BodyWrites! Class
By Kara L.C. Jones

A few readers have recently contacted me with questions about our online classes here at KotaPress. You were wanting to know how this online class works, what do we do, how do we communicate, what's the purpose of it. Well, we offer several classes in the online format, so I thought maybe over the next few months, we might use space here to highlight the classes one at a time.

This month we are going to talk about a class called BodyWrites! (a writing/poetry course)I offered both in-person and in the online format. The online format of this class takes place one-on-one via email. Once you sign up for the class, I will email you with the first detailed exercises of the class. And I will email you once-a-day for 7 days with new exercises.

From there, the class format is student-directed. It is up to you to do the exercises immediately or to take them as you are inspired to do them during our week of class. If you wish to simply get the information and go off about your own life, that's fine. But I am also available all week long via email to communicate with you about the exercises, your reactions to them, and your resulting writings. You are free to share as much or as little of that as you like. You can ask as many questions as you wish. It is as interactive as you direct it to be. If I have other students during the same week you are enrolled, I will offer a group chat at the end of the week. Some students really enjoy this. Others simply pass.

And I try to be flexible during your enrollment. If there are several days when you are not available or when I might be out of town, then we simply extend the week to make up for the same number of days that we might be absent. We'll take those glitches as they come.

Lastly, I thought I would share the first exercise of the first day of class with all of you here. It's just a taste of what our 7 days together will be like -- it's the first and last prompt of the class. Check it out and see if you might like to treat yourself to the full treatment! See you on the Net!

Exercise 1 from BodyWrites!
Write/Right Where You Are
-inspired by Julia Cameron!

Write where you are at this very moment. What do you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste? Is it light or dark? Loud or quiet? Comfortable or uncomfortable? Are you sitting or standing? If sitting, is your seat soft or hard, warm or cold? Do your feet hurt if you are standing? Is the smell pleasant? Unpleasant? What's happening out the window? On the ceiling? On the floor? Are you hugry or thirsty? If so, what does that feel like? What sensations are your body giving you to tell you that you are hungry or thirsty?

Try to be as detailed as possible. Pay attention. Really see what is around you. Really concentrate on how your senses inform you of where you are this moment.

Save this work. We will refer back to it at the end of the week.

Instructor's Biography
Please see www.KotaPress.com/kara/karajones.htm for more details.