WElcome to the Creative Chaos Workshop

My desk was constantly a mess, I couldn’t focus on one project or type of work at a time and suffered from shiny new object syndrome, starting lots of stuff but rarely finishing. I’d often beat myself up for being unorganized, unfocused and undisciplined. The real problem was that I was trying to define what the creative process and success should look based on what worked for other people. Logically, I knew there was no one right way, but that didn’t stop me from looking for it. After lots of reading, research and self-reflection, it became clear that my process would never look like anybody else’s. I embraced the idea that chaos might be my creative process. I developed a gentler attitude, exploring and experimenting with different routines, strategies and tools, keeping what worked and letting go of what didn’t without guilt or regret. That’s where the first spark of the Creative Chaos Workshop was born. I wanted to create a space where all the messy, chaotic and disorganized writers could find a variety of resources, tools, and strategies for making progress toward their creative goals. 

My goal is to build a supportive community where writing happens, and we make progress toward our creative goals together. This started as a live four-week online writing workshop in September of 2023 with a second session in March 2024. In May of the same year, I launched CreativeChaosWorkshop.com, which is still very much a work in progress. The website will be the home base for sharing tools, resources, and personal insights that empower you to embrace your own chaotic creative process while staying true to your vision and voice. 

How I Got here

It’s been a very long road with lots of detours, so here’s the quick version of how I got to this point. Despite an early obsession with words, books and writing, I spent a lot of years assuming it was an out of reach dream. My first taste of writing and publishing online was working on my high school paper. My first go round to college I dropped out halfway through the second year. I eventually went back to school, starting at a community college, then transferred to get a four-year degree. Throughout my college years, I jumped at every opportunity to gain any kind of writing, publishing or editing experience. That included taking classes in media studies, marketing, web and graphic design, radio production and video editing; editorial and marketing internships; and a wide range of different writing gigs. I didn’t have much of a plan or an exact goal other than doing something related to writing.

As a student, I worked in the college’s administrative offices part-time and eventually ended up in a full-time position after graduating. Slowly writing had fallen to the back burner along with any job search efforts. After years of school, I had my degree and experience under my belt, but still felt stuck in a job I didn’t actually want. I resigned to create an urgency that I thought would motivate me to prioritize my writing. It took a little over a year but by the summer of 2016, I finally felt like I had built some momentum and a steady rhythm in my writing life. I was working in Barnes & Noble, volunteered with a couple literary organizations, worked on the occasional freelance assignment, and was working on a few creative projects. I’d really started to become involved in the writing community, regularly attending workshops, events and participating in writing groups. Then life threw a wrench at my face.

new city, New Plan

In September of 2016, circumstances forced me to move out of New York City. Along with my other half, a bird and a couple turtles, I moved to Hazleton Pennsylvania. With luck on my side I landed a job I’d always dreamed of, working at a public library. While I tried reading every book in the collection, I organized several different writing programs including a monthly workshop. Meanwhile, I struggled to get back into a creative flow on my own. I started my first email newsletter, tried to continue blogging and started lots of other creative projects, but my efforts weren’t very consistent. Finally in 2019, I knew I needed a real kick in the ass to get back in gear. I started a writing group to meet monthly over Skype to critique each other’s work. Then another of life’s wrenches in 2020. Thankfully, during the pandemic I still received my full-time pay and benefits throughout months of being closed and working modified schedules. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to worry about money and could focus almost all of my time and energy on writing. While my group fizzled out, I was able to find a variety of online communities to keep me going. Since then I’ve lost count of how many classes, workshops and writing groups I’ve participated in. By May of 2021, when expected to return to my regular full time work schedule, I resigned instead. I wasn’t ready to give up the freedom and creative progress made.

Amherst Writers & Artists Certification

I first learned about the Amherst Writers & Artists method through the New York Writers Coalition. I attended their workshops before moving from NYC and again when they started offering them online during the pandemic. I always appreciate the method for it’s encouraging and motivating spirit. Not only did it push me to write more, but it also boosted my confidence leading to sharing my work more and taking creative risks. The AWA method, described in Writing Alone and With Others by Pat Schneider, is a generative workshop space where participants practice and learn craft with supportive feedback focused on writing strengths. I used the method for my workshops at the library and had hoped to become a certified facilitator in the future. When they started offering the training online, I knew it was time. I became a certified AWA Workshop Facilitator in August of 2021. In October of that same year, I offered my first series of horror themed workshops in honor of Halloween. 

Workshops follow the AWA method which includes the following guidelines:

1. All workshops are a confidential space. What happens in workshop stays in workshop; we do not share other people’s writing outside of the workshop. 
2. Everybody’s writing is treated with equal respect, including the facilitator’s, who will write and share alongside participants. 
3. We treat all writing as fiction/story/narrative, creating distance between the writer and the writing. We do not refer to the writer when speaking about the events that take place in the piece of writing, those are characters, narrators, or speakers. 
4. Writing prompts are a suggestion to be interpreted, modified or ignored whenever and however you need to meet your needs; and you can pass on sharing work at any time. 
5. No criticism, suggestion or question is directed toward a writer in response to first- draft, just written work. When offering feedback we focus on what is strong and successful about the piece of writing, noticing the choices a writer has made to create the work.
6. As participants read, we are listening for and noticing the choices a writer has made in their writing that help to create success. We leave behind our own experiences and expectations; and listen without preconceived ideas about what the writing should be about, how the piece should sound, or what we might do differently.

To learn more about Amherst Writers and Artists, visit amherstwriters.org.

My Personal Guiding Principles

• Staying in line with the spirit of the AWA method, the focus will always be on what works and the strengths of each individual in all the work we do together. We can certainly be open and honest about failed strategies or processes, but we don’t need to overthink or analyze why something didn’t work for us. (I know it’s hard not to–trust me, I’m a huge overthinker.)  
• No one way works for everybody; we all are unique individuals getting things done in the way that works for us.  
• Exploring and experimenting is a part of the creative process, this can include organizational techniques, various art forms, routines, etc. 
• Nobody knows everything or has all the answers, including me. My role is not to tell you how to do your work, rather I’m here to guide you through the creative process, providing resources, tools and the time and space needed to do creative work. 
• I’ve been able to continue growing as a writer through the generosity of others, including free and low-cost programs, scholarships and/or various discounts. My goal is to do the same by offering a variety of price points for workshops, including sliding scales or pay what you can pricing and offering discounted or free seats in every workshop. If cost is ever a deterrent for attending one of my workshops, please contact me to discuss options. You can email me at info@creativechaosworkshops.com. 
• I have a zero-tolerance policy for confrontational, disruptive and/or disrespectful behavior of any kind; offenders will not be welcome back into any future workshop, write-ins, etc. I reserve the right to make all final judgements but encourage all participants to come to me with any concerns regarding behavior they feel is unacceptable or made them uncomfortable for any reason.