the creative courage writing intensive

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The winter session will run from January 11 - March 21, 2024.

Early Bird Registration is open from December 4 - December 15, 2023.

Regular registration is open from December 16 - January 7, 2024 or when all spots are full.

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LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR A MORE CREATIVE LIFE

*Integrate self-discovery and creative development to build courage in your most authentic voice*
This three-month group intensive offered in January and June takes a holistic look at creative courage through the lens of daily practice and personal storytelling. Participants learn how to nourish the creative process, embrace vulnerability, and build the courage to live a fully expressed life. Join us, and you will:
— Clarify what creative courage means to you and how to cultivate it for a more fulfilling lifestyle
— Recognize where creative blocks come from and how to work through them so you can bring your callings to life
— Develop resilience against rejection, self-doubt, and burnout with growth-minded concepts that transform limiting beliefs
— Recognize and release the defense mechanisms that lead to self-censoring and self-denial so you can unblock for fuller expression
— Become inspired by creative discomfort so you can experience the expansion beyond it
— Increase your energetic capacity to take creative risks and experiment to find your own unique path
— Build courage and refine your voice in a supportive creative community

YOUR DESIRES ARE CLUES TO YOUR POTENTIAL

*You never know where your creative journey might take you.*
The Creative Courage Intensive will give you the mindset and toolbox you need for the long game.
Maybe you have ideas that live in notebooks, on post-it notes and vision boards; but you’ve stalled on them for months, sometimes years. When you do set aside time, you feel resistance and disconnection from the work, and the frustration stops you from making progress.
If you are experiencing resistance when you fix your mind on a specific project or goal, I show you how to zoom out and reconsider your overall creative practice, which starts well before you sit down to write, draw, paint, plan or however you make your art.
Imagine a lifestyle where you know what fuels your creativity and you mindfully incorporate habits and rhythms into your life that keep your mind, body, and soul replenished.
Imagine developing a process that you trust to pull you through challenges and bring your creative visions to life.
The Creative Courage Intensive provides detailed guidance on how to cultivate your own creative process, and develop the discernment, mindset and habits that give you the courage to live the creative life you envision.
*photo credit:* *@luca_nicoletti*

A FRESH PERSPECTIVE

*Creativity is most genuine when it’s revealed — not without fear — but in spite of it.*
Do you have a creative calling that you can’t seem to start, continue, or finish?
This intensive is the answer for those who value creative expression, but struggle to overcome doubt, self-consciousness, uncertainty, and conflicting responsibilities.
One of the fears that keeps us from acting on our creative callings is the fear that we will disappoint ourselves. We don't know where to start to guarantee success. We don't know how to keep going when life interrupts. We fear that our results won't do our vision justice. What if we start climbing and never reach the top? What if it's all a waste of time?
In this group, success comes from showing up. The answers are hidden in the work. We have to live our way through the questions. The only way you can disappoint yourself is by not honoring your callings.
Through a combination of self-study, group coaching, community wisdom, and storytelling, the creative courage framework leads to a fresh perspective on writing and the role it can play in your life.
*photo credit:* *@jentheodore*

THE CREATIVE COURAGE FRAMEWORK

Are you ready for new clarity, energy, inspiration, and progress?

This framework brings together my experience as a writer + self-care author, creative coach, and storytelling consultant.
I leverage my corporate and creative experience to target barriers to expression for people from all walks of life.
The material is based on client-tested self-discovery work that clarifies and transforms your creative practice.
I use this framework with individual clients and small groups, as well as organizational clients like the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Cornell University.

“

Working with GG has truly transformed my life. Her Creative Courage Writing Intensive was lovingly crafted and infused with GG’s wisdom and warmth. A master facilitator, GG blended structured learning time with plenty of space for workshop participants to ask questions and share their own experiences, challenges, and discoveries. The connection to and support from the entire group encouraged me as I completed and shared a piece of writing—something I haven’t done for a very long time. I came away with a treasure trove of resources, a plan for continued creative expression and self-care, and the confidence that I can write and share the stories I want to tell. I’m so grateful for this experience. It has filled my empty cup.”
— Jennifer Duncan, workshop participant

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS

Live Interactive Coaching Sessions take place on every other Thursday from 6-8 pm et.
Specific session dates include January 11 and 25, February 8 and 22, March 7 and 21.

12 WEEKS OF DISCOVERY

six live instructional sessions with a free week for reflection and implementation between each one

COMPREHENSIVE WORKSHOP materials

presentation slides, homework writing guides with audio voiceover, and recordings of live sessions

COMMUNITY WISDOM AND SUPPORT

being in the presence of other soul-centered creatives heals your heart and expands your mind

guided process journaling

my signature accountability form designed to reveal and empower your creative process

WRITING AND STORYTELLING EXERCISES

to facilitate self-discovery and the development of powerful personal narratives

ACCESS TO THE INNER STORY WRITING CIRCLE

includes optional cowriting sessions, monthly group journaling sessions, developmental workshops and more

When you let go of old stories about your creative limitations,
you can make room for empowering new possibilities.

WHY WORK WITH ME?

*Writing took me from living a defeated story to finding a creative vision for my life.*
The practice of writing helped me reframe old stories about mental illness and its impact on my life. Now my mission is to help others improve the quality of their lives through the power of the written word.
When I struggled with my mental health as a young mom, I kept it to myself. Not wanting to appear weak or unstable, I thought I could handle it on my own without talking about it. This is the example that was set for me when I was growing up—we didn’t talk about my mother’s mental illness. But keeping my truths silent was eating me up inside.
When I finally sought out a creative outlet to heal, I felt called to contribute to healing discussions around vulnerability and mental wellness. I stole time to write at lunchtime, late at night after putting the kids to bed, in parking lots in between chauffeuring them around. Inspired and awakened, I couldn’t stop if I wanted to. I would sit in meetings at my corporate job and daydream about the books I wanted to write, and the creative life I wanted to live.
Stories became my lifeline, and eventually I left that job and followed my calling to help others find their voices. My creative journey has taught me to rely on authenticity, curiosity, and a growth mindset to carry me through each new challenge, and this is the energy I instill in my clients.
Imagine a lifestyle where you know what fuels your creativity and you mindfully incorporate habits and rhythms into your life that keep your soul replenished. Imagine developing a process that you trust to pull you through challenges and bring your creative visions to life. Through the Creative Courage framework, you will come away with fresh perspectives and actionable tools to cultivate the creative freedom you seek.

“

GG's workshops are always quite transformative for me. Her engaging style and supportive nature make it easy to explore the uncharted territory of my creative efforts. I appreciate the structured approach she takes, as it turns previously daunting goals into the achievable. I also value her commitment to creating a safe and exploratory environment where we can take chances and push boundaries while moving at the pace that is right for us. This helped me find a level of ease in facing my own discomfort. No matter where you are in your creative journey, I'm certain you'll find value in GG's programs. I'm personally looking forward to continuing to learn from and grow through the various AML offerings!”

— Erica D’Eramo, workshop participant

MY HEART-CENTERED APPROACH

*How I coach you to embrace vulnerability and embody your creative identity*
It’s my life’s work to help people reclaim their creative voices, values, and visions. Combining my professional experience as an author, coach, and facilitator with my personal journey as a self-healer, and mental health advocate, I’ve spent the past ten years creating blogs, books, journals, workshops, and coaching programs that center writing as a tool for healing, personal growth, and expression.
My coaching sessions combine the practical insights of a writing workshop with the radical acceptance and emotional communion of a support group. I approach coaching and consulting as a teaching artist, sharing lessons from my journey along the way.
A great way to get a feel for my style and approach is to see me in action and experience how I coach. So I invite you to set aside a few moments to yourself, grab a journal and watch this coaching video. I offer some background on how I came to do this work, and how my personal and professional experiences have come together to create the Reclaim Creative Coaching Program which includes my 1:1 offerings and Inner Story Writing Circle. Also, I walk you through one of the pivotal exercises from the program; one that will create noticeable shifts in your thinking and response to vulnerability and discomfort.

WATCH THE FREE CLASS

“

The Creative Courage intensive helped me develop a story about a difficult experience that I’ve been trying to write about for years. The supportive creative practices GG shared, as well as the safe space she creates in the group, enabled me to access a more honest and vulnerable part of my writing voice.”

— Melissa Waggenspack, workshop participant

THE POWER OF RECLAIMING YOUR STORY

By the end of this experience, you will have tools to:
+ Reconnect with your inner child and your imagination to reaffirm your creative identity
+ Recognize where your creative blocks come from and how to work through them
+ Release the defense mechanisms that lead to self-censoring and self-denial
+ Become inspired by creative discomfort instead of paralyzed by it
+ Focus your creative intelligence and identify what type of support you need based on your creative type
+ Develop a trusted process by observing your habits, patterns, distractions, and obstacles in a strategic way
+ Separate your self-worth from the success or failure of your ideas
+ Increase your capacity to take purposeful risks and invigorate your life with creative experimentation
+ Debunk limiting beliefs, build courage, and refine your voice in a supportive creative community
+ Bring more of your creative ideas to life in your personal and professional life
*photo credit:* *@patresinger*

“

I just want to say I am so grateful for you and this class that you have put together. I am finding this time and work so inspiring. We all have the answers within us, I tell clients this exact thing all the time and sometimes we just need someone else to reflect that back for us. Your course and your spirit is such a gift. Thank you for all your inner work that you have done and now you are inspiring so many to do the same. Your girls and even your ancestors are feeling this shift that you have created- healing goes all ways.”

—Kaylee J., workshop participant

THIS IS FOR YOU IF:

You’re seeking practical tools to overcome the creative fears that keep you from acting on your ideas.

You want to write from the heart and bring more of your authentic ideas into your life and work.

You want to develop a creative process that works for your temperament and lifestyle.

You want to stop daydreaming about writing and start taking action.

You’re seeking a mentor + community that help you see and believe that a creative life is possible.

You are called to take on a new creative project or open paths to more expression in your life.

this is not for you if:

You’re not looking for a holistic approach that incorporates mindset work, mindfulness practices, and self-care strategies into your creative practice.

You’re not interested in using writing exercises as a tool for creative self-discovery.

You’re seeking a workshop that focuses on craft and skill over vulnerability and courage.

You’re looking for shortcuts or hacks to achieving your creative goals.

You’re not willing or able to carve out time to do the exercises.

You’re not willing or able to bring an open heart and mind to the group.

“

Having just completed my second round of the Creative Courage Intensive, I am incredibly grateful for GG's approach to supporting not only writers, but also soul seekers of all kinds. Her way of teaching, her frameworks for harnessing creativity, and her gentle and vulnerable way of holding space for everyone in her programs is so unique, warm, and inspiring. I'm incredibly grateful to GG for giving me the support, but even more so the confidence, to own my work as a writer and a human who wants to grow and make my life something that I love being in!”

— Beth Anne Fisher, workshop participant

Creative Courage Writing Intensive Registration

$480.00

One time

A 12-week integrative experience for creatives, soul searchers, and storytellers who want to find a deeper level of self-expression, creative courage, and confidence through writing. Early Bird Registration is open until December 15. Regular registration will be open from December 16 - January 7 or whenever all spots are full. Monthly payment plans will be available during the regular registration period.

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FAQ’s

Whether you think of yourself as a writer or not, writing helps you process your emotions, brainstorm, practice flexible thinking, record + refine your ideas, and more. Reclaim uses writing exercises for self-discovery and awareness that will nourish creative mindset habits in anyone.
I pour a great deal of love, focus, and intention into this program, so I want to work with people who are also committed to the process. There are no refunds for Creative Courage, but if you have a problem with your purchase, I’m open to discussing on a case-by case basis.
All workshop sessions are recorded, so you can access any missed workshops and still feel a connection to the community.
There is a monthly payment plan offered during the regular registration period.