Whether you want to write more about the non-human world, or draw on the ecological to inspire other artistic endeavours, this online workshop with nature writer and environment journalist Lucy Jones will suggest new and creative ways of perceiving the world in which you live. Useful for writers of all styles and genres, this class will look at ways of translating nature and ecologies on your doorstep - birdsong at dawn, a teardrop of dew on a blade of grass - into insightful, atmospheric writing.

Lucy will guide you through techniques for observing nature and putting your observations into writing, where and how to find stories in the natural world, ways of incorporating different layers of narrative into your work, as well as how to better understand the societal and environmental contexts of writing about the natural world in 2022.

Become acquainted with your local green spaces more intimately, as new destinations to be explored and revisited. Slow down, take stock of what’s around you, and write it down.

Course content

Radical noticing: techniques for observation and translating
Practical tips for looking and seeing
Methods for rewilding your writing, including invoking personal experiences and how to apply them to the page
Metaphor, rhythm and style
What is “nature”? A discussion of eco-philosophy
The role and balance of research and source material
Practical tips on pitching your work and insight into the landscape for nature writing

Testimonial

”The whole atmosphere of the class was very warm and encouraging … Ultimately, one of the most important pieces of advice on getting started as a writer and eventually publishing your work was to find something you really care about. Something you can write about with passion and love. These feelings certainly came across in the workshop and I am sure the participants will carry them further into the living world around us.” – Former student

Tutor profile

Lucy Jones is a writer and freelance journalist based in Hampshire, England. She is the author of the bestselling Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild, which was published by Allen Lane and longlisted for the Wainwright Prize, and co-author of The Nature Seed. Her writing on culture, science and nature has been published in BBC Earth, BBC Wildlife, The Sunday Times, the Guardian and the New Statesman. She previously worked at NME and The Daily Telegraph. Her first book, Foxes Unearthed, was celebrated for its ‘brave, bold and honest’ (Chris Packham) account of our relationship with the fox, winning the Society of Authors’ Roger Deakin Award 2015.

Course Details

Date: Saturday 2 April 2022
Time: 3pm - 5.30pm (GMT)

3pm GMT | 4pm CET | 7am PT | 10am ET

This masterclass is available globally. If you are joining us from outside the United Kingdom, please use this time zone converter to check your local live streaming time.

You will be sent a link to the webinar two hrs before the start time. Please email masterclasses@theguardian.com if you have not received the access link within one hour of the scheduled start time.

All Guardian Masterclasses are fully accessible but please contact us at masterclasses@theguardian.com if you have any queries or concerns.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website

Nature writing: An online creative workshop