Can Writing About Hard Times Feel Good? Get Started on Your Story

WRITING HARD STORIES CLASS BEGINS SEPTEMBER 13ENROLL HERE (Early Bird Discount through Aug. 1)During my MFA program in creative writing, my life changed. I felt comfortable writing about crisis times and less secretive about having bipolar illness. Just writing the bare bones of what happened felt like a relief. Today, there's so much evolving research on how your brain changes (for the better) when you write expressively. You don't even have to write that much. I can't wait to continue this conversation in a fast-paced 4-week creative writing class!OverviewWeek 1 : I provide prompts that may take you in surprising directions as you discover the story/stories you are waiting to tell. You will leave confident and energized to explore at least one potential story for the next 3 weeks.Week 2 is all about your narrator, which is you. What happened to you? Is it a secret? You will tap into the facts of your story as you recount them. You will leave understanding narration, interior thoughts “interiority,” and dialogue.Week 3 Backdrop: Place, setting, scene and supporting characters that were critical to your story. You will recall vibrant details that deepen mood and add emotional weight. You will leave with a rich, cinematic story revision. Week 4 Perspective. Time to to process what your story meant then and what it means to you now. This “processing” may not make it into the actual story, but it will help you understand what your story is about—reaching beyond the events of what happened. You will leave with a story, essay, chapter, podcast guest story—the sky’s the limit.ENROLL HERE (Early Bird Discount through Aug. 1)CLASS MEETS 4 Sundays on Zoom: September 13, 20, 27 & October 4)3-4:15 PST / 6-7:15 ET Support the showHelp Bipolar She Today! Buy Me A Coffee is a platform for podcasters to receive support, even if just a micro-donation. It's finally time to grow! Let's amplify voices of mental illness in all their raw details.Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping....