Quilting
Knitting & Crocheting
Embroidery
Weaving & Garment Sewing

Whether you’re an artist, a crafter, or simply an appreciator of handmade beauty, this is the perfect opportunity to see the talent of our local creative community up close. Admission is free, and all are welcome!

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Some things are meant to be. About the time COVID came along I received a memoir from a friend in Australia and thought, “Heck, during COVID isolation, why don’t I write my memoir?” So, I did. At first, it was to be a little memoir I would give to my children, but then I really got into the writing and found I had a lot to say.

I had never written a book, so I took free online writing courses.

Learning how to write dialogue, the importance of simple, concise, straightforward language, and the value of description was fun and challenging. My writing kept improving, and that was satisfying.

I shared my writing with friends, who said, “This is good as well as informative.” They encouraged me, but I also learned that friends typically say that.

Working with a Professional Editor

I hired a professional—a developmental editor. He cost as much as a college course, and working with him was like taking one. I had written 55,000 words. His first action was to discard 15,000 of them, restructure my memoir to read like a hero’s journey, and have me write 6,000 new words to fill in the journey’s gap. Then, it was on to submit book proposals.

Could I find a publisher for my book, even though I was a first-time author in a challenging market?

Finding a Publisher

I read that only 2-3% of authors find a publisher, which was intimidating information, but COVID made submitting proposals easy. Instead of needing to mail out proposals to numerous agents and publishing companies, they now accept proposals as email attachments. I spent days researching where to send my proposal and set up a form to track who I emailed and the status of my replies. I sent more than 50 emails and got five replies, all negative.

I was ready to give up and consider self-publishing when I got a call.

A publishing company was interested! Oh, wondrous joy! They liked my writing. They would take a chance on a first-time, 78-year-old author. My book, Living with Inattentive ADHD, was released on August 29, 2023.

Another Learning Experience

Working with a publisher was another learning experience, but less fun.

There are two advantages to working with a traditional publisher: 

1. It increases the likelihood of having your book reviewed. Recognized, national ADHD authorities write positive reviews about my book. They wouldn’t have given my manuscript a second glance if I self-published.

2. Most publishers access huge markets for distribution. On the day of its release, my book was available on Amazon and other stores in the U.S., the UK, Canada, and Australia.

The downsides of working with a publisher:

1. You have no control over when the book will be published. It was almost two years between signing the contract and having my book published.

2. Most contracts give the author very little money. My $16.95 paperback book pays me $1.27 in royalties—talk about an unpleasant learning experience.

3. Publishers typically expect authors to market their books. So, I do lots of work, and they make most of the money. I didn’t know this when I started.

Then There’s Marketing!

I developed new skills writing a book and working with a publisher. Now I have to learn book marketing skills. But there is more. While writing my memoir, I learned that my late-in-life diagnosis of the inattentive type of ADHD continued to be a problem for others.

Helping Others

I created the website www.iadhd.org, completed paperwork to establish a nonprofit called the Inattentive ADHD Coalition, and established a board of directors. Then, I focused on educating about inattentive ADHD by writing blogs, publishing online articles, creating a presence on social media, and recording, editing, and posting videos on our YouTube channel. (Search for Inattentive ADHD Coalition)

My labors of love continue—selling my book, writing articles, doing author presentations, and leading the nonprofit where I am the executive director. My days are exciting, interesting, full, and fun. What could be better when you get ready to celebrate your 80th birthday?

Cynthia Hammer, MSW, discovered that she had the inattentive type of ADHD at age 49. She has written a memoir/self-help book, Living with Inattentive ADHD, published by HatherLeigh Press. She is also the founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization, Inattentive ADHD Coalition (www.iadhd.org)

The post At 78, I Learned Whole New Skill Sets and Am Having a Blast appeared first on 3rd Act Magazine.

Contrary to Truman Capote’s declaration that “Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act,” I have found immense joy and satisfaction in my 60s and 70s.

The post My Third Act—And The Music Plays On appeared first on 3rd Act Magazine.

Act II: Psychology!

Act III: Improv and Psychology!

In the early 1980s, my improv group, The Off the Wall Players, regularly earned rave reviews and played to sold-out theaters. I recall the thrill of looking from a balcony of the Bagley Wright Theatre at a line that stretched far around the building before one of our shows.

Next I joined the cast of KING-TV Seattle’s comedy show Almost Live, where I won eight Emmys. After that, I moved to Hollywood, where I wrote on network TV projects for directors John Landis and Blake Edwards, both legendary comedy forces. I’d had a great first act.

But by Act 2, in my early 40s, I wanted something different. I enrolled in a Seattle University therapist training program to earn a master’s degree in existential-phenomenological psychotherapeutic psychology. Explaining this makes terrific cocktail party conversation.

For 10 years, I worked in community mental health, followed by another decade in private practice. I didn’t lose sight of the arts: I used improvisation exercises for my teen anger management group and a couples communications group. I wrote a memoir and performed improv from time to time.

I had expected Act 3 to be pretty much the same as Act 2. Plenty of therapists practice into their 70s or 80s. But, by 2015, I was eager for something different.

And so my Act 3 combines psychology with the arts. I help organizations, corporate groups, and individuals learn how to use improv as a resource for team building, creativity, and wellness. I present insights from two perspectives: the scientific study of the brain and reflections on the phenomenon of one’s own lived human experience.

In the winter of 2016, in the early stage of my improv renaissance, I show up at a drop-in improv gathering at the Seattle Center. About 12 improvisers are in a circle, engaged in a fast-moving warm-up game. Everyone looks at least 20 years younger than me. Someone tells me the rules. Players pass an imaginary ball around the circle—to the left, to the right, or across—by shouting one of three tongue-twisting phrases: Whiskey Mixer, Mister Whiskers, or Misty Vista.

I have two thoughts: 1) “I LOVE IMPROV! ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW!” and 2) “Holy shit! I had better rev it up if I want to keep up with these young brains!” My brain and body fire up the adrenalin, serotonin, and dopamine—and I have a blast.

When I started improv, we were taught that we had to box out the left brain—the linear, logical brain where the “censor” lives—in favor of the right brain: our creative, playful side. While it is true that MRI studies show that the inhibitory area of the brain is muted during improvisation, I am convinced that improv is also a joyous collaboration of the left and right brain. My left brain loves the challenge of trying to follow the rules, while my right brain rejoices in the silliness, play, and creativity.

The New York Times recently reported on a study of “super-agers,” like Warren Buffet, who continue doing work they love into their 80s, and whose brains resemble those of much younger people. The study noted that most people, in retirement, decide to “take it easy” in their pursuit of happiness. But what keeps brains young is the sometimes painful process of real effort, of trying to solve a problem, of trying to craft something well, of learning something new. Scientists used to believe that, after our late teens, the brain starts losing cells and it’s downhill from there. Now we know that we retain “brain plasticity,” the ability to make new neural connections, well into old age.

But this takes effort. Like when I learn a new improv game. Or write an article like this one, which, up to this point I’ve been improvising, merrily typing a first draft as fast as my thoughts and fingers will go. Editing it down to the essay you are now reading will take some concentrated, and sometimes painful, effort.

Bring it on!

Read more about Joe Guppy.

Here’s where you can do Improv in Seattle.

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