What if you could be your trauma story’s second person?
Do you have a painful and true story you find yourself reliving each time you try to tell it? What about a story that’s stuck inside you because it feels too raw to be writeable, too vulnerable to be readable?
What if you found a way to create safe distance while still telling that hard story? To minimize trauma and (re)gain control of your narrative by no longer being your story’s first person?
What if you could be your trauma story’s second person?
This retreat, led by Shawna Ayoub (Writing through Trauma to Truth; Blogging Your Voice, Crafting Your Niche), is for you if:
- You have a true story to write that feels too close to home to tell, one you are done wrestling with because you are ready to (re)gain control of your narrative;
- You have written through trauma or are ready to write through trauma under the guidance of an experienced professional trauma writing instructor;
- You have at least some experience, and feel at least moderately comfortable, giving and receiving strength-based, respectful, and substantive (i.e., beyond “I like this part”) feedback on writing in a group setting;
- You are ready to spend one full day writing in solitude, but also to meet as a group and privately with your teacher and build a tiny-but-mighty community;
- You want not just a retreat, but an experience of creative camaraderie and reverence for the emotional process of reframing and releasing a difficult experience in writing..
Here’s how it will work:
- Registrants clear their home schedules as best as they can for the core retreat long weekend, Thursday evening to Sunday morning, Nov. 4-7, and consult by email with their teacher.
- The week leading up to the core long weekend, beginning Monday, Nov. 1, will feature an assignment and writing prompt. The pre-retreat week is designed to provide registrants with some initial inspiration to tap their flow and connect them with their retreat colleagues.
- Registrants spend the core long weekend writing and participating in a mix of group and one-on-one Zoom or Skype meetings with their colleagues and teacher. These community-building sessions will include feedback exchanges, assignment discussion, craft talks, and more.
- The week following the core long weekend, ending Sunday, Nov. 14, will feature an intensive feedback session for each registrant from their teacher, plus planning for next steps in terms of revision, further development, or new projects. The post-retreat week is designed to provide registrants with one-on-one access to a supportive, professional writer who knows and values their work and can answer any and all questions, from craft to industry and more. It will also function as an emotional check-in after the difficult work of trauma writing.
Being able to tell your story without suffering can be key to releasing the trauma of your narrative. Join us as we practice, in a safe space, a literary technique that creates distance and facilitates healing.
Begins Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, and ends Sunday, Nov. 14, with a core long weekend of scheduled Zoom meetings (group and one-on-one with your teacher) Nov. 4-7.
