Author Teaches Craft

Writer Cathrine Ann Jones turns the the old axiom ‘write what you know’ on its head, coaching aspiring writers instead to write what they feel. ‘George Lucas never traveled to outer space, yet his original story ‘Star Wars’ did rather well,’ she writes in ‘The Way of Story, The Craft and Soul of Writing’ (Prasana Press, 2004). Jones is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose films include ‘The Christmas Wife’ (Jason Robards), nominated for best picture and best writing, ‘Unlikely Angel’ (Dolly Parton), ‘Angel Passing’ (Hume Cronyn, Calista Flockhart), which played at Sundance and went on to win 15 awards in festivals both here and abroad and the popular television series ‘Touched by an Angel.’ Ten of her plays, including ‘Calamity Jane,’ have been produced both in and out of New York City. These days, Jones devotes most of her time to conducting writing workshops. A resident of Ojai, Jones will appear at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. After teaching writing in universities, including USC, for more than 25 years, Jones decided to create her own ‘how-to’ book, mainly as a way to dispel the idea that there’s only one way to write. Most of what she saw in bookstores were volumes solely devoted to craft, with little or no focus on mining the deeper wells of imagination. ‘You need both of them,’ Jones says about the balancing act between skillful craft and tapping into one’s soul to make a good story. ‘Just as you decide to marry the man you feel most passionate for, you should write about something you feel a lot of passion about,’ she says. ‘You have to contact that inner, emotional part of yourself in order to make a story your own.’ Jones’ own creative journey includes two extended trips to India, once as a Fulbright scholar. While she’s adamant about reaching the intangible inner dimensions of writing, her book also contains solid instruction about craft, with chapters ranging in topic from ‘Seven Steps to Story Structure’ to ‘The Secret Writing of Stunning Dialogue’ to ‘Transcending Writer’s Block.’ Among those she teaches, Jones sees the most common pitfall as giving up. ‘I remind hopeful playwrights and screenwriters that Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ was turned down 55 times. It’s probably the most important play of the 20th century.’ For more information about Cathrine Ann Jones and her workshops, go online to www.wayofstory.com.