Costco Connection - February 2008

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Write on, mama

“WHEN YOU BECOME a mom, you become observational,” Dawn Yun, the mother of two, tells The Connection. “You have these feelings of love that you hadn’t had before. A good thing to do is write about those feelings.”

Yun, a Costco member, remembers taking her young daughter to the playground and chatting with the other mothers. Often the question of pre-motherhood employment would pop up. Yun, who has a degree in journalism and has written for The Arizona Republic and San Francisco Chronicle, says that when she’d say, “I’m a writer,” many of the other mothers would reply, “I always wanted to do that.” Yun’s reply: “You can.”

In response to those moms’ interest in writing, Yun asked the staff at Book Passages, a bookstore in Corte Madera, California, if she could teach writing classes there. She began by teaching four-week classes. Soon participants said they wanted to do something more regularly, and The Writing Mamas Salon was born.

The group, which now numbers 75 and ranges in age from 20- to 70-something, meets the second Sunday of each month. They begin by talking about what’s going on in their lives.

Then they talk about writing, and finally the group breaks into clusters of six to eight people to do readings and get critiques of essays or other pieces they’re working on.

Because the majority of the women are new to writing, Yun’s goal is to edit and offer critiques in a gentle and encouraging manner. The pleasant surprise for Yun is that the moms are really good writers.

“The writing is very touching and very funny,” she says. “We tend to be more honest about the more challenging things about motherhood—trouble with play dates, or my child won’t eat. We tend to write about our insecurities.”

Each month, Writing Mamas hosts speakers, such as agents, publishers and authors. And they have since branched out into spoken-word events. Nearly 16 mothers spoke, none of whom had experience speaking in front of a group. “Everyone rocked,” says Yun from her home in San Rafael, California. “I was the proud mother just watching them.”

The next Writing Mamas’ spoken-word event is February 23. Yun plans to hold these events four times a year, each time donating the proceeds to someone in need. She is look-

JASON BENNET T OF JCB PHOTOS

Dawn Yun began the Writing Mamas Salon as a means for providing mothers—of any age—a creative-writing outlet.

ing to start more branches in her area and has been contacted by interested women in other cities throughout the United States. She is also working on launching Writing Mamas for groups of Spanish-speaking women.

“When you become a mother you’ve got a lot to write about,” she says. “It’s endless material.”—Stephanie E. Ponder

Connecting

More information about the spoken-word events and about starting a chapter of Writing Mamas is available at www.writingmamas.com.

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