Maybe you’ve just started writing about your awful childhood or that one unspeakable thing that happened, but you’re not sure how to proceed.
Or perhaps you’ve been writing for a while and now feel stuck. But this story matters more than anything and you’re willing to do the work that will turn what happened to you into a meaningful story for your readers.
The key to write about trauma, is to P.A.C.E. yourself.
Practice Self-Care
Activate Your Internal Wisdom
Choose Wisely and Keep It Contained
Explore with Curiosity and Compassion
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Maybe you’ve just started writing about your awful childhood or that one unspeakable thing that happened, but you’re not sure how to proceed.
Or perhaps you’ve been writing for a while and now feel stuck. But this story matters more than anything and you’re willing to do the work that will turn what happened to you into a meaningful story for your readers.
The key to write about trauma, is to P.A.C.E. yourself.
Practice Self-Care
Activate Your Internal Wisdom
Choose Wisely and Keep It Contained
Explore with Curiosity and Compassion
During Writing Through Your Trauma, you’ll learn and deepen your understanding of the P.A.C.E. technique, by exploring and practicing the key skills that will help you not just survive, but thrive while writing about your most painful events.
Learn the skills that will help you nail your memoir’s narrative arc, and make it easier to write the next one.
Next Offering
Fall of 2022
Ideal For
Writers who’ve written at least one solid draft of their memoir and have a general sense of how they plan to structure their manuscript.
Skill Level
Intermediate/Advanced
During this program, you’ll learn:
Week one: Establishing Your Safe Space and Nailing Your Self-Care Plan
During this session we’ll talk about boundaries, explore the seven facets of self-care, and then build and workshop your self-care plans.
Learning objectives:
- Building a supportive writing community
- Understanding the seven facets of self-care
- Establishing boundaries around your work
Week two: Using Mindfulness and Wise Mind Techniques to Activate Your Wisdom
During this class, I’ll talk about the basics of mindful meditation and how to establish a consistent practice. Then we’ll practice three different mindfulness meditations and discuss the wise-mind technique for working through emotional challenges.
Learning objectives:
- Defining mindfulness
- Discussing the perks and pitfalls of a mindful meditation practice
- Practicing three meditations
- Exploring the wise-mind technique
Week three: Practicing Constraints
During this class, we’ll explore the constraints you could employ while working on your manuscript. Then you’ll get to explore a few, using low-intensity material so that you can better understand their perks and pitfalls. During this class, you’ll have a chance to receive live coaching on a piece of writing or the stumbling blocks in your writing process.
Learning objectives:
- Defining constraints
- Exploring mental constraints
- Exploring more general writing constraints
- Practicing specific writing constraints
Week four: Empowering Yourself Through Forgiveness
During this class, we’ll explore a forgiveness practice that’s designed to help you truly understand your story and write it well.
Learning objectives:
- Defining forgiveness
- Exploring the four-part forgiveness practice
- Practicing writing activities designed to build insight into your project.
Best of all, you’ll experience the invaluable synergy that happens when writers do this work together.
These small group intensives are limited to between 4 – 6 writers.
Testimonials
Dr Heidi Kharbhih
“Lisa’s Camp Structure Group Coaching helped me find the universal arc for my story. My memoir transformed in a matter of weeks from a bunch of chronological scenes to a powerful whole.”
Writer, Speaker, Intuitive Reader, Coach and Meditator
Andrea Lankford
A story structure guru, Lisa’s feedback is brilliant and her workshops come with loads of valuable supplemental material. I highly recommend Lisa’s courses for writers of every experience level”
Author of Ranger Confidential: Living Working and Dying in the National Parks
Program Perks
Recorded Meditations
Learn specific skills at your own pace and then use the templates as a guide to develop your work.
A Detailed Workbook
Receive targeted feedback on your project and your process as part of a dynamic, supportive group.
Live Coaching
Regular peerspiration sessions will not only hold you accountable, they’ll inspired to up your writing game.
How does this program work? NOTES: ADD LEANNE SOWUL, Paula, And Megan Justus
Frequently Asked Questions
Who this class is designed for:
- Memoirists who are writing about traumatic material
- Essayists who are writing about traumatic material
- Fiction writers who are feeling triggered by their stories, even if they haven’t experienced the things they’re writing about
- Writing instructors who want to learn best practices around writing challenging material
- Counselors who are interested in using writing as a healing modality
Who won’t benefit from this class:
- Memoir writers who are not working with traumatic material
- Fiction writers who are not bothered by things happening in their stories
- Poets
When does this class start?
This course will begin on 3/23/22 and run through 4/13/22. All sessions take place on Wednesdays from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST on Zoom.
What if I have to miss a class?
No problem. All classes will be recorded so you won’t miss a thing.
What is the cost for this class?
The cost for this class is $299 per student, with a limit of 20 students. Payment can be made using a credit card or PayPal account.
Do I have to write a memoir to benefit from this class?
Memoirists, personal essayists, and fiction writers who are working on difficult material will benefit from this class. Poets and writers who are not working on emotionally challenging material probably won’t get much out of it. However, if you’re a writing instructor or mental health therapist working with clients who like to write, this session is also for you.
How long will it take before I see improvements in my writing life?
While it might take several weeks to see dramatic improvements in your writing life, small changes should be noticeable after our first class.
How will I know if this is a safe space to do this work?
Lisa has 20 years of teaching experience and special training in working with groups. During the first session, she will establish group norms that will establish a safe and nurturing space. If triggers occur, she will give you guidance so you can stay on track with your writing.
During our time together, you’ll get:
- Lifetime access to video modules that will help you understand the key concepts you’ll need to master
- Seven two-hour group coaching sessions, including hot seats, workshops of your project, progress reports, group guidance, and strategic advice from Yours Truly
- Five two-hour peer-spiration sessions where you’ll sit side-by-virtual-side with fellow writers, share your goals, and work on your own project (Trust me, you’ll get SO much done!)
- Written feedback on your beat sheet, synopsis, misperception matrix and a portion of your chapters summaries
- Unlimited email access to me.
- Membership in a cohort of motivated, talented writers who will support your success.
Who is a good fit for this program?
- This is an intermediate level program best suited for writers who’ve worked through several drafts of their books.
- Writers should have a general sense of what their book is about and understand the fundamentals of storytelling
Wondering if that’s you?
This is an investment in your book and your writing career.
By the end of our time together…..
- you’ll know what story you want to tell,
- understand what success means to you,
- have a clear vision for your book,
- know how to execute it.
When you receive future feedback, you’ll know what serves your story and what to ignore. Best of all, you’ll have confidence in your ability to finish this memoir and have the skills to work efficiently on future books.
This is an investment in you and your success. As a part of this group, you’ll receive a comprehensive workbook, access to lifetime video instruction, and world-class coaching that will take your project to the next level.
And some benefits of this program, like membership in a cohort, are priceless.
Who Might Not Be Ready
- Writers who haven’t completed a first draft
- Writers who are still working through the pain points in their manuscript
Have a few questions? Check out the program FAQs
Program Cost
- Video courses and Live Instruction
- Targeted Feedback on Your Work
- World-Class Coaching
- Accountability and Inspiration
- Knowledge that will help you finish this book
- Skills that will help you write the next one
- Video courses and Live Instruction
- Targeted Feedback on Your Work
- World-Class Coaching
- Accountability and Inspiration
- Knowledge that will help you finish this book
- Skills that will help you write the next one
Want to be added to my priority waiting list?
Members of my waiting list nabbed all the spots for the last three sections of this course.
Don’t miss this opportunity to take your manuscript-in-progress from a series of stories to a compelling, finished memoir.