IN MY PROGRAMS,
I GUIDE PEOPLE INTO FAIRY TALES
to exercise their powers of imagination.
WONDERLIT FAIRY TALES
Find yourself in a fairy tale! WonderLit Fairy Tales is an online creative writing experience that provides writers, storytellers, and reflective adults with a way to see their lives through the mirror of a single, simple fairy tale. www.wonderlit.com.
The two WonderLit Fairy Tale programs are based on workshops that I have offered since the early 1990s. They provide imaginative writing exercises and video guidance, along with illustrated examples of my own venture into “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
There’s only one way to discover how imagination can be a way of knowing, and that is to experience it. By exercising the mythic imagination, the programs guide us to examine the toxic narratives of our culture, reflect on our essential values, and reclaim parts of ourselves that have been trapped or put under spells.
COURSES with STORYTELLING TORONTO
I have had the pleasure to offer many courses in collaboration with Storytelling Toronto. Most recently I facilitated a three-part course to explore personal experiences of the spells and spellcasters in fairy tales. Storytelling Toronto offers a fleet of wonderful courses that have been running for decades. In the 1980s, the “First Steps into Storytelling” course gave me my first entry into the world of myth, and I’ve never looked back. The passionate voices behind the renaissance of oral storytelling are getting stronger every day, and I am pleased to offer courses whenever I can.
COACHING and SPEAKING
On occasion I offer individual support to writers who are developing their mythic voices. I have a considerable amount of experience braiding outer and inner life stories, and I am a champion of poets and memoir writers who are seeking ways to express their mythic inner experiences. I enjoy doing interviews and facilitating experiences that help engage the healing powers of the mythic imagination.
WonderLit rocks! It is so much fun and multifaceted. The learning is applicable to where I have been, where I am now, and where I want to go. It’s been very interesting from the instructional design perspective to experience how Michelle Tocher, the course author, pegged so many of the things that learners are demanding these days—very personalized learning, total engagement, depth, relevance, and options…. I’m much more able, after taking the WonderLit course, to expand my viewpoint as a writer, fully developing my character…. I loved this course, and I’ve gained immeasurable strength and peace as well as empowerment on this magical journey back to my strongest self.
– Jen Berghage, veteran Instructional Designer, Penn State World Campus, Artist, Writer, and Beadweaver