Explore memoir-writing from start to finish and learn from 25+ skilled memoirists and writing teachers - with sessions on outlining, overcoming writer’s block, craft, revision, promotion and more
Join us online, September 26 - 29
for current and aspiring memoir-writers
Learn how to write your memoir in a way that feels supportive and creative
Explore memoir-writing and creative non-fiction writing techniques to help you stop feeling stuck and finally get your memoir started, written and promoted.
During this free 4-day virtual Workshop Series you’ll:
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Discover various forms of memoir-writing and ways to write and revise your personal stories
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Tap into the wisdom of your body through writing (and discover how memoir-writing is connected to your healing)
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Finally get started (or unstuck from where you stopped) and write with delight and enthusiasm
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Discover ways to tell, share and promote your personal stories
Get your free ticket and join us to learn 25+ memoir-writing techniques from skilled memoirists and writing teachers.
Meet your Memoir-Writing Guides
Just look at this stellar lineup of kind and skilled memoirists and writing teachers you’ll learn from at the Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series!
Day 1: Getting Started, Writing the Dirt and the Dirty
We’ll kick things off with the dirt (as in, soil aka the substance that grows things, the juicy stories), with the ‘dirty’ (as in that which sparks guilt, shame, confusion, pleasure). We’ll also add in desire (as in, the state of strongly wanting something), and with these ingredients at play, we’ve got the perfect ingredients for a great memoir!
Sessions today will help you identify what stories you want to write, and how to approach writing them.
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The Memoir-Writing Process for "The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards"
Jessica Waite (she/her), Author
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The Rules of Creative Nonfiction (and when to break them!) (LIVE)
Nicole Breit (she/her), Writer + Creative Development Coach
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The Art of Auto-Ethnography: Exploring Culture, Subjectivity & Technology Through the Looking Glass (LIVE)
Dr. Treena Orchard (she/her), Anthropologist & Author of Sticky, Sexy, Sad: Swipe Culture and the Darker Side of Dating Apps
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Of Heat & Need & What It Takes: How Desire Propels Your Memoir And Brings It Alive For Readers
Jeannine Ouellette (she/her), Writer & Writing Teacher at Writing in the Dark
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Be the Person Who Does the Thing: How to Finish Major Projects Despite...Everything
Jessica Abel (she/her), cartoonist, author, and coach
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Lessons in Revisions
Racquel Henry (she/her), Writer, Editor, & Writing Coach
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You Will Get Rejected: how not to let it stop you
Brooke Warner, Publisher, She Writes Press
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Plan Your Week Like a Productive Writer
Rhonda Douglas (she/her), Writing Mentor of Resilient Writers
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Booking Media for Your Memoir (as a non-celebrity) (LIVE)
Robin Barnett (she/her), Vice President of PR, Icon Media
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Shifting Resistance and Writer's Block Using Your Body (working with trauma and your nervous system)
Janelle Hardy, host, creator and teacher of transformational memoir-writing course, The Art of Personal Mythmaking
Day 2: Navigating Challenges and the Messy Middle
What do you do when your memoir-writing gets messy? Whether it’s the sheer volume of writing you’ve already generated, navigating the ethics of writing about other people, or feeling overwhelmed about getting started, the memoir-writing path can feel messy and confusing.
Sessions today will help you turn a mess into map.
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Sex, Sexts, & Text Oh My! An intro to bringing (hot) sex into your writing
Shawnrey Notto, Embodiment & Creativity Guide, Author of Sensual Intelligence: The Lost IQ
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Writing About Family in Your Memoir: navigating code-switching, shame, cultural expectations and ethics
Nurjahan Boulden (she/her), Dancer, Storyteller
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Writing to Alchemize Big Little Traumas
Tina Bruce, Author, Breathwork Mentor and Retreat Leader
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You are Only as Sick as Your Secrets: telling your story is the medicine that can save your life
Gabrielle Pelicci Ph.D., Author and Writing Retreat Leader
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Getting Started on Your Graphic Memoir
Tom Hart, Graphic Novelist, The Sequential Artists Workshop
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Writing Diverse Characters: How to write about real people who are different from you
Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer, Creator of FictionCourses.com
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Seven Drafts: Self-editing for Powerful, Publishable Writing
Allison K Williams, Writer & Editor
Day 3: Writing the Alchemy of Being Alive, Animated and Alert
Writing about beauty, marvel and awe is anything but frivolous. Pleasure is a part of our stories, and deserves as much space as trauma, and, tending to our aliveness gives us a multitude of memoir-writing options.
Sessions today will help you explore uncommon ways to write memoir, and bring everything altogether.
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Diverse Narrative Structures for Memoir-Writers
Henry Lien, Author/Instructor
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Hermit Crab Essays: finding freedom in forms
Rayya Liebich (she/her), Writer and Educator
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How to Serialize Your Memoir on Substack
Mercedes O'Leary (she/her), Writer
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Exploring Our Stories and Our Voices through Generative Writing and Poetry
Preeti Kaur Dhaliwal (she/her), Writer & Facilitator (BA, LLB, BCL, LLM, MFA)
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ADHD, Neurodivergence and Uncommon Writing Strategies
Cathy Kirch, writing prof, writing consultant, of My Writing Hero
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Writing Yourself as a Character: fiction-writing techniques for memoir
Daniel David Wallace (he/him), Teacher
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Uncovering Your Memoir’s Structure as an Intuitive Writer
Brooke Adams Law (she/her), Intuitive Writing Coach & Founder of Writing Brave
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How to Find Places to Get Your Writing Published Using the Chill Subs Platform
Karina Kupp and Ben, Chill Subs founders
Day 4: Claiming, Writing and Sharing Your Stories
Who are you as a character in your memoir? How do you study and write about yourself? What makes you compelling? And as your write, how do you be yourself, while also being a character in your memoir, and the author sharing their story?
On our last day together we explore how how and why writing and telling our stories is so very important, as well as how to get your work out there.
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Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide Workshop
Janelle Hardy, host and creator/teacher of transformational memoir-writing course, the Art of Personal Mythmaking
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Self-Publishing and Funding a Hybrid Memoir Using a Modest Kickstarter Campaign
Yin Xzi Ho (何吟曦) (she/her), Author and Live Poet
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Writing Class Radio's Tips Clinic & Writing Workshop (LIVE)
Writing Class Radio, Allison Langer & Andrea Askowitz, Co-producers
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Human Design for Writers and Creatives
Megan Febuary, Trauma-Informed Writing Coach
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Navigating Editing Services: Understanding the Process and Finding Your Editor Best Match
Kirsten McNeill, Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach
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Talking About Yourself Publicly: social media and marketing for memoir-writers
Shelby Leigh (she/her), Book Marketing Teacher
As you can see from these thoughtful and wide-ranging presentations and workshops, this is a uniquely curated event.
Join us for the Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series to learn from 25+ skilled (and kind!) memoir-writers and writing teachers to explore how to write your memoir with a variety of styles and techniques.
During the Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series we offer a comprehensive exploration of the multiple different layers of and options for memoir-writing.
Meet your host
Hi! I’m Janelle Hardy.
I’m a writer, somatic (body) healer and transformational memoir-writing teacher.
I’ve been on a writing path since I was a child, and had my first byline in the Yukon News when I was 17, with a monthly column on life as a Canadian high school exchange student in Japan.
I’ve been on healing path since I was 20, seeking to find relief from extreme shyness, loneliness, chronic fatigue, intense tooth grinding and tummy troubles.
I currently combine writing and somatic (body) healing because I’ve found transcendent relief through this combination.
I’m the the creator/teacher of a transformational memoir-writing course called The Art of Personal Mythmaking, as well as the host of the online Healing Through Writing Festival, Stories From the Body Writing Challenge and the Memoir Body, Healing Story Podcast.
All of which is to say - you’re in good hands with me :-)
I care deeply about the people I serve.
I trust this work, I trust my training and experience, and I trust the incredible lineup of skilled (and kind) memoirists and writing teachers you’ll hear from during the Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series.
Most of all, I trust you and your desire to tell your stories. To get dirty, messy and alive!
Claim your free ticket and join us to start, write and promote your memoir with supportive writing processes and fascination craft-of-writing options and workshops.
What to expect
When and Where
The Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series will run from September 26th - 29th, with a variety of presentations to choose from each day. This event is entirely virtual, so you’ll be able to attend from anywhere in the world with internet access.
Sessions with Skilled Memoirists and Writing Teachers
Attend workshops and presentations from our lineup of 25+ presenters, writing teachers, and memoirists, with wide-ranging sessions such as outline your memoir using fairy tale and myth as your guide, writing from the body, the art of auto-ethnography, and more. Your free ticket includes access to each presentation during the four days of the summit.
Private Festival Community
You’ll also have access to our private online community of creative, big-hearted, growth-oriented writers just like you. Tap into the collective synergy of kindred spirits on a memoir-writing path! This is where you’ll be able to connect with the speakers and other attendees before and during the event.
Chances to Win
You’ll also have a chance to win prizes by showing up and participating throughout the summit. Be sure to keep an eye out for your BINGO card and come hang out with us in the online community for chances to win prizes, to be announced.
Apply for a Scholarship Spot
For my transformational memoir-writing course, The Art of Personal Mythmaking, which uses body-based, trauma-informed writing prompts, stories like fairy tale and myth, and themed modules to support people who want to heal from the difficult parts of their life stories as they write their memoirs.
Upgrade for a Supportive Experience
After registering, you’ll also have the chance to upgrade to the All Access Pass which includes ongoing access to the presentations after the summit wraps up, premium bonuses from our speakers, and more! You’ll get all the details (and a special offer) after grabbing your free ticket!
Dirty, Messy, Alive was created with your memoir-writing goals in mind.
It’s a workshop and presentation series that trusts you.
That trusts your discernment, your hunger for growth, the wisdom of your body, your creativity and your stories
It’s a workshop series, not just about memoir-writing, but also about exploration: inviting in confidence, depth and creative, alternative forms of memoir.
The Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series was specifically created for sensitive, thoughtful, creative writers like you. People who:
love writing and other creative practices
have a tremendous desire to write their life experiences into stories, and are struggling to get it done
are hungry to grow beyond what their cultures, societies and families have told them they are
feel the deep and potent promise of a transformative process (aka memoir-writing)
have stories that have been held inside too tightly for far too long
don’t want to do all their writing alone
This event is about giving you embodied, experiential practices and ways to write your personal stories.
Dive into this enriching, experiential, Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series to learn, explore and feel the possibilities that await you.
Have questions? Here are some answers.
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You’ll learn (and try) a wide range of supportive writing processes and simple memoir-writing techniques from 25+ skilled healers and writers.
We’ll cover a wide range of experiences that support (and hinder) your memoir-writing, and how to create transformation and flow in your writing journey by working with the challenges instead of against them.
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If you’re curious about memoir-writing, if you enjoy writing and stories, this event is for you!
We’ll be specifically talking to people with a desire to work with their life stories and write their memoir.
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The Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series runs from September 26th - 29th. Live calls are typically at 7am, 8am, 11am, and sometimes 1pm and 3pm, all Pacific Time.
Click here to see the full event schedule.
You’ll also be able to join our private online community after you register.
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The event's presentations are a mix of pre-recorded and live elements. All recordings and replays are available for the four days of the festival, with your free ticket.
I encourage you to attend live if you can!
Set aside time during the event week to attend the live sessions, watch the pre-recorded presentations, and participate with others who are healing through writing.
However, if you’re not able to attend all of the sessions live, go ahead and grab your free ticket because you’ll have the opportunity to upgrade to the All Access Pass for extended access to all of the presentations.
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Your free ticket includes access to each of the presentations for the duration of the event.
If you need more time, you can always upgrade your ticket to the All-Access Pass after registering, which will give you extended access to the presentations along with exclusive live sessions during the event week and premium bonuses from our speakers.
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Some are live and some are pre-recorded.
Live calls are typically at 7am, 8am, 10:30am, and sometimes 1pm and 3pm, all Pacific Time.
Click here to see the full event schedule.To avoid tech glitches, give you the best possible experience, and keep things easy for the speakers, some of the presentations are pre-recorded and will be released on the first day of the event.
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No.
When you register, you’ll be added to the Dirty Messy Alive: Embodied Memoir-Writing Workshop Series' email list so I can send you updates for the event and links to each day’s presentations.
After the event is over, you’ll continue to hear from me, Janelle Hardy, but you can unsubscribe at any time.
Each of the speakers will have free resources available that you can access by providing an email address, but the speakers will not get your email address unless you choose to give it to them specifically.
That way, you only hear from the people you really love and don’t have to worry about getting added to 25+ email lists that you’re not interested in. 😬
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Yes.
All presentations have closed captioning.
Please reach out if there’s anything we can do to ensure you’re able to enjoy this event: jaha @ janellehardy.com
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If you still have questions, I encourage you to go ahead and sign up.
Your questions will will likely be answered during the event or in the online community, which you’ll be able to join right after getting your free ticket.
However, if you need to ask a question before registering, feel free to send an e-mail to me at jaha @ janellehardy.com or via DM on instagram @janellemackinnonhardy