| Jumpstart Your Creative Nonfiction Writing

Join Jenny O’Connell in a 5-day generative intensive for writing and developing the personal stories you want to tell.

Whether you’re writing a scene from your memoir about the time you tried to climb Kilimanjaro in a hailstorm or a personal essay about your great aunt’s famous pierogies, the ingredients are the same: Compelling nonfiction narratives are driven by passion, character, and action. They engage the senses, dropping the reader bodily into the story. They have a tight personal angle and a strong hook. And they tap into something bigger than all of us.

Led by Jenny O’Connell, in this five-day intensive, you’ll uncover the stories you want to tell, and take one of those stories from an idea to a polished piece of writing. Through an exploration of creative writing techniques such as sensory writing, setting, character, and voice, you’ll hone the tools that bring stories to life. You’ll draw inspiration from mentor texts, walk the Rockland Breakwater to practice setting and sensory writing and conduct peer interviews aimed at wholehearted characterization and locating the “heat” in dialogue. At the end of the week, you’ll leave with a developed story or memoir excerpt, polished with peer feedback, and a solid idea of the next steps for pitching or submitting your work.

One-on-one meetings with the instructor are available.

This class is for beginner and intermediate writers who want to unblock and/or work on their creative nonfiction stories. 

What to Bring:

Notebook & writing utensils, laptop

Student Testimonials: 

“The instructor was simply fantastic. Jenny O’Connell met and exceeded every expectation I had for my time here. She got us writing right away, expertly covered a huge amount of the writing process in such a short amount of time, and provided a space for us to take chances with our writing and to come together quite quickly as a supportive community. And her critiques were always supportive and spot on.” – Maine Media student, September 2023

“Jenny has a way of helping me get out of my own way. Through her coaching and guidance, I was able to push aside the judge that camps out in my head, and write freely and authentically. She helps me write in my own voice.” – Johanna Sorrell

“Jenny is able to create a special magic in her classes: a product of both her multitude of natural gifts and her finely-honed teaching craft. She creates a warm, loving, deeply personal container which, when combined with the varied structure and thoughtfully curated prompts and themes, really lays a potent ground for magic to arise. I did some of my best writing in years with Jenny. She helped me discover abilities and insights I didn’t know I had.” – Mira Manickam

Jenny’s features and essays have appeared in Down East, Maine Magazine, Backcountry, Appalachia Journal, and elsewhere. View Jenny’s publications.

Header image by Tyler Nix..