The Sense of Place
Story Intensive
A full-day for developing a story that matters to you.
Thursday, August 27th 9:30 am to 7:30 pm (ET) • Online
Bring one sense of place story, idea, or project. Spend a full day developing it alongside others working in similar creative territory.
This is for anyone interested in expressing a meaningful connection to place — whether through writing, teaching, interpretation, creative work, public history, personal reflection, or another project with a narrative through-line.
This is more than time to write.
It’s a needed, yet not often found rare atmosphere of shared focus, creative momentum, and commitment to stories rooted in place, memory, experience, history, landscape, and meaning.
Through guided Sense of Place practices, discussion, feedback plus focused work time, you’ll move beyond notes, drafts, and good intentions into the work itself.
By the end of the day, you’ll have developed your story, generated new material, and created a fresh draft, revised section, clearer structure, or meaningful next stage of development.
Why A Full Day Matters
Many of us carry piles of good ideas. We think about the story, make notes, promise we’ll return to it when we have time — and then life keeps moving.
This intensive gives you the time, structure, support, and group foucs to stay with one story long enough to develop it.
As you experience the full development arc of reflection, feedback, integration and focused flow in one supportive day, you will get somewhere.
And that momentum will likely carry you farther than the day itself.
If you have a story you’ve tried to begin and gotten stuck, or you’re already deep into a project and want fresh inspiration, perspective, and support, this day is for you.
This group will be intentionally small so you can get the support and feedback you need.
What You'll Leave With
A more developed story, idea, or project
Fresh material, insights, and discoveries to continue exploring
A substantial new draft, revised section, or clearer structure
Greater clarity and momentum for what comes next
Bring your story. Give it a day. See what becomes possible.
The Experience
This intensive is designed to help you move one story forward. The intensive culminates in a focused draft writing session where you'll set aside revision and self-editing and commit to a draft.
Over the course of the day, you'll move through a series of guided sense of place practices designed to help you deepen a story, uncover fresh material, strengthen your writing, and discover new possibilities within your work.
You’ll stretch your skills, get closer to the heart of what you want to say, and begin pulling the pieces together — braiding your story, your place, and your craft.
Sense of Place Tools & Practices
Throughout the day, you’ll work with a variety of Sense of Place practices designed to help you deepen a story, enrich it with detail, uncover new material, and bring greater depth and meaning to your writing. These will be used as “treatments” to add more to wherever the work needs more or where it needs less.
These tools have been hone through years of work helping writers, educators, interpreters, and creatives deepen stories through place, experience, observation, and reflection.
The Updraft of the Group
Writing and creative work can often be solitary. This intensive brings together people working on similar kinds of stories — stories rooted in place, experience, memory, landscape, history, and meaning.
The shared focus creates a rare atmosphere of encouragement, insight, and creative momentum. Sometimes a simple observation from another participant can unlock something you’ve been trying to express for months.
Guidance and Perspective
Throughout the day, Erica offers prompts, observations, feedback, and guidance to help participants move through obstacles and stay connected to the heart of their work.
Together, these elements help create the conditions for meaningful progress: a story that feels more alive, a stronger draft or direction, and a clearer sense of where the work wants to go next.
The Power Hour
The intensive culminates in the Power Hour, a focused writing session that many participants describe as the most productive and rewarding part of the day.
During this session, you’ll choose a section of your story and write a fresh draft without stopping to revise, edit, or second-guess yourself.
By this point in the process, you’ll have fresh material to draw from, clearer direction, and the momentum that comes from spending the day immersed in your work.
In the evening, we’ll share, celebrate and define next steps.
Join us for the
Sense of Place Story Intensive
REGISTER NOW
Thursday, August 27th, 2026 •
9:30 am to 7:30 pm ET • Online
Fee: $497 (Limited to 10 participants)
Questions? Email Erica
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to arrive with a draft?
Not at all. You can arrive with notes, a rough draft, an idea, or a story you’ve been wanting to develop.
Do I need to have attended the Deep Dive?
No. The Deep Dive is a natural companion, but it’s not required. You’re welcome to join with any story you’d like to explore through the Sense of Place framework.
Will there be feedback?
Yes. Throughout the day you’ll have opportunities for thoughtful conversation, reflection, and supportive feedback in a small-group setting.
What kinds of stories can I bring?
Any story, project, or creative work where place plays a meaningful role—from essays and memoir to interpretation, presentations, programs, or personal writing that has a place narrative at its core.
