Creativity Coaching with *AWAW- Facilitator Sally Mazák

A guided journey for the writer in you.
 

Course details:

• 1 Intro and 8 Coaching Sessions
• Duration: Course must be completed within 8 and 10 weeks. This course requires regular submissions in a defined time-frame and is an important facet of the course
• Start date: At any time; applications all year round via our website

Student assignments:

• Each session will require you to complete varying numbers of exercises, question responses and actions

Admission requirements:

• Basic writing skills essential
• Computer skills, e-mail and Internet access required
• No previous tertiary qualification required

Tutor for this course :

  Sally Mazák

 

Course Curriculum

Introduction

Introduction What is creativity? Creativity coaching How creativity coaching works Not psychotherapy Your coach Distinguished creativity teachers What to expect Being a beginner What this course doesn’t do Quotes are like ‘eau de parfum’ A tip for your weekly responses

Session 1 - Dabblers and doers

Courage Why do you want to write? Using your voice The courageous writer 3 Exercises, 2 detailed questions and 1 action

Session 2 - What blocks?

Pleased to meet you Blocks Anthropology Part 1 Stalling methods Your writing atmosphere Filling the form 4 Exercises, 1 detailed question and 2 actions

Session 3 - When I'm all grown up

Who am I now? Free-flow writing Anthropology Part 2 Jealousy mapping Possibilities 3 Exercises, 2 detailed questions and 2 actions

Session 4 - Making it work for you

Performance anxiety Adverse self-talk Managing creative anxiety Incantations and antidotes 4 Exercises, 3 detailed questions and 2 actions

Session 5 - Getting into it

A solid step in the right direction Something in the air – atmosphere and environment A writing practice Planning to plan A writing practice – for now 3 Exercises, 4 questions

Session 6 - Seeing things differently

Creativity – a two-part recipe What is creativity? I don’t have a creative bone in my body A more common understanding of creativity The creative personality The process of creating – the creative response The nine steps of the creative response – in detail Great ideas when you’re not in the mood The birth of ideas Netting ideas 1 Exercise, 4 detailed questions and 1 action

Session 7 - Opposite inspirations

Fuel for writing Anger as a map Determination Doing it for yourself 4 Exercises, 3 questions and 1 action

Session 8 - Make way, I'm coming through!

Consolidation Know thyself Anthropology 3 Inner mentor / Your wise-self Keeping it fresh Final tips from your coach

 

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How does the course work?

The course consists of one introduction and eight coaching sessions. Detailed notes covering the content of each coaching session are e-mailed to students.

At the end of each session, students will be required to complete  a number of tasks. In total, the course includes 25 Exercises, 21 questions and 10 actions, all of which count towards completion of the course.

Once the set tasks have been completed, and e-mailed to the coach, feedback will be sent to the student and the session will be considered complete. The next session will then be e-mailed to the student.

Exceptions may be made for students who would like to try Skype feedback. It will be available at specific times only, so availability is limited.

 

Conditions of the Course:

This is a specialised intensive personal development course for writers. It is unique to our college.

• Students will receive an NZ Writers' College Certificate upon successful completion of the course, provided they meet the following conditions:
• Students must have completed all tasks
• The course must have been completed within 8-10 weeks from commencement date. Only 2 x one week extensions are allowed. *Special consideration will be given to students requiring fortnightly sessions. This must be arranged prior to commencement and will be assessed on an individual basis.
• Students are expected to complete all sessions in consecutive order.

Minimum Estimated Time Commitment:

There is no specific research required for this course. Any research can be done using Google or a similar search engine. Each session must be finished within the week (or fortnight if this has been agreed to at the start).

After studying the session notes, the exercises should take between one and three hours to complete plus daily personal writing.

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Feedback on this course from past students

"I enjoyed [the course] immensely. Apart from anything else, it forced me into some sort of timetable in order to keep up with the tutor! My experience of my tutor was excellent. Sally's responses were clearly not just by rote. The course made me think and self-analyse. It must be good - I enthused enough to my 32-year-old son for him to sign himself up for one of your other courses." Sue Hill, Break through your Writing Barriers Course

“It was an unforgettable journey of discovering obstacles in my writing career, together with a tutor who never let me down.  Sally has the ability to lift anybody up, and is the best guide that anybody can hope to meet in their writing career. She knows how to lead you through difficult trails you find on the way. What a privilege to study under such extraordinary leadership! Thanks, Sal! This course was an unforgettable experience.” Elma Roos, Break Through Your Writing Barriers

"At the beginning of this course I was so hopeless about writing that I really thought I can't be helped.  I thought that the only thing that might help is to go and see a psychiatrist to help me remove the chronic writer's block I am sitting with.  I thought that I was what Salieri said in Amadeus – why did God give me the desire but not the talent or the creativity?  I was useless with The Artist’s Way.  I would do two weeks and then just, somehow, stop.
 
I really didn’t expect much from the course.  I thought it would teach me a few skills and perhaps scratch the surface of a problem.  I didn’t expect what happened.  I didn’t expect epiphany after epiphany and to find the actual root of the problem.  In fact, right after I paid the fees for the course I thought that it would be a massive waste of money. 
Well....
I don’t know what happened exactly between then and now  – it was like a car crash... first I was here, then I was there and then I was thrown out of the car and then it was all over... The point is that today I have ideas.  I look with different eyes at the world.  I think differently about my thought processes and I actually started writing.  I outlined almost the entire plot of a novel. I don’t know what changed.  I just know it did. 

Today, I am not the same person that started this course...and it’s a good thing.  At the risk of sounding very soppy: I was brought back to life." Anonymous, Break through your Writing Barriers


“I've had a wonderful week thanks to being placed as a runner-up in a short story competition: http://www.cazart.co.uk/index.php?page=story&id=346. I really believe that it's a direct result of this course as I'd never have sent it in otherwise.” Norah Jansen, Break through your Writing Barriers

“The course was everything I expected and more. It was enjoyable, entertaining and a fun way of learning. The experience I had with my lecturer was absolutely perfect; Sally was always kind and helpful and supportive. The course was informative and helped me achieve what I wanted to achieve. It was a good experience, one that I would love to do again and one that I would recommend to others.” Monica Terlouw, Break Through Your Writing Barriers