Unlocking Your Story

What's your story?

What about your personal journey is unique?

What buried treasures do you hold inside that need to be shared?

Everyone has a story to tell. And yet, in sharing our stories, we often overlook what is particularly extraordinary about our lives. More likely, we need permission to get personal. For it is through the intensely personal that we start tapping into what's universal.

This signature workshop is designed to explore the life experiences that have shaped and defined you. Through a wide variety of creative prompts and practical techniques, you'll unleash the stories that reflect the uniqueness of your personal journey. The small group environment creates a safe, dynamic space, allowing for group interaction as well as individual guidance and feedback.

Bring something you've been working on, an idea you wish to develop, or simply come willing to explore. All levels welcome.

See the Guest Artists who have visited the workshop.

Winter 2025 Workshops:
 

January 21 - April 1 *

10 Tuesdays, 10am-1pm PT / 1-4pm ET


* no meeting 3/25


Hosted via Zoom


Fee: $850

Space is limited to 12 students per workshop


To register for a workshop Contact Karin.

Upcoming Workshops:

To be notified about the upcoming session dates, join the Spirit of Story e-list:

About the Instructor:

Karin Gutman, MFA, is a memoir and story coach who has been guiding writers for over 15 years towards discovering and writing their life-based stories. The safe, dynamic spaces she creates allow for this deeply personal work to unfold, as writers peel away the layers, dig deep, and make meaning out of their life experiences. Her clients have sold books to major publishers, including HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan.

A former story analyst for Creative Artists Agency and 20th Century Fox, she is a published author and has written and developed projects for Nickelodeon, the Jim Henson Company and National Geographic Kids. She has taught at Cal State Fullerton, UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and UCLA Arts and Healing, and currently offers workshops, retreats and one-on-one coaching under her Spirit of Story banner.

Questions you may be asking...

Who is this workshop for?

This creative space is for anyone who is interested in exploring their personal, life-based experiences on the page.

Is it okay if I'm new to writing?

Yes! This workshop holds space for all kinds of writers, with various levels of experience and at different stages in their creative work. I am interested in meeting each writer where he or she is in the creative process in support of moving the work forward.

What if I'm working on a full-length memoir? Is this right workshop for me?

Many writers have written their full-length works in the workshops -- not in one 10-week session, but over time. You will have the opportunity to share excerpts and receive feedback. That being said, it's important to understand the limitations of the workshop. It is not a place where you'll get guidance on the overall story arc and structure; this kind of work is better done one-on-one.

What is the format of the workshop?

Each meeting is a mix between free-writing in class and presenting written material for group feedback. There is a schedule so you know when you'll be presenting work.

What if I feel afraid or nervous?

That's normal! That says to me that you're ready to dive in, and that's risky. I will say, the one consistent thing I hear time and again is how 'safe' the space is. It is deeply important to me to create an environment where people can peel away the layers and dig deeply into their stories. The space we hold for each other supports this kind of work.

I'm not sure if I want to write fiction or memoir. Can I do both in the workshop?

This workshop is devoted to personal narrative. I have found that it's important that everyone in the group share the collective intention to discover the underlying truth of our real-life experiences.

“Having a safe writing space was critical in my development as a writer. I had so much shame about the mistakes I had made as a mother, that it took me attending several workshops before I started to reveal some parts of my story in the class. Meanwhile, the structure, prompts and valuable guidance, made me feel more at ease as I developed some writing skills.

I remember the first time I shared my pages. I was so scared of being judged that my heart was pounding inside my chest. When I was finished reading I could barely look at anyone. But as we went around the room, all the women were so incredibly supportive with their feedback that it ultimately allowed me to become even more vulnerable in the class.”

Wendy Adamson, author of Mother Load

Having a safe writing space was critical in my development as a writer.

... guides writers gently and intuitively... 

“Karin creates a fertile environment for writing. I came to the workshop knowing that I had a story to tell, but with a lot of resistance to the act of writing. Karin guides writers gently and intuitively. She uses writing prompts to help you pop open ideas you didn’t know were there. It was so exciting when my writing really started to flow! I would take Karin’s workshop over and over again.”

Ranjani Brow

“I am always drawn to the group of people you are able to put together. You have a very calm sense and huge understanding that sometimes a prompt can take you a completely different direction and that there never is anything ‘wrong’ in your response. You also have a impeccable sense when it comes to 'listening' what is being read. It could be that you find things in between the lines or pinpoint exactly a feeling or emotion to an overall situation described in a piece. I love your feedback and am often amazed how ‘on target’ your observations and questions are when I share my work.”

Malona Badelt

... amazed how 'on target' your observations and questions are...

... Something in me is being ‘faced’ by the very act of writing...

“I'm really looking forward to another class... and another and another after that. Something in me is being ‘faced’ by the very act of writing whatever it is that comes out. Your class is definitely stirring my pot and I find that so rewarding. Thank you!”

Molly Jordan, co-author of Magic Time

“What you're offering is really magical and unique. I love your feedback and I love feedback in general that challenges me out of my comfort zone, uncomfortable as that may be. The group really opened me up to realizing what 'my' story is, or at least, what the story is I want to tell.  And it also helped me get confident and comfortable with my voice.

The more I write and open myself to creativity, the more creative I feel.”

Suzanne Ely

What you're offering is really magical and unique...

Thank you for empowering me to speak my truth.

“Thank you for empowering me to speak my truth. You have changed my life for the better. I am lucky to share the journey with you!”

Heather McGonigal