write with us
free workshop tonight and group journaling on sunday
Hi everyone,
First I just want to acknowledge the mixture of feelings that we are entering the year with as we attempt to hold both the personal and the collective joy and pain that make up our worlds.
These writers capture it well:
“If you are finding it difficult to access joy in this season, you are not alone.
Christmas carries no immediate relief, no end to sorrow. Tomorrow, when we wake, children will still be buried under the rubble. Tomorrow, when we wake, there will be no resurrection for the dead.
Our grief remains; joy does not require we abandon it.” — Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies
~
“I don’t know how to put a bow on 2023. It was a wonderful and wretched year, because I can’t neatly separate the collective from the personal.
All I know is that I currently have so much to celebrate and so much to mourn, and I’m trying to do them both well.” — Nisha Moodley
How are you integrating it all?
This weekend, I have some opportunities for us to come together to embrace the ambiguity and engage in some creative community care:
free writing the layers workshop. Join us tonight at 7 pm et for an hour of writing, connecting, and sharing in our monthly Writing the Layers free writing workshop. We’ll be writing from the January prompts. Whether you are seasoned writer and storyteller, whether you choose to share your words or not, your presence is welcome. If you haven’t already, you can register to join us here.
the practice: group journaling session. Then on Sunday, I’ll be joined by Laura G. from The Gift of the Year, who will be my guest for Practice Session #11, our first monthly group journaling session of the year. This Practice Session will be free to all subscribers. She has provided her free annual planner to share with our community. You can download it here to access an online fillable version and a printable version. In our session on Sunday, January 7, we will focus on the 2024 portion of the planner. You can register for the Zoom info to join us here.
If you know someone who would benefit from a safe space to connect and practice creative courage and expression, I encourage you to share this post with them.
Read on for other ways to connect in January.
Wishing you well,
GG
coming soon:
Our first Inner Story Author Chat w/ Natalie Lue on January 27 at 10 am et
In the Inner Story Writing Circle, we will be hosting author chats each month starting with
, creator of the Baggage Claim blog and podcast, and author of The Joy of Saying No: A Simple Plan to Stop People Pleasing, Reclaim Boundaries, and Say Yes to the Life You Want. Her current work centers around people pleasing, boundaries (she’s quite obsessed with work boundaries!), mindfulness, and creativity. Natalie will be answering questions and engaging in discussion about her book, writing journey, and creative practice. If you’d like to attend this session and join our all-access writing group to support your personal story work & creative development, you can learn more about the Inner Story Writing Circle here. (Also, I’ll be hosting a giveaway for the book on Instagram late next week, so follow along if you’d like to enter!)january workshops:
January 5. Free Writing the Layers Monthly Workshop // 7 pm et
January 7. The Practice Journaling Session #11 - Creating Your 2024 (free) // 2 - 3:30 pm et
January 11 - March 21. The Creative Courage Writing Intensive // various dates
January 21 and 28. Journaling Techniques for Writing Memories (w/ The Writer’s Center) // 1 - 4 pm et