about gg
Welcome! My name is GG. I write and work in a home office that was once a living room where my kids grew up playing on the floor. When I’m not at my desk, I write on my phone and in journals, notebooks, and notecards. I write to heal. I write to understand. I write to express. I write to grow.
I also make a living with my writing, and it took me a long time to figure out how to do that authentically without struggling. I’m still figuring it out. I think that’s just part of life as an artist.
It’s my life’s work to help people discover and reclaim their stories, and it all started when I found the courage to reimagine my own defeated story.
I used to sit in meetings at work and daydream about being a writer. It was an impossible fantasy. I had three kids, a mountain of debt, and was living paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t have a writing-related degree, I didn’t know anything about storytelling, freelancing, publishing, any of it. I only knew that I had to write. That if I didn’t write, I would be swallowed up by the untold stories and unacknowledged pain of my childhood. Like James Baldwin said, “All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story; to vomit the anguish up.”
Ten years later, I am living that fantasy and continuing to release the limitations I used to placed on myself. Writing is how I found a creative vision that gave me the courage to face my fears and change my life.
When I stand back and reflect, I’m thankful for the inner ache that let me know I wasn’t where I was supposed to be or doing what I was supposed to be doing. I know now that my calling to write was never just about the writing. For me, writing is the vehicle, not the destination. It leads me to the people, connections, projects, experiences, challenges, and adventures that my soul longs for.
Along the way, I got distracted by the the validation of it all. I wanted to prove myself as a writer and I attached my worth to the applause or lack thereof. It wasn’t until I completely lost my way that I began to reexamine my reasons, values, needs, and motivations.
Once I understood how to fuel my creative process through self-care, I found clarity, focus, and renewed energy. So I take care of the writing—I show up, take risks, and invest in it— but I realize that it's not about how talented I am or how many books I sell. It's beyond that. Writing is a medium that leads me through life and allows me to serve in an authentic and purposeful way. This is what means most to me and this is what I teach.
about writing the layers
If you want to write about your life, but you don’t know where to start, you’re in the right place. If you want to understand your creativity on a deeper level, you will find help with that, too. I’ll be sharing reflections from my creative journey, as well as tools for your own creative practice. Whether you write privately or publicly, you will gain insights on how to use writing to heal, grow, and connect.
As a free subscriber, you receive a list of daily writing prompts on the first of each month and access to a free monthly writing workshop that takes place on Zoom every first Friday. You’ll get occasional reflections on healing, creativity, and writing life, plus previews of the Story Work exercises that paid subscribers and coaching clients receive weekly. You also receive updates about my creative offerings including workshops and coaching programs.
As a paid subscriber, in addition to the free features, you receive weekly Story Work exercises delivered every Sunday night at 8 pm et. You will have access to my monthly online group journaling session called The Practice. Practice sessions are 90-minutes long and feature special guests and community members who share a journaling exercise with the group. We have instruction followed by writing time, followed by voluntary sharing and discussion. Subscribers have access to all session archives.
what are story work exercises?
Story Work is a process of reflection, reclaiming, and reimagining. It involves looking at your life experiences as creative material that you have the power to shape. When you see your life as a story full of turning points and transformations, you can use your creative thinking to reshape narratives that don’t serve you. By cultivating this ability, you can uncover inspiring storylines and new visions for your life. My coaching clients and paid subscribers receive Story Work exercises every Sunday night. The topics cover universal life themes, with references from literature, philosophy, science, and spirituality; offering perspectives that spark ideas and get you writing.
my forthcoming book
Story Work: Finding and Fueling a Creative Vision for Your Life is forthcoming from Broadleaf Books in fall 2025. Here’s the synopsis:
GG Renee Hill lost her relationship with her mother due to schizophrenia and the impact led to years of struggle until she discovered that she could change the meaning she’d assigned to her circumstances. In Story Work, she shows readers how she went from living a defeated story to walking in her purpose—and how we can all do the same by treating our life experiences as creative material that we have the power to shape.
I’m so grateful you’re here, and I look forward to connecting with you!
About Me
GG Renee Hill is the author of Self-Care Check-In : A Guided Journal to Build Healthy Habits and Devote Time to You and A Year of Self-Reflection Journal : 365 Days of Guided Prompts to Slow Down, Tune In, and Grow. Her current work-in-progress is a self-help memoir on the transformative power of personal story work. As a creative coach, she provides her clients and participants with tools to understand the deeper layers of their creative callings. You can learn more about her background and offerings here.
Where Else to Find Me
