Writ in Water: A Yearlong Generative Exploration

“Water often comes up in my own writing, as an image and as an ecopoetic dream terrain…water touches all of our lives: we're made of water, it's all around us (even in deserts and landlocked cities), in our weather, in the ways we travel, connecting all parts of the planet, touching our memories. No matter what their background, everyone already has their own experiences and connections to water to draw on for writing inspiration.” – Sierra Nelson, instructor 

“To look at the sea is to become what one is,” wrote Etel Adnan. Over nine months, we’ll deepen our writer-selves by looking to Water—molecule to ocean, body to vessel, wave to creature, thermal vent to atmosphere, memory to fairy tale—for inspiration. We’ll do eclectic writing experiments (slanting to poetry, open to any genre), with in-class readings and writing time.  

We’ll generate new drafts in fall, workshop in winter, and culminate our time together with chapbook-making and a celebratory reading in spring. Leave with a beautiful pool of new drafts and starts, a sense of connection to a community of fellow writers, and a personal chapbook that pulls together the writing and revisions you’ve generated in class. 

What to expect: 

• Generative Writing: students create new work during class or from assignments. 
• Feedback from both peers and instructor.  
• Optional writing and/or reading outside of class. 

Students say… 

“Sierra Nelson is a treasure…Sierra is thoughtful, encouraging, supportive and enthusiastic. This is the fourth class I have taken from her.” 

“Sierra has been such a delight to have as a teacher. She is so warm and generous and it set such a wonderful tone for the class. The materials she pulled from were so interesting and varied and provided such great jumping-off points for our writing exercises. I appreciated her open-endedness in regards to the invitations/assignments. Enough specificity/direction to help "unstick" my writing, but a lot of leeway as well. She organized the class with a great depth of topics and exercises and guests (clearly a lot of effort went into her preparation), sometimes taking me out of my comfort zone in the best ways! This was a fabulous class, and I would love to take another one from Sierra. I am already missing our Monday nights together.” 

Q&A with Write In Water instructor Sierra Nelson:

Who is this class best suited for? How much writing experience do I need to take this class?

This class is great for all levels of previous writing experience and writers of all genres and forms. Beginning writers will get an immersive opportunity to try out different writing tools and approaches (and ask great questions!)—and more experienced writers will get fun prompts and materials to switch up their creative process or get back in the groove—plus the camaraderie and community shared by all. I love to pull in some science into my classes for inspiration, but no previous scientific knowledge about water or sea creatures is necessary. Though on the flip side, it’s also O.K. to bring a lot of outside knowledge from your field or experience to share. All are welcome!

What will I learn over the course of this yearlong?

Living on this watery planet of Earth, water touches and connects all aspects of our lives—our bodies of water and surrounding water bodies, as a connection between ourselves and fellow beings, through the touch of weather, the depth of the oceans, our sweat and tears, and even on a molecular level. Water will be our muse, catalyst, and guide for trying out new tools and approaches in our writing. This course is great for engaging or deepening your creative writing process on a weekly basis, inspired by fellow writers in the circle and an eclectic range of provided reading materials. We'll learn about different lyrical possibilities and poetic forms of language on the page (whether you choose to write poetry, or simply borrow some poetic tools for prose or other forms). We'll also look at other art forms including visual art for inspiration, expanding our creative toolbox. And in the spring we will look at different aspects of chapbook creation to make our own culminating collection of work.

What's the balance of in-class generative writing, lecture, and workshop?

For our hands-on writing-focused approach, each class will include readings we read together in class and/or a short lecture to inspire us and illuminate different craft possibilities—followed by a prompt and time for in-class writing (to begin a draft / creative exploration)—and some time to share out loud. As we start to weave in some workshop opportunities in winter, workshop will take place for half a class session, the other half will continue our generative mode.

Most of the prompts are free-standing experiments (but if someone is coming in with a specific project they want to work on, or if a larger more cumulative project starts to emerge over the weeks of the class, the prompts can be adapted as needed to funnel into that project (with a little creativity and flexibility).

How many times can I expect to be workshopped?

The main focus of the class is generative, but in the winter we will make some time to workshop for those interested. Each person will have a chance to workshop 2-3 times. At the end of the class, we will also share from our chapbooks in a final celebratory reading.

How much time outside of class will I need for this class each week?

Knowing that people will have differing amounts of time available outside of class, the class can be approached with most readings and writing drafts happening during class time, plus a daily observation log to help us stay attuned to our senses and continue the momentum. Those with more time available outside of class have the option to take deeper dives into the readings and continue on their in-class drafts and additional writing. Moving into winter, there will be a bit more outside reading for all to respond to peer workshop pieces (2-3 pages per week), and in spring we will work on chapbooks in class but more time outside of class may be needed to get it over the finish line.

How much feedback will I receive on my work? Will it be from peers or my instructor?

Our focus will primarily be on the joy of process and experimentation, so we will mostly share out loud from our in-progress drafts and experiments (and/or as text shared in the chat or screen-share). Sharing out loud from our in-class experiments also adds to our collective learning, as we wonder and expand our toolbox hearing all the ways different hearts and minds approach the same prompt. Feedback from peers and instructor will be in the moment and focused on illuminating what lights up, pulls us in, and resonates already to us as listeners/readers — giving the writer illuminating encouragement for where they might grow this work next. As the class moves into winter and spring, there will also be some workshop opportunities for those who want more specific feedback on a particular piece on the page. As the class culminates in each student making a chapbook of selected new work by the end of spring, students will receive chapbook feedback from a partner peer, plus an optional one-on-one conference with the instructor to be scheduled after the class is complete.

Who will we be reading?

The readings will slant toward poetry, because poetry can steep us so quickly in vivid language, varied writing techniques, and dream-like modes. Poets we’ll look at include Tracy K. Smith, Amber Flora Thomas, Elizabeth Bradfield, No‘u Revilla, Brenda Hillman, Anne Carson. We will also draw on science texts, excerpts of prose including from Maggie Nelson’s “Bluets,” Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick, or The Whale,” and Virginia Woolf’s “The Waves,” and other assorted materials. Most prompts inspired by the texts will be open-ended so your writing can be in whatever form(s) you prefer: poetry, prose, comics, songs, hybrid, etc. — with the freedom (and encouragement) to try new things.

What will I come out of this yearlong with? We're looking for quantitative outcomes like number of pages written, number of drafts, starts, projects.

Students will leave the class with a beautiful pool of new drafts and starts, a sense of connection to a community of fellow writers, writing approaches they can continue to use in their creative practice beyond the class, and a personal chapbook (15-20 pages) that pulls together favorite pieces of writing and revisions from what was generated in class. Whether students are interested in submitting their manuscript to chapbook contests for potential publication, or are just looking for a sense of satisfaction from generating new work and bringing it together in a way that can be shared with others — the structure of the class can benefit writers wherever they are on their writing journey.

Use this space to write anything else you want your students to know going in.

Another question that often comes up: if you ever have to miss a class, that’s O.K. I send out a recap email each week with prompts and readings so that you can follow along on your own.

Registration Dates:  

• August 13: Member registration opens at 10:30 am PT   
• August 20: General registration opens at 10:30 am PT  
• September 1: Last day of Early Bird discount 

This class is not eligible for a member discount. Learn more here »

Payment plans are available for classes with 8+ sessions. Email education@hugohouse.org to inquire about payment plan options.