Natural Forms & Narrative Journeys for Non-fiction
Online Writing Workshop Fri 16th August & NEW Fri 25th October
Do you have a story from your life or experience that you’re trying to tell?Are you stuck on how to shape it for the reader? Do you want something more than just the linear ‘heroic’ arc? Does being ‘The Expert’ make you queasy? Is your project longing for an intuitive and natural structure that you can build on?
In this workshop for writers or aspiring-writers of narrative non-fiction we will cover the following main topics (and plenty more besides!)
Organic story shapes - going beyond the linear, going back to nature
Story as creative journey
Expert or Guide - working out who you are?
Mapping the terrain of your central vision and ideas
Finding the movement in your project - how to move your reader (along)
Narrative non-fiction is different from non-fiction because it requires you to share your wisdom, insight, expertise through storytelling that is compelling for the reader. Unlike a cookbook or a craft manual - both non-fiction genres - narrative non-fiction seeks to tell the truth in creative ways.
Much of the nature writing that we know and love today falls into the category of narrative non-fiction, as well as some memoir-style books. We will look at some great examples and you’ll be encouraged to unravel the secrets of your own favourites.
Do I need a structure for my book?
Not everyone works to a structure. Some people prefer to freewheel from the outset and see what emerges, shaping the project after the creative drafting is done. I love those people. But I am not one of them. I love a structure to help guide my writing, even if that structure is a loose one. A structure doesn’t need to be fixed; in fact, probably better if it isn’t so that creativity can take it’s natural course. But having a sense of the ‘travel’ in your piece, the journey you’re on with your reader, and the milestones you want to visit, can be vital for some people to begin writing.
I am also fascinated by the ways that structure and form of writing can serve the whole project and add an extra dimension of richness to the process and product at the end.
What if our stories about nature, body, self and adventure echoed the shape and form seen in the rest of nature, rather than structures designed to show our domination and separation?
Why ‘narrative journeys’?
I am passionate about the journeys we take, the journeys we don’t, and the journeys we want to make. I work with journeys of all kinds in therapy, mentoring, movement and writing - you could say ‘the journey’ is central to my work and way of being in the world. I love nothing more than helping people on their various journeys.
Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, all good writing takes the reader on a journey of some sort (even if its back to where you started!). The reader might not wander far or fast through your prose, but as soon as we put words to the page then our reader is set off on a pathway through our words and ideas - through the story - and its our job to make that an e.g. good, exciting, challenging, inspiring, interesting, fascinating, empowering one!
As narrative non-fiction writers we have the challenge of blending what we know with a great eye for storytelling. We have to know what grabs the readers attention, and keeps them. We have to know what our stories are really about, and find a way to package up the ideas we want to convey in ways that suit the content and often ourselves as the protagonists of our own stories. Sometimes we also have to learn how to weave other true stories through our own, we have to deftly braid multiple worlds of knowledge, we have to learn what to leave out as well as what to put in without losing the central ‘truth’. Narrative non-fiction is skilful work and, for me, it always starts with looking to nature inside and out for inspiration, mapping out the ideas into an evolving and dynamic document to continue working from, charting the journey we want to take our readers on, and using this as the basis for our writing structure.
What’s different about this workshop?
In my work I always like to unravel the orthodoxies of how things are done. What if we took therapy outside? What if we made geology a relational discipline? What if we didn’t just rehash the same old ways of telling stories? What if…
In this workshop I will help you take a more intuitive and nature-lead approach to storytelling for your narrative non-fiction idea by sharing different ways of thinking about our stories. I will show you how there is more to life and writing than the linear, hero’s journey, and that we don’t just have to be ‘The Expert’.
Combining teaching elements, powerful questions, creative tasks and a rich set of resources I will help you take a fresh look at your new, old or stagnant ideas.
And guess what? You don’t have to want to publish! Writing is about so much more than traditional publication. This workshop is for anyone interested in writing for readers, whatever that means, but if you’re just writing for yourself then that’s great too. We should be enlivened by our own words too!
You might be interested in attending if you are a:
a nature and/or place writer or have a nature-based story to tell
a writer of bodies - human and/or other animals
writing about your own adventure, pilgrimage or meaningful journey; physical, spiritual or otherwise!
expert in one or more fields that you’re trying to combine
an ‘academic’ looking to become more ‘creative’
a visual learner
Details:
Friday 16th August Online *SOLD OUT*
Friday 25th October ONLINE *SOLD OUT*
10am - 1pm (3 hours/half day) UK time
(11am - 2pm Central European Summer Time)
£75
(for friends in North America this will be very early in the morning for you, however you are welcome to watch on catch up!)
Please note: the time zone is UK. I do not offer refunds for these workshops so please book mindfully. If you cannot make the session I will be sending out the recording for registrants after the live workshop - usually within 24 hours.
You will be sent a ZOOM link for the session after booking - if you haven’t received this by the day of the workshop then please drop me an email.
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Having a good sense of how your story travels, the shape of your prose, the ideas you want to convey etc is all super helpful in getting your ideas ready for any sort of publication, be it trad publishing or self-publishing. But this is just one step in that process. I encourage you to see this workshop as a way of developing your ideas and sparking new creativity and see how it goes from there! It certainly won't hurt ;)
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Sharing work often strikes fear into people's hearts. On this workshop we won't be sharing beyond a bit of chat-box chat as it'll mainly be focused on teaching points and inviting solo work. However, if you want to share your work you are welcome to register your interest for my embodied writing mentorship programme, or enquire about 1-1 mentoring sessions to take your ideas further.
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You will need to bring writing materials, as well as some large blank paper if you have it. You might also like to bring colouring pens or chalk/pastels for a creative exercise or two. Whatever helps you connect with your creativity best.
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As a narrative non-fiction writer my speciality is...narrative non-fiction. I also write poetry. It is from this perspective and passion that I offer this workshop. However, much of what I cover will have relevance for writers of other genres and can equally be applied in places to fiction writing.
The lessons are equally applicable for shorter pieces and stories as they are books.
It doesn't matter how far along you are in your writing project, what we will cover will be useful for new writers and established writers alike.
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In ideal world I would love everyone to attend live because it's great for the community atmosphere.
But life happens. So I will be recording the session and I will send a recording link to all registrants.
None of the dates work? All sold out?
If the two dates above don’t fit with your schedule or they are sold out, then pop your email address into the form opposite and I will add you to the ‘first refusal’ list for future dates. You can also leave me a longer message with timing preferences if that suits :)
I won’t be offering this workshop again until 2025 now, but you will be the first to know when I do. In the meantime, there might be something else on to join or please get in touch for 1-1 mentoring etc.
I am a writer and author of two non-fiction books. Grounded was published in 2021 to critical acclaim and is an illustrated, non-fiction exploration of nature connection for health and wellbeing. Weathering was published in April 2024 and is a literary non-fiction cross-genre - part nature, part memoir, part self-help - book that braids my expertise in geology and psychotherapy into a place-based book for the general reader. I am currently working on my third book. In addition, I write a best-selling Substack newsletter, occasional poetry, and I am simultaneously creating a zine or two from projects that arise between my longer book projects. I have an extensive editorial portfolio in the field of nature/adventure/wellbeing and I have published academic papers in the fields of geology and teaching and learning development.
