Who Is Writing YOUR Story?
The way you see yourself and the way others see you, especially if they label you as "broken," alienates you from your sense of self. It's time to call that back.
The philosophy behind the story
"Once You Label Me, You Negate Me." ~S. Kierkegaard
When you are directly affected by the death of someone so close to you that your sense of purpose is shattered, it becomes a public event - one that everyone around you has an opinion about.
You become the object of labeling. People begin to write you off as hopeless, over and done. Over time, when it happens again and again, it affects how you see yourself. There is ample evidence of this in academic situations where students seen as inferior perform worse on exams. It pre-empts what people will reach for. It stops minorities from believing in themselves. What people start to box you in, in this way, you can see it in their eyes, in the way they begin to disengage. But when you give other the power to define who you are, it's all downhill from there...
The truth is, labeling says more about the other person. It speaks volumes about their fears. They distance themselves as if death were contagious. It's not. It's something most people are in denial about that will come for each of us in the end. Therefore, we might as well dive deep into what it's all about for each of us, personally.
There is even evidence that this kind of labeling affects memory and impairs learning. Don't let other people define your reality for you. In the immediate crisis after loss, often you are forced to lean on others, but don't let that become a permanent state. At some point, you get to decide when, it's time to take your life back.
You become the object of labeling. People begin to write you off as hopeless, over and done. Over time, when it happens again and again, it affects how you see yourself. There is ample evidence of this in academic situations where students seen as inferior perform worse on exams. It pre-empts what people will reach for. It stops minorities from believing in themselves. What people start to box you in, in this way, you can see it in their eyes, in the way they begin to disengage. But when you give other the power to define who you are, it's all downhill from there...
The truth is, labeling says more about the other person. It speaks volumes about their fears. They distance themselves as if death were contagious. It's not. It's something most people are in denial about that will come for each of us in the end. Therefore, we might as well dive deep into what it's all about for each of us, personally.
There is even evidence that this kind of labeling affects memory and impairs learning. Don't let other people define your reality for you. In the immediate crisis after loss, often you are forced to lean on others, but don't let that become a permanent state. At some point, you get to decide when, it's time to take your life back.
Write Your Life
Loss and trauma are a significant disruption to life. Right that imbalance. It's time to write a new story and you are the only one who can do it.
With Creativity
Use those off-the-chart emotions. Don't let them highjack you. They are fuel for dramatic impact. Let them take over the characters that inhabit your story, drive you into a new level of creative inspiration. With writing guidance, this practice is so fulfilling, it feeds your soul.
& Great Books
Books are magic. They are inspiration. When YOU do the writing, you own that.
Loss and trauma are a significant disruption to life. Right that imbalance. It's time to write a new story and you are the only one who can do it.
With Creativity
Use those off-the-chart emotions. Don't let them highjack you. They are fuel for dramatic impact. Let them take over the characters that inhabit your story, drive you into a new level of creative inspiration. With writing guidance, this practice is so fulfilling, it feeds your soul.
& Great Books
Books are magic. They are inspiration. When YOU do the writing, you own that.
Extraordinary Writing Workshops
Online or In Person
In Southern Oregon Wine Country
In Southern Oregon Wine Country
Writing Instruction and Feedback from an experienced, graduate level writing instructor.
Extraordinary Ordinary Writing Workshop
Get Feedback From the Voice of Experience!
$
360
Investigating & Integrating Your Experience With Creativity & Perspective
Excellent Support
A Life Lived, People Loved and Lost, Wisdom Accrued...with Creative Acumen. A keen mind and sharp wit can pierce the soul as easily as a needle passes through cloth. The practice of writing hones your ability to grasp the meaning that life has kept you too busy to process. One of the most fulfilling experiences in life is to give your understanding wings through creative expression.
When & Where: Scheduled Individually.
Format: Four Private 90 Min. Meetings to discuss & get feedback in a safe space & to refine what & how you most want to communicate. A private writing tutorial with written responses and live coaching over 6 to 8 weeks.
Two Free Writing Resources
Want a DIY approach? On a budget? Not sure you're ready for individual coaching?
Check out the options below to become part of something greater than yourself
that has the capacity to help you grow by leaps and bounds!
Check out the options below to become part of something greater than yourself
that has the capacity to help you grow by leaps and bounds!
Support for Sharing Your Work
Ideas Need Attention to Flourish
Grief Needs Self-Expression to Relinquish It's Hold
Grief Needs Self-Expression to Relinquish It's Hold
Searching for Meaning Behind the Suffering
“When we are no longer able to change a situation—we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~Viktor E. Frankl
“When we are no longer able to change a situation—we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~Viktor E. Frankl
The Fourth Quarter Writing Salon
"It takes a village..."
Turn your free-writing into one of the
most fulfilling, creative things you've ever done!"
Learn
WE STUDY THE CRAFT OF WRITING.
Support
WE SHARE THE PROCESS OF WRITING.
Grow
WE EVOLVE AS INDIVIDUAL WRITERS.
Join the Fourth Quarter Writing Salon
Meet Other Writers Engaged in the Process!
The fourth quarter is a stage, beyond childhood, adolescence and adulthood. It's a stage of maturity, of potency...
Our Mission: A Community that nurtures creative writing in any genre. Encouragement & friendship among writers as the wellspring of inspiration.
Let the fourth quarter of life not be an ending but a beginning. Do not give up on past hopes and dreams but pursue your creative projects.
Discuss ideas, craft and works-in-progress that impact your interpretation of life. Write to better know your own mind! Participation is free.
Our Mission: A Community that nurtures creative writing in any genre. Encouragement & friendship among writers as the wellspring of inspiration.
Let the fourth quarter of life not be an ending but a beginning. Do not give up on past hopes and dreams but pursue your creative projects.
Discuss ideas, craft and works-in-progress that impact your interpretation of life. Write to better know your own mind! Participation is free.
A Structure for Writing Every Week
Join a group of like-minded people with the same goals. The intention of the group adds momentum to get your projects done. This free offering attracts serious writers.
From Humble Beginnings
We first started our weekly writing group at the local bookstore here in Jacksonville, OR. During that first year, we would regularly pack 19 people into that lovely, intimate space and then go for lively group discussions about writing at the coffee shop next door. But then Covid hit and we have now taken the project online using zoom. It's one of the best ways to get down and dirty with whatever you find the most nourishing or the hardest to do. We are all in this together becomes a true story, not a cliché!
We first started our weekly writing group at the local bookstore here in Jacksonville, OR. During that first year, we would regularly pack 19 people into that lovely, intimate space and then go for lively group discussions about writing at the coffee shop next door. But then Covid hit and we have now taken the project online using zoom. It's one of the best ways to get down and dirty with whatever you find the most nourishing or the hardest to do. We are all in this together becomes a true story, not a cliché!
Support Your Writing
Show Up for Yourself
Show Up for Yourself
Get Support for Developing the Habit of Writing!
Regardless of genre, writing itself stirs things up. It stirs up memories. It stirs up values. It stirs up assumptions, clichés and stereotypes. It make us question our perspective. It's a practice that is a direct feedback loop that allows you to investigate your deepest yearnings, your most difficult losses and your most enjoyable experiences. What you focus on expands, so be careful with the written word. It's powerful!
Shut Up & Write is an International Organization set up to promote writers, writing and hence, literacy and critical thinking. This group is known as Stir It Up Shut Up and Write, because we are brewing a new world order with every stroke of the pen!
Thursdays 8:30AM -10:25AM
30min. focused discussion
60min. writing in silence
25min. metacognitive review
Free Writing Group on Zoom
Shut Up & Write is an International Organization set up to promote writers, writing and hence, literacy and critical thinking. This group is known as Stir It Up Shut Up and Write, because we are brewing a new world order with every stroke of the pen!
Thursdays 8:30AM -10:25AM
30min. focused discussion
60min. writing in silence
25min. metacognitive review
Free Writing Group on Zoom
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