Summer 2017

Author Mentorship Retreat

A Book-Writing Boot Camp!
On Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada. 

Monday, August 7th  – Thursday, August  10th

 

SEE ALL THE DETAILS HERE!

 

Author Support 8-Week Workshop

There are  no 8-week workshop sessions being delivered this Summer.

New Fall Dates will be announced soon

Scroll down for full the description – Get Excited Now and Begin September.

Write to Junie if you are serious and she will get you started today!

Have you given any thought to writing a book, blog (travel, how-to), memoir, play, a series of short stories, stand-up comedy, or continuing something that you have started but put down for one reason or another?

The Author Support Group gives you the structure and constructive feedback you need to keep you on track with your project.

Allowing your voice on the page to become your voice in the world

Putting your voice out into the world in the form of a published work is a big deal. It’s a reflection of you—your imagination, thoughts, opinions, and often your tender heart! If you are not used to being “out there” it can actually be terrifying. Has anyone ever said to you… “I think you should write a book.” And you said, “Me? I don’t think so.”…Yet it sparks something in you that resonates deeply but you brush it aside. Or perhaps it has been a secret desire you have had for years but you don’t know how or where to begin. Maybe you are already in the midst of writing a book, blog, play or short story, but can’t seem to stay focused, so you stop. Let’s turn that around! Listen to what Lawrence Cooper has to say about his process of working with Junie and becoming a published author:

What Happens in the Author Support Group?

• Each week, you will get together with other writers to read and discuss what you have been working on for the past week—a chapter, an introduction, or something you are re-working.
• Everyone receives feedback from other group members and myself. The feedback is specific, giving clarity about what’s working, what is not; what could use re-writing or tweaking—regarding characters, continuity, redundancy, length, believability; is it compelling, are you speaking in the right voice for your audience, for your characters? Is it fiction, non-fiction?
• I always suggest, especially with a memoir or personal story, that the first round of writing is for yourself, even if you have a specific audience in mind. This way, you will not be editing and judging what you are saying, just writing the truth as you remember it, as you feel it.
• I will feel into your story and ask you to go deeper in some cases if you are skimming the surface and I really want to know more about a certain situation or character. You choose how deep you want to go, but remember: the first writing is for your eyes only, not for publication. Sometimes, if something isn’t moving your book forward, because, for example, it is extraneous or redundant, I will point that out too, always with kindness and respect. It is always up to the writer to make her own choices. These are suggestions only.
• We will have a guest presenter for one lesson, someone from the publishing industry who can answer your questions about publishing.

Do you use any of these excuses to stop yourself from writing?

• It’s already been written
• There are already enough books on the subject
• I don’t want to hurt anyone
• Who am I to say this? I’m not an authority
• I’m afraid of peoples’ judgments
• I don’t know how to write
• I can’t spell
• I’m too old to start now; it’s too late
• It will take too long
• It’s too difficult

You’re not the only one! These common concerns will be dispelled right off the bat in the course.

Why study with me?

I have successfully coached thousands of writers, many of whom have become authors.In the process, they have also found their authentic voices which, in many cases, had been silenced for years.

Creative expression has been my passion for as long as I remember. For approximately 15 years, I witnessed people soar as I facilitated a support group for Julia Cameron’s famous book, The Artist’s Way! Even those who didn’t think they had a creative bone in their bodies soared, including me! I knew I was creative, but I just couldn’t seem to get my work out there.

Luckily, after teaching what I needed to learn, I went on to create, act in and produce Madness, Masks and Miracles, a play to dispel myths and stigmas about mental illness.

Things came full circle when I wrote and published my book Re-Write Your Life and received a beautiful endorsement from my creative mentor, Julia Cameron!

“Junie Swadron is both a guide and a muse. Her book is a bright lantern, illuminating the often dark and tricky terrain of the soul. Grounded in personal experience, her techniques catalyze the deep authenticity possible to us all.”

I love my work because I get to hear the enthusiasm and joy that comes from people who have worked with me:

•   “I can do this!”
•   “I AM a writer!”
•   “I love what I have written.”
•   “I can’t believe that just came out of my pen.”
•   “I had no idea what I was going to write.”
•   “I feel so much better.”
•   “I have so much more clarity.”
•   “I have a direction.”

Mostly, I hear, “Thank you!”

If you want to take advantage of all that the Author Mentorship Program has to offer, then please join me!

Uncovering the truest expression of yourself

A big part of the Author Support Group is uncovering the truest expression of yourself, whether it is non-fiction or fiction. It is a journey in self-discovery. Often students come in thinking that they want to write this particular thing and then it changes into something else that feels even better. You will be guided, taught, supported, loved and brought step-by-step ever closer to becoming the author of your words that are ready to be birthed.

Along with my coaching, you will be in a group with other writers readying themselves just like you to have their works published. Each of you will support one another with your comments and suggestions to move the work forward.

As opposed to a critique group where people can be harsh—so harsh you don’t ever want to come back—it’s the opposite. It is a sacred circle where kindness is our motto as we answer questions and offer up suggestions to enhance your work.

My publishing story

Let Me Share With You What Worked Best For Me When I Published My Play, Madness, Masks and Miracles, and my Book, Re-Write Your Life: Even though I love to write, and have been facilitating writing groups for over 20 years, I also found it really hard staying motivated and on track while writing my book. I needed a coach and mentor. When people ask me, “Was it a labour of love?” I say, “Take out the word labour.” It was pure love. Because that is what it can be like when you have a loving mentor and coach, holding your hand to the finishing line. And that is my promise to you.

Publishing was a really big deal for me. My play was the first thing that went public, and that was terrifying. My book came next, and I could hardly wait! And that’s the shift that’s possible.

In spite of my resistance, writing a stage play to dispel myths and stigmas about mental illness was just one of those things I was called to do, and I eventually did it. Producing it and having it out there for people to watch was a different kettle of fish. I was terrified. Especially since I upped the ante. Not only was I writing a play about a certain genre, I was going all out! After the performance, in front of approximately 500 people at an international mental health convention in Vancouver, I delivered a speech that exposed my deep dark secret of having bi-polar illness. I was shaking. I thought it could bring about the end of my successful career as a psychotherapist in private practice and as mental health worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

In spite of how scared I was, I knew it was the ONLY choice if I was going to be true to myself. I had run the gamut of hiding in shame. I was done. I was choosing to take back my life no matter what others might have thought, said, or done. It was the bravest act I had ever carried out and biggest gift I could have ever given to myself. I no longer have to pretend. I set myself free!

“This play is a winner. June Swadron and her writing team and actors engage the audience immediately and throughout with what it’s like to have a mental illness in contemporary society. We feel the anguish and confusion, we witness the denial in co-workers and family, we experience the shame of the sufferer and the multiple losses and we learn painfully about the limitations of our treatments. Yet this production is not cynical or depressing. It is moving, inspiring and intensely evocative. A gift. A call-to-arms. A must-see for every Canadian citizen.” Dr. Michael Meyers, President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association

What’s your story?

Do you want to tell it as a memoir, play, fiction, stand up comedy, serious of poems, creative non-fiction, a musical? Maybe you designed a program or course and want to write a book to go with it. Perhaps you simply want to start a blog about something you are passionate about.

Or maybe it’s simply a seed, a concept in your mind. It’s enough. We will build from there. No matter where you are on the continuum from having your work half finished or haven’t quite started yet—we begin where you are.

It’s okay that we are all at different stages. In my workshops, everyone’s work is read and discussed every week with powerful suggestions to move it forward.

 

My motto

It is because of the feedback I have been given over the years, along with what I have observed, that I have come up with this true statement which has become my motto:

Your soul meets you on the page and something shifts. You strengthen. You begin to stand taller. And soon you begin to notice that your voice on the page has become your voice in the world.

Here are two scenarios that start off the same but end very differently. Which one would you choose?

1st Scenario

You want to write a book

You don’t know how or where to begin

You don’t think you are good enough

There are things you know about and care about

You are hesitant to say them out loud

You are afraid of what people might think or say

There are other reasons too

You begin to shrink

You stop

Your dream ENDS here.

2nd Scenario 

You want to write a book

You don’t know how or where to begin

There are things you know and care about

You are hesitant to say them out loud

You are afraid of what people might think or say

There are other reasons too

Still, you say to yourself, “I am willing to feel the discomfort,

put my fears aside and GO FOR IT.”

Your dream BEGINS here.

And you won’t have to do it alone! It will be my joy and privilege to guide you right to the finish line.

<!–

Investment: $397.00

or

Or Easy Installment Plan

Plan 1 – Pay in 2 equal installments of $198.50 each – September 10th and October 10th

Plan 2 – Pay in 3 equal installments of $133.00  each – September 10, October 10 and November 10th

$100.00 non-refundable deposit with any purchase

–>

Contact me with questions or to book your complimentary strategy session: junie@junieswadron.com; 250-813-0183.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

ONE-TO-ONE AUTHOR MENTORSHIPS

If you are not in Victoria, no worries.

You will receive the same fabulous results over the phone or on Skype!  

That is my promise to you. Love, Junie

Call for a free consultation: 250–813–0183