“I feel much freer as a writer now.”
Writer: Rachel Laverdiere of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Course: Spark Your *Outlier* Story &
Spark Your *Visual* Story
Big breakthroughs
A few years after taking my Spark Your Story courses, Rachel has nearly 40 publication credits, her debut essay collection Scraps: A Life in Piecework is forthcoming with The Nasiona, she is a regular contributor at Entropy, serves as a CNF editor for Barren magazine, and teaches + inspires creative nonfiction writers as a Spark Your Story instructor!
Writing Challenge
“I’d learned the basics of creative nonfiction through an introductory course and some suggested readings, but I felt there must be more to it than what I’d come across in my reading.
I was still relatively new to CNF and wanted to dig deeper into the substance of the craft.”
Solution: Spark Your *Outlier* Story &
Spark Your *Visual* Story
“I’d never taken a non-accredited on-line course with personalized feedback before. Nicole’s feedback helped push me over the bar of what I’d been writing before taking her courses.
When I edit my own work, I can imagine what should be cut back or expanded. This has helped my writing more than anything else.”
Results & Takeaways
“Writing the hermit crab essay is what made me understand the potential for exploration and experimentation with CNF.
This excitement for endless possibilities drew me to Nicole’s second course on CNF inspired by visual art, which promised to lead me away from the typical and to help me excel at producing atypical CNF.
Almost all of the pieces I wrote in both courses have been published or are forthcoming with journals including:
- “Choosing Stones”, Oyster River Pages
- “Men Teach Me to Shoot”, The Nasiona
- “Saturday Afternoon: Three Views”, The Nasiona
- “Remember the Magic”, Bending Genres
- “Pottery Notes”, filling Station and
- “Home is Beyond the Horizon”, Blank Spaces
Now I have a completed essay manuscript, which is forthcoming with The Nasiona. Since the fall of 2019 I’ve taught Nicole’s Spark Your *Outlier* Story + Spark Your *Visual* Story course as a guest instructor. Teaching these courses combines two of the things I love most—teaching and writing—into one. I’m honoured and thrilled to join Nicole in mentoring writers as she has mentored me.”
Recommended for . . .
. . . writers looking for opportunities to stretch and discover new possibilities for personal storytelling.
“My confidence as a writer has greatly improved after taking Nicole’s courses. I better recognize my strengths and where I tend to hold back.
Most importantly, I no longer hesitate at allowing my writing to go where it wants—at heart, I am a risk-taker, but that part of me had been stifled.
I feel much freer as a writer now.”
Learn More
The Spark Your *Outlier* Story and Spark Your *Visual* Story e-courses are only offered a few times a year.
Space is limited to just 10 writers per 6-week session.
Click here for info on upcoming scheduled sessions — or feel free to get in touch with any questions!