Writing Workshops: Self-Discovery in the Company of Kindred Spirits
Writing becomes an act of compassion toward life, the life we so often refuse to see because if we look too closely or feel too deeply, there may be no end to our suffering. But words empower us, move us beyond our suffering, and set us free. This is the sorcery of literature. We are healed by our stories.
Terry Tempest Williams
We are restored to ourselves—we rediscover the power of our own words—when we write, especially in community.
Think about coming to my workshops if your body sings when it hears words like relief, freedom, ease, and connection. Especially consider joining us if words like overwhelm, frustration, languishing, or worry pour themselves over your shoulders too often.
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Winter 2023
Honoring Love in All Its Forms: Writing a Tribute Poem for Valentine’s Day
A special, free, two-hour virtual workshop with me and Resiliency Center Director Elizabeth Venart on Saturday, February 4, 2023 from 10 am to 12 pm New York time.
What will we be doing?
Selecting one person you would like to celebrate, we will work together to create a piece of writing that highlights the unique qualities, experiences, and flavors that make them who they are — and inspires you to love them. The tribute may be for a friend, child, teacher, neighbor, parent, or even your cat.
Regardless of whether you gift the writing to its subject, you may find the process of writing the tribute will connect you more deeply to your felt experience of love. You may want to bring photographs, but it isn’t required. Your memory and open heart are all that is needed.
Interested?
Let me know using my contact form and I’ll send you the link to join us!
Spring 2023
This class will serve anyone looking to connect more deeply with the source of their creativity and/or the source of their resilience. It will nourish people working to make change in their communities, who have been stretched thin by life, or who are at a crossroads in their personal growth explorations.
Meant for word artists of all kinds— facilitators, coaches, counselors, activists, educators, and explorers—Listening with Our Bodies: Writing Toward Resilience is designed to support people willing to be curious and spelunk around their inner workings, excavating with words to illuminate the caverns.
“Of course, it is all in the noticing, which is different than looking. It requires a more active, searching attention. A generosity, I would even call it.”
Caits Meissner
In this six-session class, we will explore our own noticing patterns—the ways we notice and what we notice—through multi-sensory exercises and writing invitations. We will consider if we’d like to change established patterns or cultivate expanded noticing to deepen our well of resilience and engagement.
One of the brightest spots of my week is participating in the Saturday (formerly named Room to Write) writing group. There’s a balance in the structure that brings together what I’m feeling in my body, what I’m thinking about, what’s happening in the world and fuses all of that into words on a page — words that I didn’t realize were lurking around waiting to come forward! Thank you Tracie for creating this magnificent space!
J.R.
Tracie Nichols 