A Few Words about Joni’s Teaching Philosophy
“My teaching begins with the assumption: If you show up in class, you’re a writer. I focus on craft. CRAFT. CRAFT. CRAFT. I don’t let writers trash people’s work, including their own. I have people share their drafts, however rough, to expose the mysteries of the creative process. My FEEDBACK starts with appreciation. I believe in building stories from their strengths up. I don’t let anything slide. I have pet peeves, mostly to do with characters who cry. (A little weeping goes a long way.) Even the most accomplished writers benefit from the DEADLINES and VALIDATION a workshop provides. I know how to help aspiring authors get started, and get out of their own way. I know how to help them FINISH. My goal is to make people want to bound to their writing desks, whistling in ANTICIPATION of the work ahead. Short of that, I want them to know that the struggle to find the right words is WORTH it. Because it is.”
About Joni
JONI B. COLE is a writing instructor and author of seven books, including the acclaimed essay collection Party Like It’s 2044, described by scholar and humorist Gina Barreca as, “Fabulously readable and thoroughly engaging, it is Cole’s voice that makes her stories sing. Whether she’s leading us into laughter, or holding our hand through dazzling moments of emotional recognition, Cole takes writing seriously while taking herself lightly, and thereby illuminating the world with these memorable essays.”
Joni also has authored two acclaimed books for writers: Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier (listed as one of the “Best Books for Writers” by Poets & Writers magazine); and Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive (“strongly recommended” for students and teachers by Library Journal). Both books are often required reading for MFA and undergrad creative writing programs.
Nominated for a US Fellowship Award and Pushcart Prize, she created the three-volume “This Day” series that shares a day in the life of hundreds of women across America (“fascinating and eye-opening,” Publisher’s Weekly).
For twenty-five years, Joni has taught online and in-person creative writing to adults through her own Writer’s Center in White River Junction, Vermont, as well as at academic programs and conferences around the country. She is a popular guest blogger and podcast interviewee, and the host of two podcasts of her own on writing and creativity: “Author, Can I Ask You?” and “Dead Frog in the Driveway.” Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.
Raves for Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier
Poets & Writers magazine named Good Naked one of its “Best Books for Writers.“
“With a great deal of practical value for aspiring writers and seasoned authors alike, Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier Revised and Expanded Edition is a complete course of instruction under one cover and is the next best thing to sitting front row in one of Joni Cole’s creative writing workshops. Thoroughly ‘writer friendly’ in organization and presentation, “Good Naked is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing collections.” —Midwest Book Review
“Good Naked is a humorous examination of popular writing that shows readers how their first drafts can lend to a process that increases creative impulses and finished products. This approach has here been revised and expanded to add psychological components into the mix of creative writing exercises, anecdotes, and vignettes. All are designed to encourage those who would improve their writing and their approach to working both alone and within writing groups to encourage feedback and better results. Readers who want to improve their writing and relationships with the written word and their personal creative forms of expression will find Good Naked replete with examples that inject both fun and thought-provoking insights into the mix.” —A Prime Pick on Donovan’s Bookshelf
Raves for Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive
“Step-by-step, Toxic Feedback guides writers—new and experienced—through what creative writing feedback is, why it so often goes so wrong, and how we can get it right. Toxic Feedback also beautifully and clearly shares stories and interviews about feedback. In the end, we readers learn so much about the power of feedback and how to use it to propel us toward powerful writing lives.”–Sean Prentiss, author of Advanced Creative Nonfiction
“Cole’s writing sparkles with humor and honesty. . . . [Cole] shows that the power of positive feedback is amazing. . . . Toxic Feedback makes me crave the kinds of responses that will expand my mind and make me productive.”–Writer Advice
“Cole’s book is certainly needed; the feedback process merits far more attention than it usually receives.”—The Writer Magazine
“Strongly recommended for academic libraries and public libraries supporting writers.”—Library Journal
For more info: www.jonibcole.com