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SUMMARY:3-WEEK WORKSHOP | Close to Home: Drawing Inspiration From Everyday Landscapes
DESCRIPTION:Turn the overlooked corners of your everyday world into vivid and compelling writing.\n\n\n\nOpen to 20 writers only\, working in poetry\, fiction\, and nonfiction. \n\n\n\nLive On Zoom | Sundays\, August 23 – September 6\, 2026 | 5-6:30 pm Eastern \n\n\n\nYou don’t have to travel far to find inspiration. This workshop explores how paying close attention to the natural world around us—whether in a backyard\, neighborhood park\, or along a familiar walking route—can lead to engaging\, thoughtful writing. Through readings\, lectures\, and guided assignments\, we’ll discover how ordinary places can reveal extraordinary stories. \n\n\n\nThe course includes three live sessions featuring discussions\, short lectures\, readings\, and workshops. Between meetings\, you’ll complete weekly writing assignments that encourage you to write where you are\, spend time outdoors\, and practice observing the living world with fresh eyes.  \n\n\n\nYou’ll also receive written instructor feedback on one piece you write during the course. \n\n\n\nWhether you’re new to nature writing or looking to deepen your practice\, you’ll leave with new ways of seeing the places you know best and the confidence to turn those observations into compelling pieces of prose or poetry. All you need is curiosity and a willingness to step outside.Students should set aside at least 4 hours a week for the course. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOver these three weeks\, you will …\n\n\n\n\nSOW a nature writing practice through close observation\, weekly writing prompts\, and time spent outdoors in the landscapes you know best\n\n\n\nTEND your craft through readings\, discussions\, mini-lectures\, and workshops during three live class sessions\n\n\n\nROOT your writing in place through sensory detail\, observation\, and personal experience\n\n\n\nGATHER insights through personalized written instructor feedback and workshop notes\n\n\n\n\nSchedule\n\n\n\n\nWeek 1 – Intros\, lecture\, readings\, homework overview\n\n\n\nWeek 2 – Check-in\, workshop\, homework overview\n\n\n\nWeek 3 – Check-in\, workshop\, homework overview\n\n\n\nFeedback Submission Due – September 6th by 9pm EDT\n\n\n\nInstructor Feedback Returned – September 13th\n\n\n\n\nThis course is for writers who …\n\n\n\n\nwant to generate new material in a supportive environment\n\n\n\nwould like to train their observational skills\n\n\n\nwant to strengthen their use of setting and description\n\n\n\ndesire to get outside and soak up the season\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔Think you might miss a class? No worries\, replays will be available. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA high-energy teacher noted for deep historical dives and technical side quests that always bring more understanding\, Megan Baxter has won numerous national awards\, including a Pushcart Prize. Her essay collection\, Twenty Square Feet of Skin\, was longlisted for the 2024 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay.  \n\n\n\nMegan has published three books of creative nonfiction and is currently writing short stories and novels. Her short story collection ‘The Off-Season’ debuts in Spring 2027 from Jada Ibis Press. She lives in New Hampshire\, where she runs her own small farm and teaches creative writing through online courses and lessons. \n\n\n\nTestimonials from past students\n\n\n\n“Megan’s belief in my viability as a writer never waned! Our discussions on craft and the works of other writers fueled my faith and love for language and the publishing process.” – Yossi R. \n\n\n\n“I enjoyed the class because of Megan’s energy and the well-organized\, immense amount of information shared.” – Daniel L. \n\n\n\n“I am a perpetual student\, taking multiple classes and workshops\, and Megan ranks among the top instructors I have met. She meets writers where they are and helps them discover\, develop\, and hone their writing voice as they move toward their goals.” – Lisa C. \n\n\n\n“Megan is that rare blend of insightful critique and genuine encouragement. I always leave our meetings feeling energized\, with a clear path forward and a stronger piece of work thanks to her guidance.” – Anne B. \n\n\n\nTHE FINE PRINT \n\n\n\nWe understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course\, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers. \n\n\n\nBefore the first class\, you may request a refund (less a $25 processing fee).After class begins\, you may request a refund for the remaining value of the course (less a $25 processing fee). No credits or refunds will be available after the 1st class. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/close-to-home/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Workshops and Masterclasses
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T160000
DTSTAMP:20260721T181513Z
CREATED:20260720T134114Z
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SUMMARY:SEMINAR | Writing Big Feelings: The Peculiar Art of Evoking Emotions
DESCRIPTION:Grief on the page doesn’t guarantee grief in the reader. Learn to show how your character feels and make the reader feel it\, too.\n\n\n\nLive On Zoom | Saturdays\, September 5 & 12\, 2026 | 2-4 pm EasternFor Creative Nonfiction and Fiction Writers \n\n\n\nAs fiction and non-fiction writers\, we often want to evoke agony on the page—grief\, misery\, blinding fury. Yet we get feedback: “What is the narrator feeling?” \n\n\n\nOver two sessions\, we’ll examine how we\, as writers\, can do two separate things: \n\n\n\n\nEvoke emotions within the READER: sorrow\, compassion\, and empathy \n\n\n\nEffectively show how the point-of-view character/narrator is feeling\n\n\n\n\nThese two jobs are often conflated; people assume if they describe how a character is feeling\, readers will also feel those feelings. Alas\, it’s not that simple. \n\n\n\nWe’ll focus on why it’s not just important to render the feelings themselves and how we can’t intentionally manipulate the reader with forced or pushed emotions. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this insightful two-day course\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nDISTINGUISH between evoking emotion in the reader and describing what a character feels—and learn why conflating the two weakens your work\n\n\n\nDIAGNOSE the “what is the narrator feeling?” note and understand what’s actually missing from the page\n\n\n\nPRACTICE techniques for rendering emotion through action\, image\, and subtext \n\n\n\nRECOGNIZE where emotional writing turns maudlin or overwrought—and how to pull back before you lose the reader\n\n\n\nAPPLY these techniques to a piece of your own work across two sessions\, with feedback for a selection of students on the second day\n\n\n\n\nSchedule…\n\n\n\nDay One—We start with the core distinction the whole workshop builds on: showing emotion versus evoking it. You’ll get a set of practical tips for writing feelings without naming them\, look at examples from published work\, and break into small groups to hunt for more on your own. Then a short in-class prompt—write an intense moment with the feelings stripped out—followed by open Q&A. \n\n\n\nHomework: Find two pages of your own work centered on a character or narrator feeling a big emotion. Revise so the emotion rises naturally from the material rather than being pushed onto the reader. (Extra credit for big feelings that never tip into maudlin!) \n\n\n\nSubmit 300–400 words of revised work as a Word document to the shared Google Drive by the morning of September 3rd. \n\n\n\nDay Two—This session is yours. We’ll screen-share as many submissions as time allows\, read them aloud\, and workshop each one with about 10 minutes of group discussion. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis seminar is ideal for intermediate writers wrestling with intense material that can feel overwhelming.\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔Think you might miss class? No worries\, replays will be available 3 business days after the event. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR Instructor\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDirect\, funny\, and unsentimental\, Peter Mountford is a warm and encouraging teacher. He’s the author of the novels A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism (Washington State Book Award)\, The Dismal Science (NYT editor’s choice)\, and his latest\, a collection of short stories\, Detonator (now out from Four Way Books). His work has appeared in the New York Times (Modern Love)\, Paris Review\, Southern Review\, The Atlantic\, The Sun\, Ploughshares\, and Guernica. He teaches at the University of Nevada\, Reno at Lake Tahoe’s MFA\, and through Mountford Writing. \n\n\n\nStudent Testimonials \n\n\n\n“I’m so grateful to Peter—he’s that perfect combination of sweet and sour\, candid but never cruel\, encouraging but never ever full of shit.” – Sharon Schindel (NYT\, Washington Post) \n\n\n\n“Peter has an unerring sense of a story’s center of gravity and the structure that best suits the material. Peter’s expertise & generosity have been instrumental in my writing journey. I can’t recommend him highly enough.” –  Hannah C. \n\n\n\n“Peter knows how to make a story work & how to make it publishable. ”- Jeremy S.  \n\n\n\n“In a star rating\, he’d get a full 5 from me.”- Robin R.“I left class seeing how much more I need to write & read and how much more there is to learn\, which is humbling and exciting. ”- Michael B. \n\n\n\nTHE FINE PRINT \n\n\n\nWe understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course\, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers. \n\n\n\nBefore the class\, you may request a refund less a $10.00 processing fee. \n\n\n\nPlease keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/writing-big-feelings/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Seminars
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