Life
Tuition: $347/Five-week class

This month I’ll be opening enrollment for a new cohort of writers for my Memoir 101 class. I have been teaching this class for 4 years now and it has been quite a success. Many of my students have had their work published, and I am inspired in every class to see the level of skills built and trust established among the students. To get practical instruction, strong motivation and group support, join this cohort. For more information, click here.  

On-going Support
I still have some space for a few new clients this year who need one-on-one support from me as an Editor or Book Coach.
For more information click HERE.

https://mailchi.mp/7c8e4784b680/classes-readings-and-prompts-january-2025

Rest as an Integral Part of Creativity

Catharine H. Murray4 Comments

Thank goodness for the gloomy rain. If yesterday had been another sun-sparkled day, Heather might have had to pry my fingers from the doorframe when it was time to say goodbye to Vashon Artist Residency.

For nearly a month, I was given the opportunity to do nothing but write. With almost no other demands on my time, I could not only immerse myself in the work, but also to take care of my body and mind.

In my life outside VAR, every hour seems to be filled with endless tasks and the pursuit of their completion. If I can squeeze in a little writing time each day, I feel I have served my muse. But at VAR I could not only write, but also make time to feed my spirit. Where distant horizons of sea and sky became the backdrop of my days, I was able to slow down to find more space, both inside and out.

Each morning I wrote, revisiting painful memories as I hammered away inside the structure of sentences, building and reinforcing with images, memories and reflections until I had to stop.
And then, I turned away from the writing to walk, bike or kayak along the shores of Quartermaster Harbor. Strolling beneath towering Douglas firs reminded me to engage in the pleasure of respiration, drinking in the earth’s nourishing energy as I gazed at branches twining overhead. Floating on the glassy surface of the Salish sea, I rested in the quiet between calls of swooping gulls and splashing ducks. In the evenings, I grounded myself in the goodness of female friendship, side-by-side cooking and shared laughter as my sister artists and I discussed the challenges and insights of our day.

I am sure it was this combination of work, rest, exercise and camaraderie that worked its magic, helping me to turn a corner by the end of the residency. After struggling for years, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of words the manuscript holds, I was able to see a storyline emerge. Spreading hundreds of printed pages out in the studio, holding them in my hands, gathering, cutting, stapling, It suddenly came to me that there was an arc. I saw a path through what had felt more chaos than story when I first arrived.

This sudden insight came because my mind had been opened and my body refreshed in a way that made room for a wider perspective in general.Yesterday I left the spiritual shelter of Vashon Artist residency feeling rejuvenated, understood and even hopeful that finishing this manuscript will happen.

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#vashonisland #vashonartistresidency #memoir #mainewriters #writing #restisresistance #endgrindculture