Tantrick Writing Clinic
Two-Day Intensive
WHAT'S NEW in the world of writing workshops? Hasn’t it all been said and done before?
This was the challenge facing Milli Thornton, author of Fear of Writing, when a student of hers from Denver declared that he wished to come to a summer workshop in Taos.
“Michael O’Hara was not just any writing student,” Thornton said. “He’d given up writing ten years ago because he couldn't bear the angst that went with it.”
By chance, on the shuttle on his way to work one morning, Michael picked up a copy of WestWord and leafed to a tiny notice buried in the events calendar announcing the Fear of Writing Clinic. Captivated by the name of the workshop but with no way to travel by car to the Arvada Center, Michael rode his bike from downtown Denver—an hour’s ride at least.
Thornton said, “When he arrived, Michael blurted with a huge grin, ‘This entire day is an adventure for me!’ He enjoyed the workshop, which was held in May, and later wrote me a letter saying, ‘I want to come to Taos for a summer workshop.’ Since Michael had already attended the Fear of Writing Clinic, the onus was on me to come up with something new. I also couldn’t ask someone traveling from Denver to come all that way for a one-day workshop, so I set about designing a two-dayer with all new, fresh material.”
Thornton had a vision of writers gathered in a setting replete with Taos atmosphere; experiencing sensory wonders and then writing about it from personal experience. Employing surprise visitations and writing exercises designed to release her workshop participants into realms of fun, adventure, and imagination, the Tantrick Writing Clinic was born. Writing exercises with tantalizing titles such as “Snail Mail from Africa,” “Circus Faustus,” “Swear Like an Aussie,” and “She Becomes a Goddess” are brought to life with secret sensory aids.
“Those are my surprises,” Thornton says. “I don’t give away those secrets before the workshop. If you’d like more hints, view the Tantrick photo gallery. The gallery provides glimpses without giving away my secrets.”
So why Tantrick with a k?
Thornton grins. “At first I was looking for a name that would catch people’s eye on a flyer. It’s hard work standing out on a bulletin board with hundreds of other flyers. I was gambling that people would open the cover of my tri-fold flyer out of curiosity—to find out why I spelled it with a k. But the workshop itself has grown to suit that name so much it’s uncanny. People usually associate Tantric with either yoga or sex. This workshop is neither of those, but it does embrace that energy of life and creativity suggested by the word Tantric. Add a ‘k’ and you get the element of fun and cheekiness that my workshops embrace too.”
And the verdict from Michael O’Hara? This quote comes from an emotional piece written by Michael after one of the surprise visitations:
“How would they go on now that the workshop was over and they must return to the unadorned spaces where they worked and tried to play?”
Testimonials for the Tantrick Writing Clinic
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Workshop Schedule
The Tantrick Writing Clinic is for group bookings only. Contact Milli Thornton for more information:
Testimonials—Tantrick Writing Clinic
“It seems like I’ve been writing non-stop ever since your workshop. I had a fantastic idea for a book based on one of your workshop exercises and have been writing it ever since. It keeps me awake at night with new twists and turns. I can’t tell you the joy I’m feeling . . . it’s a feeling of coming home for me.”
—Kerrée Wheelock, Colorado Springs, Colorado
“I didn’t know what to expect at the Tantrick Writing Clinic. Milli was full of surprises!”
—Bill Peck, Cimarron, New Mexico
“Awesome! I’m a veteran of countless writing classes and workshops, but never have I been at a clinic quite like this one! On a scale of one to ten, you get a fifteen. Once people experience Tantrick writing, they will wonder how they ever did without it.” —Penelope Stowell, Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Tantrick was two whole days of writing inspiration. Thanks, Milli, for yet another wonderful, uplifting workshop full of treasured memories.”
—Robert Beale, Taos, New Mexico
“You do a great workshop and you’re an encouragement to the timid ones. I have never, ever shared my writing with anyone as much as I did this weekend and it felt great. I loved all of the other participants. We both enjoyed ourselves tremendously.”
—Rosa Phelps & Jeff Kennel, Telluride, Colorado
“I promise not every email will be an emotional outpouring from me, but I feel it is important that you know the impact you had on me. It wasn’t a small thing and I don’t think I’m alone in feeling it. Encouragement is the mother’s milk that makes us grow, I believe.”
—Kerrée Wheelock, Colorado Springs, Colorado
“How would they go on now that the workshop was over and they must return to the unadorned spaces where they worked and tried to play?”
— Michael O’Hara, Denver, Colorado
Tantrick Photo Gallery
Who are these women and what are they doing? You could try to guess . . . but it would be more fun to come to the Tantrick Writing Clinic and experience it all for yourself.
Don't worry, you won't have to get funky or be an exhibitionist! These are two of Milli's helpers.
Left: Workshop presenter Milli in action. That's not a ghost behind her—we've blurred it on purpose to conceal one of her workshop surprises.
Below, right: Busy writing new stories
Tantrick Writing Clinic, Yaxche Learning Center, Taos, New Mexico, August 18 - 19, 2001
Clockwise, from lady in orange: Marina Medicine Wind, Theresa O'Connor, Oliver Oviedo, Rosa Phelps, Bill Peck, Fred Mitchem, Jayni Therkildsen (peeking out of dragon), Jeff Kennel, Katrina Koehler, Milli Thornton, Robert Beale
Tantrick Writing Clinic, Yaxche Learning Center, Taos, New Mexico, November 10 - 11, 2001
From left, back row: Sandra Veith, Alison Elliott, Sandy Nelson, Jayni Therkildsen (behind dragon), Gail Kent, Kathy Moray, Kerrée Wheelock, Laura Owens, Colleen Welch, Katrina Koehler, Penelope Stowell
Tantrick Writing Clinic, Yaxche Learning Center, Taos, New Mexico, August 18 - 19, 2001
Watermelon feast
Tantrick Writing Clinic, Yaxche Learning Center, Taos, New Mexico, June 22 - 23, 2002
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Tantrick Writing Clinic