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COURSE

Facing The Blank Page

With Carolyn Ziel

All writers, at some point, have trouble facing the blank page. It is daunting. What to write? How to write it? Will anyone read it? In this course, I will share tools and techniques that will easily and gently allow you to find inspiration and more joy in your creative writing process. You will learn tools, techniques, and practices that will support you in building a strong writing practice that you not only enjoy but will empower you on the page. In each lesson, I offer a new tool and a writing prompt. Each lesson will support you in building a writing practice that you not only enjoy but will also help you to quiet that pesky inner editor/ critic that tends to sit on your shoulder as you write. You will learn that writer's block is something you can overcome more easily than you ever dreamed of. Whether you’ve always wanted to write or you currently have a writing practice, this class will open you up to new perspectives and possibilities and even improve your writing.

Find inspiration and joy in creative writing with tools that empower you on the page and quiet your inner critic.

10 Days

2.9k students

4.8 stars

15 min / day

English

About this course

Journaling Practice

Intention Setting Practice

Self-Efficacy Building

Meet your Teacher

Carolyn Ziel

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Torrance, CA, USA

Carolyn is a writer, teacher and a coach. She has been teaching writing workshops since 2009 and in 2018 she created her Adventures In Writing Series© and also began teaching Jack Grapes Method Writing.© She teaches her clients how to become better writers using a series of concepts and exercises. She guides her clients in finding their authentic and unique voice and along the way she supports clients in living their most creative and empowering lives. Write your story. Find your voice. Heal your life.

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10 Days

2.9k students

4.8 stars

15 min / day

English

Lesson 1

Finding Your Why

Today we will tap into your why. Your passion. Your draw to the blank page. This will help keep you motivated on those days when it’s hard and don’t know what to write. When you don’t feel like writing. Finding and remembering your ‘why’ will be an anchor to your creative process.

Lesson 2

Courage

Committing to living the life of a writer, to writing, to being a writer, comes with a risk. As a writer, no matter what you write, you are putting a small piece of yourself on the page with your words. You are revealing a part of yourself. And if you choose to publish your work, you take this risk to another level. Today, I will help you to find your courage to write. To overcome any fears or challenges you have when it comes to writing and facing the blank page. The goal is to come to the page, to write, with a sense of freedom and power, so you can feel confident.

Lesson 3

Be Yourself On The Page

In today's lesson you're going how to be yourself on the page and find your own voice. Oftentimes, when someone decides to write, there is this myth that you have to sound like a writer. That you have to write the way you think writers are supposed to write. This is not true. In fact, in order to uncover your authentic voice, you do the opposite and you write as if you are speaking to a friend. In today's lesson I will share some examples of some of our greatest writers, and you'll have the opportunity to practice, and begin to uncover your original voice.

Lesson 4

Let Go Of Perfection

Trying to be perfect when writing is a surefire way to hit writer's block. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be perfect, thinking our writing needs to be great, or polished, or even good, in a first draft. This isn't the case. In fact, the more you try to be perfect, the harder it will be to write. Instead, you want to come to the page and try to be the best you can be. Strive for excellence, not perfection. In today's lesson we visit the idea of letting go of being perfect and instead, when you write, allow the words to flow from you, knowing you can edit them later.

Lesson 5

Read Like A Writer & Write Like A Reader

The more you read, the better your writing will be. But what to read and how to read is the question. In today's lesson you will learn what it means to look at writing from a writer's perspective. To look at the way other writers, the masters, use language. You'll learn why it is important to imitate the masters and other writers and poets. This practice will not only strengthen your own voice on the page, but will help you to understand language and the many different ways to move a story along.

Lesson 6

Write Like A Painter

In today’s lesson you’ll learn what it means to write like a painter. Today we focus on images, those unforgettable glimmers that are so striking, powerful, beautiful, and sometimes life-changing. You will turn them into mini painting on the page with language.

Lesson 7

Surprise Yourself

Robert Frost said, "No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader." When you focus purely on story, telling your story the way you always tell your story, rather than slowing down, allowing room for surprise on the page, your story might not read as well as you hope. In other words, your reader might not be compelled to continue reading. But, when you make room for surprise, tell your story from a different angle or perspective, then you will write something you might not have written otherwise and you'll find it to be surprising and compelling. Your reader will want to read that story! Today you'll let go of the way you've been telling your story and try something new. Today you will surprise yourself!

Lesson 8

Inspire Yourself

If you wait to be inspired, you may never write. Sometimes you feel inspired, and when that happens, run with it! Because, unfortunately, you won't always feel inspired when you sit down to write. But here's the good news: Inspiration is something you can create and find in yourself. Today you'll learn how to find your own inspiration so that, no matter what, you can turn to the blank page with confidence and write.

Lesson 9

Practice

Like most things, writing is a practice. And the more you practice the more you improve. Today you will commit to a practice that works for you. One that is personal to you given where you are with your writing practice, your schedule and what you have going on in your life. It's time to get to the nitty gritty of creativing a personal writing practice that is a perfect fit for your life, your wants, desires, needs, and schedule. One that you can commit to and feel good about.

Lesson 10

Let Go, Allow & Claim Your Title, Writer

Today you celebrate all you've learned. I'll offer some final thoughts on all that youy've learned. It's time to let go of the old and embrace the new. The new tools. The new perspectives. The new Writer, with a capital W that you have become in this short 10-day course. You will continue to grow and mature the more you practice. If you write, you are a writer. Today I'll lead you in a short visualization so that you can own your title: Writer.