Writing from the Top of Your Head/Writing from the Top of Your Head: The Online Schoolhouse

  • $647 or 2 monthly payments of $325

Writing from the Top of Your Head: The Online Schoolhouse

A sanctuary for the "heartbroken artist" to heal and grow resilient.

• Enter into a safe space where you can heal your artistic heartbreak with brain-training creativity coaching tools.
• Open up to your most wild imagination, like it was for you when you were a kid.
• Generate a ton of fresh new written material and tap into newfound flow.

BONUS! Now, when you purchase the Online Schoolhouse, you get 2, 30-minute 1:1 coaching calls so you have some extra structure and accountability! ! Reach out to writenina@writingfromthetopofyourhead.com to schedule the 2 chats.


Praise: 

"I feel I have opened something huge in just one module. 8 weeks of this? This is the best thing that has ever happened in my creative life."
F.L.  - student

More Praise for Writing from the Top of Your Head

"No matter what kind of artist you are, this class is essential to your creative blossoming…"

Badria Jazairi, Student

"This class opened up some sort of spigot in me and out came the words, the images, the magic. I don’t even know where it came FROM. It just came THROUGH."

Mindy Beller, Student

“Nina is the best of the best at cheerleading the wounded soul of creativity.”

M.J., Student

Contents

Welcome to the Schoolhouse!

Hello and welcome to the Writing from the Top of Your Head online workshop! I'm thrilled to take you on this journey... 

A few pointers - first of all, make sure you read the syllabus - you'll find it waiting for you in Module One.

AND, for the full "IMAX Theater" adventure, please set the course to "full screen," so you can immerse yourself in the experiential aspect of the course. When you watch the videos, let them serve as "transmissions." Allow yourself to be emotionally present, and when you allow yourself to open in this way, your "writing from the top of your head" abilities will be amplified!

A note about "structure." As you make your way through the course, I recommend that you create some boundaries around your Schoolhouse exploration. This is sacred time for YOU, and something you get to do as opposed to have to do.

You can create any kind of structure you like – whatever works for you and your unique life. Perhaps that means 20 minutes a week, 2 - 5 minutes a day, a two-hour block at a cafe, or less or more. Whatever it is, RIGHT NOW, go block that time off in your calendar for (at least) the next eight weeks. Set a reminder on your phone for that writing time (or whatever system works for you). You can always add more time, and morph your schedule.

Whatever you do, keep moving, even if the movement is tiny and incremental. You can also create STRUCTURE by saying to a writer friend, hey let’s meet on the phone for 15 minutes a week and get some writing done. Or, let’s meet at a cafe for gunpowder tea and we won’t talk we’ll just write! Or, tell your partner “Hey, I need you to remind me that I get to write this week. It’s right here in my book – look!” Structure and support and cheerleading are key. And by signing up for this course, you have also automatically created structure! Good on you!

And I HIGHLY recommend that you go through the modules in consecutive order and don’t skip ahead. The modules build on each other in a strategic way. You CAN skip a prompt if it’s not resonating with you, or come back to it later.

I am delighted and honored to have you in this class, and I hope you get everything you need out of Writing from the Top of Your Head, and so much more.

LET'S BEGIN!

“The object isn’t to make art, it is to be in that wonderful state that makes art inevitable.”~Robert Henri

WELCOME...
WFTHSyllabus.pdf

Week 1: Small and Crappy - Innocence Embraced and Reclaimed

As we start the journey together, we find out how the foundational practice of "Small and Crappy" can help you lower your expectations and slay perfectionism when it rears its crappy little head!  You CAN create without your inner critic hanging over your pen!

“You will have written badly, but you will not have allowed it to be atrocious.”
~Kevin McIlvoy
Introduction - Writing from the Top of Your Head!
stephaniesĭd - "lonely in manhattan" OFFICIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO
An important note on "getting lost" in your creative process. Before we begin...
Module 1 - Writing Prompts
Beyonce - "Pretty Hurts (Chloe x Halle Cover)"
"You're not a product..."
Module 1 - Home play and quotes
Alexander Calder performs his "Circus" | Whitney Museum of American Art
The clown...
This kid is in the flow...
Conductor Dudamel - "I'm playing with my toys..."
"Make your cereal in the morning in the dark"
From author Kurt Vonnegut
Module 1 - Your Tiny Ritual
Pure Imagination
In praise of slow writing. Great article.
Our natural state...
Module 1 pdf

Week 2: Induce the Flow State and Seduce the Muse

Welcome to Module Two!

You don’t have to sit around and wait for the muse to show up. Learn how to raise up your creative “antennae” and bring about states of awe at will.

“The object isn’t to make art, it is to be in that wonderful state that makes art inevitable.”
~Robert Henri
A poem by William Stafford
Module 2 - Intro
"Your Elusive Creative Genius" - Elizabeth Glibert
Writing from the Top of Your Head meditation
Kirsten Wiig Opens the Top of her Head
From Elizabeth Gilbert
Aretha Franklin - "I Say a Little Prayer"
Module 2 - Prompts
From author Etgar Keret
More Russel Edson-esque nonsense prompts from Kevin McIlvoy
Module 2 Home play and quotes
"Is this good? Does it suck?" The value of not knowing...
Bonus Round
Module 2 pdf

Week 3: Just Be You. Koi Pond.

Learn to implicitly trust who YOU are, as your greatest superpower. You'll also learn the GREAT importance of trusting the images that come to you. As cartoonist and author Lynda Barry says: “An image is a place. Not a picture of a place, but a place in and of itself. You can move in it. It seems not invented but there for you to find.”
Module 3 Intro.
A poem by Martha Postlewaite
A Story About a Bird.
Wisdom on just being you, from Musician Jon Batiste
Module 3 Prompts
Philosophy of the world - The Shaggs
Seven and a half minutes worth of writing.
One more "Just Be You" prompt
The ps22 chorus sings Tori Amos' "Winter"
Robin Williams - permission to stretch...
Bobcat Goldthwait on David Letterman
In "A Letter to a Young Activist," Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes:
Preview
Lidia Yuknavitch TED Talk
Jeffrey Marsh - visibility & privilege
Module 3 Home play and quotes
Mr. Rogers "It's You I Like"
Preview
Kae Tempest - The Brand New Ancients
Your bonus round prompt
Preview
Module 3 pdf

Week 4: Writing from the Heart & The Power of Awe - The Thank You Walk and Credit Report

For this module, we'll tap into profound poetic states through the practice of the “Thank You Walk,” “Snapshot,” "Soft Focus" and other techniques that will help induce states of higher creativity. Learn brain-training techniques like the "Credit Report" that will reduce the fears that can literally stifle your creative life. These tools will positively affect your ability to follow through as an artist, and allow you to practice more and more bravery and vulnerability. You will practice seeing your own unique gifts and recognizing the depth of your accomplishments, and this will be a touchstone that will fuel your passion and artistic resilience.
Module 4 Intro.
From poet Mary Oliver
A child chats with a slimy slug and it's beautiful.
Gratitude: The Short Film by Louie Schwartzberg
A poem from Nadia Colburn
Module 4 Prompts
Prompt - CREATIVE SHAME + Brene Brown.
Creative Spark: Mike White - talking about procrastination and the alpha state.
Module 4 Home Play and quotes
Jane Goodall - "I tried very hard in that moment to just think of it as a being, as a part of this natural, beautiful tapestry of life."
Thank you tree...
Your bonus round prompt
From Mathew Fox - on the power of the heart's wisdom...
Module 4 pdf

Week 5: Playfully Play with Playful Structures

You'll get to connect all that you’ve learned into a “symphonic writing experience," combining dreams and other found material in order to discover new directions. By playing with playful structures (as opposed to working within more traditional structures) you will find that the act of letting go of control will help you find the surprise gifts that lay beyond the “thinking mind.” Learning to trust this place will create a whole new writer/self.

I want to be with those who know secret things—or else alone.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke
SURPRISE!
Module 5 Intro.
Module 5 Prompts
From Austin Kleon - This is my book! There are no rules!
From Jenzo Duque
Fiction is truth...
Module 5 Home play and quotes
Your TINY RITUAL - Jerry Seinfeld Interview: How to Write a Joke | The New York Times
Module 5: Your bonus round prompt
This video is full of little gems of advice
Here's to the ones who can't help but do it differently...
Module 5 pdf

Week 6 – Deep Diving – Creating and Connecting with Your Emotions

**Know that the main Writing from the Top of Your Head workshop that I offer live, is a 6-week course that contains modules 1-5 + module 8 of the online program. Consider modules 6 and 7 as "bonus" rounds. Feel free to skip to module 8 if you like, just to get the full feeling of the course. Or, move through 6 and 7 - up to you!

So far, you've been learning how to let go and fly high. Now, you'll dive deep into the ground of your emotional landscape in order to mine for material that not only touches you but can touch others in a heartfelt way.

Module 6 Intro.
Module 6 Prompts
Chills - 24-year-old pianist Yumeka Nakagawa was visibly moved to tears
Module 6 Home play and quotes
A quote on theater - from Adrienne Maree Brown
Songwriter Elise Leavey bonus writing prompts - see choices below
Anthony Roth Costanzo - Opera in the Bronx
Your bonus round prompt
Module 6.pdf
PS22 Chorus - "Shout" by Tears for Fears

Week 7: The Power of Journaling

Some writers believe that journal writing isn’t “real” writing. I say it is! It’s such a powerful way to deep dive, to live uncensored, to mine for gold. It allows us to touch down into our authenticity. We not only get to talk to ourselves but to our highest self. In this module, we’ll listen to nature and rocks and trees and see what they have to tell us. We’ll ask our bodies for answers to deeper questions. We’ll explore various journaling methods and record our dreamscapes. We will be led into surprising territory, and it is here we can discover such honest and shimmering material for our stories, poetry, and song.
Module 7 Intro.
journaling.jpg
Module 7 prompts #2.m4a
Four Minute Diary
journal sunflower.jpg
The James Pennebaker Journaling Method
Module 7 Home play and Quotes
Your tiny ritual
room of one's own.jpg
Your bonus round prompt
Module7-ThePowerofJournaling (2).pdf

Week 8 – Your Writing Life

Welcome to Module 8! Aw shucks, it's the last class! This week we'll talk about your writing life, the power of Kaizen aka Small Steps, and the value of utilizing artistic structures that bolster your sense of purpose and ability to follow through. With these tools and all of the others, it is my true wish that you'll be able to move forward fully, gracefully, and with deep strength into your creative life. Great job and keep going - little by little! (And here's your small step puppy video.)


Quote from Mark Twain
Module 8 Intro .m4a
Puppy teaching Puppy to go down stairs....what an amazing teacher dog!
Lars Adams: Clown - son of Patch Adams
Module 8 Prompts - m4a
750 words a day
This body has stories to tell...
Module 8 Home Play / Quotes.m4a
The prison of your mind | Sean Stephenson | TEDxIronwoodStatePrison
Wisdom...
Sarah Jarosz "Ring Them Bells" : The Americana Sessions
OMORI - Pure Imagination
Module8-NewYourWritingLife (3).pdf
From Brene Brown...
Your last tiny ritual...
It's You I Like
Beauty
Hello! I'm Nina Hart, founder of
Writing from the Top of Your Head workshops, monthly membership program, and Premium 1:1 coaching.
 
I help blocked writers move forward to tell the brave stories only they are meant to tell. Ready to get started?