Celina Lawrence
Where fiction is Reality
Dreams are an entity of their own. Once envisioned they take it upon themselves to grow, to go out and collect for you what you'll need. Early on I thought I needed my own ideas and myself: Those two things would be sufficient for writing a book. It took me several years to even print the book, seeing it off of the computer. The font size was nearly as inflated as my sense of reality stating that because I wrote it people will love it.
Incorporating feedback became the most important thing I could do to finish my books. I began to listen to how people read the drafts. No matter how solid I thought a section was, if they stumbled, I altered it.
I've devoted myself to creating the most realistic fiction that I am able to. The story has evolved from my mere ideas for it into the characters' conflicting, individual outcomes for their own lives. Listening to my beta readers caused me to listen more intently to my characters, nearly forgoing my ideas altogether. I found my skills to be wholly lacking at times, caught in despair for wanting to scrap the whole project and start looking at job boards for anything that would produce an income.
I would realize that once again I stopped listening. So I would jump forward in the story, or back to the beginning. What are the characters trying to tell me that I've yet to hear?
the journey is the story
I felt a desire so strong for my own holistic practice that I wrote bylaws and met with a business coach. She told me to serve on various boards to get started. I instead made flyers, reserved a community room, and hoped for the best. I got a few clients. I never followed the coach's advice. And I'm glad I hadn't: I had again been ensconced in my own ideas.
It was after I took writing seriously, taking on the honorific of author, that I gave up on my dream of my own practice. I was no longer living vicariously through the holistic center in my first series, but was now expanding potential.
I still wanted to have my own practice, but as an education center — not solely one-on-one energy sessions anymore. To teach about writing and the body as an integrated process. My intuition is strong that this will work a lot better than my original ideas.
giving up
all I can give
Interviews: virtual, phone, in person; print media, radio, academic settings, public outdoor spaces.
Book signings: cafés, galleries, shops, libraries, schools, community rooms.
Book groups: virtual or in person; anywhere quiet.
Seminars & Workshops: virtual or in person; community rooms, auditoriums.
Writing classes: in person; anywhere suitable for weekly meetings.
In person is only available for those in or around Lane County, Oregon.
Currently seminars & workshops and writing classes are not being hosted or arranged by the author. If requested, the author will discuss with you what is possible. They will only be scheduled with a minimum of ten guaranteed registrants.
This form may also be used for all general-purpose contact, inquiries, and to become a collaborator or sponsor in an event Celina is hosting.