Hi, I’m Chris!
Maybe you're a little like me: it took me a long time to claim myself as a writer, though I've dedicated myself to the art since I wrote heart-breakingly bad poetry in my seventh grade journal. And yet, I always disliked how isolating writing could be, and had a hard time accepting insensitive critical feedback. But a door opened for me as a college student, when I discovered the concept of writing groups.
first draft
It's not an exaggeration to say my life changed the day I met Pat Schneider, the founder of the Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) method, which focuses on helping others generate new, fresh writing, using short prompts and positive feedback.
I learned that writing groups could be supportive, carefully facilitated spaces, where anyone who wants to write could learn how to improve, as long as there was a thoughtful leader at the helm keeping the space safe.
I always felt I could be that leader, helping others see the potential in their first draft pieces.
So in 1991, I led my first workshop as an undergraduate at Hampshire College, and decided I wanted to do this work for the rest of my life.
After returning to the Bay Area, I earned an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco, focusing on fiction and memoir, sometimes enduring grueling workshop sessions where participants had little positive feedback to offer. While I always knew careful, constructive, critical feedback had its place in the revision process, I never lost sight of the importance of helping others nurture a brand new draft by offering praise, first and foremost.
Luckily, I was able to continue to study with Pat in the years that followed, completing an intensive training program in the AWA method, serving on the Board of Directors, and eventually leading trainings for nearly a decade.
Since 1999, I have been facilitating my own weekly workshops in the San Francisco Bay Area, and since 2009, my week-long writing retreats have taken small groups as far away as Mexico, Italy, France, Hawaii, and Washington state (in 2027, we're heading to Mallorca!).
current draft
I have taught short story, memoir, and essay writing classes at the Academy of Art, Skyline College, the Writing Salon, and the Writing Pad. And for over twenty years, I've been a faculty member at the University of San Francisco, helping students build confidence and agency as writers and critical thinkers.
If you're interested in reading any of my writing, you can find it online in an essay about my experience as a college writing instructor, or on the community resource website Bezzy.com. Alternatively, you can read one of my sassy poems online, or order my memoir cookbook, Kitchen Inheritance. Even better yet, try out some of the writing prompts on my Substack page.
Finally, if you'd like to see me in action, and hear me speak about the method, check out an interview on the local TV show, 10 Percent, as well as the mini-doc, The Writer, from Second Son Films.