COMING SOON

UPDATE: THE SEPTEMBER WORKSHOPS WILL BE RESCHEDULED. STAY TUNED! FOLLOW US ON Linkedin, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM!

wet your whistle workshops

I’ll hold coffee hour and happy hour workshops to introduce you to the format and style of prompt writing. All you need is a device for our virtual gathering, a pen, paper—and a beverage of your choosing!

The morning and evening sessions feature similar content and prompts, so pick which time of day is best for you. Sign up for one, two, or get a discount when you sign up for the series (Discount Code BIGSIP3).

Writing for Release. Take an hour for yourself to let go of what you’re carrying and make room for something new. Laugh! Sigh! It’s not the product of the workshop that is transformative—it’s the process.
Writing for Breath. We’ll explore prompts to help you take a deep breath, feel grounded, and approach your week with more capacity and spaciousness.
Writing for Spark! I’ll invite you to write to prompts that will reinvigorate and excite. Reignite a spark, or be surprised by a new one. Leave feeling energized.

I want to wet my whistle!

2022 fall Writing Groups

For the change makers, the caretakers, the community builders. For folks in a time of loss, transition, or inspiration. For the grieving, the burned out, the hopeful. This space is for you.

Writing from within not only offers fresh perspective and meaning; research shows writing is also good for our health. I will guide the group through prompts and exercises designed to help us turn inward for wisdom, draw on existing art as inspiration, and gain fortitude.

We will meet once a week for 6 weeks, 90 minutes each week. I’ll also provide take-home prompts to inspire your practice between sessions.

With established group guidelines and consistent group members, you will find freedom in talking about the writing without analyzing the autobiography behind it. You can find supportive community without having to take care of anyone but yourself. I promise that you will laugh more than once. I invite you to try something new, take a breath, and find a spark.

Groups will begin in October. Let me know you’re interested—details forthcoming!

i am interested!

Why writing? is it for me?

My workshops are designed to be welcoming, safe, and approachable. Writing to specific prompts provides a helpful distance from and container for your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. And the prompts are playful, helpful, and flexible. Postcards, songs, questions, props are all prompts to spark the voice within. And while I’ll encourage you to write toward the edges of your comfort and imagination, you can write whatever comes—just keep the pencil moving.

Writing about what matters can stimulate a transformative shift in perspective that talking and thinking alone do not provide. Research by James Pennebaker, MD and others shows that restorative writing can promote physical, mental, and emotional healing. Structured writing workshops are not about the product (though we can produce awesome writing), but the process. When you give yourself the time and permission to put words to paper, you release stress, discover new insights, and even experience physical and physiological benefits.

workshop topics

Writing for healing and resilience
Writing for people living with illness (patients and caregivers)
Writing for laughter and release
And many more!

workshop Services

All sessions held virtually unless otherwise requested

One hour workshops
6-8 week writing groups
1:1 Writing coaching
Staff development and group building workshops
Sessions for retreats and conferences

past workshops

For two years in a row, I was delighted to co-lead this 8-week group in Chapel Hill, NC with Carol Henderson, a writer, teacher, editor, and coach (www.carolhenderson.com). Participants included people coping with illness and grief as patients and caregivers—or both. Carol and I guided participants through a series of writing exercises designed to help group members turn inward for wisdom, draw on existing literature as inspiration, and gain fortitude. The 2015 group gave a reading at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, on Sunday, March 16, 2015 and were met with a standing ovation.
I worked with Carol Henderson to facilitate a prompt-based, weekly writing workshop at UNC Hospitals. The workshop was open to hospital staff, patients and their families, and members of the surrounding community looking for a writing respite.
In this session at a weekend retreat, I helped women with rare bleeding disorders use approachable group exercises and individual prompts to put on paper to capture the feelings and experiences they explored during their retreat.