What?
Some people ascribe to magic portals, celestial gateways, and other ethereal spiritual woo. I ascribe to being here now, solid ground, and the power of showing up with awareness and intention in our everyday lives. This is where we live, work, love, and grow — and where we can affect actual change.
A place to land and write down all the things.
Tuning into to the Sound of Real Life Happening offers us not only a powerful vehicle for writing practice, but also an opportunity to pay closer attention to our daily patterns.
Whether your goal is to write everyday as an act of mindfulness, generate material for potential blog posts or essays, or simply retain some semblance of sanity in a year that has pushed us all to the brink.
This group will offer you a uniquely intimate and intensive experience of sharing the stuff of our daily lives. Rather than curating, censoring, or evaluating, we will simply give ourselves permission to show up as we are, in a safe and brave space.
“This practice is healing and nurturing in ways I never could have expected.”
Nothing you record will be deemed too mundane or too radical, too boring or too blasphemous. Your life is your life, and nobody else among the 7.6 billion humans on the planet is having the same experience as you.
If there is one thing I know, it’s that we can believe that which we are actually experiencing. We can listen, touch, taste, smell, and see the stuff of our inner and outer lives. And we can write down what we notice, bringing truth to light and reconnecting with our everyday humanity by showing up to the page.
“I had a breakthrough in my writing, and I am pretty sure this group had something to do with it. It felt really good to be able to find more words again.”
When & How?
* During each 11-day session, we will write asynchronously. You’ll be invited to write & share 11 things each day.
* For the sake of a small, safe container, this group is limited to 11 members. Jena will write in the group, too, sharing her own day-to-day musings.
* We’ll share our elevens in a secret Facebook group, where we will practice not only daily writing, but also loosening the binds of self-judgment.
* You’ll also have the chance to see your fellow Real Life Writers once per session on Zoom, adding faces and voices to our practice!
Extra, extra!
Zoom Sessions
In addition to each quarter’s Facebook group writing and sharing, we’ll have four opportunities to come together on Zoom to write and share our 11s in “real time.” These four live gatherings will occur on: January 20, April 21, June 21 & October 21.
Quarterly Coaching
Think of this as a seasonal tune up for your writing (and) life, a chance to really check in with yourself, recalibrate your intentions and direction as needed, and ground down into the present moment. You can schedule them at your convenience using Jena’s online calendar.
Who & why?
Anyone who wishes to tap into a daily writing practice, live with greater mindfulness and curiosity, and feel more present in your everyday lived experience will enjoy this group. If you long to write but never seem to make the time, this is a wonderful opportunity to begin and realize how doable it is to sustain your practice.
As a writing practice, writing “11s” does several things.
✨ Offers structure: You know how sometimes it's the sitting down and starting that's hard and may keep you from beginning? Writing 11 things gives you a way to step in.
✨ Provides freedom of movement: You know how sometimes you have a bunch of flotsam and jetsam floating around your brain? This practice gives you a way of moving from one thing to another, creating separation between thoughts and topics.
✨ Plants seeds: You know how sometimes you have something you want to write more deeply into but you're not quite ready to go there? Writing 11s gives you a placeholder – and a portal – for things you may want to further develop down the road.
✨ Fosters community: Writing 11s in a small group becomes a marvelous and intimate opportunity to witness each other's real lives unfolding.
Oh, and why the number 11?
Well, my birth time is 11:11, so it has always had special significance for me. And if you're into the more "woo" side of things, some folks experience this number to have mystical qualities. I may or may not believe this, but I will tell you that there really is something magical of this practice, from the perspectives of both writing and life! I've seen it myself along with dozens of folks who've joined me over the years.
Cost
$180 or $360 per quarter
The higher tier directly supports Jena in continuing to make her work as accessible as possible!
Payments will be processed on January 11, April 11, July 11, and October 11, 2025.
“The elevens are giving me life!”
“This group has shifted something in me, some pile of garbage that has been blocking my view of what a writing life can be.”
“The 11s are drawing me deeper to the marrow of my life!”