Writing Workshops
Writing from the Mountains below Mount Cardigan
My unique workshop Writing from the Mountains, brought to you by the Appalachian Mountain Club
Friday, October 25-Sunday, October 27, 2024
As the editor-in-chief of Appalachia journal, I lead this methods workshop for writers of all genres and levels.
Many writers already realize that their work is not merely an indoor, sedentary pursuit, but that the best ideas come in a flash while we are doing other things that have nothing to do with writing. The mountains can deliver this flash. I will help you find it and write it. This workshop is for anyone who wants to use the backcountry to engage with their ideas, improve their drafts, and gain writing wisdom from experienced published essayists.
Assisting me is the Massachusetts writer Elissa Ely, back for a repeat stint. Workshop writers go out on the trails, which begin at the back door of AMC’s Cardigan Lodge below Mount Cardigan in Alexandria, New Hampshire. You will go out alone a few times, with plenty of help from a professional AMC trail guide.
When you return from the trails, I will guide you in writing new material. You will find out there that many things come up for you: observations and thoughts the landscape inspires, solutions to a writing project you’re already working on, and more. We will also use the natural setting to inspire metaphors, learn about that ecosystem, and consider the effects of the changing climate.
I have edited Appalachia since 2006. My long journalism career is informed by thousands of miles in the mountains, with others and solo, mostly in the East, including my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.
Cost
Starting at: Adult: $400 member / $460 non-member
Agenda:
Friday evening: Gather and introductory exercises. Optional night walk.
Saturday: Breakfast, solo walks, writing in the lodge, lunch, observation techniques using index cards, discussion of a published essay provided ahead of time.
Sunday: Collecting walks, optional meetings to look at manuscripts or talk about writing practice strategies.
Writing with Woodside on Squam Lake
My unique workshop works on the writing process. At Rockywold-Deephaven Camps, Holderness, New Hampshire
Thursday, June 12-Sunday, June 15, 2025
Writing from Nature is a methods workshop for writers of all levels who wish to discover, hone, expand, or revise their ideas and work in a beautiful setting. Writers walk and observe in nature and with my guidance, draft new writing.
This workshop is the workshop I wanted when I was starting my career. I could not find it, so I invented it. The origins of Writing from Nature were in a writing class I taught at a community arts center 15 years ago in Middletown, Connecticut. I’ve run this workshop in Connecticut and New Hampshire, one-day, two-day, and longer, since that time.
Fees are reasonable. For more info and to sign up, Go here. Unlike some other workshops, these fees include everything: lodging, meals, and the workshop. Career-builder and student rates available. Early-bird signups, by March 1, get a 10% discount. Email Chris: chris@chriswoodside.com.