MOMoir

A one-day writing workshop for people who identify as mothers

 
A mom’s hands holding her baby’s feet.

A mom’s hands holding her baby’s feet.

 

Are you a mama with stories to tell and almost no time to tell them?

This one-day writing workshop is for busy mamas of all stages and shades of motherhood who want to reflect on their journeys, soak up inspiration, carve out a little “me” time and write, write, write.

We’ll take a full, beautiful Saturday to connect in a supportive community of women to scribble and type our way through stories, reflections, rants and snapshots of our journey as a mothers so far. The focus of the class will be on a safe, fun, HONEST space for real stories of motherhood — the unexpected turns, startling joys, messy moments, growing pains, questions, loss and love that make up the life of a mother.

This class is designed for all kinds of mothers — birth moms, step-moms, foster moms, adoptive moms, and anyone else who has stepped into the joyous and demanding role of raising children.

Here’s how it works:

We’ll meet at The Firefly Studio from 10-5 on Saturday. In the morning we’ll scribble up a storm, using writing prompts, images and sensory info to call on our memories and express different aspects of our journeys as mothers. As we wind down that segment of the workshop, we’ll look for one story in what we’ve created that wants more attention.

After lunch, we’ll slide together into an extended period of silence, to use the studio as a writing sanctuary and go deep with the story we’ve chosen to work on. There will be cookies, tea, and more writing prompts to call on if we get stuck. For the last section of the workshop we’ll share what we wrote, providing each other with the encouraging feedback to keep moving on our writing journeys.

The group will be small to make lots of time for sharing and connection — seven mothers plus a facilitator, mama-writer Mary Chapman. We will provide snacks and tea. There are wonderful local places to grab lunch, or participants are welcome to bring their own.

This writing workshop is ideal for people who:

  • Are at any stage of motherhood and long to exhale and write.

  • Are motivated by sharing writing with other people on similar paths.

  • Want to record some of their stories before they are forgotten.

  • Are fascinated by the complicated, beautiful, challenging role of being a mother.

  • Struggle to make time to be creative and want a little support.

  • Love the idea of a full day to explore, express and connect to others.

  • Are ready to share! With an intimate group of 7, full participation is required.

You can expect to walk away with:

  • A bunch of short pieces written in first-draft form.

  • Writing tools and practices to carry you forward.

  • Writing tricks and warm-ups you can use anytime.

  • The relief of knowing that these stories are finding a home outside of your head and heart.

  • A care package to keep you writing flowing and your mind relaxed.

  • That sweet feeling of relief and accomplishment.

This workshop won’t give you:

  • Writing critique. This is a loving, nurturing environment for all writing voices and styles.

  • Lectures on how to write “better”. This workshop is about getting it down, not making it flawless.

  • Advice on how to mother. Never! All feedback will be carefully moderated to make sure it’s really about writing, not life choices.

  • Written feedback on all your writing.

 

Mary

Details:

We don't have any upcoming sessions at this time. Email us if you want this course back, and in the meantime check out our other small group workshops.

 

Ready to take the leap?

We’re not sure when we’ll be bringing this back next, but we hope soon! When we do, you can get a nudge when early registration begins by submitting your email below. Alternately, join our mailing list to keep up to date on all things Firefly.

Questions?

Your answer is probably on this page.

Looking for more options?

Take a peek at our other in-house workshops, our coaching services or our subscription program.

Credit where it’s due:

The gorgeous photo at the top of this page is by the photographer Vinoth Chandar, who lives and snaps photos in India. It is shared care of the Creative Commons License 2.0. We are so grateful! You can see his work here.