Sense of Place Writing Programs

Explore your connections to yourself, nature, history, culture, and place.
Find your stories and bring them to life.

What if you could write in a way that feels natural, effortless, and deeply your own?

Place memories are like creative portals.

They open you up to details and depth you may not have known you had inside you.

But you do.

Uncover the stories you’re meant to tell.

As a writer and writing mentor, what I have found is that the most direct way to find your writing path is by tapping into the power of place in your life from the past or present. It’s there you’ll find a well of stories, themes, imagery, and ideas to draw from.

With sense of place writing, stories easily emerge—often with surprising clarity, depth, and resonance. And finding these will help you become the writer you naturally are inside.

Who is this for?

  • Creative seekers to published authors

  • Non-fiction writers, essayists, poets, storytellers, and memoir writers

  • Naturalists, historians, educators, park rangers, and other professionals

  • Anyone longing for a meaningful, resonant writing practice

Hello, I’m Erica, your story guide.

I work with all kinds of writers, creatives, and seekers, as well as professionals such as park rangers, historians, and museum guides. I help them unlock stories, complete projects, and discover a voice they may not have known they had.

My background in the creative arts and interpretation allows me to provide expertise in both the creative process and more fact-based writing. My approach to working with writers combines a journey of discovery that is enriched by a proven framework for finding stories, and a dose of intuition that helps me meet you where you are along the way.

Together, we tap into the depth, meaning, and resonance already inside you—so your writing becomes filled with richness, nuance and a voice unmistakably your own.

Three Ways We Can Work Together Now :

1. Private Mentoring
One-on-one guidance to unlock your voice, deepen craft, and bring your writing to life. Explore private mentoring →

2. Bring Me to Your Group:
Workshops, trainings, or retreats designed to awaken storytelling and connection. Reach out to discuss options →

3. Enroll in a Class or Retreat:
Get on the list and be the first to know when enrollment is open for my writing classes, master classes, and retreats. Join the list to be the first to know when enrollment opens →

Creative Compass
Classes and Retreats

The Creative Compass is a series of group classes that are held throughout the year to provide a structured path through the writing journey.

These classes create a full experience or ongoing journey designed to help you find, shape, and share your stories, and stay deeply connected to yourself and your creative process along the way.

Wherever you are on your path, these programs will meet you there —helping you uncover, craft, and polish writing that carries presence, clarity, and meaning.

Some writers come to reconnect with their creativity. Others come to finish projects or deepen existing work. Many stay for the wonderful community of people who are drawn to writing sourced from their sense of place.

Ready to start?

  • Get on the mailing list to get notified about classes and retreats.

  • Bring me to work with your group or organization.

  • Reach out to learn about private mentoring.

1. Creative Foundations

Choose this class at any point on your journey, from starting out to starting over again. Includes exploratory projects to uncover the essential themes and stories that will inform your writing and your life path.

2. The Writer’s Circle

A welcoming place to show up regularly, write inspired by soulful prompts, and stay connected to your creative process and yourself. Thrive in a supportive community of others.

3. The Writer’s Craft

A place to develop your writing and hone your skills. Strengthen your voice, complete writings and grow alongside others devoted to excellence in craft

4. Seasonal Retreats

A time to nourish your craft and your soul. These immersive experiences are for renewal, deep focus, and inspiration in a supportive, enchanted environment

Explore a creative process with an experienced guide:

Take a journey to become the writer you are inside.

Receive:
• Intentional prompts: Practices and prompts designed for a soulful journey of discovery—not just for the sake of generating writing.


• Pointed Tools and techniques: Markers on your trail to get where you want to go and guide you, rather than give you structures that keep you in a rigid box.


• Intuitive feedback: Guidance that comes from tuning your stories and your journey, and seeing ahead a bit to help you get where you are meant to go.


• A Clear Path: A proven process and structure for finding stories, gleaned from decades of working with creatives, writers, seekers, and professionals.

Ready to begin?

Your stories—and the writer you are inside—are waiting.

Join the list and be the first to know when enrollment opens →

  • “A great place to expand your skills.” "I heartily recommend this class as a great place to find your voice and improve and expand your skills. It is appropriate for those with vague goals as well as those with works in progress. The practice of blending history, personal experience, theme, and descriptions really led to some good solid pieces. Through Erica's focused individual guidance, we were each treated like writers instead of students."

    Beth Arrowsmith, Colorado
    Educator, Photographer

  • “Never fails to make my imagination leap.” “Erica weaves an experiential class of stories, writers, and inspiration together around Sense of Place that never fails to make my imagination leap. Her classes always deepen my connection with my current and past places which drives me to further explore my attachment to places that I would never have considered writing about before."

    James McMenamin, Switzerland Heritage Photographer

  • “Helped me find my writing voice.” "Working with Erica has moved my writing in directions that I never thought possible. It has helped me find my writing voice and helped my ideas coalesce into a set of connected essays. Erica has a sort of magic to her teaching, where she is more of a guide than a teacher who can pick up on what individuals need in the way of direction. It is a writing journey with others, and they are the best travel companions!"

    Julia Clebsch, New Hampshire, Naturalist, Retired Park Ranger

  • “I have not written this much or as easily in my 30+ years in academia” "I highly recommend Erica Wheeler and her writing classes! I have had a great deal of experience writing academic articles and chapters, which in turn meant I had little to no opportunities for descriptive or creative writing. I have not written this much or as easily in my 30+ years in academia. The classes are supportive and keep us actively writing, but also allow us to go at our own pace and take on as much or as little that meets our schedules."

    Jeanne Stanley, Ph.D., Pennsylvania, Psychologist, Graduate School Consultant

  • “I learned to write much more expressively” "I took Erica's class to get back to a regular writing schedule and pick up on a writing project I had sidelined a long time ago. Erica creates a warm and inviting space for participants to develop their writing without fear of judgment. It gave me permission to use my voice and lean into creating a scene through vivid details. I learned to write much more expressively because of it!

    Shae McWilliams, Rhode Island
    Sales and Development

  • "You've given me a whole new way of thinking about place. "Living in a place where I really don’t feel connected, this process has really helped me come to terms with it, and how that’s okay. I can write about that."

    Christina Campell, Iowa
    University Professor and Knitting Blogger

  • “Opened my eyes.” “l had never taken another writing class, so this was a new experience. I had never thought of myself as a poet, but Erica stating that the rhythm of one of my pieces sounded like poetry opened my eyes. I valued the opportunity to do writing in class and was always surprised when short pieces I wrote turned out to be good!”

    Andy Smith, New Jersey
    Minister, Photographer

FAQs

  • You’ll leave with fresh writing in your own voice, surprising discoveries about your stories and places, and a renewed sense of direction in your creative work. You’ll also gain tools and approaches you can apply to future projects—whether personal, professional, or creative.

  • Here, we enter through the doorway of place. Landscapes, memory, and belonging spark your writing. Craft grows naturally from curiosity and connection, rather than rigid rules or formulas. Techniques serve your story, not the other way around, helping your words carry presence, depth, and resonance.

  • Absolutely. Even technical or practical writers benefit. Sense of Place Writing strengthens voice, imagery, and narrative clarity—so reports, articles, presentations, or creative nonfiction become more compelling, precise, and memorable.

  • Emerging writers find a guided path into voice, imagery, and narrative clarity. More experienced writers will be inspired to create fresh material or dive deeper into layers of craft through place-based connections.

  • The Writer’s Circle is focused on regular writing and community. The Writer’s Craft and Roadmap offer more in-depth feedback and guidance to strengthen your work.”

  • The prompts we use are crafted as entry points into memory, meaning, and story. They are not just about writing “whatever comes to mind” but more about uncovering the themes and stories you have inside you. If you’re ready to discover the stories waiting inside you, I’d love to have you join me.