In this free workshop I’m going to talk you through how to look at your vast, storied and varied lives and get started with writing it all down.
Together we start outlining by identifying underlying structures and patterns, using … fairytales.
It’s fun and insightful, I promise.
In this workshop you’ll review your life so far, clarify patterns and themes and then draw out the structure of your stories in a swift plunge into your own fascinating self.
This includes:
Your timelines
Rites of passage (both the known and the unknown)
Moments of decision
Pivotal experiences
Themes and patterns (perhaps some you never knew were there)
You’ve always wanted to write your memoir.
You feel a pull to work with and craft your lifestory, to heal and transform.
It all feels like a calling, a joyful and terrifying challenge you can’t avoid, yet somehow keep avoiding.
You wonder if your story is interesting.
Or if you’ll be opening too many cans of worms to manage.
Or if you might hurt someone or many someones in the process of examining your own life. And you don’t want to cause more pain, to yourself or others.
Plus it’s overwhelming. And you wonder if you’re deluding yourself. If you’ll be a terrible writer.
So you just keep putting it off. Because of this you’re starting to feel frustrated. Pent up.
Because when you’re called to something, you can’t set it aside.
The calling keeps tapping you on the shoulder, subtly tickling your feet, and sometimes not-so-subtly whacking you – metaphorically – with a frying pan to the head, until you heed the call.
The call to turn and face your stories. Your lineages. Your legacy. And start writing it down. Start exploring. Start healing.
I want you to know you don’t have to do it all at once, or all alone.
Join me in this workshop and let’s start outlining your memoir together.
You’ll finish with:
Enthusiasm!!
a timeline of your life so far
a detailed map of the themes that have dominated your life
ideas and inspiration and a plan for where to start and what to focus on
brainstorming documents to support your memoir writing efforts
a playful sense of the future direction of your life
You’ll also get:
an overview of Janelle’s transformational memoir-writing course, the Art of Personal Mythmaking (for which this workshop is a foundational exercise)
an enrolment discount for the Art of Personal Mythmaking
“That was an amazing session!
I am so impressed with the insightful process you’ve developed, how well organized the session was, and the kindness and encouragement you expressed throughout.
Thanks for allowing me to experience it.”
Alicia T. USA
"Your Outline Your Memoir workshop was massively transformative for me."
Heidi, Ohio, USA
“After taking part in the Outline Your Memoir Workshop my stories felt enlivened, emboldened, & newly embodied.
My perspective shifted so drastically about the possibilities of writing my own memoir that it was as if I'd jumped on a rocket to the International Space Station, looked homeward, & saw the orb of the Earth contrasted with the vastness of space with my own eyes.
Being gifted this new perspective felt both liberating & daunting."
Kate Marie Cofsky, Nomadic Artist & Women's Immersion Guide, USA
Hi there!
My name is Janelle and I help people like you write their memoirs, reclaim their lives and reconnect with their bodies so they can feel at ease with their lives and their stories.
I work with creative, sensitive big-hearted folk, helping them to grow, heal and thrive.
I’ve been working as a trauma-informed Structural Integrator doing one-on-one hands-on healing bodywork for 13+ years, and teaching individuals and groups for even longer.
I’ve got a particular passion for our individual and cultural stories, a deep reverence for the power of stories and identity, and great respect for the immensely beautiful force of questioning our stories, even as we honour them.
I’m skilled in braiding our creativity and our body-wisdom together with our deep cultural knowing and self exploration (and lifestories and memoirs are a great way to do that) to create spaciousness, ease and joy in our lives.
What this means for you is that I’ve got an uncommon ability to listen deeply, ask useful questions, see patterns, draw threads together, do my research and guide you towards your goals.
I’m also a published writer with a BA in Anthropology, an MA in Dance and a Diploma in Hellerwork Structural Integration. I’ve worked as a research assistant at Yukon Archives, as a teacher and teaching assistant at various colleges and universities, and taught creative writing and healing workshops online and in person.
So let’s step towards our calling, towards our stories, towards our personal mythologies, and start the mythmaking.
Join me in outlining your memoir. It’ll be playful, fun and rich!
YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ME ON THESE PODCASTS:
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to participate?
An email account. The link to the workshop videocall will be send to you via e-mail. Access to the internet. Our videocalls require being connected to the internet. Time. This will workshop will take about 2 hours. Optional: earbuds/headphones so the sound quality is better (recommended if you’ve got background noise and/or get distracted by background noise.)
Why does this only get me an outline for my memoir?
Good question!
Writing a memoir takes a lot of time and energy.
However, getting started on a memoir requires a bit of structure first. You need to know what you want to focus on, where your starting points are, what the ‘lay of the land’ is, so to speak.
This workshop gives you enough of a plan to get started with confidence and optimism.
Can I get more services added to this? I want to write my entire memoir.
Absolutely. I also offer an online 13-module transformational memoir-writing course The Art of Personal Mythmaking. It’s rich, deep and wonderful. But you have to do this workshop first anyways, so let’s start here.
How are you qualified to do this work?
Thanks for asking.
I’ve got an exceptional amount of skill and experience in interviewing, writing, working with people one-on-one in a healing environment, and drawing out stories.
I’m a great listener and I’m always attuned for patterns, deeper meanings and great stories.
I have an appreciation for context, history, and take the role of helping people birth their creations into the world very seriously (without forgetting that fun is important!)
“After listening to your Outline Your Memoir workshop I want to thank you for offering a way to access the more important themes in one's life.
Simple on one level, complex on another, and elegant throughout!
I could have used your workshop when writing my first book, The Light a Body Radiates, which drew from elements of my life.
I'll pass your information to other writers I know, especially anyone working on a memoir.”
ethel whitty
"I spent hours delving into this work yesterday and absolutely loved it. Your insight and wisdom shared is the best, most brilliantly facilitated writing workshop I've experienced.
I've been on a long healing journey and have only recently begun learning the connection to listening to my body in the process. I feel like you and your training combine everything that resonates with my soul - the healing work, the grounding and body awareness, the creative process and my heart's calling to write my story."
Shannon F., former educator, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA