Find Your Way Into Writing About Place
Tell the Story of a Place
Online Weekend Writing Workshop
Every piece of writing happens somewhere.
Whether you’re working on a novel, a memoir, a design project narrative, or a personal essay, your story is tied to its environment. Setting has the power to influence action, shape behavior, and communicate history.
When a place truly registers on the page, your work becomes more grounded, specific, and compelling.
In this live Zoom workshop, we’ll dive into how to make place do the heavy lifting for your story. This is a practical, working session where we move beyond setting as a backdrop and start treating place as an active participant in your work. You’ll engage in guided exercises, generate fresh material, and receive the kind of structured, actionable feedback that helps you move your project forward.
The next workshop is TBD.
What You’ll Learn
Over two sessions, we’ll work through a simple, rigorous process: seeing, generating, refining.
You’ll produce new work about a specific place—real or imagined—and begin to understand how it functions inside a piece of writing.
During the workshop you will:
observe place with precision
generate new material through guided, place-based exercises
move beyond description into writing that creates presence and atmosphere
understand how place influences mood, movement, and meaning
identify what your piece is actually doing and revise toward that
develop a short piece (approximately 500–1000 words)
receive focused, live feedback in a small group
You’ll leave with new work and a set of tools you can return to.
Is this workshop for you?
If your work involves people moving through space—or you want it to—this workshop is a good fit for:
writers of fiction, memoir, and essays
designers, architects, and landscape professionals
anyone who wants their writing to feel more grounded and specific
No prior experience required. What matters is attention and willingness to revise.
How the weekend works:
Day 1 — Seeing and Generating
We start by focusing attention. You’ll generate new material through structured exercises.
Day 2 — Shaping and Feedback
You’ll develop that material into a short piece and receive live feedback focused on what’s working and where to go next.
Details:
Live on Zoom
Saturday + Sunday, May 30–31
1:00–3:45 PM ET (10:00 AM–12:45 PM PT)
Space for 6 writers
Cost:
$225
Optional one-on-one:
30-minute session — $75
60-minute session — $150
About Jacqueline
Jacqueline Murphy is a writer, editor, and workshop leader specializing in place-based writing and the built environment. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Bennington College and brings a background in art, architecture, and landscape design to her teaching.
Your Questions, Answered
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No. The workshop is designed for new and experienced writers. What matters most is your willingness to pay attention and revise.
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Yes. In the second session, every writer receives focused feedback in a structured format.
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Yes. Select a place you’d like to write about in advance. Plan to log in early to each session to minimize disruption and maximize our time together. Come ready to write!
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I keep the group small so everyone gets focused attention, which means every spot matters.
If you need to cancel, please let me know as soon as possible.
Cancellations made 7 days or more before the workshop will receive a full refund.
Cancellations made 3–6 days before the workshop are eligible for a credit toward a future session.
Because the workshop is limited to a small group, cancellations made within 72 hours of the start date are non-refundable.
If you’re unable to attend, you’re welcome to transfer your spot to someone else—just let me know in advance.
If the workshop is canceled or rescheduled, you’ll receive a full refund.