Hi Catherine,

Just wanted to let you know how much I loved the class yesterday. The structure and all the information and tips that came with it. You delivered it with such sincerity, warmth and generosity. I wish I hadn’t taken so long to do it (have been thinking about it for more than a year) – it was worth every cent.

Thank you and keep doing what you’re doing.

Dina

Hi Dev,

Thought I would share my “What would Dev do?” experience that helped me out this week.

My Mum passed away last week after a long struggle with cancer. It was peaceful and surrounded by family. I volunteered to present the eulogy at her funeral service.

In an initial team meeting with my sisters and Dad, we came up with a mind map of all the aspects of Mum’s life what we wanted to talk about. This was great, but when it came to sitting down to write, I got three lines down and got stuck there.

Once push came to shove, and it was time to really get cracking, I thought back to the Gunnas class earlier this year. I remembered that you told us about the method of voice recording the story in order to get it out of your heart and onto the screen. That evening, as I sat in my car while my daughter was doing soccer trials, I recorded on my phone a piece for each of the thought bubbles on the mind map.While it felt weird, and while I did get a little blubby through the emotional parts, I was able to get down a good chunk of material.

That night I typed it all in verbatim, and the next morning did a rough edit. Ended up with about 2,600 words to work with. Later that day I read what I had written to my family. They were so happy. We fixed up a few details and by the next day I had the final copy ready for the service.

Yesterday was Mum’s funeral, and it went so well. It was so easy to read because that’s how it initially came out. It really came from the heart and it showed. Got lots of laughs and there was lots of blubbing. Thankfully I managed to get all the way through without any tears. I received so many positive comments about the eulogy. I was so happy, and I feel I did my Mum and my family proud.

All thanks to the help of that little tip you gave in class. Not a self-pubished novel, but a work that I am really proud of.

Thank you.

Roy Meuronen
Canberra, Australia

Hi Catherine,

There were so many things that were great today – the venue and the food and the wonderful attention from Team Bouvier of course, and the amazing people who came along – everyone with a special story (could have listened to them all for ages). And of course your wise words and hilarious comments.

But what I really loved and appreciated was the way in which you targeted everyone in turn, gave each of us your full attention, encouraged every one of us so that we each felt we had been given something particularly special and helpful, and then … best part … you actually remembered what everyone had told you, so later on you were able to go back to various people around the table when something pertinent came up for their particular project. And all the time you kept us enthralled by your fabulous humour and funny stories. And it was great getting people to introduce their neighbour so we didn’t all have to do that appalling self-introduction thing (which always has my heart thundering as it gets closer and closer to being my turn).

So, thank you for being magnificent.

Will this be enough to excuse me from sending in my homework ‘contribution’ by 10pm? (it’s your fault really, a piece of work for you tonight would not be core writing – it would be what you so concisely called ‘fucking about’ and today I learned to stop doing that!)

I’m going to work hard now and try to get the book finished in a couple of weeks. I’ll let you know how we go.

Thank you again for an amazing day – I really feel we’re gunna get this book done now. Para is still at work; he’ll be home in an hour or so … poor man won’t know what’s hit him!

Bye for now,

Ali xxx

I’ll never forget the experience of writing a new story after a wonderful day spent in a Gunnas Writing Masterclass with the incomparable Catherine Deveny. The task at day’s end was to send her a piece written between 10am and 10pm. ‘But how?’, I wondered, ‘I’m going straight out to dinner and to see a show. I won’t have time to do it’.

But no excuses would do. So I texted my husband the simple words…’You better bring your laptop’. Later, parked in our car on a city street, I sat with the computer on my knee and frantically tapped out my piece from the notes I’d scrawled during the class. I had to do it – would never forgive myself if I didn’t – and so I did.

I emailed it to Catherine, typos and all, and felt a great sense of satisfaction at meeting the deadline. The feedback and support from Catherine the next day was absolutely thrilling and so that mad writing session in my car felt even more worthwhile. It was such a great experience that I’m sure any aspiring writer would enjoy. Plus, Catherine wears gorgeous shoes with little musical notes engraved on the soles. So there’s that too.

Melinda Hildebrandt

I want tell you all how grateful I am that I crossed paths with these writing masterclasses and Dev. With two Gunnas under my belt now, my book For Foxes’ Sake is out there in the wilderness. I took this photo this morning, moments before doing a one-hour live radio spot out of Los Angeles, doing promo for the book. I told Dev that the day after my first Gunna, I spent a day in my PJ’s and wrote 5,000 words. It’s grown into 87,000 words, is out in the world, and I started book 2 last week. Dev, thank you for doing what you do, it’s beyond amazing, and I am so grateful

Rowena Murray

Hey Dev,
I went to your Masterclass in October and my writing habits couldn’t be more different now, and I have you to thank for giving me the creative enema I needed.
I’ve stopped applying for “creative” writing jobs because I realised I’d be writing for someone else instead of myself.
I’ve gotten myself a full time admin job, so I’ve always got time to write something while I’m at work. Writing now is a daily habit for me, like sleeping (I was going to say showering but that habit still hasn’t kicked in as a daily thing yet). And best of all I haven’t been tracking my writing behaviour like I used to – no edits, no re-writes while making the first draft, no going back and reading through it to see “where i got up to”. Because i know the characters and story so intimately, I trust that what comes next was always meant to be there. I’ve written over 12,000 words in 2 months, and 5,000 of those words in the last 2 weeks. My momentum can only get faster.
So thank you for teaching me how to actually write instead of just thinking or talking about it. I’ve never been so happy with my writing in my life smile emoticon
Muchos lovas,

Stephanie Hughes

Dear Catherine,

I attended your workshop during Melbourne Writers Festival and I need to tell you that it’s been one of the most pivotal experiences of my life. (I sat near the front, furiously transcribing nearly every word you uttered.)
After years and years of meaning to write, wanting to write, waiting to write, finding excuses for why I couldn’t write, and trying to convince myself and others who encouraged me to ‘just do it!’ that I couldn’t, I’ve just completed NaNoWriMo.
I would never have attempted it had I not taken on your 4 days/4 weeks challenge and already established the practice of getting up at 5:30 am to write until the kids needed to be up (or later, if I just couldn’t stop pounding out the words).
Your tip about typing in white font was pure gold. It made all the difference. So did the idea of ‘giving myself the Spring’ – it transformed something terrifying into an act of kindness towards myself and framed it in a way that made me feel I deserved that time. That the endeavour – and I – was worth the investment of time. Breaking the commitment down into just one hour a day – no more – and only four days a week (though this expanded) made it MANAGEABLE. For the first time, it wasn’t daunting. It was a simple as putting marbles in a jar, one every day. So critical.
My NaNoWriMo submission is a totally shitty first draft, a la Anne Lamott. The shittier, the better. So liberating. It’s not even a draft, really – there’s no ‘the end’, yet. But there’s one in sight. Now, I’ve got something to really sink my teeth into. And an entirely new purpose that feels real and attainable, after years of reading and yearning and fear.
Thanks to you, I will not die with my music still inside me.
I hope you, too, are having a most incredible Spring. I owe mine to you.

P.S. I am so happy – you’ve made every day better for me since I attended your class
PLEASE use this testimonial – it’s the least I could do. And not too generous at all. If I wasn’t a recovering Catholic, I’d say you’re doing God’s work, unlocking on.

Kate Buckley