Table of Contents
Praise for One Year to a Writing Life
Example by example, exercise by exercise, month by month, One Year to a Writing Life is a gift of hope to those who know they are writers but cant find a start, a gift of replenishment to those who have been at it for years but are going stale, and a gift of pleasure for those who simply wish to read and enjoy these fascinating ruminations on the process of writing.
Thomas E. Kennedy, author of the Copenhagen Quartet; Advisory Editor,
The Literary Review; International Editor, StoryQuarterly
Tiberghiens wisdom sparkles through her eloquence and precision in describing, illuminating, and bringing to life the key elements of great writing, and in leading us through the process of becoming great writers ourselves. Her examples and lessons are deft: excellent guides both for working writers and those taking the waters for the first time.
Larry Habegger, Writing Teacher and Executive Editor, Travelers Tales Books
One Year to a Writing Life is the most illuminating and exciting book I have read about the journey to a life in writing: the awakening of the senses in the realm of self-expression. Tiberghiens holistic approach is unique as it encompasses all literary genres without exception. Each detailed and thoughtful chapter offers inspiration as well as instruction on craft to both beginning writers and more experienced writers, encouraging them to explore other forms and most importantly, to read the masters and to continue to read.
Marcia Mead Lbre, Director, Paris Writers Workshop
One Year to a Writing Life offers would-be and experienced writers a treasure-trove of resources in the form of exercises, prompts, and pointed examples, all of which are designed to get writing and thinking started. Tiberghiens advice, encouragement, and wisdom make this an invaluable book for writers at all stages of their writing lives.
Michael Steinberg, founding editor of
Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction and author of Still Pitching
Where was this book when I needed it thirty years ago? This richly researched, perfectly organized compendium of examples, explanations, and exercises is an excellent aid, not only for writers working alone but also for writing instructors who will be able to direct workshops easily with this wonderfully practical book.
Isabel Huggan, author of the award-winning memoir
Belonging and mentor for the Humber School for Writers
Tiberghiens new book should give hope and useful advice to any late starteror to anyone interested in writing. Both down-to-earth and impassioned, drawn from experience and wide reading, One Year to a Writing Life educates and inspires at once.
Peter Meinke, poet and fiction writer
No matter if youre wondering if you can write or if you have pages of publications behind you, there is something in this book for you. There are slivers of truth in everyday events that are enriching both from developing your craft and from the point of view of experiencing life intensely. This would be an excellent book to pick up if youre blocked, and even better if you are at your peak production. So few books make instruction interesting, but this succeeds in doing just that.
D-L Nelson, author of The Card and Chickpea Lover: Not a Cookbook
Whether you want to write essays, short stories, prose poems, or memoirs, you will find a kaleidoscope of practical hints and wisdom in Susan Tiberghiens book which will inspire your imagination.
Maureen Murdock, author of Unreliable Truth: On Memoir and Memory
Reading One Year to a Writing Life I hear Susans voice and relive the nurturing experience of her workshops, that was so important for my way as a writer. This book is her workshops, to revisit again and again.
Sylvia Petter, author of The Past Present and Back Burning
If I had to choose one writing book to have on my shelves, it would be Susan Tiberghiens One Year to a Writing Life. It is a treasure chest of jewelselegant quotes from some of our greatest writers, a myriad of stunning writing samples, and imaginative exercises to help you hone your skills and tone your writing muscles. No matter what youre writing or where you are on the creative path, this book will feel like its meant for you.
Jan Phillips, author of The Art of Original Thinking, Marry YourMuse,
Divining the Body and God Is at Eye Level
Susan Tiberghien is an artist of the word, the thought, the soul. One Year to a Writing Life skillfully explores the nuts and bolts of the craft hand in hand with the intangibles of fantasy in the same way a Buddhist monk might blend scrubbing a temple floor with spiritual enlightenment. Amidst a collage of the collective wisdom of writers from many generations and cultures, she provides a series of practical exercises that allow the user to chart his or her own way. Her twelve lessons are structured enough to organize twelve months hard work, yet so flexible you can view them as the twelve strikes of a human clock, as the ingredients to an alchemists potion that will open up a writers unique perspective, an existence she best describes from her own experience: the colors were brighter, the sounds deeper.
M.M. Tawfik, author of A Naughty Boy Called Antar
Under the care of Susan Tiberghiens inspired instruction, a fledgling author can learn to write clear, centered, original work assured of praxis built on rock.
Jan Kemp, poet
This book, because of Tiberghiens deep life experience, will give you courage, keep you company, and lead you to the flame burning in any creative act.
Wallis Wilde-Menozzi, author of Mother Tongue: An American Life in Italy
About the Author
Susan M. Tiberghien is the American-born author of three books, Looking for Gold, Circling to the Center, and Footsteps: A European Album. She has been published widely in journals and anthologies. Tiberghien teaches and lectures at graduate programs, at C.G. Jung Centers, and at writers conferences in the United States and in Europe. She lives with her family in Geneva, Switzerland, where she directs the Geneva Writers Group that she founded in 1993.
To the writers who come to my workshops,
to the writers who open this book
Everything is gestation and then bringing forth. To let each impression and each germ of a feeling come to completion wholly in itself, in the dark, in the inexpressible, the unconscious, beyond the reach of ones intelligence, and await with deep humility and patience the birth-hour of a new clarity: that alone is living the artists life: in understanding as in creating.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank the following people who made this book possible: Pierre-Yves Tiberghien, my husband, and our children; Eunice and Hollister Marquardt, my parents; Ann Boehm, my sister; Amy Clampitt, Robert Russell, Wallis Wilde-Menozzi, my writing friends
From the first workshops: Sally Alderson, Mary Guerry, Sandi Stromberg, Kristina Schellinski, Mavis Guinard, Dianne Dicks
From the International Womens Writing Guild: Hannelore Hahn, D.H. Melhem, Pat Carr, Susan Baugh, Maureen Murdock, Myra Shapiro, Eunice Scarfe, Lynne Barrett, Carol Peck
