Messy Beautiful Writing
Show up as you are. Unleash your creative energy. Uncover your deeper truth and story.
Writing your Wild, True, Perfectly Imperfect Self
Messy Beautiful Writing is a simple and deeply healing timed writing practice where we use poems as doorways to our inner truth and authentic voice.
If you:
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are craving a space where you are accepted exactly as you are
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want room to explore all the messy and beautiful parts of yourself
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are looking for connection with others that goes below superficial day-to-day chitchat
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desire depth rather than performative productivity
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are holding stories that want to be told
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have been feeling creatively frozen or stuck
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want to feel more awake, honest, and connected in your creative life
then this is the place for you!
In a non-performative, non-judgmental space, without praise or critique, we drop all effort to write well, and instead focus on writing what is true.
You do not need to arrive polished here.
Bring your uncertainty.
Bring your unfinished thoughts.
Bring your weirdness.
Bring your wild, messy, beautiful self just as you are!
The Practice
Pen never leaves the page, listen to your inner voice, say yes to what’s coming.
We begin with a poem which is carefully chosen to ignite the stories within you that want to be told. The emotionality, imagery, symbolism and details in poetry speak to our inner selves, our creative unconscious. The poems give us permission to use language in a new way—perhaps nonlinear, non-logical, zooming in to details we tend to overlook in day-to-day life. Messy Beautiful Writing helps us to slow down, savor the moments that have made up our lives, discover deeper meaning and beauty.
As you listen to the poem, simply absorb the words like sunshine on your skin. You don’t need to figure out what the poem means, just allow it to penetrate into your deeper self and gently begin stirring and awakening what is there waiting to be expressed.
After I read the poem, I’ll give some jumpoff lines from the poem to get you started. Don't worry too much about which one to pick—they will all lead you to where you need to go in the moment. You may use your jumpoff only once, or you may come back to it again and again throughout the timed practice.
Then we write, pen never leaving the page, writing quickly in order to bypass the inner critic and editor. Punctuation, spelling, looking for a better word—pass right by all of that. We are not trying to write well, we are trying to write what is true and present for us in this moment.
This is a timed writing practice and we typically write for 10-15 minutes. If you are writing by yourself, simply set a timer. If you are writing with me, I will keep time for the group. It's important to keep writing the whole time. Often, we don't get to the heart of what we want to express until close to the end. If you get lost or bored, just come back to the jumpoff line and keep going!
This is not an assignment! You don't need to try to understand the poem, and you don't need to write about the poem in any way. You also do not need to be a "writer". Anyone can do this practice who is interested in a deeper connection with themselves and others. You can't do it wrong.
Here are three short MBW practices you can try right now!
Messy Beautiful Writing Circles
intimate, safe, and sacred
In our small group Messy Beautiful Writing classes, we gather each week to write and read together in an intimate and safe space.
After each of our three timed writing practices we take turns reading our piece aloud. Yes, we all read, even me! Knowing that everyone will read creates safety in the circle. It also gives us practice getting comfortable being seen just as we are.
When it's our turn to read, we resist the urge to explain or excuse our writing—we let it stand on its own. When someone else is reading, we keep our eyes on that person so that they feel heard and compassionately witnessed. After, we don't praise or give any feedback other than a gesture of acknowledgement such as a hand to the chest or a nod and smile. It is very freeing for the reader to know that what they wrote won't become a big discussion, and that everything is accepted in the circle equally.
You don’t need to make us laugh or cry although you might. What you write might be mundane, funny, sad, or angry. This is true no matter how long you do this practice.
Ultimately, this is a listening practice. We listen to the poem, we listen to our inner selves, and we listen to each other.
As someone who doesn't think of herself as a writer, I was a little nervous about signing up for Kristi's Messy Beautiful Writing course. Kristi created and held a lovely, safe container that she led with clarity and care. The space she created made it easy to show up as my beautifully messy self and to feel safe sharing with the group. I have been surprised at the depth of this simple process - it is powerful work. I highly recommend her work to anyone who wants to grow through writing!
- Bonnie Thompson, Fort Collins, CO
Current Offerings
Messy Beautiful Writing Workshop: FREE EVENT
Join our 90-minute workshop to explore the art of Messy Beautiful Writing in a warm virtual group via Zoom. This is a chance to get a taste of the practice, do some writing, and connect more deeply with yourself.
During our time together, you will learn the art and practice of Messy Beautiful Writing through instruction and three timed writing exercises, which we do together. If time allows, there will also be an opportunity tfor volunteers to read a piece aloud.
Saturday, August 22, 2026, 11:00am-12:30pm EDT (US)
Messy Beautiful Writing Circles
Messy Beautiful Writing Circles meet weekly for six weeks.
I intentionally keep our writing circles small, safe, and intimate. Group size is limited to 7 participants.
Cost: $250
Some scholarships available. Please contact Kristi at kristiannjoy@gmail.com.
Fall Writing Circle
Dates: September 22 - October 27 2026
Time: Meetings are held weekly, Tuesdays from 11am-12:30pm EST
Location: Zoom
To secure your spot, please email Kristi at kristiannjoy@gmail.com
Winter Writing Circle
Dates: January 16 - February 20, 2027
Time: Meetings are held weekly, Saturdays from 11am-12:30pm EST
Location: Zoom
To secure your spot in our small group for women, please email Kristi at kristiannjoy@gmail.com
Kristi Joy Rimbach
After 30 years as an energy healer and teacher, I fell in love with writing. It began in 2020, at the start of the pandemic when I came across a 21-day Wild Writing class taught by Laurie Wagner.
The Wild Writing practice was a revelation.
Instead of agonizing over every sentence and worrying about doing it right, we wrote fast and freely like a brisk wind. There was no time for the inner critic to interfere. What resulted was raw, unfiltered, messy, beautiful truth. Sometimes it was cluttered and mundane, sometimes it was aching and poetic. But, it didn't matter because it was true.
After five years of practicing Wild Writing, I felt called to teach this deep and profound practice so I took the Wild Writing Teacher 5-month training with Laurie. I'm so happy to be able to share this practice. I believe so many of us are hungry for real connection, with ourselves and others.
I call my classes Messy Beautiful Writing because it acknowledges the full catastrophe of what it means to be human. I hope you'll join me.
Writer, Poet, Wild Writing Teacher
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