Unlock Your Story

Transforming trauma into art can be daunting, I know first-hand. It cannot be forced and must be thoughtfully approached with care and attention to craft. Explore the intricate process of transforming trauma into art with personalized guidance from a queer trauma survivor and author of recent trauma narratives, profiled by Melissa Rampelli via an article and interview in Psychology Today.​

 

Tailored Coaching Approach

• Craft your narrative in a manner that feels safe, productive, and authentic to your experiences. 

• Identify the best genre, form, and shape for the narrative you want to tell, from traditional memoir (Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking) and experimental memoir (Elisa’s Washuta’s My Body is a Book of Rules) to poetry (Stephen Sexton’s book of grief and Super Mario Poems, If All the World and Love Were Young), novels (Randall Keenan's A Visitation of Spirits), plays (Caryl Churchill, The Skriker) , and screenplays (Black Swan)

• Consider how pop culture artifacts and contexts can possibly help navigate trauma narratives.

• Receive confidential coaching sessions designed to explore creative strategies unique to you.

 

My Personal Journey

Experimental form and content enabled me to first broach personal subjects of grief and depression in books like in which I take myself hostage (2021). Yet, it was not until I started writing lines to Buffy the Vampire Slayer that something unlocked further and I started being able to write more directly about particular traumatic moments and experiences that I had previously been unable to write.

 

Writing trauma completely head-on is not always the way forward for everyone. Buffy, and subsequently Sarah Michelle Gellar and her entire body of work, functioned as a buffer and a guide for me to start telling my own story in a way that felt safe and productive. This writing blossomed into two books that focus on my personal trauma narratives via interactions with Gellar’s work: my poetry collection, Gellar Studies (2023) and my hybrid memoir My Buffed Up Life (forthcoming, 2024).

 

Comprehensive Services

• Brainstorm narrative ideas, genres, and scopes tailored to your vision.

• Develop structured outlines and chapters to give shape to your story.

• Discuss drafts and ideas, receiving personalized feedback and guidance.

• Cultivate effective time management strategies and writing habits.

• Benefit from developmental editing to refine your project to perfection.

 

Book Your Free Consultation

• Take the first step towards transforming your trauma into a transformative creative work: schedule a complimentary 20-minute Zoom call to discuss your project and explore how I can assist you at every stage of your writing journey.