Awaken Your Nonfiction Voice
with Joanne Nelson
Three week series: June 24, July 1, July 8 | 6:00 to 7:30 PM
Gathering in shared practice, our community offers an opportunity to sharpen your awareness, deepen your storytelling, and bring your nonfiction writing to life. Each session blends craft techniques with mindfulness, helping you pay closer attention to the world around you and find meaning in the details. Using writing prompts and awareness practices we’ll learn to combine the art of paying close attention with writing that explores and expands our experiences. Appropriate for beginning writers as well as those with more experience, all that is necessary is the curiosity to listen deeply to yourself, the desire to pay close attention to all that is around you, and a willingness to explore your world through writing. We’ll utilize techniques proven to enhance creativity, create opportunities to gain insights, and take time to write in a safe and nurturing environment. (Any sharing of class writing is completely optional.)
Week 1: Finding Your Voice – Writing from Experience
Theme: Exploring personal truth, authenticity, and the power of lived experience in nonfiction writing.
Week 2: The Art of Paying Attention – Observation and Detail
Theme: Sharpening observational skills and writing with depth and clarity.
Week 3: Shaping the Story – Structure and Meaning
Theme: Crafting compelling narratives and refining your writing for impact.
Joanne is amazing! She creates a comfortable space for people to reflect, open, learn, and explore.
Joanne Nelson
Retreat Facilitator
Joanne Nelson is the author of the collection, My Neglected Gods and the memoir, This Is How We Leave. Her writing appears in numerous journals and anthologies. She won the Hal Prize in nonfiction, as well as other literary awards, and has contributed to Lake Effect on Milwaukee’s NPR station. Nelson lives in Hartland, Wisconsin, where she teaches at the university level and leads community programs. She gives presentations on mindfulness and writing, creativity, and the second half of life. Nelson holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, an MSSW from the University of WisconsinMadison, and is a certified meditation instructor. More information is available at wakeupthewriterwithin.com