Overcome the clutter of old baggage and unleash your super powers with a fresh way of seeing yourself and your circumstances!
Perspective is essential to story-telling and problem-solving—and successfully navigating life. In literature, that perspective is achieved by chronicling how over the course of a hero’s quest, his/her life changes—and, invariably, so does the very essence of the hero’s character.
In Homer’s Odyssey, it takes Odysseus ten years to reach his home of Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. In his travels he encounters the Lotus-Eaters, battles Cyclops, and resists the call of the Sirens, learning self-reliance, endurance, and cultivating cunning intelligence--and eventually reaching that elusive destination of home.
Elizabeth Gilbert’s blockbuster "Eat, Pray, Love," subtitled "One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" sees the author find pleasure, peace and love after emotional devastation.
Tolkien’s hobbit Bilbo Baggins went on an epic journey unwillingly—and learned he was far from the ordinary nobody he thought, discovering strength, wisdom and courage he never imagined he had.
In literature, and in life, achieving answers to one’s questions and relief from one's troubles often comes via psychic distance. By consciously creating space from the events, beliefs and emotions of your "back story," you can view your situation with a degree of detachment that is often revelatory, liberating and empowering.
In this workshop, you'll write about yourself in the third person, and consider yourself as a character in a short story. You'll explore the issue that you are grappling with by creating the emotional space to craft a whole new plot around your circumstances. Through examining your life as an unfolding fable of which you are the author, you can shape a storyline that makes sense of your experiences, and enables you to view them as evolving in a purposeful and meaningful way.
As the author of this work, you can write with clarity about the heroism, vulnerability and humanity of your lead character (you!) and be inspired to re-write the same old ending and script a resolution to the dilemma that you seek to address.
Well, what is your “story”? Or, said a little differently, what is your core belief about yourself, and life? And, more to the point…do you like it? Is it working for you?
Are you stuck? Do you have a particular situation, relationship, behavior pattern, attitude, belief, memory, or experience that you know is holding you back?
Do you have a long-held dream that remains unfulfilled? Is there something that you know in your core you were meant to do but you just haven’t been able to manifest?
Do you like to write? Are you a story-teller at heart? Do you value being heard?
Studies have shown that writing about your personal experiences can improve your outlook, contribute to physical well-being, and even boost memory.
Researchers have concluded that the power of writing — and then rewriting — your personal story can lead to behavioral changes and improve happiness.
The concept is based on the idea that we all have a personal narrative that shapes our view of the world and ourselves. We have our “back story” that revolves around a basic plot we have adopted as the framework for our whole life, influencing every move we make.
But sometimes our inner voice doesn’t get it completely right. There is scientific evidence that by writing our own stories in the third person, and then engaging in a series of reflection and revision exercises, we can identify obstacles that stand in the way of happiness--and change our perceptions of ourselves.
In being willing to look at a specific challenging situation or attitude with the detachment of a "reporter," a door is opened to transform an aggravating scenario into a springboard for success. Through writing about a difficult experience, an unexpected upheaval or an unfulfilled goal, it’s possible to convert a source of frustration and pain into a positive outcome, and achieve a sense of accomplishment, relief and feeling of being in tune with your Life’s plan.
This workshop will focus on one specific scenario in your life that you would like to change. That scenario can be overcoming an obstacle, achieving a goal, or changing a behavior. Over the course of the four-week workshop, you’ll write about this scenario as a short story, considering it from a variety of vantage points. Each week, we’ll focus on a different aspect of story construction and apply it to your scenario. These elements will include writing about the story’s Hero (you); Premise/Core Belief; Quest; Conflict; Humor/Perspective; Turning Point/Change; Growth/Resolution.
Each week will involve 45 minutes of instruction and discussion of key elements of storytelling and the hero's journey, and how they relate to your circumstances. Then you'll spend 45 minutes creating a piece of writing on the issue you are addressing in the workshop within this context. Before you leave, you'll share the writing with Meg, who will give you feedback in advance of the next session.
Bring your laptop!
