Session 11 · May 6, 2026
Heart
on Paper
A monthly journaling workshop where we slow down, write honestly, and listen inward — together.
What it is
A space to write, reflect, and reconnect with yourself
Heart on Paper is a free monthly journaling workshop open to everyone — whether you've kept a journal for years or have never written a word. Each session explores a new theme through gentle prompts, a short reading or poem, and the quiet magic of getting honest on the page.
No writing experience needed. No pressure to share. Just you, a pen, and an invitation to listen to yourself more closely.
The format
Every workshop follows a simple arc
We create a consistent rhythm so you can settle in and write freely, without worrying about what comes next.
01
Centering
A short guided meditation to arrive fully and quiet the noise of the day.
02
A Reading
A poem or short passage to open the theme and spark something in you.
03
Writing Prompts
Layered prompts that invite you deeper into the theme, at your own pace.
04
Sharing
An optional go-around to read a line or two. Always warm, never required.
In their own words
Workshop feedback from other
Companions on the Page
“Laura and Janine facilitate these workshops with an open friendliness that put me and the other participants at ease. And, being professional life and personal development coaches, I observe that they skillfully, personably and professionally hold a safe and comfortable space for me to be in. They are also just a lot of fun to be around! The monthly workshops are a place where I can approach the page to more clearly discover what is on my heart. I am gently encouraged by Laura and Janine with an invitation to write without expectations and judgements.”
— Mark Estes, Oakland CA
“Back in March 2025, I felt a tug to check out Laura & Janine’s Heart on Paper Journaling workshop. By no means am I a wordsmith, so I was surely leaving my comfort zone. I was delightfully surprised to experience a safe and nurturing space with a lovely mix of writing, sharing, and meditation resulting in a gentle emotional release, of sorts. Thank you, Laura and Janine, for your loving guidance.”
— Sachi Enochty, Oakland CA
“Janine & Laura’s journaling workshop has been such a gift to my life as an inspiration to my creativity and self-expression! They have manifested a safe, non-judgmental space for community – for those who identify as writers and those that are just open to experimentation, learning and sharing through words (like me). Their themes, prompts and sensitive guidance of group interaction combine to making this a special, and sometimes magical experience.”
— Sue L.
Your hosts
About Janine & Laura
We started Heart on Paper because we believe that writing is one of the most direct paths to knowing yourself — and that doing it in community makes it even richer. We are delighted you found your way here.
Janine Grossmann
Certified Life Coach
Janine is a certified life coach who helps people move from feeling stuck to taking meaningful action. Through her coaching and workshops, she creates spaces where reflection leads to insight, and insight leads to change. She believes that writing can help us slow down, hear ourselves more clearly, and reconnect with what matters most.
Explore more of Janine's work —
questforyou.com ↗Laura Paradise
Coach & Facilitator
Laura brings a thoughtful and reflective presence to the workshops and supports people navigating questions around career, direction, and personal growth. She believes deeply in the power of asking good questions and allowing curiosity to guide the process of discovery.
Explore more of Laura's work —
lauraparadisecoaching.com ↗A living archive
Past workshops
Each month we explore a different theme. Click on any session to read a little about it — and try the prompt yourself.
Our tenth workshop embraced lightness and play — a mix of creative, surprising prompts designed to spark imagination and remind us how easy it can be to begin writing when we stop trying to do it “right.” We slowed down, followed our curiosity on the page, and wrote alongside thoughtful people in the community.
Write about all the beds you’ve ever slept in – the beds that felt like home, those that felt like hell, the beds you can barely remember and those you’ll never forget. What memories float up?
This workshop invited participants to gently peel back the layers of roles, stories, and patterns that have formed over time. Through reflection and writing, we traveled back through our life journeys to unearth hidden treasures and parts of ourselves that may have been buried or overlooked. The session created space for honest self-discovery beneath the protective layers we carry.
A prompt from this workshop
"Reflect on your childhood and describe yourself at age 6 or 13 in the third person. Then peel back: what was something about you that was not easily visible to others during that time, and why?"
This workshop explored how questions are among the strongest tools we have for figuring out what we truly want. Powerful questions don't always provide immediate clarity — but they open something up and create shifts in thinking. When we ask good questions inward, the answers tend to be far more true to who we are.
A prompt from this workshop
"I wish someone would ask me... Brainstorm a list of questions that you wish someone would ask you. Be brave, edgy. Think about things you want to share although you may be afraid to — or things you keep hidden."
This workshop invited us to look back and gather what had ripened — insights, memories, connections, and lessons worth keeping. Inspired by the concept of gleaning, we reflected on what we wanted to carry forward. The session honored both what was complete and what was still quietly growing.
A prompt from this workshop
"What can I glean from this year? Gleaning means gathering what's left in the field after the harvest — the small fruits missed the first time. What in your own life didn't get celebrated, or wasn't even noticed?"
Every page of writing is a new beginning. This workshop explored how we can honor both the large and small beginnings in our lives, and how to sense when something in us is quietly asking to start. We looked at the courage, energy, and uncertainty that beginnings always carry.
A prompt from this workshop
"Think of something you've long wanted to begin — a dream, a project, a change that feels just out of reach. Write about your first day stepping into it. Allow yourself to dream on the page without limits."
This workshop explored how we can look at something one way — and then flip it to see it from the opposite perspective. Through writing, we discovered how journaling helps us hold multiple truths at once, and how beauty and pain can exist in the same moment.
A prompt from this workshop
"Everything is beautiful and I am so sad. Take one line from your writing and flip it — look at something in the exact opposite way. Notice what shifts when you do."
This workshop explored how connections to the past can be a source of support and self-understanding. We used journaling to learn more about ourselves and what matters most, discovering how memory shapes who we are — and what we choose to carry forward.
A prompt from this workshop
We are exploring the idea of using a repeating seed to begin the writing. Finish the sentences — I remember …. and I want to remember
This workshop shone a light on what hope means and how writing can help us find it. Journaling is a companion to hope — the simple act of putting words on a page can help us feel better and understand ourselves more deeply. We connected with the part of ourselves that keeps going, however quietly.
A prompt from this workshop
We ended this workshop with the following prompt: Take a moment now to look back at what you wrote and ask yourself: What question is my writing asking me to sit with?
Our second workshop invited participants into vulnerable, creative journaling within a gentle community. We focused on the magic that emerges when we get out of our limiting thought patterns and allow ourselves to imagine — really imagine — what a meaningful shift in our lives could look like.
A prompt from this workshop
We had an interesting warmup prompt in this session that had writers finish the sentence: To tell you the truth …
The session that started it all. Our very first workshop explored the power of personal reflection, inner support, and the experience of being championed — by others and by ourselves. We discovered how writing can shift our emotional state and how much wisdom already lives within us.
A prompt from this workshop
"Write a letter from your inner champion to you. Let yourself enjoy the experience of hearing the wisdom they want to offer you right now."
Support the work
Heart on Paper is free — always
We believe that spaces for reflection should be accessible to everyone. The workshops will always be free to attend. If they've meant something to you and you'd like to contribute, a small donation goes a long way in helping us keep going and growing.
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