Creative Writing – Health Family Formula

I can’t wait to get rolling on another online creative writing program! Creative Writing for Youth (ages 14+; 10 weeks). Teaching writing is my heart!

What is your hero’s journey? Led by seasoned writer and creative writing workshop instructor, Carla Atherton, students will attend weekly live zoom calls and write about a variety of topics, personal musings, and life events becoming more self-aware, empowered, less stressed (depressed, anxious), and more centred through the process. It’s a stellar workshop, and no one comes out of it unchanged, not even me, the instructor!

Registration is open now; Proposed start date: March 21, 2021; Space is limited; Sundays, 12:45-1:45pm

Contact Carla for more information.

Email: clientcare at healthyfamilyformula.com

Schedule a 15 minute meet and greet: https://go.oncehub.com/CarlaAtherton

Carla Atherton, MA, is the Director of the Healthy Family Formula, Host of the Children’s Health Summit, Health and Nutrition Coach, Writer and Editor, Curriculum Developer, Publisher, Workshop Leader, Yoga Instructor, Health (R)evolutionary, and Children’s Health Advocate.

Carla holds an MA in English Literature with a heavy educational background in Women’s and Gender Studies, Psychology, and Academic, Business, and Creative Writing and also attended Simon Fraser University’s Magazine Editing and Publishing Workshop before she created, published, and acted as editor-in-chief for her magazine, Cahoots, for 8 years.

She has led many workshops in health and wellness, creative writing, philosophy, media studies, essay writing, and critical thinking for children, youth, and adults since 1998 and has written, produced, edited, and delivered thousands of pages of articles and curriculum for online as well as in-person delivery.
On top of being a prolific published author, herself, Carla has 21 years experience in teaching and editing creative writing, composition, non-fiction, memoir, articles, and academic writing in the academic, community, and creative spaces. Carla aids writers to take their projects from conception to fruition, from an idea to an impactful piece of literature that sings with the author’s voice. Her passion is to help others to find voice, find the beauty in their stories, and ultimately transcend them through mapping out their own hero’s journeys.

As you may know, I not only write newsletters, blog posts, and books. I am also a poet and an essayist with a masters degree in English Literature. I have been facilitating writing classes for the last 21 years, since my firstborn was 9 months old (yep, he’s 22 now!). And teaching writing has been the most rewarding experience of my vocational life. You will see why in a moment.

Libraries and bookstores are my churches, and I feel such a sense of satisfaction, of completion and peace when I see the raw, pulsing syllables of my thoughts splashed on the page. I love the freedom creative work can give me to just, well, be flawed, human, AND beautiful. My book was not a place for that. Nor is the social media medium. But my poetry, my creative non-fiction, well, that’s where it gets real.

A few months back, I ran into a student who was in the very first workshop I led for adults. She did a double-take as did I before it dawned on us how we knew each other. She told me how important the class was to her and how it changed how she saw herself. Many students have told me this over the years, but it is not me who has done this for them, but through the experience of the class they discovered their own buried insight, value, and wisdom. I only had to shine the light and hold it for them until they saw the details of their own experience. They then realized that their stories mattered, that they mattered. And you matter, too: your stories, your voice, the wisdom you have come to. Writing is an outlet, it helps us to make sense of things, it helps the writer move from strife to beauty, it connects us to others.

I had a bad mom day the other day (yes, those still happen when your children get older) and thought to myself, I must connect. I need to create something out of this. Parenting a child who has a big health challenge is a unique experience, and parents never come out unchanged. So, my brain got ticking, and I created a new creative writing program for parents who have had or are having experiences like mine: A Creative Writing Workshop For Parents of Children with Health Challenges (Online).

Using the concept of the hero’s journey as both the starting point and the anchor for the workshop, we will explore storytelling as connection with others, self-expression, and making sense of our experiences as parents who have been through a lot in our role as caregiver.

If you are interested in this powerful offering, find out more here on the program webpage.

Or simply jump in and register here.

And if you have questions, email directly to [email protected]

Objectives

The Mechanics

Writing fundamentals

Poetry and creative non-fiction

Storytelling

Metaphor and language

Receive feedback from the group, Carla, and your assigned partners

The Experience

Weekly

Live workshop instruction (1 hour) each Sunday at 4:00pm Saskatchewan, Canada time (same time zone as Guatemala)

1 Introspective Assignment (daily practice) and 1 Expressive Assignment (writing) each week

The Possibilities

Find connection and support

Heal trauma

Find voice and be heard

Make sense of your experience

Move from burnout to empowerment

Turn pain into poetry and strife into wisdom

Realize your inner power

Become more grounded and present for yourself and families

Provide a creative outlet

Work through the muck

Heal your body and heart

Identify your many hero’s journeys

Course Details

Class Begins: September 20

Duration and Cost: $500CDN (approximately $375USD) for 10 weeks of live ONLINE weekly sessions (recordings of replays will be available), exploratory assignments, and a final project complete with Carla’s feedback.

Registration: Registration is on NOW. Since the class is live and crafted for each intimate group, there is a limit to the number of students accepted. Therefore, if you are interested, please don’t wait to register. No application process is required. All you need is the desire to write and the dedication to your own self discovery and healing process.

Once registered, you will be emailed the orientation information and login access to our course page.

What is your hero’s journey?

Tag: Creative Writing

Hero’s Journey Creative Writing Experience for Youth