Soul Stories Live builds CommUnity. Our gifted storytellers tell true tales inspired by evocative th
10/01/2024
A Poem about NYC (by me)
Riding the A train below Manhattan
Taking it all in (graffiti, sheen of dirt, magic)
Cacophany of voices, races, hair, skin, languages
New York City makes room for
Global voices - struggling to be heard
Like steam escaping from the manhole covers
Can't be contained
Can't be contained
Can't be contained
The city inspires and overwhelms me
Enamored and exhausted by bike messengers,
Music and yelling and sirens that whine
Doorways to cafes, galleries, museums
Walking, exploring, observing
At night I retreat to my hotel
Listen to jazz. Lick my wounds. Eat oatmeal.
While just outside the window
Street life beckons at 3am or 3pm.
Like those moving walkways at the airport
Catapulting you to somewhere, anywhere. Yes.
Write what you know!
I'm excited to partner with Hive Center for the Book Arts on this new class 🪬
Filling up quickly - register today!
Story Craft: VOICE ~ Experiences ➡️ Stories ➡️ Connection The storyteller is like a tour guide - taking the audience to an exotic destination. They will go with you wherever you take them - as long as they know you will bring them back home in the end. Week #1: Writing about Real Life Week #...
09/18/2024
Starting Oct 9 - 10am-12pm CT (Zoom)
Hive Center for the Book Arts - Story Craft: VOICE
I'm excited to partner with HIVE + offer this new class -
The storyteller is like a tour guide - taking the audience to an exotic destination. They will go with you wherever you take them - as long as they know you will bring them back home in the end.
Week #1: Writing about Real Life
Week #2: Personal Essay
Week #3: Travel Writing
Week #4: Storytelling - Oral History
Week #5: Flash Memoir
Your story is inside of you. There is no way to tell it or write it “wrong”. It is yours. Nobody else knows your version of your story. You can share (or not share) whichever aspects of your story that you want to share. You can elaborate or focus on certain events or characteristics of the story and make other components much smaller. It is up to you how you want to tell your story.
COLLEGE APPLICATION SEASON IS HERE! 🖥
Get organization + essay support for your son/daughter ~
I'm a Chicago-based Writing Coach who has worked with hundreds of rising seniors at ETHS, New Trier, UChicago Lab School and CPS High Schools. I also work with students globally via Zoom. Our first session includes making a College Admissions Google Sheet, listing each school, number of students, acceptance rate, deadline, supplemental essays required/word count, and reflections/observations after visiting each campus. This chart helps your student keep track of all the moving pieces required in college admissions and can also influence decision making once those acceptance letters start coming.
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After the chart is complete, we have discussions about their skills, interests, passions and possible degree interests. This unearths memorable moments and stories to be used when writing their essays.
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Next, we begin to craft a unique and captivating Common App Essay that really reflects your student's voice, personality and gifts. My role is to provide micro-prompts within the prompts colleges provide (which inspire spurts of writing on topic). After the ideas begin to flow, I help students edit + concretize their content for tone, vocabulary and word count restrictions.
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The result? Distinctive, often moving, well-written essays that truly stand out. The goal is to show who your son/daughter is, highlight their talents and convey how their presence will contribute to each respective student body. The fact is: colleges and universities want to build vibrant communities that represent many perspectives and backgrounds. My role is to coach your child on the process of telling his, her or their story - using a process that is fun, organized and achievable. I'd be happy to talk with you more about this by phone (DM for # pls). If you are ready to schedule a first session now, it's easy on my website:https://www.coachvictoriareeves.com/creativewritingcoach
09/16/2024
COLLEGE APPLICATION SEASON IS HERE! 🖥
Get organization + essay support for your son/daughter ~
I'm a local Writing Coach who has worked with hundreds of rising seniors at ETHS, New Trier, UChicago Lab School and CPS High Schools. We can work together on Zoom or in person at the Robert Crown Public Library (private rooms available). Our first session would include making a College Admissions Google Sheet, listing each school, number of students, acceptance rate, deadline, if they take Common App or not, supplemental essays required/word count, and notes for reflections after visiting each campus. This chart helps your student to keep track of all the moving pieces required in college admissions and can also influence decision making once acceptance letters start coming.
🏀
After the chart is complete, we have discussions about their skills, interests, passions and possible degree interests. This unearths stories to be used in writing the essays.
🏀
Next, we begin to craft a unique and captivating Common App Essay that really reflects your student's voice, personality and gifts. My role is to provide micro-prompts within the questions + prompts colleges provide (which inspire spurts of writing on topic). After the ideas begin to flow, I help students edit + concretize their content for tone and word count restrictions.
🏀
The result? Distinctive, often heart-warming, captivating essays that truly show who your son/daughter is, highlight their talents and how their presence will contribute to their cohorts at each respective campus. The fact is: colleges and universities want to built communities, to have a student body that represents many perspectives and backgrounds. My role is to coach your child on the process of telling his, her or their story - in a way that is fun, organized, achievable and incredibly structured. I'd be happy to talk with you more about this by phone (DM for # pls). If you are ready to schedule a first session now, it's easy on my website: https://www.coachvictoriareeves.com/creativewritingcoach
09/14/2024
I'm excited to partner with the Hive Book Arts Community to offer my Story Craft: VOICE class starting Oct 9. I'd love for you to join us! 😀
Story Craft: VOICE ~ Experiences ➡️ Stories ➡️ Connection The storyteller is like a tour guide - taking the audience to an exotic destination. They will go with you wherever you take them - as long as they know you will bring them back home in the end. Week #1: Writing about Real Life Week #...
09/09/2024
BIG NEWS! My CNF story just got published in EPL's 10th Ward Lit Renewal Edition📙!!!!
Tonite until 7:30pm - Downtown Summer Sounds: Blue Line Brass Band! Come on down to the Square in Downtown Evanston for Art, Blues, Food Trucks + Fun! mom
09/01/2024
I can hear you now. "Victoria, Fall is coming. I need a creative outlet to help me write!"
I got you, girl. Story Craft: WORDSMITHING starts in 2 days. We're holding a special spot just for you 🧡. Intelligent, thoughtful conversations, weekly craft talks, generative writing exercises, individual coaching and publication in our anthology. Most of us are 50+ writers; we write to capture our wisdom.
Only $250 for 6 hours of class, valuable tools, access to our Telegram feed and unlimited inspiration!
STORY CRAFT: WORDSMITHING ~ learn how to paint with words.Open to all beginning and intermediate writers.Guided by Writer | Storyteller | Coach Victoria Reeves - immerse yourself in the craft of writing, practice utilizing structures and create short-form, personal + true stories.Learn how to write....
08/26/2024
Simple definition of characters:
Protagonist = doer
Antagonist = in the way
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Curious how writing actually works? Join us for Story Craft: WORDSMITHING. Tuesdays in Sept (3, 10, 17, 24), 6pm CT
On Zoom - attend from 🌎!
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Info:Reg: https://www.coachvictoriareeves.com/writing-classes
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Guided by Writer | Storyteller | Coach Victoria Reeves - 20+ yrs exp teaching Writing + English
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Soul Stories Live brings high-quality entertainment and expansive cultural connection to Evanston. Sit back, enjoy delicious food and drink at the Firehouse Grill and hear captivating real stories told by real people!
Formerly the Soul of Evanston, “Soul Stories Live” (SSL) is a monthly Storytelling Show featuring 5 Chicagoland Storytellers, DJ Johnny Price and Host/Creativity Guru Victoria Reeves. As Producers, Performers and Educators, Johnny and Victoria bring 20+ years experience creating, producing and hosting sophisticated and engaging events in the USA and Japan. Victoria is also a Professional Storyteller and Writing Coach, with many appearances at The Moth, StoryLab, Is This a Thing?, Inspired Live Lit and First Person Live.
Her Solo Show “Brassy + Intrepid” was selected by Lifeline Theater to be part of the 2020 Filet of Solo Festival. Johnny is a professional DJ/Music Producer, Poet, and Teaching Artist for Urban Gateways. He spins a wide variety of eclectic music in venues across Chicagoland.
Dialed into the Chicagoland youth media, cultural arts and storytelling scenes, Victoria and Johnny also have access to gifted writers, storytellers, spoken word artists, singers and guest DJ’s who will make appearances each month as part of the “Soul Stories Live” show.
“Soul Stories Live” was created to foster a sense of CommUnity and a platform for people to connect through CREATIVE EXPRESSION. You will hear stories by people you may never have a chance to meet in the course of a usual day. One SSL show had a storyteller from Lake Forest and a Spoken Word Artist/Singer from 43rd and Halsted on Chicago’s South Side. Fabulous! This is the synergy we are striving for each month - that place of shared humanity and real-time authenticity.
Join us as a storyteller, spoken word artist, guest DJ or an audience member. Come support your friends onstage! It is time to change the conversation, empower ourselves as brothers and sisters and have fun doing it. See you at the next “Soul Stories Live”!
