Discover the Healing Power of Writing

& the Joy of Creative Self Expression

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Hi!

I am Kerstin Pilz, PhD.

Published author, TEDx speaker, passionate teacher, world traveler, yogini, photography enthusiast…

I believe we are the authors of our lives. We are in charge of the stories we tell ourselves.

Writing was my lifesaver when I went through a devastating life event.

It can be your lifesaver too. I will show you how.

I am so glad that you’ve found me!

I am here to help you discover the power of your own voice.

I guide you towards your creative inner magic.

I offer you what I know about the healing power of writing and I share with you what I’ve learned about the craft of writing and storytelling, about words, meaning and language, in 20 years as University lecturer.

Join me on retreat (we’re going to Bali this year) and online (I am available for 1:1 coaching).

Watch my TedX Talk

Do you have a story to tell?

You’ve always wanted to write but don’t know how to start?

You’re holding a story that needs releasing?

You’ve got a rough outline, or a draft, and you need to build momentum?

You need professional help with structuring your story and mastering other elements of the craft?

You need a peaceful place to finish a project?

You are a writer in need of rest and new creative input?

Whether you’re writing for yourself or for publication,

Kerstin’s writing retreats will get you writing!

Vietnam Writing Retreat

February 2 – 7, 2024

Sounds great! I want more info

The Healing Power of Writing
Watch my TED Talk and find out why writing could be best thing you can do for yourself

The Healing Power of Writing

TEDxTownsville, October 2020

I told my story of how I discovered the healing power of writing by going through the fires of grief in 15-minutes to a global audience.

It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. But also one I am most proud of.

My knees were trembling as I stood there in that red circle, blinded by a bright white light.

But my voice was loud and clear.

Only the truly brave dare to be vulnerable.

Saying those words on stage felt empowering. I was speaking my own truth.

I believe that we are the authors of our lives.

Vulnerability is the way to a deeper relationship with ourselves and with others.

Watch my TED talk and find out why we can all benefit from the healing power of writing and from the joy of creative self-expression.

Watch my TEDx talk

What’s new on the blog

Blissful Bali Writing Retreat – A Photo-essay

Blissful Bali Writing Retreat – A Photo-essay

Always wanted to write a book?

Always wanted to write a book?

The Healing Power of Writing: Finding Calm and Resilience in Difficult Times

The Healing Power of Writing: Finding Calm and Resilience in Difficult Times

Kerstin Pilz, PhD

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I’ve been moving heavy furniture and cleaning my house this week and I’d planned to spend the last day in my home of 14 years as pictured, savouring the beach outside.
But then my car, packed with all the perishable food in my fridge, refused to start and everything went pearshaped.
When I wrote about the importance of stepping outside of our comfort zones in my newsletter this week, I didn’t expect the universe to reply by throwing me a last-minute challenge.
As if moving house and letting go of my beloved home wasn't hard enough.
Lenny, my local fruit vendor, a petite woman with the strength of an ox, immediately offered me the loan of her scary big truck.
It was a lovely gesture, in the spirit of the small community that has been my extended family for 14 years, but I couldn’t accept. Because anything on four wheels scares me, especially big trucks.
I know that sounds strange, given that I have no problem riding a mountain bike at full speed across treacherous rainforest tracks. Or weaving my way on a scooter through the traffic of Vietnam.
I’ve always felt at home on two wheels. But I reserve the utmost respect for any anything with four wheels, or more, attached to it, especially big trucks.
But it looks like I have no choice but to learn how to drive a truck.
Since the only garage that can fix my car is booked out for two weeks, my only option is a small truck. Not my fruit vendor’s big truck, a smaller truck, an ex-army Landcover, but scary all the same.
So, today, on my last day in my beloved home, I had to eat my words. I realised that i don’t like to be thrown this far outside my comfort zone.
Old mate Lenny, the petite truck-driving fruit vendor, reminded me that things happen for a reason.
‘It’s a challenge that will take you to a new place,’ she said.
Time will tell…
What’s your take on bad luck? Is it a sign from the universe? Do things happen for a reason?
PS: You can read my latest newsletter by clicking on the link in my bio. Subscribe for monthly writing prompts, inspiration & more.
#writeyourjourney #writerslife #mindfulness #missionbeach

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I haven’t been on here for a while and it’s not for want of news. So let’s start with the most important news and the reason for this happy face.
One of my students at our Blissful Bali Writing Retreat captured my reaction to a life defining moment. Reading an email from Affirm Press (my preferred publisher) offering to publish my book.
A dream come true. At sixty!
Let’s go back a step.
It took a decade of talking and dreaming about the book. It took another three years to actually write it, thanks to the pandemic which saw me stranded back home, reunited with my old journals.
It took me three minutes to pitch the book in a literary speed date with Ruby from Affirm Press through the Australian Society of Authors @asauthors. I had exactly 180 seconds to convince an editor I could hardly see thanks to bad wifi, that this book was worth taking a look at.
Despite my shaky internet, I could hear her chuckle in all the right places and I knew she had on some level resonated with the pitch. So I wasn't too surprised when she asked to see the entire manuscript.
But after two months of not hearing back, I started to prepare myself for a rejection. The morning I wrote about it in my journal, I received an email asking if the manuscript was still available.
I was in Bali, on the entrance steps of our beautiful retreat venue @baliecostay having just arrived when I got an email from Affirm’s editor asking for a Zoom meeting.
By the end of the retreat I had a contract!
I’d always expected this part of the writing journey to be the hardest, and yet in my case it turned out to be the easiest part.
Signing with a traditional publisher just before my 60th birthday was the greatest birthday gift. Receiving it at the start of our Bali retreat made us all feel a little bit blessed.
I was lucky but I've also worked very hard for this. So please hear me when I say that it's never too late to believe in your dreams.
It’s taken me six decades to become who I’ve always wanted to be. What's your dream?
#writersofinstagram #amwriting #writing-retreat-bali #affirmpress @affirmpress #writingcommunity #writerslife

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Join us in 2024 a 7-day/6-night writing retreat
Be guided by two experienced writing coaches and published authors.
@baliecostay @edwinashawauthor
#linkinbio

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Special welcome ceremony for our retreat @baliecostay
Lots of magic was created during our first Blissful Bali Writing Retreat with @edwinashawauthor
Wonderful gathering of shining, powerful creative women of all ages.
So beautiful to feed off the vibrant energy of our young writers and to share the wisdom us old gals have accumulated over the many decades we've been privileged to be alive.
Can't wait for 2024! We'll be adding an extra night next year and we'll have beautiful Bali Ecostay all to ourselves. Will you join us? July 11-17, 2024.
Link in bio.
#writingcommunity #writersretreat
#writinglife #writeyourjourney #writingretreat #writingretreatbali

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Ricefields and waterfalls at beautiful @baliecostay are the perfect backdrop for writing the stories we're meant to write.
Blissful Bali Writing Retreat with @edwinashawauthor
#writersretreat #writingcommunity #writinglife #writingretreat

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From my recent visit to Sydney. Back when I lived near the Bronte Pool, I swam year round in these glorious waters.
After a decade and a half in the tropics, it was definitely a challenge to get in - it's almost winter here in Australia - but so rewarding.
Cleaned my head and sinuses and fortified me for the day.
What's your favorite way to start the day?
#writinglife #writersofinstagram #writeyourjourney #writingretreat #bronte

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Updating my website, I found this pic of my first few months living in Vietnam in 2016.
It seems so long ago now. So much has changed, the streetscapes of Hoi An have become more built-up, I have aged, we had a global pandemic and I finally wrote the book I meant to write while living in Vietnam.
I lived in Hoi An until that fateful day in March 2020 when the borders closed and I found myself unexpectedly locked into Australia, separated from my partner, my belongings and my community and life in Hoi An.
It's just over three years now since that happened and I am finally plotting my return.
Join me and a group of writers (emerging, established, anybody who loves writing is welcome) for a six-day writing & yoga retreat in early 2024.
February 2-7, just before TET, Vietnamese New Year, is the most special time to visit.
Your home away from home will be beautiful An Villa on the banks of a gently flowing river.
Will you join me? #linkinbio
#writingretreat #retreatlife #yogaretreat #amwriting #writersretreat #vietnamretreat @anvilla_hoian

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How to age gracefully without feeling old?
Push yourself beyond your comfort zone, discover new limits and find joy in nature. Simple 🙂
My first endurance weekend in the company of a bunch of awesome women way younger and fitter than me.
Did not expect to make it to the finish line but I surprised myself.
We smashed out over 100km, lots of uphill, plenty of leeches, a couple of red-bellied black snakes, flat tires, more uphill, furious creeks, uphill again, rough terrain, mud, more uphill but no rain and no broken bones despite a couple of falls!
Thank you @shannongoodhew for being a supreme organiser who got us all out of bed again this morning to lift weights and move our tired bodies 80s aerobic moves.
Turning 60 in July, bring it on!
What's your recipe for aging gracefully?
#adventure #instagood #maymoments2023

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Nice post-workout rainbow the other morning.
The delights of living in the tropics where autumn is refusing to arrive, still very muggy here which makes working out in the rain quite delightful especially when it brings a surprise rainbow. 🌈
Nice way to start the day.
What's your preferred way to start the day?
#maymoments2023 @susannahconway
#missionwellness
#rainbows

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On the importance of cultivating awe and wonder.
My latest newsletter just went out.
It's packed with writing prompts and inspiration to keep you grounded and happy as we near the end if the first quarter of 2023.
Is it all happening way too fast? Stop for a moment, look around, cultivate awe and wonder every day.
This month's writing prompts are inspired by Julia Baird's wonderful book Phosphoescence.
📷 @danielafederici
#writingprompts #amwriting #writeeveryday @juliabaird

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Always wanted to write but never got around to starting?
You've got a draft that needs polishing?
Crave time out to re-connect with your creativity?
We have ONE ROOM LEFT at the EARLY BIRD rate at blissful @baliecostay away from the touristy heart of Bali. June 15 -20. #linkinbio
Imagine tuning into the sound of cascading waterfalls and the rhythm of nature punctuated by the gentle Balinese practices of spiritual worship.
Imagine your pen and notebook, covered in your newly formed stories, are scattered on the batik covers of the carved daybed. You’ve lost track of time. You have given yourself over to the creative flow and the gentle embrace of nature.
How good would it be to go on a writing holiday?!
Sounds too good to be true? Here's the best part, it's considered 'professional development' and can be claimed as a tax deduction!
Your package includes daily morning yoga, guided nature walk, daily writing workshops with TWO experienced writing coaches and published authors, all meals, delicious organic farm-to-plate food, return airport transfers and more.
AUD 2,550 for a private room. Be quick, this is the last spot!
What's your idea of an ideal holiday?
#baliindonesia #amwriting #writingcommunity #writinglife #writingretreat #yogaretreat #retreats #retreatlife #writersretreat

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Busy day working on my pitch for Literary Speed Dating with @asauthors and @affirmpress at the end of the month.
I'll have 3 minutes to show that my memoir Falling Apart Gracefully tells a good story, resonates with a well-defined audience and is worth investing in.
The what, why, how of my book summed up in less than 400 words.
It's a process and I'm learning a lot.
A few more practices with my writing buddy @edwinashawauthor are needed before I'll feel vaguely comfortable with my pitch.
#memoir #amwriting #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writinglife

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What a week it's been. Glad for the stillness and many shades of green of the Dandenong Ranges.
Who knew it was going to be this beautiful.
Practising my tuck jumps here felt effortless 😅🤣

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Extremely excited that I get to chair this session at the Cairns Tropical Writers Festival.
I loved Phosphoresence. If you haven't read it yet, put it on your list.
It's one of those books you want to keep close by to re-read when life feels difficult and you need to be reminded how we can grow by moonlight as the author puts it, how to keep your inner light shining when your world goes dark, how to find awe and wonder in the world.
Join me if you are in the FNQ area, this is not to be missed!
@juliabaird #ctwf @cairnstropicalwritersfestival #cairns #ctwf2023 #juliabaird

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Amazing morning sky yesterday, like a Turner painting, perfectly capturing my mood. Cloudy with flashes of light and piercing colours as I find my way into this year and back into my workflow after a short and busy break.
I thought my word for this year would be FLOW...as I embrace the uncertainty of what this year will bring, given that I am selling my house, getting ready for new, unknown adventures, on the cusp of turning 60 (yes, that's right!)
The more I think about and journal around it, the more the word FAITH seems appropriate to guide me through it all.
Faith that things will work out just right, that my book will find a publisher, my house a buyer and that I will find my way into a new chapter of my life.
What's your word for 2023?
Please share in the comments.
#decemberreflections2022 #writingcommunity #writinglife #journaling

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Walking into 2023, starting the year in my happy place doing what I love.
This is the year I turn 60. Not sure how I got here, but embracing it all.
Staying fit is my mantra for the next decade. Looking after the body that got me to this age is important as I want it to carry me into another couple of decades.
Not sure yet what my word will be for 2023, need to journal on it a bit more.
Focus was my word for 2022 and it helped me finish my book.
This year I am selling my home, downsizing my life, curious to see what comes next.
What's your word for 2023?
#newyear #decemberreflections2022

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#decemberreflections2022
Day 24 Stillness
The stillness after a tropical shower
calming after a busy day.
My holidays start on Boxing Day.
Can not wait to slow down for a week.
May you have a restful and happy festive season. ❤️
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#decemberreflections
Day 23: Orange

On many days my mornings are orange-hued. It makes me start the day with joy and awe. Alas right now it's raining and the landscape is the colour of dirty dishwater, but I've got a camera full of photos to remind me that behind the grey there's gold.

#sunrise #awe #earlybird #tropicalbeach #missionbeach #tropicalfarnorthqueensland

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#decemberreflections2022
Handwritten
Love this calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh I bought at Plumvillage Thailand five years ago when I lived in Vietnam. It now hangs in my kitchen here in Australia, in the house I am letting go. It's a daily reminder to lean into the flow.
Did you know that Thich Nhat Hanh started to write calligraphies in 1994, for the covers of his books?
Using traditional Chinese ink on rice paper, he developed a new style of Zen calligraphy in the western Roman script.
"In my calligraphy, there is ink, tea, breathing, mindfulness and concentration. This is meditation. This is not work. Suppose I write ‘breathe’; I am breathing at the same time. To be alive is a miracle and when you breathe in mindfully, you touch the miracle of being alive."
Thich Nhat Hanh
#thichnhathanh #plumvillage #Zen #meditation

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#decemberreflections2022
Day 18: Said goodbye to

I haven't said goodbye to this magical place yet, and it won't be forever, but I have spent the year preparing myself for the moment that I'll have to. I am not sure when that will be, it depends on when I sell my home, but I am finally at peace with the decision.

It is time to move on, to downsize and to write a new chapter.

What have you said goodbye to in 2022?

#missionbeach #tropicalfarnorthqueensland #newyear #change

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#decemberreflections2022
Day 16: Treasures

Here are some old treasures from 2018 that I am finally letting go (except for the pen).

I am selling my home. I've finally made a decision. I spent many sleepless nights, but it's time to move on and to write a new chapter.

I'll be downsizing my belongings into a shared storage unit. There is limited space and I can take only what I really need.

A lot of my treasures will have to go. I've already let go of the tea boxes in the photos. They journals will go into a bonfire, if I can bring myself to burn my words.

It feels good to start the new year with a big declutter of my excess stuff, to par it all right down to the minimum because in the end, it's all just stuff and you can't take any of it with you.

Having less makes me feel free and unencumbered. Since I began renting my house out on Airbnb in 2014, I've really come to embrace minimalism and a clutter-free home. It's interesting how we change over time and owning things because less important.

How do you feel about your personal treasures? Do you need a lot of things to feel grounded and at home?

#minimalism #journaling #declutter #nomadlife

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#decemberreflections2022
These are some of the journals I filled over a decade ago with my pain.
I’ve kept them in a plastic storage box all this time, because I wanted to write about that time in my life one day.

I’ve shifted the box around the shed and the house many times. It was the first thing I threw into my car when I had to evacuate the house ahead of a category five cyclone.

I re-opened the box for the first time in February 2020 when I was home for a few weeks to sell my house.

Those few weeks turned into almost three years when Australia closed its borders and a pandemic was declared.
I didn’t sell the house, I moved back in and sat down to finally do something about that box.

I’d been tempted so many times to burn those journals. I wanted a big bonfire to mark my catharsis, to demonstrate that I’ve moved on.

But I’m so glad I held on to them. The brittle pages of those journals contain an authentic record of how my life fell apart written in my raw voice. I could have never recreated that voice now.

Reading over my messy outpourings of grief, pain and anger, helped me create emotional depth in my memoir.

Falling Apart Gracefully is the working title. I'll be writing the book proposal by the end of January and then start pitching agents from February. Wish me luck!

What do you do with your old journals?

#journaling #decemberreflections2022 #writinglife #memoir #bookpublishing #publishing

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This is my first time following an author loop. It looks like a great way of community building and supporting each other as authors. Please join me by following these instructions: 🎄❤️🎄❤️🎄 Don't forget the hashtags!

1. Like this image.

2. Follow loop host @dinasantorelli.

3. Follow the #awritechristmas2022 hashtag and then
follow only those who use this image!

4. Comment 📚 on everyone you follow! Allow 48 hours for a follow back.

5. Join the loop by reposting this image/script/hashtags. (You can click the link in bio for @dinasantorelli to download this year’s image and copy/paste this year’s text/hashtags, if you need to.)

That's it! Remember, this loop is all about supporting authors, so please don't participate if you plan to unfollow. You don't want to be on the naughty list! 😊 Looking forward to following your writing journeys! Happy holidays! 🎄
🎄
#writerscommunity #bookclan #supportauthors #authorsunite #writersnetwork #writersfollowwriters #bookbuddies #supportwriters #supportwritersandauthors #writer #writers #authors #author #books #authorsofig #authorsofinstagram #authorsofinsta #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writersofinsta #writercommunity #writingcommunity #authorloop #writerloop #writersloop #loop #callingallauthors #authorfollowloop #authorssupportingauthors

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#decemberreflections2022
Day 14: In 2022 I said hello to outback camping in our new-to-us Landrover..
I said hello to a lot of red dust in every nook and cranny, but it was still fun!
What did you say hello to in 2022?

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#decemberreflections2022⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Day 13: Delicious⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Nigel at work preparing base ingredients for Mas Huni, a Maldivian dish—a breakfast staple in fact—made with freshly grated coconut (from the tree I grew in my garden), tuna, curry leave, chili, fresh lime and thinly grated red onion. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's super easy to make and it's always a winner. We serve it our retreat and at dinner parties (though it is traditionally a breakfast dish). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I learned to love and make it when I lived in the Maldives for a year in 2015 working as 'curriculum specialist' at the Maldives National University. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences and as always, I feel like I took away with me more than I gave, including a delicious dish based on freshly grated coconut (cause not mulch else grows on the coral atolls of the Maldives). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What's your signature dish?

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#decemberreflections2022
Day 12: Little Me

Since I don't have any photos of little me here in Australia (they are all in albums somewhere in my parents' house back in Germany), here is one of grown-up me, doing what I love, teaching writing for wellbeing!

I arrived in Australia in 1987 a fresh-faced backpacker on her last few hundred dollars. I was on my way to South America, but somehow I got stuck downunder and build a new life for myself far away from home.

I've lived in other parts of the world, most recently Vietnam, but when the pandemic hit I became accidentally stranded back in Australia and I had no choice but to cancel all of my overseas retreats and open the doors of my own home to accommodate retreat guests here in beautiful Mission Beach, Far North Queensland.

The pandemic also forced me to stand still and finally complete one of the dreams that started with little me: write a (non-academic) book.

My memoir Falling Apart Gracefully is finally finished—well, not quite, it's currently with trusted beta readers for feedback, I don't have a publisher for it, I haven't decided whether to go down the self-publishing route etc—but the bulk of the work is done and that feels so good!

Little me dreamed of becoming a writer in German, grown-up me has written a book in English. Ha, it took a while, but never give up on your dreams!
What's your dream?

photo: @markrogers_photo
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#amwriting #writinglife #memoir #authorlife #writingcommunity

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#decemberreflections2022
Day 11: Best Decision of 2022
That's a tough one. Let go of my beautiful home is the hardest decision of 2022.
Is it the best? Only time will tell.
Wish this morning's almost-full moon, still so clear above the coconut palms could guide me.
Time for some journaling.
What's your best decision of 2022?

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