Off-Leash Writing Workshops
Come home to yourself on the page.
When was the last time you danced with the muse?
Have you been ignoring your muse, even as she tugs at your sleeve and whispers in your ear?
I get it. It’s hard to find the time and space to nurture your creativity in the midst of a gazillion other things clamoring for your attention.
Yet when you heed that call—when you sit down, put pen to paper, and let your words run free—it makes everything else infinitely more bearable.
Off-Leash Writing Workshops give you the time, space, guidance and inspiration to embrace your muse and come home to yourself on the page.
What are Off-Leash Writing Workshops, anyway?
Off-Leash Writing is a joyful, liberating process, in which we put pen to paper and cut loose.
We gather online or in person in warm, intimate circles. I give prompts—drawn from poetry, prose, music and visual art—and we write together in exuberant ten to fifteen-minute bursts.
In these bursts, we write fast and free, saying yes to what’s coming, our pens never leaving the page. We do this to get ahead of our inner critics and allow the creative unconscious to play.
The prompts are carefully chosen to spark memory, emotion and reflection. They are doorways, opening onto the limitless field of experience and imagination.
At the end of each writing burst, we share what we’ve written, bearing witness to the power of each individual voice. Over the course of an eight- or ten-week-session, we develop intimacy and trust within our circle. As we come to know each other better, we become braver, and our work deepens.
For newcomers and experienced writers alike, Off-Leash Writing is an astonishingly effective tool for quieting the noise and discovering—or re-discovering—your authentic voice.
When you show up on the page with courage and vulnerability, your words forge a powerful bond with readers.
What I believe about the writing process:
I believe that when we tell the truth of our lives as honestly and vulnerably as possible, we reveal our common humanity. Not only is this profoundly healing, but it also leads to deeper, truer, more complex and vivid writing that leaps off the page and into the reader’s heart.
I believe that writing is a practice. Sometimes you like what you write, sometimes you don’t. But if you show up consistently, the muse will keep the appointment. Think of yourself as a miner, chipping away at the rock. Some days you end up with nothing but a pile of rocks, but sometimes you hit a vein, and it’s pure gold all the way through.
I believe that you must dismiss the inner critic to discover your true voice. There’s a place for discernment in the editing room, but when you’re creating, it’s important to kick the critic to the curb so you can play.
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"A common mantra for me used to be: I can't write. I wanna write. I don't have time to write. I long to write. "
"Tanya has this exquisite ability to offer a range of poems and prompts that stir my fingers to release words. My inner critic takes a much needed rest, while my inner writer rejoices at being freed."
-Janice Fialka
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"Tanya creates a welcoming environment that is both motivating and inspirational."
"Even on mornings when I woke up thinking I had nothing in me to write that day, Tanya's process helped me express what was on my mind and what was lurking underneath waiting to get out."
-Scot Kleinman
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"Off-Leash Writing helps me connect in an authentic way with others, in my writing and in my life."
"I've been writing off leash continuously for two years now. Tanya's workshops are from the whole self—from the heart, no judgment, within a supportive community."
-Carol Moeller
Over the past thirty years, over 200 studies have shown profound psychological and physiological benefits of writing as a way of overcoming anxiety and trauma and building resilience.
Some Benefits of Off-Leash Writing
Bringing Down the Wall
Have you ever felt like there’s an invisible wall between not writing and writing, and you don’t know how to scale it? Off-Leash Writing gives you the tools to smash that wall and let your words flow out.
Through this practice, you’ll learn that the wellspring of rich material within you is bottomless. You’ll discover that you can write any time you want. You don’t have to wait for a magical moment to present itself—you create the magic when you pick up a pen.
Clarity and Insight
Joan Didion said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”
When your hand moves across the page, your thoughts and emotions crystallize into words. You may find yourself recalling details you’d previously forgotten. You may start to see unexpected connections between the disparate moments of your life, leading to fresh insights and deeper understanding.
Healing
Flannery O’Connor said that if you’ve survived your childhood, you have enough material to last a lifetime. We all carry pain and grief within us. Getting things out of your head and onto the page creates distance, bringing air and light to difficult experiences. This can lead to new perspectives, greater compassion and, at times, forgiveness.
In the past thirty years, over 200 studies have shown profound psychological and physiological benefits of writing as a way to overcome anxiety and trauma and build resilience.
Empowerment
When you allow your words to flow without hesitation or second-guessing, you learn to trust the power and authority of your own voice. When you say yes to what comes, you gain confidence that your own words—the ones that come from you—are the exact right ones.
By telling the truth as you understand it, you claim authorship over the events of your life. No matter how difficult the experience, it is yours now, to name, to interpret and, if desired, to release.
Stress Relief
Off-Leash Writing circles create a space to show up exactly as you are, in all your messy complexity. In other areas of life, you may have to put on a game face and play a role. To smile when you don’t feel like it so others can feel at ease. Not here.
Here you’re invited to embrace the moment as it arises, whether that means tears, anger, fear, anxiety, giggles, or pure, unadulterated joy. In these circles, we let everything in so we can let everything out. Not only is it a profound relief, but it opens the door to deep, impactful writing.
Community
When we come together as our vulnerable, unprotected selves and find ourselves embraced and understood, we see that we are not alone.
In bearing witness to each other’s pain and confusion as well as each other’s joy and exhilaration, we shine a light on our common humanity.
Each person’s journey is gorgeous in its specificity. Yet as different as we are, we all crave connection. In our circles, we find that connection and draw strength from it.
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"Usually, I’m a perfectionist, but Tanya has created a place of trust where I can take creative risk. "
"I discovered Off-Leash Writing two and a half years ago and immediately fell in love with the process. Since then I've continued, and I anticipate with delight as workshop day nears, mid-morning once a week."
-Gwynneth Van Laven
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"The prompts spark my creativity and have led me to write many new pieces."
"I look forward each week to what Tanya has prepared to ignite us. She utilizes so many ways to evoke a memory, a feeling, or an idea. She provides a safe, intimate and fun class...IT's a supportive and compassionate community."
-Margery Kreitman
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"I loved Tanya's prompts and go back to her teachings for springboards in my artistic journeys."
"Tanya creates a safe, accepting environment to write from the recesses of your soul and heart. I have taken a few of her classes, and they have been incredible, including the writers within the group."
-Donna Alena Hrabcakova
The Off-Leash Process
Arriving
We begin every class with a brief meditation, to anchor ourselves in our bodies and open our hearts and minds to whatever is moving through us.
Story Slices
We share quick verbal snapshots of our daily lives to connect with each other, kickstart our sense memories and get our narrative juices flowing.
Inspiration
I share beautiful, provocative prompts drawn from poetry, prose, music and art to spark memory and imagination and inspire you to go deep in your writing.
Writing
We point ourselves towards what’s true and vital within us, put pen to paper and cut loose in bursts of up to 15 minutes, opening the channel to let our words flow onto the page with wild abandon.
Sharing
Each member of our circle has the chance to share their writing, to be witnessed and to witness each other in all our glorious, complicated humanity.
Deepening
Through repeated practice, we deepen our work. Each class contains three writing bursts. Over an 8 or 10-week session, we develop trust, allowing for greater honesty and intimacy within our circle.
Winter 2025 Off-Leash Writing Workshops
Thursdays, January 9 - March 13, 2025
1-3pm EST / 10am-noon PST
Live via Zoom
Tuesdays, January 14 - March 18, 2025
10am-noon EST
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Want to pay by installments? No problem! Email me and we’ll set it up!
Sliding scale pricing also available as needed. Reach out.
About Tanya
I'm an award-winning playwright, writer, editor, writing workshop leader, and private writing coach.
I do this work because writing has carried me through the most difficult moments of my life. The motion of pen on paper or fingers on keyboard has carried me home to myself in moments of despair.
Through writing with others, I have experienced our common humanity and the deep longing for connection we all share. I’m inspired to wake up every day and lead these workshops to help you experience the joy, comfort, and power of writing and learn to trust the innate beauty and wisdom of your own voice.
I want to convey to you the magic of the writing process—the way, once you hit your stride, you can watch your words unspool on the page before you as if of their own accord. I want you to feel that joy, that power, that comfort. The more you do it, the more ease you find in the process.
