“Let yourself live in something that is already rightfully yours—your own wild mind.”
— Natalie Goldberg
Tom with high school students in Hana, Maui after teaching them “No Fear Writing.”
Many hundreds of islanders and other aspiring writers have attended Tom’s acclaimed workshops since 1991. He’s taught them through the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Volcano Art Center, Pacific Writers Connection and other venues on the Big Island, Oʻahu, Maui, Lanaʻi and Vancouver Island in Canada.
For information about his current Volcano Arts Center workshops, please visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or contact the Art Center at 808.967.8222 or workshops@volcanoartcenter.org.
“This workshop provided just the spark I needed to get the bonfire blazing.”
“Tom creates a safe, supportive environment where we are free to write and share without judgement.”
“Wonderful experience . . . energizing and revelatory!”
“Tom’s Six Steps to Enlightened Revision gave me a framework to begin the revision process . . . Masterful instruction.”
“Tom is a wonderful teacher with an enormous, nurturing heart.”
“Tom is a weaver. He sees the needs of each individual and the whole group, and then weaves the exercises to benefit all.”
“Enjoyed it all—time ran out too fast.”
Empowered by the pen!
Tom believes everyone has a story to tell by virtue of living a life, and he encourages his students to write them with honesty, emotion and depth.
“Own your truth and trust your voice,” he urges. “Don’t cop to conventional wisdom, current fashion or the latest political correctness unless you actually believe them. Instead, commit to contributing your own unique narrative to the mix.”
Click here to watch a video of Tom discussing the writing process.
Tom’s upbeat, participatory workshops have helped people from all walks of life discover the transformative power of writing.
Three decades of workshops
Tom’s acclaimed series of “Empowered by the Pen!” workshops have included:
Writing for Inner Exploration and Life Reflection
Writing on the Wild Side
Empowered by the Pen!
Writing Family History and Personal Memoir
Enlightened Revision
Zen Pen — Writing as Spiritual Practice
Tapping Your Creative Right Brain
Further Empowered by the Pen!
No Fear Writing (for young people)
Writing for Power, Heart and Vision (a three-day weekend retreat)
“Tom’s workshops are popular because he not only brings his vast writing and teaching experience to the workshop, but also his compassion for his fellow voyagers on the writing journey.”
–Honolulu Weekly
Private consulting with individual writers
Tom working with former Peace Corp volunteer Donna Barr on her memoir about Samoa, My View from the House by the Sea.
Tom also occasionally works with individual writers and organizations, helping them revise drafts for publication or mentoring them on how to create and revise their works—particularly to enhance their honesty, emotion and depth.
He’s also facilitated writing and critique groups.
Past clients include novelists, memoir writers, poets, family historians, screenwriters, newspaper editorialists and web designers, as well as a publisher, a non-profit and a national park.
Tom has also done pro bono writing and editorial assistance for Native Hawaiians and Sierra Club members working to protect Mauna Kea from more development.
To check on Tom’s availability for private mentoring, please e-mail him via the contact page. These days he’s often busy with his own writing, but he does occasionally take on new students.
A sampling of the many works published by Tom’s students.
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