wild writing
ARE YOU READY TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, RELAX YOUR BELLY AND FIND YOUR HOME VOICE?
For the last 30 years I have been practicing and teaching a deeply therapeutic writing practice called Wild Writing. It’s the most simple, most deep writing practice that I know. It’s also a very reliable way to break through writer’s block.
Using poetry to inspire our writing, we write as fast as we can, pen never leaving the page. By writing quickly we tumble past the harsh voice of the inner critic, connecting instead to our instinct and our intuition, the quieter voices inside of us that are beautiful, natural and full of surprises.
Through practice, we stumble into the fertile imagination that lives inside of us, conjuring stories and memories that are waiting to be written.
After we write we read our work aloud. We don’t critique, we just witness and listen. We do this several times within the session. This technique, while very therapeutic, is also a wonderful way to jumpstart any writing project because it helps you get to the chewy nougat of what you are honestly trying to say.
I mean for creativity to be an easy pivot, a simple turning toward the landscape of our lives – our experiences, our encounters, and the moments that have taught us the most about our time here.
THOSE STORIES AND MOMENTS ARE RIGHT THERE, BUT IT HELPS TO RELAX, TO BRAVELY SAY YES TO WHAT’S MOVING THROUGH US AND TO TRUST IT.
WE KEEP THE GROUPS SMALL, NO MORE THAN 8 WRITERS. IT’S INTIMATE AND POWERFUL.
If you’ve been curious about what it would be like to be in a small, devoted group of Wild Writers, who not only write together every week, but who read their work aloud to one another, please consider joining one of our classes. These teachers are beautiful writers who have been studying with me for a number of years, people I trust and love writing with.
Please read their bios below. Their classes are offered on different days + times.
janet mckeehan-medina
JANET IS A POET AND TRAINED PSYCHOTHERAPIST WHO PROVIDES MINDFULNESS-BASED COACHING. A DEDICATED MEDITATOR SINCE THE AGE OF FOURTEEN, SHE FIRST TURNED TO MEDITATION TO HELP MANAGE ANXIETY ATTACKS — A PRACTICE THAT OPENED THE DOOR TO A LIFELONG JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY.
In 2020, she discovered Laurie Wagner’s Wild Writing and immediately recognized it as a natural extension of her work: helping others connect with their authentic selves beneath the layers they carry. Sharing this writing in a small, judgment-free group has been deeply therapeutic for Janet and for those she guides.
After completing Laurie’s Wild Writing Teacher Training in 2022, Janet began weaving mindfulness and Wild Writing together in her classes. Each session begins with a centering meditation to quiet the mind, then moves into free writing — pen to page, words flowing without censorship. Some pieces evolve into polished poems or prose, while others remain raw and honest, exactly as they emerged. There is no single “right” way; each writer’s path is part of their self-discovery.
Janet is honored to support others on this journey and welcomes all who wish to explore their inner voice through Wild Writing.
wild writing small group classes
REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
WILD WRITING (WOMEN-ONLY) ONLINE
Mondays: 10:00 – 11:30am PT
6-weeks with Janet McKeehan-Medina
July 14 – August 18
Cost :: $360 or 2 payments of $180
Cancellation Policy: There is a $200 non-refundable admin fee with registration. Partial refunds are available with written requests up to and including 2nd week of classes. (Refund prorated based on how many weeks into class schedule minus $200 admin fee.)
“Working with Laurie Wagner changed my writing.
It helped me find an hold onto that most elusive thing of all–my writing voice. I will always be grateful to Laurie, because once I found it–nothing was ever the same again.”
– LISA RUSS
WRITER
“True story: I was looking back in my journal yesterday and I was struck by the brilliant writing inside!
I didn’t recognize it as my own words. Laurie’s gift as a teacher is to get you out of your head, side step your critic and let the imagery flow! Laurie’s Wild Writing process has been so helpful not only in writing, but also for my painting practice and for greasing the wheels of ease and connection in my life.”
– MATI ROSE MCDONOUGH
ARTIST, ILLUSTRATOR, AUTHOR
“The last decade has been about building a business supporting young writers,
but it has meant I’ve abandoned my own writing for many years. For me Wild Writing, and being at Laurie’s table, is a treasured opportunity to return to the craft in the company of other fine women writers.”
– SONDRA HALL
POET
“I’ve been writing with Laurie for about a year
and the most important thing I’ve learned is how to let go. To let go of the conscious thoughts I have that hold me back from writing what’s honest and true. To stop editing myself before the pen even touches the paper! Thanks to Laurie I’ve learned how to trust my own voice and realize that my story – as mundane, original, heartbreaking and resolute as it is – is worth telling.”
– LISA GRANTHAM
“Working with Laurie gives me courage to quiet the stern editor in my writing
releasing the hidden thoughts, writing reflexively without judgement, resisting the urge to second-guess what I’m about to say. This is when my writing can surprise me most, giving me confidence to keep going, stay in my chair, keep the pen moving.”
– BECKY RUIZ JENAB
“Working with Laurie has opened my eyes to what it really means to bring a reader into a story.
She has a beautiful way of coaxing the scene to life in my writing. I have sent countless friends who were seeking to up level their writing to work with Laurie and always hear back rave reviews.”
– RACHEL COLE
COACH
“Writing with Laurie, seeing her vulnerability and honesty, made me braver.
It’s that particular kind of courage, the willingness to be harmed, to make a fool of yourself, to offer someone a thing they could use to hurt you if they wanted, to risk being wrong, that encouraged me to show up, to go deeper, to say the very thing I didn’t want to say but so desperately needed to.
It gave me confidence in my writing, in the way my friend Susan Piver defines it, “the willingness to be as ridiculous, luminous, intelligent, and kind as you really are, without embarrassment.”
– JILL SALAHUB
“As a visual artist and long ago English Lit major I had abandoned writing for years before tentatively stepping into Laurie’s Wild Writing class back in 2003.
I’ve been a regular ever since. Working with Laurie has changed my approach not only to writing, but to my photography and visual art practices as well. Her honesty, fearlessness and humor are contagious. She creates an environment where one feels simultaneously safe and wildly courageous. Laurie’s inspiration and encourage continue to open many doors in my creative life.”
– STEPHANIE WILLIAMSON
PROFESSOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN
“With her first two words – count ‘em, two – to me and my classmates in 2004, Laurie Wagner set my steps upon the good red road of the writer’s path.
She has helped keep my feet to the fire ever since. From the first she believed in me and communicated, no, somehow injected under my skin a confident faith. I feared I’d signed up for her essay class under false pretenses. Who was I fooling? What business had I there?
Her opening salvo to the group gave me a new name for myself: “Hello, writers.” Laurie balances the carrot with the stick. She pushes, pokes, prods. She excels as coach, cheerleader and whip-cracker. She listens into the words I offer, hears the story behind the story, motivates me to tell it out as best I can. My writing life is the richer for it.”
– RAB MARLOW
“As my coach, Laurie is always willing to follow me down the rabbit hole.
With her courage, smarts, patience, and humility, some kind of magic occurs. We are able to dissect and actually make sense of Wonderland together. And, to my great relief, I’ve been able to slowly move forward in a way that feels deeply right for me. I can’t recommend her enough.”
– STEPHANIE DODARO
WALKINGTHEMISSIONS.COM
try wild writing-free!
SIGN UP HERE FOR 5 DAYS OF WILD WRITING
