Creative Writing in the Great Outdoors

Creative Writing the Great Outdoors

What happens when writing leaves the classroom and enters the wilderness? Creative Writing in the Great Outdoors invites students to use nature as both inspiration and classroom. Across meadows, forests, and rivers, students will explore how place shapes imagination, storytelling, and voice. Through daily writing exercises, group workshops, and guided explorations, participants will practice poetry, narrative nonfiction, and short fiction while connecting with the rhythms of the natural world. The course emphasizes reflection, experimentation, and the development of a sustainable creative practice—one that integrates observation of the self, the group, and the environment. By the end of the course, students will leave with a portfolio of original work and a deeper appreciation for the intersection of creativity, community, and wilderness.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Generate original creative writing inspired by the natural environment.
2. Apply literary techniques (imagery, metaphor, narrative structure, voice) to poetry, nonfiction, and fiction.
3. Demonstrate skills of observation, reflection, and sensory detail in their writing.
4. Engage in peer workshops, providing and receiving constructive feedback on creative work.
5. Reflect on the relationship between environment and creativity, including how natural settings influence human expression.
6. Assemble a small portfolio of revised creative pieces that represent growth over the course.

Tangible Outcomes

Final Showcase: Present selected works in a closing reading, highlighting the integration of nature and creative voice.

Hands-on Activities

To achieve these outcomes, students will:

• Outdoor Writing Sessions: Write daily in natural settings around campus, guided by prompts that emphasize sensory detail and reflection.
• Genre Exploration Workshops: Experiment with poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction through structured exercises.
• Hiking & Reflection: Participate in guided hikes, using physical movement and immersion in nature as a spark for creative thought.
• Peer Workshops: Share drafts in small groups and practice the craft of giving and receiving feedback.
• Reading Circles: Engage with selected works of nature-inspired writers (e.g., Mary Oliver, Barry Lopez, Robin Wall Kimmerer) to connect contemporary voices to their own practice.

Information subject to change.