creative writing in nature

12 Nature-Inspired Creative Writing Prompts

by Melissa Donovan | Jun 20, 2024 | Creative Writing Prompts | 16 comments

Nature inspires, and so do these creative writing prompts.

Today’s post includes a selection of prompts from my book, 1200 Creative Writing Prompts . Enjoy!

Creative writing prompts are excellent tools for writers who are feeling uninspired or who simply want to tackle a new writing challenge. Today’s creative writing prompts focus on nature.

For centuries, writers have been composing poems that celebrate nature, stories that explore it, and essays that analyze it.

Nature is a huge source of inspiration for all creative people. You can find it heavily featured in film, television, art, and music.

Creative Writing Prompts

You can use these creative writing prompts in any way you choose. Sketch a scene, write a poem, draft a story, or compose an essay. The purpose of these prompts is to inspire you, so take the images they bring to your mind and run with them. And have fun!

• A young girl and her mother walk to the edge of a field, kneel down in the grass, and plant a tree.
• The protagonist wakes up in a seemingly endless field of wildflowers in full bloom with no idea how he or she got there.
• Write a piece using the following image: a smashed flower on the sidewalk.
• A family of five from a large, urban city decides to spend their one-week vacation camping.
• An elderly couple traveling through the desert spend an evening stargazing and sharing memories of their lives.
• A woman is working in her garden when she discovers an unusual egg.
• Write a piece using the following image: a clearing deep in the woods where sunlight filters through the overhead lattice of tree leaves.
• Some people are hiking in the woods when they are suddenly surrounded by hundreds of butterflies.
• A person who lives in a metropolitan apartment connects with nature through the birds that come to the window.
• Write a piece using the following image: an owl soaring through the night sky.
• A well-to-do family from the city that has lost all their wealth except an old, run-down farmhouse in the country. They are forced to move into it and learn to live humbly.
• Two adolescents, a sister and brother, are visiting their relatives’ farm and witness a sow giving birth.

Again, you can use these creative writing prompts to write anything — poems, stories, songs, essays, blog posts, or just sit down and start freewriting.

16 Comments

lovely prompts… really simple line or two that just strikes up imagery and let you freestyle all over it. Nice one

Thanks, Rory!

thanks for the good ideas good short story for someone in grade 8

Thanks. I just read through your list of prompts and got flashes of either beginnings or endings for stories from every one. I’ve not seen prmopts like these much on the web, so well done. Such a simple idea with so much power and potential. If only I had the day off to get cracking!

I love to create and use writing prompts, and I’m glad you found these to be useful. Thanks!

Hello. Supernatural or magic realism is pretty much all I write. I’ve got a prompt. ‘A young teenager is walking home during a storm and ends up getting struck by lightning. The next day they wake up to find that the accident turned them into an inhuman being.’ I’ve heard of this type of scenario before and I thought it would make for a great story. I love creating my own ideas of course but writing prompts are just fun challenge myself with and see what I can create out of already given ideas. I really like the prompts you give. As I said they are enjoyable to mess around with.

Thanks for sharing your prompt, Kristen. I agree that prompts are fun and can be challenging. I’m glad you like these. Keep writing!

#7 Woodland Clearing

Winter trees screen blue and sunny skies, Intense but icy light the heat belies. Spikey, naked, dormant maids and men Wait for the earth to turn around again.

And bring the warmth that touches every thread Of bark and twigs and all that acted dead Until the full-blown leaves create a wall Shortening the view until late fall

When sun and clouds break through the limbs again And show clear-cut those lacey maids and men Black for a time against the coldest air While waiting for the Spring to deck them fair

With leaves that seem to turn the world to green Creating hidden meadows only seen By animals and birds and mist and rains. For ages before calendars and trains.

Humanity intrudes in such a place And fools themselves that they have found a space Where they belong beneath the patchy light To rip and tear and exercise their might.

For meadow edges have no need to stand Between the woods and grassy, open land Where bugs and bears and buntings feel the sun. ‘Till people think they do what must be done.

April 27, 2019

Hi Jennifa. Thanks for sharing your lovely poem here.

That is a stunningly good poem, Jennifa. Far more worthy than just an obscure comment thread here. I hope you found a home for it where more eyes will see it. If you are published anywhere, I’d love to find out.

Wow. These are truly amazing prompts! Just a few lines of inspiration and now my mind is filled with creativity. Please come up with more! <3

You’ll find plenty more in the Writing Prompts section of the Blog menu.

these are really helpful

Thanks, Flo! I’m glad you found them helpful.

What lovely prompts. I’m going to do some free writing and see what comes out. And maybe a poem or two.

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15 April 2024

How to Write Engaging Non-Fiction: Nature Writing

Nature writing is a type of non-fiction writing in which the beauty of the natural world is observed and described, often as a way of exploring human emotion and experience. The landscapes and natural habitats that are examined in nature writing vary hugely, as does the human emotion or journey that is often probed. As such, nature writing is a broad, dynamic, and fertile genre, full of many different kinds of books.

The varying styles of nature writing

Nature writers might choose to examine what the natural world means to them personally, reflecting on their own relationship with, and memories of a particular place, like an unknown and hidden beach in the South West of England.

They might take a more focused and factual approach examining individual flora and fauna and their importance, like the importance of bees and the role they play in balancing our ecosystem.

Nature writers might also analyse the social and cultural history of a place, and provide a commentary on and chart the change and decline of a landscape or habitat from an environmental point of view.

For books that focus on a particular landscape, there are no limits as to what types of landscapes deserve attention. Nature writing can be about cliffs, lakes, rivers, deserts, gardens, meadows, oceans, remote islands, and underwater worlds. It can be a study of the slices of nature within cities and urban spaces, whether focusing on parks or plants that we find cropping up in pavements.

Nature writing can focus on developments in agriculture, new farming techniques, the rearing of animals and the sowing of crops. It doesn’t have to be focused around locations and landscapes — it can be about the fauna and flora of a whole region, or just one animal, or even a single tree. But the two things that tend to unify all kinds of nature writing, are that the writing conveys a very clear sense of place and that the natural world is explored in terms of our relationship with it.

What attracts readers to nature writing?

Readers are attracted to this genre for different reasons and take away different learnings or feelings,  dictated by the particular focus of the book. For example, nature writing that focuses on how the author found a particular landscape healing in a difficult and dark time will offer readers guidance, reassurance, and solace in a time when they might need it most. A reader might feel comforted and seen by this kind of book.

Magical, nostalgic, and literary reflections on a particular place will help readers escape their reality and be transported to a far-flung location and wild places like a foreboding forest, a sweeping beach, a flowing stream, or an idyllic riverbank.

For nature writing that has a scientific or educational element, where an author is making the reader rethink the importance of a particular plant, ecosystem, or habitat, or where they are addressing the effects of the climate crisis on the environment, readers will be hoping to come away with new facts and insights about a particular topic that might serve their activism.

Focusing your work

It’s important when you’re embarking on a nature writing project to think carefully about exactly what kind of writing you’re aiming to create and what the reader who is drawn to this kind of book is seeking to learn from or feel when reading it. Does what you’ve written satisfy why the reader was attracted to the book?

The other important element to consider is what kind of writing best suits your subject focus. Given it is a genre that overlaps with other genres like memoir , science, and activism, the style of writing employed in nature writing is varied. It can take many different forms — poetry about the natural world, cultural history told through essays, literary prose about the personal relationship with the natural world, and factual guidebooks.

Make sure that the form of writing you choose fits with the content and aim of your book. 

Tips for nature writing

If you’re developing a book proposal on nature writing, there are a few things that you should keep in mind as you write: 

• Your writing should convey a very clear sense of place. 
• The natural world should be explored in terms of our relationship with it.
• You can write about any natural subject, from a single tree to a whole classification of flora or fauna, from a particular landscape to a whole country. 
• Nature writing can take many forms, from poetry and essays to memoirs and factual guides.
• Think about the reading experience — consider why the reader might be attracted to your book and make sure your writing offers them what they are looking for, whether that’s reassurance, support, escapism, a new perspective or facts and figures.

As a genre, nature writing is experiencing a resurgence, thanks in part to society’s fatigue with the digital world and to the comfort many have found in retreating to nature and quieter places. The great outdoors is an appealing balm that can heal us and help us relax, acting as a tonic to a stressful day. While we can’t always access beautiful landscapes, we can access the natural world through writing. 

Reading list

This list of popular nature books demonstrates the real breadth of the genre, from memoir to activism, and cultural history to more scientific approaches.

Entangled Life: How Fungi Makes Our World, Changes Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake

From redefining the boundaries of intelligent life forms to providing us with the building blocks of foodstuffs and medicines, Entangled Life demonstrates just how integral fungi are to sustained living on this planet.

Entangled Life is a mind-altering and surprising journey into a spectacular and neglected world. It shows that fungi provide a key to understanding both the planet on which we live, and life itself. This book is a remarkable work of modern science that truly changes the way we see the world. Every sentence offers up earth-shaking facts communicated in an excited tone.

Sheldrake shines a light on a totally unexplored topic with such accuracy and descriptive flair .

The Old Ways: A Journey On Foot by Robert MacFarlane

Robert MacFarlane is one of the most prolific and respected nature writers today. In The Old Ways , MacFarlane travels Britain’s ancient paths and discovers the secrets of Britain’s beautiful, underappreciated landscapes.

Following the tracks, holloways, drove-roads, and sea paths that form part of a vast ancient network of routes crisscrossing the British Isles and beyond, Macfarlane discovers a lost world – a landscape of the feet and the mind, of pilgrimage and ritual, of stories and ghosts; above all of the places and journeys which inspire and inhabit our imaginations.

MacFarlane is a master at totally immersing the reader in a particular place. To read this book is to be transported to different parts of the British Isles. One of the things that so many people love about this book is the impact it has had on the walks they previously thought uninteresting – MacFarlane forces the reader to rethink the landscapes they’ve become accustomed to and see the beauty in places they were previously blind to. Reading this book feels like an adventure and flight of discovery .

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

As a botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Robin Wall Kimmerer brings together scientific understanding with history and tradition in a collection of moving essays on how plants give us gifts and lessons.

The central argument running through the essays in Braiding Sweetgrass is that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires us to embrace a reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. From asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass, Wall Kimmerer argues that only when we can hear the languages of these other living beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

The book is a powerful vision of a new world of balance, reciprocity, and gratitude. Wall Kimmerer is an incredible storyteller who writes with real compassion and very poetic prose, which is what makes this collection of essays so special and unique. 

The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District by James Rebanks

Rebanks’ rural memoir is a rounded account of shepherding in the twenty-first century and a frank and engrossing dissection of a vanishing way of life .

In evocative and lucid prose, James Rebanks takes us through the year in the life of a  shepherd, offering a unique and candid account of a truly rural life and fundamental connection with the land that most of us have lost. Part cultural history of the Lake District and part personal memoir , Rebanks’ passion for his subject lights up every sentence.

At once lyrical and political, gentle and angry, The Shepherd’s Life is an amazing example of nature writing at its finest – a book that successfully draws on the author’s deeply personal relationship with the land, transports the reader into the landscape and rural life of the author, and offers poignant historical and political commentary on the natural world all at the same time. 

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

H is for Hawk is a profound meditation on grief expressed through the author’s experience training a goshawk.

As a child, Helen Macdonald was determined to become a falconer, learning the arcane terminology and reading all the classic books. Years later, when her father died and she was struck deeply by grief, she became obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk. The book is a moving and candid account of Macdonald’s struggle with grief as she tried to tame the hawk.

Macdonald writes beautifully on memory, nature, and nation, and how it might be possible to reconcile death with life and love. Her descriptive writing about nature is startlingly precise and her reflections on how taming an animal led to the untaming of herself are poignant. H is for Hawk is a fantastic example of distinguished writing about the relationship between humankind and the environment that evokes truly deep feelings in the reader. 

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall.

The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. It is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways. And it makes the reader appreciate the comforts of a warm home and good health. Written with real tenderness and humanity, it is about two people finding themselves in nature.

If you’re interested in writing non-fiction and want to get your work in front of a publisher, visit our  free non-fiction book proposal course  written by Lydia Yadi, Senior Commission Editor for Non-Fiction at Penguin Random House.

Note: All purchase links in this post are affiliate links through BookShop.org, and Novlr may earn a small commission – every purchase supports independent bookstores.

Nature Writing Examples

by Lisa Hiton

From the essays of Henry David Thoreau, to the features in National Geographic , nature writing has bridged the gap between scientific articles about environmental issues and personal, poetic reflections on the natural world. This genre has grown since Walden to include nature poetry, ecopoetics, nature reporting, activism, fiction, and beyond. We now even have television shows and films that depict nature as the central figure. No matter the genre, nature writers have a shared awe and curiosity about the world around us—its trees, creatures, elements, storms, and responses to our human impact on it over time.

Whether you want to report on the weather, write poems from the point of view of flowers, or track your journey down a river in your hometown, your passion for nature can manifest in many different written forms. As the world turns and we transition between seasons, we can reflect on our home, planet Earth, with great dedication to description, awe, science, and image.

Journal Examples: Keeping Track of Your Tracks

One of the many lost arts of our modern time is that of journaling. While keeping a journal is a beneficial practice for all, it is especially crucial to nature writers. John A. Murray , author of Writing About Nature: A Creative Guide , begins his study of the nature writing practice with the importance of journaling:

Nature writers may rely on journals more consistently than novelists and poets because of the necessity of describing long-term processes of nature, such as seasonal or environmental changes, in great detail, and of carefully recording outdoor excursions for articles and essays[…] The important thing, it seems to me, is not whether you keep journals, but, rather, whether you have regular mechanisms—extended letters, telephone calls to friends, visits with confidants, daily meditation, free-writing exercises—that enable you to comprehensively process events as they occur. But let us focus in this section on journals, which provide one of the most common means of chronicling and interpreting personal history. The words journal and journey share an identical root and common history. Both came into the English language as a result of the Norman Victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. For the next three hundred years, French was the chief language of government, religion, and learning in England. The French word journie, which meant a day’s work or a day’s travel, was one of the many words that became incorporated into English at the time[…]The journal offers the writer a moment of rest in that journey, a sort of roadside inn along the highway. Here intellect and imagination are alone with the blank page and composition can proceed with an honesty and informality often precluded in more public forms of expression. As a result, several important benefits can accrue: First, by writing with unscrutinized candor and directness on a particular subject, a person can often find ways to write more effectively on the same theme elsewhere. Second, the journal, as a sort of unflinching mirror, can remind the author of the importance of eliminating self-deception and half-truths in thought and writing. Third, the journal can serve as a brainstorming mechanism to explore new topics, modes of thought, or types of writing that otherwise would remain undiscovered or unexamined. Fourth, the journal can provide a means for effecting a catharsis on subjects too personal for publication even among friends and family. (Murray, 1-2)

A dedicated practice of documenting your day, observing what is around you, and creating your own field guide of the world as you encounter it will help strengthen your ability to translate it all to others and help us as a culture learn how to interpret what is happening around us.

Writing About Nature: A Creative Guide by John A. Murray : Murray’s book on nature writing offers hopeful writers a look at how nature writers keeps journals, write essays, incorporate figurative language, use description, revise, research, and more.

Botanical Shakespeare: An Illustrated Compendium of All the Flowers, Fruits, Herbs, Trees, Seeds, and Grasses Cited by the World’s Greatest Playwright by Gerit Quealy and Sumie Hasegawa Collins: Helen Mirren’s foreword to the book describes it as “the marriage of Shakespeare’s words about plants and the plants themselves.” This project combines the language of Shakespeare with the details of the botanicals found throughout his works—Quealy and Hasegawa bring us a literary garden ripe with flora and fauna puns and intellectual snark.

• What new vision of Shakespeare is provided by approaching his works through the lens of nature writing and botanicals?
• Latin and Greek terms and roots continue to be very important in the world of botanicals. What do you learn from that etymology throughout the book? How does it impact symbolism in Shakespeare’s works?
• Annotate the book using different colored highlighters. Seek out description in one color, interpretation in another, and you might even look for literary echoes using a third. How do these threads braid together?

The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland by Nan Shepherd : The Living Mountain is Shepherd’s account of exploring the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. Part of Britain’s Arctic, Shepherd encounters ravenous storms, clear views of the aurora borealis, and deep snows during the summer. She spent hundreds of days exploring the mountains by foot.

• These pages were written during the last years of WWII and its aftermath. How does that backdrop inform Shepherd’s interpretation of the landscape?
• The book is separated into twelve chapters, each dedicated to a specific part of life in the Cairngorms. How do these divisions guide the writing? Is she able to keep these elements separate from each other? In writing? In experiencing the land?
• Many parts of the landscape Shepherd observes would be expected in nature writing—mountains, weather, elements, animals, etc. How does Shepherd use language and tone to write about these things without using stock phrasing or clichéd interpretations?

Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation by Kyo Maclear : Even memoir can be delivered through nature writing as we see in Kyo Maclear’s poetic book, Birds Art Life . The book is an account of a year in her life after her father has passed away. And just as Murray and Thoreau would advise, journaling those days and the symbols in them led to a whole book—one that delicately and profoundly weaves together the nature of life—of living after death—and how art can collide with that nature to get us through the hours.

• How does time pass throughout the book? What techniques does Maclear employ to move the reader in and out of time?
• How does grief lead Maclear into art? Philosophy? Nature? Objects?
• The book is divided into the months of the year. Why does Maclear divide the book this way?
• What do you make of the subtitles?

Is time natural? Describe the relationship between humans and time in nature.

So dear writers, take to these pages and take to the trails in nature around you. Journal your way through your days. Use all of your senses to take a journey in nature. Then, journal to make a memory of your time in the world. And give it all away to the rest of us, in words.

Lisa Hiton is an editorial associate at Write the World . She writes two series on our blog: The Write Place where she comments on life as a writer, and Reading like a Writer where she recommends books about writing in different genres. She’s also the interviews editor of Cosmonauts Avenue and the poetry editor of the Adroit Journal .

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Nature writing prompts to spark creativity and connection

A keepsake journal for writing down experiences in nature (Photo by Wendy Ho/NCC staff)

December 21, 2023 | by Wendy Ho

Connecting with nature can come in many forms. For some, it may be taking a walk and listening to the rustling of leaves, or the crunching of snow underfoot. For others, a creative outlet like art, music and rhythmic movement allows them to experience nature more closely.

I like to reflect on how I’ve nurtured my connection with nature through writing. Often, nature happens right under my nose and writing in a journal allows me to savour the moment and find delight every time I reread my work.

Whether it’s encountering a teeny spider on the windowsill or stumbling upon a bee dozing inside a squash’s flower, there is nature’s magic and awe to be found. And the more I think about how and why a moment in nature was meaningful and endearing, the more descriptive my written account is.

Roots of an old American beech tree at Clear Creek Forest (Photo by NCC)

If you’d like to flex your writing muscles and relive your nature experiences in new ways, here are 10   writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing. See how far you get in 10 minutes on any one prompt. Perhaps even consider making this a regular habit as your one-on-one time with nature.

Connecting with nature in a multitude of ways can inspire all of us to act with intention and make a positive impact on nature at every turn we take.

• Write a eulogy for a majestic tree that stood for decades.
• Compose the first communication transmitted back to Earth after a successful human expedition to another planet.
• Finish this sentence: The scent of freshly bloomed flowers reminds me of...
• A forest sprite grants you three tiny wishes to interact with nature's wonders. What are they, and how do you use them to connect with the environment around you?
• An undercover botanist is about to study your local flora and fauna. Write instructions on how to observe and protect the delicate balance of nature.
• Write your life story in five sentences, emphasizing your profound connection with the wilderness and how it has shaped your outlook on life and personal growth.
• Complete this sentence: "I really ought to spend more time exploring …."
• Find a photo of a serene landscape and write about the sounds of nature, the scent of the air and the unseen wildlife that might inhabit the area beyond the frame.
• Pick a place in North America that you've never been to and describe your yearning to move there and immerse yourself in its beautiful landscapes.
• If you were given one extra hour today and you weren't allowed to use it for anything you'd normally do (e.g., eat, sleep, scroll on your phone, watch TV etc.), how would you spend that hour connecting with nature?

Posted in: Time for nature

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Wendy Ho is Nature Conservancy of Canada's digital content manager.

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• Published: 23 September 2015

Creative writing: A world of pure imagination

• Roberta Kwok 1  

Nature volume  525 ,  pages 553–555 ( 2015 ) Cite this article

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The creative process of writing science-inspired fiction can be rewarding — and the untapped niche is rich in opportunities for originality.

When Steve Caplan was a graduate student in the late 1990s, he accidentally inhaled a toxic chemical in his immunology laboratory, and had to spend ten days at home to recover. With little to do, he began to write a novel — he loved reading and had published some short stories, but hadn't yet had the time or mental space to produce longer work. He pounded out most of a rough draft about a scientist struggling to get tenure and coping with childhood memories of a parent with bipolar disorder.

After going back to work, Caplan — now a cell biologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha — spent months revising the manuscript at night and on weekends. His initial attempts to sell the novel to a publisher failed, but in 2009, he decided to pursue the self-publishing route. Caplan produced print and electronic versions of his novel using the Amazon services CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing, and publicized the work by doing readings at bookshops and libraries. He collaborated with his university's public-relations office on a press release, and showed a slide of the book at the end of his seminars. The novel, called Matter Over Mind (Steve Caplan, 2010), has sold more than 2,000 copies so far, netting roughly US$7,000. He has since written two more novels, which he published through small presses, and is now working on a fourth.

For many scientists who spend their days cranking out papers and grant proposals, writing fiction may seem like the last thing they would want to do. But some researchers with a love of literature have made time to pursue the craft — and have found it creatively rewarding. Science offers plenty of rich material, whether it is the drama of overwintering at a polar research station or the futuristic thrill of genetically engineering live organisms. “You're sitting on a gold mine of really interesting stories,” says Jennifer Rohn, a cell biologist at University College London and founder of LabLit.com , a website about portrayals of scientific research in fiction and other media.

A tantalizing niche

When done well, science-related fiction can help to expose the public to the scientific process, humanize researchers and inspire readers to learn about topics they might otherwise ignore. Such nuanced depictions of science in fiction are relatively rare. LabLit.com has catalogued about 200 examples of novels, such as Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior (HarperCollins, 2012) and Ian McEwan's Solar (Random House, 2010), that feature realistic scientists as characters. Stories about scientists are well outnumbered by those about, for example, doctors or artists. Even science fiction tends to lack portrayals of the actual scientific process, says Alastair Reynolds, a science-fiction author near Cardiff, UK, who left a career in astronomy to write full-time.

The shortage of works with accurate depictions of science means that researchers who write fiction have a good opportunity to be original — a task that would challenge an aspiring crime or romance writer. “It's sort of untrampled ground,” says Rohn. Many researchers are familiar with fieldwork sites and unusual settings that other writers might not have at their fingertips. In her novel The Falling Sky (Freight Books, 2013), Pippa Goldschmidt, an astronomer turned fiction writer in Edinburgh, UK, writes about a young astronomer who wanders into a telescope dome on a Chilean mountaintop and is nearly injured when the operator moves the instrument.

Sources of plot inspiration abound in science. Reynolds reads research news and papers voraciously for intriguing elements that can be parlayed into fiction. One time, he found a study about huge flocks of starlings in which the authors used high-tech equipment to track individual birds. He incorporated the idea into a science-fiction story, but made the fictional technology so advanced that it could track the birds' eye movements.

Scientists also can draw ideas from the past. Goldschmidt was inspired by an anecdote about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer: during an unhappy period in the 1920s while studying abroad, Oppenheimer left a poisoned apple for his tutor. The details are sketchy, but Goldschmidt wanted to imagine what might have transpired. “No historical figure is ever completely understood,” she says. “There's always gaps in their lives, and fiction can inhabit those gaps.” The result was a short story entitled 'The Equation for an Apple', a fictionalized account of Oppenheimer's life leading up to the act.

Scientist–writers can also generate ideas by doing something they are already used to — sitting around and imagining scenarios, notes Andy Weir, a novelist in Mountain View, California. His novel The Martian (Crown, 2014) explores what might happen if a crewed Mars mission goes awry and one person is left behind on the red planet. The story follows the lone astronaut's trials as he tries to grow enough food for himself and to make contact with Earth.

Fiction-writing classes offered through adult-education programmes or at creative-writing centres can help authors to transfer an idea onto the page. These courses provide basic tips, such as how to construct compelling characters, build tension and handle shifts between past and present. Participants often critique each other's manuscripts, giving scientists a chance to get feedback from non-technical readers.

Reading widely and critically helps, too. Reynolds learnt to write fiction by studying the differences between his writing and that of successful authors. To work out how to rotate between different characters' points of view, he read James Ellroy's crime novel L.A. Confidential (Mysterious Press, 1990). And writers can learn how to structure dialogue from masters such as Jane Austen, he says.

Opening act

Short stories are a good starting point because newbies can quickly practise the basics, explore story ideas and learn from their mistakes. But, Goldschmidt notes, “there's no point in writing short stories if you don't like reading them”. Scientists who want motivation to complete a longer work might consider participating in National Novel Writing Month, an international programme held every November that encourages writers of all levels to produce a 50,000-word manuscript (see nanowrimo.org ). Researchers can also find support through collaboration with professional writers on works of fiction (see 'Meeting of the minds').

boxed-text Researcher–writers should keep in mind that education is not the main purpose of fiction. Technical details should be included only if the reader needs them to understand the story, not simply because the author finds them fascinating. For The Martian , Weir went to great lengths to ensure accuracy, and even performed orbital-dynamics calculations. But he left out how he came up with certain numbers, such as the mass that had to be removed from the ship to achieve escape velocity.

When technical information is necessary, writers should try to deliver it in a way that sounds natural. “People don't tell each other a whole bunch of information about particle physics when they're having breakfast together,” says Goldschmidt. Instead, she tries to make the science an organic part of the character's personal journey. In the Oppenheimer story, the physicist thinks about an experiment that he is trying to replicate, but the details are woven into his emotional turmoil at failing to complete it.

Humour can help to lighten the tone. The Martian 's protagonist is a smart-aleck, and his jokes break up the expository text. In one section, he says that if he were exposed to damaging solar radiation, he would “get so much cancer, the cancer would have cancer”.

The path to press

Many outlets accept short-story submissions. LabLit.com often publishes fiction by scientists, although it does not pay them because it is a volunteer effort. Nature runs an 850- to 950-word science-fiction story each week (see nature.com/futures ). The website Duotrope.com offers a searchable database of literary journals and other fiction markets around the world, and writers can peruse newsstands for sci-fi magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact .

For longer works, small presses are a more-realistic option than major publishers, and many do not require writers to have agents. Tasneem Zehra Husain, a theoretical physicist and writer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, wrote a novel that revisits physics breakthroughs throughout history from the perspectives of fictional characters. Through an acquaintance, she connected with the publisher Paul Dry Books in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which released her book Only the Longest Threads last year. To find small presses, scientists can look for companies that have published similar books. Alternatively, authors could self-publish using a service such as Lulu.

Many literary journals do not pay at all, and Reynolds estimates that science-fiction magazines have paid him an average of only US$200–300 per story. But the contacts that Reynolds made through short-story publishing led to a book deal, and he published four novels while working as an astronomer. By the time he quit science to become a full-time writer, he was making about $60,000–$75,000 per year from book sales.

The write balance

Few scientists can expect to make a living — or earn much — from their fiction. But money often isn't the main motivation. Caplan, for his part, wanted to bring attention to the challenges faced by the family members of people with bipolar disorder (challenges he himself has experienced) and to provide entertainment for scientists. He also finds that writing fiction clears his head, in the same way that playing a sport might do for others (see Nature 523 , 117–119; 2015). “It's almost like a form of meditation,” says Caplan. “It just keeps me sane.” And there are other rewards. Scientists have a chance to reach people who might not read a non-fiction science book or visit a natural-history museum — but who might read a love story about ecologists in an exotic field location. And readers might be inspired to look up the science once they've finished.

Scientists have a chance to reach people who might not read a non-fiction science book or visit a museum.

There can also be a cross-training effect. Rohn thinks that her fiction has helped her to get more grants; reviewers have commented that her proposals are beautifully written. The craft of telling a story applies to scientific papers as well; in hers, for example, she lays out the phenomenon that her team noticed, the questions it raised and what they did to try to answer those questions. “Everybody wants to hear a story,” she says.

Finding the time to write is a challenge. Some scientists squeeze it in on evenings and weekends. Husain wrote her book while working part-time, and says that she could not have done so with a full-time job because the novel required extensive historical research.

Scientist–authors also risk having their fiction perceived as a distraction by promotion committees. Husain worried that her novel might affect her career prospects. But she has received positive feedback on the book from other physicists, including prominent researchers whose fields are described in her book.

For researchers who delve into fiction writing, the act of creating a world, characters and stories can be intensely rewarding. When the writing is flowing, says Rohn, “it's like being caught up in the best book you've ever read”.

Box 1: Meeting of the minds

Scientists who are too daunted or busy to write fiction can pair up with a professional writer. Comma Press in Manchester, UK, for example, has published four short-story anthologies — a fifth comes out this October — as part of its 'Science-into-Fiction' series. Each scientist suggests a few research items or emerging technologies for inspiration, and a writer chooses one to develop into fiction. The researcher provides technical guidance, reviews the draft and writes an afterword explaining the science in detail.

The partnership is satisfying because scientists see their work portrayed in a real-world context, and the writer can raise social or ethical implications that the researcher may not have considered, says Ra Page, who founded Comma Press. One scientist studied how nanotechnology could improve body armour, which could have military applications. The writer penned 'Without a Shell', a tale of a futuristic society in which children at an elite school have 'smart' uniforms that heal their injuries, while kids at a poor school do not. Comma Press included the work in its 2009 anthology, When It Changed . An upcoming collection will focus on fabrication technology, such as 3D printers; interested researchers can contact Page to take part.

Scientists also can offer to answer questions from fiction writers through the Science and Entertainment Exchange, run by the US National Academy of Sciences in Washington DC. For instance, a novelist might want to know what types of equipment a researcher would carry in the field. Scientists can call 844-NEEDSCI (toll-free in the United States) to volunteer (see go.nature.com/e6juh9 for more).

Researchers can also partner with faculty members in their universities' creative-writing departments, suggests Page. Authors do not need experience writing about science, but it helps if they have been commissioned to write about specific topics before. When collaborating, “allow the writer to make silly suggestions”, says Page. An idea that at first seems impossible may be plausible after further thought.

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Kwok, R. Creative writing: A world of pure imagination. Nature 525 , 553–555 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7570-553a

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Creative Biz

Describe Nature Creatively: A Guide to Captivating Descriptions

How to describe nature in creative writing – Welcome to the art of describing nature in creative writing! In this guide, we’ll dive into the techniques and strategies that will transform your nature descriptions from ordinary to extraordinary.

From capturing the sensory details to conveying the emotions evoked by nature, we’ll explore a range of approaches to help you create vivid and immersive nature scenes that will leave your readers spellbound.

Sensory Details

Nature’s beauty lies in its intricate tapestry of sensory experiences. To effectively describe nature in writing, it is essential to engage all five senses to create a vivid and immersive portrayal that transports the reader into the heart of the natural world.

Sensory details provide a tangible and visceral connection to the environment, allowing readers to experience nature through their imagination. By capturing the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of the natural world, writers can evoke a profound sense of place and connection.

Visual descriptions are the most prominent and often the first sensory detail that comes to mind. When describing nature, focus on the colors, shapes, sizes, and textures of the surroundings. Use specific and evocative language that paints a clear picture in the reader’s mind.

• Instead of writing “there were many trees,” describe the “towering oaks with their gnarled trunks and emerald canopies.”
• Instead of saying “the water was blue,” describe the “azure waters that shimmered like a thousand diamonds under the sunlight.”

Sounds add depth and atmosphere to a natural setting. Describe the cacophony of birdsong, the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind, or the thunderous roar of a waterfall. Use onomatopoeia and sensory verbs to create a vivid auditory experience.

• Instead of writing “the birds were singing,” describe the “melodic chorus of birdsong that filled the air, a symphony of chirps, trills, and whistles.”
• Instead of saying “the wind blew,” describe the “wind that whispered through the trees, carrying the sweet scent of wildflowers.”

Smells evoke powerful memories and emotions. Describe the fragrant scent of blooming flowers, the earthy aroma of damp soil, or the salty tang of the ocean breeze. Use evocative language that transports the reader to the heart of the natural world.

• Instead of writing “the flowers smelled nice,” describe the “heady perfume of jasmine that permeated the air, a sweet and intoxicating fragrance.”
• Instead of saying “the forest smelled musty,” describe the “earthy scent of the forest floor, mingled with the fresh aroma of pine needles and the sweet decay of fallen leaves.”

While taste is less commonly associated with nature descriptions, it can add a unique and immersive element to your writing. Describe the tart sweetness of wild berries, the salty tang of seawater, or the earthy flavor of fresh herbs.

• Instead of writing “the berries were sweet,” describe the “sweet and juicy berries that burst in my mouth, releasing a burst of tart and tangy flavor.”
• Instead of saying “the water was salty,” describe the “salty tang of the seawater as it kissed my lips, leaving a lingering taste of the ocean.”

Textures provide a tactile dimension to your writing. Describe the rough bark of a tree, the smooth surface of a lake, or the velvety softness of a flower petal. Use descriptive language that evokes a physical sensation in the reader.

• Instead of writing “the bark was rough,” describe the “rough and gnarled bark of the ancient oak, its deep fissures and ridges creating a tactile tapestry.”
• Instead of saying “the water was smooth,” describe the “smooth and glassy surface of the lake, reflecting the sky like a perfect mirror.”

– Sensory Imagery

Engage the reader’s senses with specific and evocative language that appeals to sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Create a vivid sensory landscape that transports the reader into the heart of nature.

• The emerald leaves shimmered like a thousand tiny mirrors, reflecting the dappled sunlight.
• The wind whistled through the trees, a mournful symphony that stirred the soul.
• The soft moss beneath her feet yielded like a downy pillow.
• The pungent scent of wildflowers filled the air, a heady perfume that intoxicated the senses.
• The tangy sweetness of ripe berries burst between her teeth, a taste of summer’s bounty.

Personification: How To Describe Nature In Creative Writing

Personification is a literary device that gives human qualities to non-human things, such as animals, plants, or objects. It can make nature more relatable and create a deeper connection between the reader and the natural world.

Examples of Personification

Here are some examples of how personification can be used to create a deeper connection between the reader and the natural world:

• The wind whispered secrets to the trees.
• The sun smiled down on the earth.
• The river danced and sang its way to the sea.

These examples give nature human qualities, such as the ability to speak, smile, and dance. This makes nature more relatable and allows the reader to connect with it on a more personal level.

Table of Personification Types and Effects

Here is a table that summarizes the different types of personification and their effects on the reader:

Poem Using Personification

Here is a poem that uses personification to give a voice to a natural object, in this case, a tree:

I am a tree, and I have stood for centuries, My roots deep in the earth, my branches reaching for the skies. I have seen the seasons come and go, And I have witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations. I am a silent observer, But I have a story to tell.

This poem gives the tree a human voice and allows it to share its story with the reader. This creates a deeper connection between the reader and the natural world.

Emotional Impact

Nature writing has the power to evoke a wide range of emotions, from awe and wonder to peace and tranquility. Language plays a crucial role in conveying these emotions to the reader, creating a specific mood or atmosphere that enhances the overall impact of the writing.

Figurative Language

Figurative language, such as metaphors and similes, can create powerful emotional connections between the reader and the natural world. Metaphors compare two seemingly unrelated things, while similes use the words “like” or “as” to make a comparison. Both techniques can bring nature to life, giving it human qualities and making it more relatable and emotionally resonant.

For example, the poet William Wordsworth uses a metaphor to describe the daffodils in his famous poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”:

“A host, of golden daffodils;/ Beside the lake, beneath the trees,/ Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

Here, Wordsworth compares the daffodils to a host of dancers, suggesting their joyful and carefree nature. The use of the word “fluttering” also evokes a sense of movement and energy, further enhancing the emotional impact of the poem.

Nature’s Perspective

Adopting the perspective of nature can infuse your writing with a profound sense of empathy and ecological consciousness. By giving nature a voice, you can convey its intrinsic value, resilience, and interconnectedness with humanity.

Imagine nature as a sentient being, possessing its own thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Describe the landscape through its eyes, capturing the intricate details that often go unnoticed by humans. Explore the interconnectedness of all living organisms, highlighting the delicate balance that sustains the natural world.

Voice and Viewpoint

Craft a distinct voice for nature, using language that reflects its vastness, wisdom, and timelessness. Employ sensory imagery and personification to evoke a vivid and intimate connection between the reader and the natural world. Consider the unique perspective of each element of nature, from the towering mountains to the murmuring streams.

Example: “The ancient oak tree stood as a silent guardian, its gnarled roots anchoring it firmly in the earth. Its branches stretched out like welcoming arms, offering shelter to weary travelers and a sanctuary for woodland creatures.”

Fresh Insights and Deeper Understanding

Writing from nature’s perspective offers fresh insights into the human experience and our place within the natural world. By embodying nature, you can challenge anthropocentric viewpoints and foster a greater appreciation for the interdependence of all living beings.

Example: “The river flowed relentlessly, carrying with it the memories and secrets of countless journeys. Its waters whispered tales of distant lands and the lives that had touched its banks.”

Nature’s Rhythm and Movement

Nature is a dynamic entity, constantly moving and changing. To effectively capture this dynamism in writing, pay attention to the rhythms, patterns, and cycles that govern the natural world. Describe the ebb and flow of tides, the waxing and waning of the moon, the seasonal changes, and the life cycles of plants and animals.

Use descriptive language to convey the movement and flow of nature. For instance, instead of simply stating that the wind is blowing, describe how it rustles through the leaves or whips up the waves. Instead of saying that the river is flowing, describe how it meanders through the landscape or cascades over rocks.

Capturing Rhythmic Patterns, How to describe nature in creative writing

• Identify the cycles and patterns that occur in nature, such as the changing of seasons, the movement of the stars, or the ebb and flow of tides.
• Use language that conveys rhythm and repetition, such as alliteration, assonance, or onomatopoeia.
• Pay attention to the tempo and cadence of your writing to create a sense of movement and flow.

Conveying Dynamic Movement

• Use active verbs and strong action words to describe the movement of natural elements.
• Employ sensory details to create a vivid picture of the movement, such as the sound of wind whistling through trees or the feeling of water rushing over your skin.
• Consider using personification or擬人化 to give natural elements human qualities, such as the wind dancing or the river whispering.

Nature’s Scale and Immensity

When describing nature’s scale and immensity, the goal is to convey a sense of awe and wonder at its vastness and grandeur. This can be achieved through the use of language that emphasizes size, distance, and power.

One effective technique is to use words that evoke a sense of scale, such as “colossal,” “towering,” or “expansive.” These words help to create a mental image of the sheer size of natural features, such as mountains, oceans, or forests.

• The towering peaks of the Himalayas stretched up into the sky, their snow-capped summits lost in the clouds.
• The vast expanse of the ocean stretched out before us, as far as the eye could see.
• The ancient forest was a labyrinth of towering trees, their branches reaching up to the heavens.

Nature’s Interconnectedness

Nature is a vast and intricate web of life, where every element plays a crucial role in maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystem. Describing this interconnectedness requires capturing the relationships between different species, the interdependence of natural processes, and the impact of human activities on the environment.

Symbiotic Relationships

Highlight the mutually beneficial relationships between species, such as pollination, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling. Explain how these interactions contribute to the survival and well-being of both species involved.

• Describe the intricate relationship between bees and flowers, where bees collect nectar and pollen for food while aiding in the plant’s reproduction.
• Discuss the interdependence of birds and trees, where birds rely on trees for nesting and shelter, while trees benefit from the birds’ seed dispersal and insect control.

Food Webs and Trophic Levels

Explain the concept of food webs and trophic levels, illustrating how energy and nutrients flow through an ecosystem. Emphasize the interconnectedness of all organisms, from producers to consumers to decomposers.

• Describe the role of phytoplankton as primary producers in marine ecosystems, providing the foundation for the entire food web.
• Explain how the decline of one species, such as a keystone predator, can have cascading effects throughout the ecosystem, affecting multiple trophic levels.

Biogeochemical Cycles

Discuss the interconnectedness of natural processes, such as the water cycle, carbon cycle, and nitrogen cycle. Explain how these cycles regulate the Earth’s climate, provide essential nutrients, and support life.

• Describe the role of forests in the water cycle, capturing and releasing water vapor into the atmosphere.
• Explain how the carbon cycle links the atmosphere, oceans, and land, regulating the Earth’s temperature and providing the basis for fossil fuels.

Human Impact

Discuss the impact of human activities on the interconnectedness of nature. Explain how pollution, deforestation, and climate change can disrupt natural relationships and threaten the stability of ecosystems.

• Describe the effects of plastic pollution on marine life, entangling and harming animals.
• Explain how deforestation disrupts the water cycle and leads to soil erosion, affecting the entire ecosystem.

Sensory Overload and Immersion

Nature has the power to overwhelm our senses and immerse us in its vastness. To create a sense of sensory overload and immersion in nature using descriptive language, writers can employ the following techniques:

Sensory Overload

Sensory overload is a technique that involves using multiple sensory details to create an overwhelming and immersive experience. By engaging several senses simultaneously, writers can transport readers into the natural world and evoke a vivid and visceral response.For example, consider the following passage:

“The air was thick with the scent of pine needles, the sound of rushing water, and the feel of the wind on my skin. The sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting a dappled light on the forest floor. I could taste the crisp autumn air on my tongue, and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet filled my ears.”

This passage uses a combination of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch to create a sense of sensory overload, immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of the natural world.

Envelopment

Envelopment is a technique that describes the feeling of being fully surrounded by and enveloped in nature. By creating a sense of enclosure and immersion, writers can evoke a feeling of awe and wonder in readers.For example, consider the following passage:

“I felt like I was being swallowed up by the forest, the trees towering over me like ancient guardians. The canopy of leaves formed a dense roof above my head, blocking out the sunlight and creating a sense of intimacy and seclusion. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, and the only sound was the gentle rustling of the wind in the trees.”

This passage uses imagery and sensory details to create a sense of envelopment, making the reader feel as if they are surrounded by the forest and enveloped in its sights, sounds, and smells.

Awe-Inspiring

Awe-inspiring is a technique that conveys the overwhelming and awe-inspiring aspects of nature. By using language that evokes a sense of wonder and insignificance, writers can create a powerful emotional response in readers.For example, consider the following passage:

“The sheer size and majesty of the mountains filled me with a sense of wonder and insignificance. I stood at the base of the towering peaks, my head tilted back as I gazed up at their snow-capped summits. The clouds drifted past, casting shadows on the mountain slopes, and the wind howled through the passes, carrying with it the sound of distant thunder.”

This passage uses vivid imagery and sensory details to convey the awe-inspiring aspects of nature, creating a sense of wonder and insignificance in the reader.

Nature’s Symbolism and Meaning

Nature has the ability to evoke powerful emotions and associations, making it a rich source of symbolism in creative writing. Authors can use nature to convey deeper themes and meanings, exploring the human condition and the relationship between humanity and the natural world.

For example, a stormy sea might represent inner turmoil or emotional upheaval, while a blooming flower could symbolize hope or renewal. Nature can also be used to represent human qualities, such as strength, resilience, or fragility.

Nature as a Reflection of Human Emotion

• A gentle breeze can convey a sense of peace and tranquility.
• A raging storm can symbolize anger, passion, or chaos.
• A wilting flower can represent sadness, loss, or vulnerability.

Nature’s Healing and Restorative Powers

Nature possesses an inherent ability to heal and restore our minds and bodies. Spending time in natural environments has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and boost cognitive function. In this section, we will explore how to effectively describe the restorative effects of nature on the human psyche, providing examples and insights to enhance your writing.

Natural Elements and Their Psychological Benefits

Various natural elements offer specific psychological benefits. Consider incorporating the following into your writing:

“Nature has a profound and healing effect on our well-being. It can reduce stress, improve mood, and boost cognitive function.” – Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods”

Nature’s Threats and Fragility

Nature, in its pristine beauty and intricate balance, faces myriad threats that jeopardize its well-being and the delicate equilibrium it sustains. Human activities, often driven by short-sightedness and unsustainable practices, pose significant risks to the natural world, leaving an imprint of destruction that threatens the very foundation of our planet’s ecosystems.

Industrialization, urbanization, and the proliferation of consumer goods have led to an alarming increase in pollution levels. Pollutants such as greenhouse gases, toxic chemicals, and plastic waste contaminate the air, water, and soil, disrupting ecosystems and endangering countless species. Air pollution, caused by vehicle emissions and industrial processes, contributes to respiratory illnesses and climate change.

Water pollution, resulting from industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and sewage discharge, contaminates water bodies, harming aquatic life and affecting human health.

Deforestation

The relentless destruction of forests, driven by logging, agriculture, and urban expansion, is a major threat to biodiversity and the global ecosystem. Forests play a crucial role in regulating the climate, providing habitats for countless species, and supporting the livelihoods of millions of people.

Deforestation disrupts the water cycle, exacerbates soil erosion, and contributes to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Climate Change

Climate change, driven by human activities that release greenhouse gases, is one of the most pressing threats to nature. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events disrupt ecosystems, threaten species, and impact human societies. Coral reefs, essential for marine biodiversity, are particularly vulnerable to rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification.

Conservation and Protection

Recognizing the urgency of these threats, conservation efforts are vital to safeguard nature’s resilience and ensure its long-term survival. Protecting and restoring natural habitats, promoting sustainable practices, and reducing pollution are essential steps towards mitigating these threats. Individuals can contribute by adopting eco-friendly lifestyles, supporting conservation organizations, and advocating for policies that prioritize environmental protection.

Nature’s Resilience and Adaptability

Nature is not just beautiful; it’s also incredibly resilient and adaptable. It has the ability to withstand and overcome challenges, and even thrive in changing conditions.

Nature’s Adaptability

Nature has an amazing ability to adapt to its surroundings. For example, some plants have evolved to thrive in harsh conditions, such as deserts or mountains. Some animals have developed camouflage to help them hide from predators. And some organisms have even learned to live in extreme environments, such as the deep sea or the Arctic.

Nature’s Resilience

Nature is also incredibly resilient. It can withstand natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. It can also recover from human-caused damage, such as pollution and deforestation. Nature’s resilience is a testament to its strength and adaptability.

How to Describe Nature’s Resilience and Adaptability

When describing nature’s resilience and adaptability, use descriptive language and vivid imagery. Focus on the details that show how nature is able to withstand and overcome challenges. For example, you might describe the way a tree bends in the wind but does not break, or the way a flower blooms in the middle of a barren landscape.You can also use personification to give nature human qualities.

This can help to make nature seem more relatable and to emphasize its strength and resilience. For example, you might describe a river as “fighting” against its banks, or a mountain as “standing tall” in the face of adversity.Finally, don’t forget to evoke emotions in your writing.

Nature’s resilience and adaptability can inspire a sense of awe and wonder. By capturing these emotions in your writing, you can help your readers to appreciate the beauty and strength of the natural world.

Key Questions Answered

How do I choose the right sensory details to describe nature?

Focus on details that evoke a specific sense or emotion. Use vivid language and avoid generic or overused descriptions.

How can I use figurative language to enhance my nature descriptions?

Metaphors, similes, and personification can bring nature to life and create a lasting impression. Use them sparingly and effectively.

How do I convey the emotional impact of nature in my writing?

Use language that reflects the emotions you want to evoke. Consider the tone and mood you’re aiming for and use descriptive language that creates the desired atmosphere.

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Immerse yourself in nature and reflect on how it has intersected with your life and shaped your perspective. Then, translate those insights into poetry and prose. Experiential learning and activities designed to draw out insights will help you on your creative journey. This unique course will provide you with room to create and inspiration to keep you motivated long after this foray to the northwoods. 

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Course modules include :

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13 Literary Journals that Focus on Nature and the Environment

Most literary journals, unless they have a very focused mission, or are genre journals, are open to publishing poems, prose, and nonfiction featuring nature. Most writers that focus on the natural world do not have an issue finding homes for their work in general interest literary journals.

Still, there are a number of journals that focus on publishing writing that focuses on the environment.

It’s important to note that most journals that only publish poems that focus on the natural world are currently preoccupied with ecopoetics , which, according to the Poetry Foundation, is a “multidisciplinary approach that includes thinking and writing on poetics, science, and theory as well as emphasizing innovative approaches common to conceptual poetry”.

Of course there is overlap between the ecopoetics and nature poetry, just like there’s an overlap between journals that publish nature writing and those that focus on environmental change. Below I’ve collected a list of journals that publish one or both.

Not all of the journals are currently open to submissions but the majority of the journals are.

The Hopper Magazine

This is an environmental literary journal published by Green Writers Press. The Hopper looks for a number of very specific things in the writing they publish, which includes poetry and prose, including work that “Offers new and different articulations of the human experience in nature. Specifically, nature writing that is psychologically honest about the environmental crisis and the impacts of mechanical modernity” and work that “Explores place as both the cultural and physical landscapes of an author’s region.” Read their full submission guidelines with care.

This wonderful online journals focus is on how place shapes identity, imagination, and understanding. A lot of what they publish focuses on nature, but not all of it.

This respected and well paying journal publishes fiction, essays, and poetry, about the Pacific Northwest but only by authors based in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia.

Minding Nature

This journal publishes a wide variety of work on humans’ interactions with the environment as a whole, including works of ecopoetics.

A literary journal focused on re-imagining place. They publish prose and poetry. They charge for online submissions, but postal submissions within the US are fee-free.

Orion Magazine

Orion Magazine brings ideas, writers, photographers, and artists together, focused on nature, the environment, and culture, addressing environmental and societal issues. They generally have an additional theme for most issues. They are only open for pitches on a theme till October 15th, and are not currently open to fiction, general nonfiction, or poetry.

Hawk & Handsaw: The Journal of Creative Sustainability

Focused more on the environmental and sustainable side of things, Hawk & Handsaw publishes visual art, poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction.

Green Briar Review

An online literary journey that focuses on the natural world, and often on the changing of the seasons, they publish nonfiction, cultural essays, reviews, fiction, and poetry, and photography/art. They read a limited number of fee-free submissions during their reading periods.

Split Rock Review

They are an online publication that publishes “poetry, short creative nonfiction, short fiction, comics, graphic stories, hybrids, visual poetry, photography, and art that explore place, environment, and the relationship between humans and the natural world”. They read a limited number of fee-free submissions during their reading periods.

They bill themselves as the literary journal of the environmental crisis. They publish poetry and essays.

Words for the Wild

This UK-based publisher of poetry and fiction often has an additional theme for online issues and anthologies, some focus more on ecopoetics, others more on nature.

Terrain An online journal that publishes fiction, poetry, and a variety of nonfiction, focusing on nature and the environment.

The Wayfarer

They focus on publishing contemplative voices. Not all that they publish focuses on nature and the environment, but much of what they publish, does intersect with these themes. They publish poetry and essays.

Emily Harstone  is the author of many popular books, including  The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions ,  Submit, Publish, Repeat , and   The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at  The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish.

You can follow her on Facebook  here .

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• Get gardening

An introduction to nature writing

On this page:

^ back to the top, 1. benefits for you, 2. why nature writing is good for your health, 3. finding sources of inspiration, 4. ekphrastic writing activity, 5. nature writing activity inspired by the soil, 6. roshni beeharry biography, benefits for you.

• Spending time in nature can make us feel refreshed and reduce stress
• As you gather inspiration, you can enjoy gardens and nature at a sensory level, no matter your knowledge of gardening
• Nature writing provides the opportunity for unrestricted creativity. You could write a poem, a short story or plan a longer piece of work

Why nature writing is good for your health

A person doing nature based writing in a notebook

By roshni beeharry.

The health benefits of being in nature and interacting with it are manifold. In the UK and further afield, gardening and forest therapy is sometimes recommended by healthcare professionals via social prescribing.

Being in nature is a well-established and powerful way to improve our wellbeing. This is partly through the much-needed chance to stop, take some time to rest and restore our energy from the demands of life and work.

Being outdoors, whether it is in your garden, local park or in a forest or in another landscape, is a great way to engage your senses. You can explore through sight, smell, texture, including the feel of the ground, grass or soil underfoot, plus what you can feel in your hands.

Nature writing, or writing inspired by the natural world, also allows us to engage all our senses. It offers the chance to hone our observation skills by engaging in the mindful practice of observing, smelling, feeling and sensing what is around us.

Many poets such as John Keats or Emily Dickinson, use nature as a basis of their writing. It is one of my favourite modes of writing inspiration.

It is also possible to write about nature by taking inspiration from representations of nature in art, such as visual arts, poetry, prose (fiction and nonfiction) as well as music and film.

My relationship with nature

I am passionate about nature. When I am under stress my go-to place is to get outdoors- as long as it has trees and greenery! Not only is this essential and highly therapeutic for my wellbeing, but it also inspires much of my writing, both poetry and prose (fiction and creative non-fiction).

I am very lucky to have grown up with a garden and even luckier to live back in the house I grew up in. Although with a seemingly endlessly long garden come the challenges of maintenance (not least the chores of weeding and grass cutting!), there is always something new popping up, even if it is a clump of weeds or some wildflowers. I often joke that the only surprises I like are those that nature offers. Seeing what pops up in the garden or my local park as time passes is really pleasurable.

Here is a poem I wrote with my garden at the heart of it:

This Garden

This garden

Holds many memories,

Of children’s parties

And laughter;

Of cricket games

With my brother;

Of fruit trees blossoming

And bearing fruit,

Year after year.

The wishing well

Sits majestically.

Once it was filled with seashells,

Souvenirs of holidays on the beach. Now it is empty,

The conifers line the fence,

Give shade against

The blazing sun.

The sweetpeas

Butterflies and bees

Cross paths in flight

But never collide. The poppies behind me

Are tightly shirt now,

Clasping their secrets. I will have to wait until

Next summer

To gaze upon their

Pretty pink faces.

Poem copyright of Roshni Beeharry, Highly Commended in Enfield Music and Drama Festival, 2000 and published in The Enfield Writers Workshop anthology 2001.

Nature is beautiful to look at and to immerse oneself in. It has been shown to have many health benefits. The ancient Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing, is based on the healing aspects of immersing oneself in nature (not limited to forests).

Finding sources of inspiration

A window box can be a source of nature writing inspiration

All sorts of types of nature can provide inspiration for nature writing. Parks and local green areas, an allotment, even a window box.

If you do not have easy access to an outdoor space for any reason, there is a wealth of online sources of nature inspiration. For example:

• The Natural History Museum, London website. Thoroughly recommended! This gives free access to some of the exhibitions and access to international nature landscapes
• National Geographic
• YouTube videos of bird song and sounds of nature, These can be very therapeutic as well as offering inspiration

You could also use photos you may have taken of landscapes on holiday or on travels as a stimulus.

Ekphrastic writing activity

One type of creative writing is ekphrastic writing . This is a vivid, often dramatic, description of a visual work of art, including painting, sculpture and music. The word ekphrasis comes from the Greek for the written description of a work of art produced as a rhetorical or literary exercise.

Here are two photos I have taken of my local country park, where I love to spend time, especially when life is frenetic!

Have a go at using one or both of these to write, using the suggested prompts.

Image of sunrise over a field with a variety of clouds, image by author

Writing prompts:

• What emotions do you feel when you look at this sky?
• Where are you in this picture? Are you sitting or standing? Are you alone or with someone?
• What does the temperature of the air feel like on your skin? What does the air smell like?
• What colours can you see?

Photo of sheep grazing in a field with trees, image by author

Use the same writing prompts as outlined above, but this time try writing from the viewpoint of one or more of the sheep!

• What is it thinking?
• What sort of conversation would the sheep be having together?
• Now imagine the farmer or landowner steps into the scene. What is he doing? What is he thinking? How do the sheep react?

Have fun with this piece of writing!

Once you have created one, or two, pieces of writing, congratulations! You have just written an ekphrastic piece of writing.

Nature writing activity inspired by the soil

Cupped hands full of soil

Here is a great way to get stuck in(to) the mud!

When you are gardening, be it weeding, planting bulbs, in the allotment harvesting or just potting a plant, think about and write afterwards how it feels to explore the soil with your senses.

You may normally wear gardening gloves, but if conditions and your health allows (some people may need to avoid the organisms in soil due to impaired immune systems), take your gloves off for this exercise.

You may wish to make notes on paper as you do each stage or use a Dictaphone or voice recording on your mobile or other device to capture your thoughts at each stage. Add in any illustrations to your notes if you wish and like to sketch.

At each stage, make notes/record your experiences. Do this where you are. Do not rush this experience. The notes do not have to be coherent. They can be a list of words, phrases, sentences, a poem, sketches - see what comes. I often find I doodle more when words don’t quite come, or as an accompaniment to poetry drafts or notes.

Some questions you may wish to ask yourself to stimulate your writing can include:

• What can you feel on your skin? What is the temperature?
• What is the texture of the earth-are there stones in it? Worms or other small creatures?
• Is the soil moist from rainfall or dry due to lack of rain?
• How does the soil smell?
• Are there any snails or worms or other creatures that you can see?

If you cannot use your hands easily, then use your forearm, elbow or an unsocked foot (this may be less easy to do). Do only what you feel comfortable to do and what feels safe to do so hygiene- wise. Be mindful to wash and dry hands / feet thoroughly afterwards.

Go through these stages:

• First, stroke your fingers (or toes) lightly in the soil as if you are swirling water in a bath to mix bath foam. Just do this on the top surface. Do this for as long as you wish, but for at least 3 minutes.
• Now, start to dig your fingers into the soil; just a few centimetres below the surface. Think about the emotions you are experiencing as you ‘dig deeper’. How does your body feel? Shift position if you need to.
• Now, scoop up some soil in your fingers. Raise your hand a few inches if you can, then let the soil drop from your fingers. Experiment with holding the soil in your palm and letting it fall from a clasped palm, an open hand tipped, your fingertips.
• Watch the soil fall. Does it fall in clumps, or is it dust-like? Are there stones? What can you hear? In your writing, you could introduce some poetic devices such as simile and metaphors, by considering what the falling soil reminds you of anything you can compare it to? Note down some similes and metaphors e.g the soil falls like dust from an ancient undisturbed box
• Hold the soil to your nose. What is the smell? Think of some words and jot them down e.g. earthy, light, heavy, pungent

Now close your eyes and repeat all of the above stages without the sensory input of vision. What impact does this have on the texture, temperature, smell, weight of the soil? What emotions do you feel when you cannot see what you are doing? How does your body feel? Shift position if you need to.

Digging for gold

Now, go over your notes again. Use phrases and words to create a piece of memoir, a short story or a poem.

List poems can be satisfying introductions to writing poems. For example, you may wish to fill in the gaps below using what you experienced above to create a list poem. This can encourage you to create some metaphors and similes and other imagery:

In my hands, I hold the earth and feel …

In my hands, I hold the earth and smell …..

In my hands, I hold the earth and sense ….

In my hands, I hold the earth and feel the weight of….

In my hands, I hold… it feels like…..it smells of/like

Play around with different ways of starting your list poem.

For inspiration, have a look at the link to the poem Digging by Irish poet, Seamus Heaney. He is writing about writing, but with the metaphors and language of the land and relating to memories of his father and boyhood.

Once you finished your work, read it back to yourself and be proud of what you have created. You may want to share it with others!

Inspiration is everywhere outside. It can encourage you to be mindful and look inwards, something we hardly have time to do in our fast paced lives. Welsh poet W.H. Davies (1871-1940) puts it well in his oft-quoted poem, Leisure .

Happy writing!

Roshni Beeharry biography

Roshni Beeharry

Dr Roshni Beeharry is a poet, short fiction writer, Medical Educator, former hospital doctor and Writing for Wellbeing Facilitator. In 2005, Roshni qualified on the seminal MA in Creative Writing & Personal Development, Sussex University, at the time the only degree of its kind in the UK, with the aim of using therapeutic writing with patients and the community. In October 2020, Roshni set up Storied Selves to provide writing for wellbeing and personal development workshops for those in healthcare and other care professionalism, as well as for the public, including an in person Nature writing workshop at Keats House museum and gardens in July 2019 and online since then.

Roshni has published internationally in print and online, in Litro, Writers’ Magazine, Atrium Press, Kind of a Hurricane Press, Wombwell Rainbow, Paragraph Planet, Tendon literary journal, These are the Hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS anthology, Medical Woman and Writing in Practice journals. She was longlisted for the Aeon Prize 2012, highly commended in the Hippocrates Prize for Poetry & Medicine 2015, a finalist in Cuirt Literary Festival Spoken Word competition 2018 and longlisted for her young adult fiction in Northern Gravy in 2022.

Twitter: @roshni_beeharry

LinkedIn: Roshi Beeharry

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Disabled Poets Prize

Deptford literature festival, nature nurtures, early career bursaries, criptic x spread the word, lewisham, borough of literature, a pocket guide to nature writing.

In this glorious Pocket Guide, Kerri ní Dochartaigh highlights the value of Nature writing, whilst sharing her personal tips, resources and opportunities on how you can get inspired to write. 

What do we really mean when we talk about ‘nature writing’? And what do we even mean when we talk about ‘nature’?

Nature writing , like pockets , is a politicised thing – embroidered with different threads; depending on your race , class , gender , (dis)ability, wealth or place in this world. Is there space here for you? Do you feel safe? There has never been a more important time to make safe space: for every single thing on this earth. The writing, then, will just do its own thing, you see. It will come and go as it pleases, like a moth to a big aul’ light.

How about a wee browse through these background reads , and then we might, in the words of Edwyn Collins , (the most inspiring nature punk on earth): ‘Rip it up and start again’?… (What is nature writing if not the constant riotous act of starting again? Of learning, again, to listen and to look, to draw close and keep our distance, to break and to weep; to get back up and love the world afresh?) In this NY Times piece three and a half decades ago, David Rains Wallace wrote ‘NATURE writing is a historically recent literary genre, and, in a quiet way, one of the most revolutionary.’

We’re ready for this revolution but who is going to lead it?

For far too long we have allowed a very particular voice, from a very particular background, with a very particular outlook – dominate bookshop displays, library shelves, reading lists, bestseller rankings and our own homes. This, the idea that there has only ever been one nature story, is wildly incorrect. Other standpoints, other views, other stories, other voices: have always been there. In ‘Heart Berries’ Terese Marie Mailhot summarises: ‘So, where are we? Where we have always been. Where are you?’

To write about nature with truth and integrity means to ask questions about the past and the future – who, where and what have been mistreated – and how do we make that stop, through how we approach this genre? I only want to be a part of any gathering where every single one of us is there as an equal.

So, who is doing the important work in this area? Where should you go to read more? Where should you send your fledgling words?

Let’s start with The Willowherb Review because I think they are incredible. Their aim is ‘to provide a digital platform to celebrate and bolster nature writing by emerging and established writers of colour’, and already their writers have seen prize nominations and awards (all links on the site). Most importantly of all the writing is cracking; beautiful, raw and necessary. Jessica J Lee, the editor, has a no nonsense approach to the genre that I deeply admire. If you are a nature writer of colour, check out their website for submission dates.

Jessica has also organised a reading group, Allies in the Landscape , a fantastic support for nature writers and anyone wanting to widen their reading in the genre.

The folks at Caught by the River do stellar work for those who love the natural world across a plethora of genres. If you are in need of inspiration, or events to go to when we can, start here. You will not be let down. They read everything they’re sent but are a busy crew so – as with submitting anywhere, patience is kindness.

More folks with big hearts and brilliant writing are The Clearing .

The art of nature writing itself can be a children’s story, a poem, a list, a eulogy, a translation – it can be fiction or non – written or other – short or long; it is anything that takes our world and makes it sing. The best nature writing, for me, speaks of transformation – anything from a fiercely hungry caterpillar, through to strong women swimming themselves to safe places – making lists of yellow things for their sick fathers – moulding grief through sowing seeds: the best nature writers might not even call themselves that at all. Some books I have recently loved are: ‘ Trace’ by Lauret Savoy, ‘Braiding Sweet Grass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer Elizabeth J Burnett’s ‘ The Grassling’ , ‘ Bulbul Calling’ by Pratyusha, Seán Hewitt’s ‘ Tongues of Fire’ , Jessica J Lee’s ‘ Two Trees Make a Forest’ , ‘The Promise’ by Nicola Davies and ‘ The Diary of a Young Naturalist’ by Dara McAnulty. I return over and over to writers like Amy Liptrot, Kathleen Jamie, Annie Dillard, Robert McFarlane and others but I am constantly trying to find new voices, approaches and stories – new to me, not new in their existence, of course: it’s important to make that distinction in a genre such as this.

The important thing, needed now more than ever, is that they each take their place in this symphony of hope.

There is room, here, on these mountains and beaches, in these gardens and fields, in these bodies of water – in ASDA parking lots and unsafe spaces – on the streets, and in every place both ‘wild’  and not (both outer and inner) – for you and your story.

From me to you, here a few exercises I return to over and over as a means to get started…

Choose something – a moth, the colour blue, a tree, a wren, a pebble, the waves on the beach – and write about it as if the reader will have never before seen or heard of it. Really stay with the description for as long as you can, and try to get down to what it really is: its thingness. Make your description almost like a love letter in how much care you take with it, and the depth of your words. Another interesting take on this is to write yourself as the thing – to really imagine, say, going through all the stages of the cycle from caterpillar to moth – or the ebb and flow you would experience as a particular body of water etc.

Journal – at least three free-flow pages without thinking about them or rereading – every single day. This one really helps to get me out of my normal flow of thought, and does something to my brain that welcomes experiences, creatures and thoughts that are conducive to nature writing. It really doesn’t matter if I am not writing about nature in these pages, really that is not the point, I think it’s in the act of carving out space and time – bringing awareness to the act. The space in which I write these can be a cafe, on a train, or at home, and still I find myself in a wild place, one that is on the inside not the outside.

The thing that most helps me to write about the natural world is actually being in it – walking, swimming, running, laying, laughing, crying – just allowing myself to be outside as much as I can seems to be the best way for me to try to write about the world we share.

Once you feel more confident, you might be interested in entering your writing into a prize or sharing it online (an incredible amount of links can also be found in the hyperlinked pages too) and I can share only a fraction but here are a few that sing to me:

https://nanshepherdprize.com   This prize is changing the landscape of this genre. Every single section on the site is invaluable.

https://www.thenaturelibrary.com

Christina Riley has put such a wonderful thing together here. Have a browse / follow.

https://www.lonewomeninflashesofwilderness.com/about

Clare Archibald’s inspiring, inclusive site is really making ripples in this area.

https://beachbooks.blog/about/ A gorgeous, generous sea library full of joy.

https://www.elementumjournal.com  Submissions are closed for this journal but there is lots of fine work to peruse.

https://www.elsewhere-journal.com   This is a superb journal of place, and submission are open.

The Moth Nature Writing prize , The Rialto Nature Poetry Competition and others are great to look at too. There are courses, schemes and more online but I think the most important place to start is by looking and listening, reading and caring; by loving the world and by writing it down in any way you can.

For me, any time any of us looks and listens to the non-human beings we share this earth with – when we pause in humility to acknowledge the interconnectedness of us all – the threads tying us to each other; invisible often, but so strong – we are playing a part in making this a safer, fairer earth. To go one step further, and to write about this connection, to name, explore, celebrate and honour – whether we choose a swan or a stone, a moth or a lough, the wild sea or our gut flora; things nearby or faraway, the known or unknown –   we are shining light on one of the most important truths of this earth: our need to be alive, and to remain connected to every other living thing. There is power in trying to find traces of ourselves in the nonhuman, as well as acknowledging our difference. In searching for the beat of something unnameable;  the simple act of being alive, at the same time, as each other, and in the same way as even the smallest insect.

Nature Writing holds the hope, for me, of reminding us how to treat everyone and everything on the earth. The best nature writing shines light on places we need to see; on beings we need to learn to accept as our equal. It is only a proper telling of the earth if we can tread gently on the land and the non-human as well as human while we do it. If we can speak honestly of the places and the past – if we can find a way to write it where every single one of us is heard; where each one of us, and our stories, are kept safe.

Kerri ní Dochartaigh is from the North West of Ireland but now lives in the very middle. She writes about nature, literature and place for The Irish Times, The Dublin Review of Books, Caught By The River and others. Her first book, Thin Places ,  is out with Canongate in January 2021. @kerri_ni @whooperswan

Published 7 July 2020

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What is Nature Writing?

Definition and Examples

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Nature writing is a form of creative nonfiction in which the natural environment (or a narrator 's encounter with the natural environment) serves as the dominant subject.

"In critical practice," says Michael P. Branch, "the term 'nature writing' has usually been reserved for a brand of nature representation that is deemed literary, written in the speculative personal voice , and presented in the form of the nonfiction essay . Such nature writing is frequently pastoral or romantic in its philosophical assumptions, tends to be modern or even ecological in its sensibility, and is often in service to an explicit or implicit preservationist agenda" ("Before Nature Writing," in Beyond Nature Writing: Expanding the Boundaries of Ecocriticism , ed. by K. Armbruster and K.R. Wallace, 2001).

Examples of Nature Writing:

• At the Turn of the Year, by William Sharp
• The Battle of the Ants, by Henry David Thoreau
• Hours of Spring, by Richard Jefferies
• The House-Martin, by Gilbert White
• In Mammoth Cave, by John Burroughs
• An Island Garden, by Celia Thaxter
• January in the Sussex Woods, by Richard Jefferies
• The Land of Little Rain, by Mary Austin
• Migration, by Barry Lopez
• The Passenger Pigeon, by John James Audubon
• Rural Hours, by Susan Fenimore Cooper
• Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, by Henry David Thoreau

Observations:

• "Gilbert White established the pastoral dimension of nature writing in the late 18th century and remains the patron saint of English nature writing. Henry David Thoreau was an equally crucial figure in mid-19th century America . . .. "The second half of the 19th century saw the origins of what we today call the environmental movement. Two of its most influential American voices were John Muir and John Burroughs , literary sons of Thoreau, though hardly twins. . . . "In the early 20th century the activist voice and prophetic anger of nature writers who saw, in Muir's words, that 'the money changers were in the temple' continued to grow. Building upon the principles of scientific ecology that were being developed in the 1930s and 1940s, Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold sought to create a literature in which appreciation of nature's wholeness would lead to ethical principles and social programs. "Today, nature writing in America flourishes as never before. Nonfiction may well be the most vital form of current American literature, and a notable proportion of the best writers of nonfiction practice nature writing." (J. Elder and R. Finch, Introduction, The Norton Book of Nature Writing . Norton, 2002)

"Human Writing . . . in Nature"

• "By cordoning nature off as something separate from ourselves and by writing about it that way, we kill both the  genre and a part of ourselves. The best writing in this genre is not really 'nature writing' anyway but human writing that just happens to take place in nature. And the reason we are still talking about [Thoreau's] Walden 150 years later is as much for the personal story as the pastoral one: a single human being, wrestling mightily with himself, trying to figure out how best to live during his brief time on earth, and, not least of all, a human being who has the nerve, talent, and raw ambition to put that wrestling match on display on the printed page. The human spilling over into the wild, the wild informing the human; the two always intermingling. There's something to celebrate." (David Gessner, "Sick of Nature." The Boston Globe , Aug. 1, 2004)

Confessions of a Nature Writer

• "I do not believe that the solution to the world's ills is a return to some previous age of mankind. But I do doubt that any solution is possible unless we think of ourselves in the context of living nature "Perhaps that suggests an answer to the question what a 'nature writer' is. He is not a sentimentalist who says that 'nature never did betray the heart that loved her.' Neither is he simply a scientist classifying animals or reporting on the behavior of birds just because certain facts can be ascertained. He is a writer whose subject is the natural context of human life, a man who tries to communicate his observations and his thoughts in the presence of nature as part of his attempt to make himself more aware of that context. 'Nature writing' is nothing really new. It has always existed in literature. But it has tended in the course of the last century to become specialized partly because so much writing that is not specifically 'nature writing' does not present the natural context at all; because so many novels and so many treatises describe man as an economic unit, a political unit, or as a member of some social class but not as a living creature surrounded by other living things." (Joseph Wood Krutch, "Some Unsentimental Confessions of a Nature Writer." New York Herald Tribune Book Review , 1952)
• Thoreau's 'Walden': 'The Battle of the Ants'
• What Is Style in Writing?
• The Title in Composition
• A Fable by Mark Twain
• 20 Quotes on the Nature of Writing
• What's the Secret of Good Writing?
• Prewriting for Composition
• Defining Nonfiction Writing
• What Is Prose?
• Definition and Examples of Online Writing
• Creative Nonfiction
• Best Practices for Business Writing
• Unity in Composition
• Tips on Great Writing: Setting the Scene
• Invention (Composition and Rhetoric)

Creative Writing in the Natural World: A Framing

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

To promote development, detail, and focus of ideas in students' writing, it sometimes helps to start with a fun, creative writing activity that encourages what you want to see in all of their writing. In this minilesson, students practice writing detailed, sensory-rich descriptions by framing a small piece of nature and freewriting about it. From this, students can develop a variety of types of writing including poetry, short stories, science writing, reflections, and other academic genres.

Featured Resources

• Literal vs. Figurative Language Guide
• Internet access and the Flip Book Interactive

From Theory to Practice

This lesson explores figurative language comparisons formally known as simile and metaphor; however, the focus of the lesson is on students' use of their their imaginations to describe their observations in writing rather than on the official terminology for language use. In Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom , author Katie Wood Ray advises, "Give it [the craft element you identify in a text] a name so you can refer to it easily in the future as you study craft and as you writing your own texts"; yet the name that students use need not be the formal, "correct" name (42). The formal name of the element simply detracts from the ways that writers work. As Ray explains, "What's important is that, in seeing it and naming it for yourself, you have a new vision of what's possible when you try to write well" (42). When we do use formal names for craft elements, best practice pairs such words with students' definitions of the elements. Ray and Lisa Cleaveland say, "We are careful to use the words most writers in the world use for the important concepts of writing . . . if we embed kid-friendly explanations of what they mean...we need not shy away from the words themselves" (98). Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• A piece of loose paper, paper to take notes on, and a writing utensil (pen or pencil)

Preparation

• Scout out a good spot to take students outdoors on the school grounds, a place that preferably has grass or that feels somewhat “natural.” If such an area isn’t available, it is okay to do this activity on constructed spaces such as sidewalks, playgrounds, and even inside the classroom if absolutely necessary, but it’s best done outdoors.
• Prepare the Literal vs. Figurative Language Guide by making it into a transparency or making copies for each student.
• Test out the Flip Book Student Interactive .

Student Objectives

Students will:

• freewrite about a specific place that is framed by their piece of paper using imaginative and literal observations.
• identify nouns in their writing that they would like to focus on and develop further.
• write using specific sensory imagery and figurative language in order to accurately describe their framed “worlds.”

Session One

• Ask students to get out a loose piece of paper.
• Have them fold it in half at least once and tear or cut out the center. (Some students may want to fold it more than once in order to create an unusual shape. That’s okay.) The goal is to be left with a piece of paper with a hole in the middle of it like a frame. The frame can be of any shape or size.
• Explain that you will be taking the class outdoors and that each student will find a spot to place his or her frame. Also explain that students will pretend that what is inside the frame is the entire world, the only thing students will focus on. In their notebooks, students will freewrite about what they find in their frames. Encourage students to use their imaginations. Perhaps they’ll find a bug and write about it as a giant dinosaur or a talking creature. However they proceed, students should write as freely as possible to get as much detailed information down about their framed “worlds” as they can.
• Once students have found a place outdoors for their frames, give them ten to fifteen minutes to freewrite.
• Back inside the classroom, ask students to remind you what a noun is. Ask them why nouns are important in writing. How do they function in a sentence, for example? (One answer is that nouns help us know who or what a sentence is about. They are they focus, and they help us visualize ideas as we talk or write about them in any genre.)
• Have them read over their freewriting and underline three to five nouns that they would like to focus on.
• Collect students' freewriting to be returned in the next session.

Session Two

• Return students' freewriting from the previous session where they had finished by underlining three to five nouns to focus on.
• Ask students to list their five senses. Ask for a volunteer or two to provide one of their nouns. Use these to practice developing these nouns into fully described sensory experiences. Help students describe them using all five senses. Encourage imaginative leaps so students understand that their descriptions don’t have to be literal.
• At this point, discuss the difference between literal and figurative language, and explain that the goal is for students to describe their nouns using sensory detail and figurative language. Show students the Literal vs. Figurative Language Guide overhead or give them the handout. If the students were to write literal descriptions of their framed “worlds,” for example, they will simply write exactly what is in their frames (Grass looks green; sand feels rough; grasshoppers make a high pitched noise, etc.), but if they write figuratively, they will use their imaginations to describe their observations. This might include using similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification. For example, the grass looks like spiky green hair; sand is solid water; grasshoppers are fiddlers who play their legs, etc.
• Using the Flip Book Student Interactive , have students create a page for each of the three to five nouns they underlined. (Each student should complete at least three pages.) On each page, they will develop these nouns by adding sensory-rich, figurative descriptions of them in paragraph or poetry form. The goal is to describe each noun using as many of the five senses and as much figurative language as possible. Encourage students to be imaginative for this process. What might an ant sound like? How might a rock smell?
• Students may need to finish their Flip Books outside of class, or you might reserve some class time tomorrow to finish these up.
• Give students the opportunity to share their finished pieces with the class.
• Encourage students to develop their flip book pages further by illustrating them.
• Students might also use an additional page in their flip books to create a piece of writing such as a short story, poem, or reflection about the natural world. Encourage them to find connections between the nouns in their list. How might that list become one piece of writing instead of three to five separate pieces?
• Discuss ways students can use these writing techniques to improve other writing that they are doing. You might ask students to review one of their past writing assignments and underline places where they might add detail or figurative language in order to develop their ideas.

Student Assessment / Reflections

As long as students participate fully in the freewriting activity and complete at least three pages on their Flip Books, they should receive full credit for this activity. If you would like to turn the Flip Book into a graded assignment, you might require that each page include at least three sensory images and one instance of figurative language. Students might also earn credit by reading one of their pages aloud in front of the class.

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Forest Walks, Nature Art, Mindfulness Activities, Healing with Nature

Words that heal: creative nature writing.

CREATIVE WRITING EXERCISES IN NATURE

Writing is therapeutic. Writing in nature – meditative.

Writing helps to give direction to our thoughts. From clouds of voluminous chatter in the mind, words drop on to paper like gentle rain, turning into streams of sentences. These streams follow their own path to uncover what is hidden and discover what is waiting to be discovered. It is a way to ignite creativity, curiosity and a deeper enquiry into the self.

It’s about observing the nature outside and observing the nature within.

Writing about nature leads to an increased awareness of our surroundings. This simple activity is an exercise to enhance our attention and also become aware of our own state of being. Nature is a place where one can observe our outer and inner landscape. Every person has a unique way of perceiving life and things around them. You begin to discover this uniqueness when you channelise your memories and imagination in a creative way.

Writing in nature is also a way to reconnect to a calmer self. Putting words on paper brings us back into the present moment and by paying attention to our senses and breath we can reach a state of relaxed ease. When one is relaxed and calm, it is easier to get creative insights about the questions in our mind.

WRITING EXERCISES IN NATURE

Our mind is a forest of memories, ideas, and observations. Let us explore the power of words to rediscover the nature around us and the nature within us.

Given below is a list of simple writing games that can be incorporated into an engaging walk for all age groups. The aim of these games is to build your awareness and curiosity. We hope this practice leads you to calm, creativity and clarity.

Senses: Pick any one of your senses. Describe your surroundings keeping only the chosen sense in focus. You can turn this exercise into a letter to a friend. In the letter you are describing your nature walk to a close friend who is not present with you, but remember you can only use one sense to portray the scene. Objects: Choose any object in nature, create a riddle around it. Let others in the group guess what object you picked. In the riddle the less you reveal, the more interesting it becomes. Just like the language of the forest which is full of riddles and mysteries. Here’s a riddle for you. The answer is given at the very end of the article.

You can see me, but you can’t hear me. You can feel me, but you can’t smell me. What am I?

Emotions: Take an emotion that you are feeling. Include it in a 3 line poem. These 3 line poems are a simplified version of Japanese Haikus . The aim of our poem is to capture an image from your nature walk and convey the emotion you are left with. It’s not a test of your poetic skills and the lines do not have to rhyme. Here’s an example:

Characters : Pick the oldest tree around or a tree that feels special to you. Spend time with it and write the story of its life. In this exercise allow your imagination to fly. You can compress time and write a biography for the tree or simply write about a day in the life of your tree.

EXTRAS: IDEAS FOR NATURE WRITING

Magical Creatures: Our forest stories have always been full of magical beings like elves, fairies, gnomes. If you could create your own magical creature what would it be? What magic will they have and what would you call them?

Game of Memories: When we recollect positive memories in nature it strengthens them and allows us to return to them when we need it the most. Write down your earliest happy memory. Write down your most peaceful nature memory.

Nature Song: This is a fun exercise that gives rest to the logical, thinking side of your brain. Pay attention to the sounds of nature and write a song in gibberish. Which means you cannot use any known words from your language. Just compose a song from the sounds around you: Krr Krr Krr Krr Krr, tok tok, Ku-oo

One Word Connections: This game serves as a warm-up to our next exercise, but is also fun on it’s own. If you are in a group, form a small circle. The game starts by one person saying any word from nature. The next person says the first thing that comes to mind on hearing that word. You are not allowed to think and respond. If a participant takes too long to respond, then the chance automatically passes to the next person in the circle. Complete 2 to 3 rounds of the circle with this exercise and build your spontaneity.

Twisty Tale: This is a group exercise. Stand in a circle and create a story starting with ‘I went for a walk into the forest….’. The conditions are that each person adds one line to the story, but alternate people add happy and sad twists to the story. So one set of people are trying to make the story positive and happy while the other set is giving it a dark or tragic turn. Once the story runs its course, switch the roles of the people.

Gratitude Note (Closing Exercise)

We usually end our nature walk by writing a note of gratitude. The note starts with gratitude for the gifts we have received from nature and grows to encompass other aspects of our life.

Without gratitude, nothing is enough ~Julio Olalla

At the core of all emotions in life, this emotion of gratitude is the one that allows us to find contentment and make peace with ourselves. It shifts focus from what is missing within our life and moves our heart to appreciate what we have. As with all writing, this exercise is effective only when the words flow from the heart and not the head. We hope that being in nature has enabled you to do so.

Bonus: Story Walk

A story walk session typically takes about 60~90 minutes. It is suitable for all age groups and creates more delightful results when people of different ages participate together.

Give around 15 minutes for each activity – 10 minutes for exploring, walking, writing and 5 minutes for sharing the stories. If there are a large number of participants, create smaller groups of 5 or less for sharing. Smaller groups create more meaningful engagements.

Any safe space in nature works for a story walk. Make pairs to create responsibility and manage the group better. At the end of each activity, have pre-decided meeting points for sharing stories from that section. These ideas are mere suggestions. Feel free to make your own. Stay creative.

WORDS THAT HEAL

Please share this article with friends who may find it useful. Here’s a link to download some posters, in case you’d like to create an event for people in your city.

Fewer people are spending time in nature these days. This distance is affecting our health – as individuals, as a society and also as a planet. The intention of this idea is to bring nature back into conversations and inspire more people to connect with forests in creative ways. Let’s do this as a collective. When you create writing in nature and share it with other, it spreads the seeds of emotions you felt and the insights you learnt. Hopefully, it will grow the magic of nature and draw more people to it. Do share your poems, puzzles, stories or reflections from the nature walk on our Facebook group . In case you post your writing on social media, add these tags: #healingforest / #forestlearning . It will make it easier for us to find them.

*This page is part of our learning program with nature arts, activities and meditations from around the world.

END NOTE: To get uplifting new ideas once a month you can join our  free newsletter here . We are a small group of friends trying to find new ways to reconnect people with nature. Our aim is simple.  Helping people heal. Helping forests heal.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and suggestions for more writing games. Please add them in the comments section below to grow our collective learning.

p.s: Our answer to the riddle is ‘ Sunlight ‘. But in nature, there can be more than one right answer!

Spread A Little Calm. Our World Needs It.

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 Posted on May 24, 2018 by Healing Forest

 Category: Healing Forest

 Tags: creative writing , Creative writing exercises , creative writing in nature , Forest Bathing , forest therapy , forest therapy activities , gratitude meditation , healing arts , healing meditation , mindful meditations , mindfulness , nature connection activities , nature healing , nature meditation , nature walk , shinrin yoku , words that heal , writing in nature

3 Comments on “ Words That Heal: Creative Nature Writing ”

Pingback: Photos of Peace – HEALING FOREST

Open your senses and notice what you hear-smell-touch-see. Start by connecting with one sense using word association to prompt your writing. For example, seeing green = money, begin freestyle writing about money. Close your eyes and touch the tree bark, then describe what sensations immediately come to mind, allowing the words to flow on their own. Utilizing your senses is a sure way to expand your writing with more vivid detail, while also enhancing your own connection to nature, and to your readers.

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Thank you for this beautiful opportunity to share our nature perspectives and writings. I’d like to share my recently launched book now available on Amazon, “Strength from Nature—Simple Lessons of Life Taught By the Most Unlikely Masters: The Nature Teachers.” Each chapter features everything from a scraggly weed to a rock, waves, mighty forests, butterflies and much more offering to help us face our human challenges with a greater appreciation for all life on this planet.

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Writing About Nature: A Creative Guide Paperback – December 15, 2003

Originally published by the Sierra Club in 1995, this handbook has already helped thousands of aspiring writers, scholars, and students share their experiences with nature and the outdoors. Using exercises and examples, John Murray covers genres, techniques, and publication issues. He uses examples from such masters as Barry Lopez, Annie Dillard, Larry McMurtry, Edward Abbey, Ernest Hemingway, and Henry David Thoreau. Also included are recommended readings, a directory of creative writing programs, professional organizations for writers, and a directory of environmental organizations. This revised edition includes a new chapter on nature writing and environmental activism.

"Nature is our grandest and oldest home, older than language, grander than consciousness. John Murray knows that in his bones, and he shares his knowledge generously with anyone who opens this book. Whether you write about the earth for publication or only for deepening your perceptions, you will find keen-eyed guidance here."--Scott Russell Sanders, author of Staying Put

• Print length 214 pages
• Language English
• Publisher University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date December 15, 2003
• Dimensions 6 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
• ISBN-10 0826330851
• ISBN-13 978-0826330857
• See all details

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From the publisher, from the back cover, about the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of New Mexico Press; Revised edition (December 15, 2003)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 214 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0826330851
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0826330857
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
• #4,483 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)

About the author

John a. murray.

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How to be a nature writer

Latest posts.

Dialogue Books publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove shares her inspiration and advice on nature writing

SHARMAINE LOVEGROVE, publisher of Dialogue Books, has teamed up with the Forestry Commission to find undiscovered nature writers. She talks to Writers Online about her own influences and engaging audiences when writing about the natural world.

This winter, I’m working with the Forestry Commission on a project to discover new voices inspired by nature. As part of its centenary in 2019, the Commission is – for the first time – seeking two writers-in-residence to tell the story of the nation’s forests.

It’s a wonderful opportunity for any writer; a chance to understand our woodlands, the people who work there and wildlife that calls them home.

When sifting through ideas and designs, I’ll be looking for innovation and imagination to tell the whole story. Our forests are full of magic and mystery, but they’re also functional landscapes, providing space for wildlife, recreation and indispensable raw materials.

I’m privileged to be involved in judging applications for the residency, but even more excited to hear from different people about what forests mean to them.

Early influences

Personally, I didn’t grow up in the countryside. I was born in London, and I have spent the majority of my life in cities. But that doesn’t mean I was disconnected from nature.

Whether it was spending time in the capital’s vast public parks (Battersea Park, Wandsworth and Clapham Common were a stone’s throw from where I lived), or exploring forest trails on the edge of the city, I was always out discovering green spaces.

There I found refuge from a busy London life. I relished how being outside made me cheerful and relaxed. Importantly, I knew these sanctuaries were always there. Whenever I wanted a calmer space, there was always somewhere to go.

I love big urban hubs, and I think they are fascinating places to grow up. But everyone needs time away from the intensity of city-life. If spending time outdoors gave me some respite, books and stories took things to a whole different level.

At home, on the bus, or in some green corner of the capital, I became lost in chronicles and characters from around the world.

While my reading has never been constricted, there have been experiences that have influenced my book selection over the years. My Jamaican roots for example, led me to read The Lonely Londoners by Sam Sevlon and The Book of Night Women by Marlon James.

Similarly, my interest in politics and culture steered me to Austerlitz by WG Sebald and The Shape of a Pocket by John Berger.

Another huge influence on my life has been writings about the natural world. If I wasn’t able to physically experience faraway places, I could transport myself there through the written word.

Reading books such as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Awakenings by Kathleen Jamie and Stargazing by Peter Hill really shaped my relationship with the natural world. More recently, nature memoirs such as The Outrun by Amy Liptrot or Out of the Woods by Luke Turner, and the novel Swansong by Kerry Andrew have sparked a renewed interest in how nature can play a positive, restorative role in our lives.  

Finding inspiration from nature

As a publisher, people often ask me for advice about how to improve their work – nature writing included. While I don’t claim to have all the answers, I hope my perspective can be of some value.

Inspiration is essential. And so it’s important to make time to enjoy the places that make you feel creative and enthused. When it comes to nature writing, this doesn’t mean you have to explore a tropical rainforest or colossal mountain range every week. It may be as simple as sitting at the edge of a local river, or sauntering through woodland close to home.

One of the best things about England is that it’s easy to reach beautiful green spaces from anywhere in the country. Even people living in the middle of big cities like Birmingham or Manchester are less than an hour’s train or bus ride from glorious British countryside.

These days I live in Bristol, which is brilliant for getting outdoors. Leigh Woods hugs the west edge of the city, while the rolling hills of the Cotswolds are less than an hour from my front door.

What do you want to achieve with your nature writing?

When putting pen to paper, it’s important to have a fair idea of what you want the work to become.

As an industry, nature writing has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. It’s no longer only perceived as diarists observing the seasons, or poets drawing inspiration from wildlife and wilder places.

Nature writing has emerged as a tool for understanding and challenging society. It can be employed to talk about and campaign on different issues. From climate change to education, threatened wildlife to mental health, to the kind of world we want in the future.

So what is your work trying to achieve? Is it a poem seeking to inspire the reader about the marvels of nature? Or a piece of long-form journalism designed to question ideas? Does it rely on science? Or stem from the heart? Or both?

In nature writing, as in other literary forms, it’s certainly not a case of one size fits all. Several recent works branded as ‘new nature writing’ have been questioned as to whether or not they constitute nature writing at all. If a book talks about the natural world but only in relation to other social issues, should it fall under a different heading altogether? That’s not a question I’m going to try to answer here, but it’s a fascinating debate nevertheless.

While some may philosophise on how a piece of work merits the nature writing label, there’s no question that all nature writers have one thing in common – an adoration of the natural world.

And that admiration is what makes nature writing so special. Whether its birds or beasts, forests or flowers, it’s essential to demonstrate what you’re passionate about, and why.

For me, that is what makes people read articles and buy books. It’s the author’s appetite for a particular subject that brings a piece of work to life.

Accessible to all

Writers are influenced by the world around them. Whether that’s people or places, experiences or dreams, there’s no telling where inspiration will come from and the moment it will strike.

What that also means is that anybody can be a writer. Why? Because everybody has a story to tell.

I’m fascinated by the way in which children are inspired by nature. I regularly take my son into the countryside and soon as we’re home, the first thing he asks is where we’re going next.

Those feelings of wonder and delight are what fuels writers of the natural world. And it’s also what draws readers to their work.

As part of its centenary in 2019, the Forestry Commission is looking for two writers-in-residence to tell the stories of the nation’s forests and help people connect with the world around them. For more information visit www.forestryengland.uk/writers

• Sharmaine Lovegrove is the publisher of Dialogue Books, the UK’s only inclusive imprint, part of Little Brown Book Group and Hachette UK. She is inspired by innovative storytelling, and has worked in public relations, bookselling, events management and TV scouting. She was the literary editor of Elle , and set up her own bookshop and creative agency while living in Berlin. Home is London and her roots are Jamaican - Sharmaine is proud to be part of the African diaspora and books make her feel part of the world.

$ 445.00

Text and Live Video

“The land knows you, even when you are lost.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

Whether you live in an urban area or in the countryside, this workshop aims to get you out of your head and into nature. We will write about the natural world, yes, but also our place in it and how we can protect our home for generations to come. We will use examples of writing across various genres, from poetry and essayettes to novel excerpts and feature articles, from authors such as Robin Wall Kimmerer, Richard Powers, Rachel Carson, Natalie Diaz, and Helen Macdonald.

In class we will discuss different ways of looking at and interacting with the outside world, techniques for writing about nature, and what constitutes nature writing. Each week there will be a new nature writing assignment that will require you to, in some way, leave your home (even if it is simply sticking your head out the window) and share your findings with the group. This class is both interactive and active and will include research, observation, and contemplation. It’s also a chance for you to have some time to come home to yourself in the great outdoors, or, if you prefer, to build community with your friends and family as you rediscover place.

This course is open to all writers of any genre who are interested in writing about nature. Prior workshop experience is not necessary, but all members of the class must come to class prepared to discuss the readings, be willing to share their own writing and nature writing, and be generous in their responses to their peers’ work.

Dana’s teaching is fun and light-hearted. If you’ve been working on an idea or are stuck in your writing process, I highly recommend you take her class. —Jeanette Rodriquez

Weekly Zoom Schedule

We will meet weekly on Saturdays at 1:00 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time.

Nature Writing Course Objectives

By the end of this 6-week class, students will:

• Have a strong sense of what nature writing can be, and how you can craft your own style to work with or against what has come before.
• Understand the many shapes nature writing can take, and how nature writing is about feeling, emotions, and above all else, stories.
• Discuss and contemplate questions such as: How do I interact with the natural world around me? Who is Indigenous to this land and is that reflected in the way my town/city is organized? How can I honor and protect the flora, fauna, and original people of the place I call home?
• Write and revise several pieces of original nature writing content and learn where and how to publish them, if so desired.
• Above all, we’ll explore and bloom as a writing community and have fun all the while.

Nature Writing Course Outline

1. what the heck is nature writing.

We’ll look at several examples across various genres to begin to see how wide the world of nature writing is and discover how integral the environment has been on writers, and vice versa. We will also brainstorm, free write, and lay down roots for our first pieces, and you’ll be given your first nature writing assignment to be completed outside of class.

After our nature writing check in (did you find a new plant? Notice something you hadn’t before? Get inspired by bird song?), we’ll use model texts that focus on flora to serve as inspiration in the form of either the epistolary, ode, memoir, or hybrid dealing with our local flora. You’ll become an intrepid researcher and botanist, and also get your second nature writing assignment.

After our nature writing check in and optional sharing (what was your favorite flower? Did you have an emotional connection to any flora you came across?), we’ll use model texts that focus on fauna to serve as inspiration in the form of either micro fiction or micro memoir. Whether you want to tell a true story or make one up is completely up to you, and you’ll also get your third nature writing assignment.

After our nature writing check in and optional sharing (is there an animal you misunderstood and now feel differently about? What animals are endangered in your state?), we’ll discuss and look at the role of humans within the natural world, and how respect for our indigenous people goes hand in hand with respect for the land. We’ll also discuss how and why stories are one of the most powerful tools of change, and we’ll work on writing our own centered around the theme of union and wholeness within the natural world, and what connection and well-being looks, smells, sounds, feels, and tastes like. You’ll also get your fourth nature writing assignment.

5. Putting it All Together

After our nature writing check in and optional sharing (are there any stories that affected you as a child that centered around the natural world? Did you find one from another culture? Make one up you can share with your own kids?), we’ll return to our notes and writing over the last month and choose a piece for revision and/or expansion. Time will be spent editing and examining our subject matter, narrative, word choice, messages, and more. Additionally, over the next week, you’ll be tasked with reworking this piece in order to share it out loud during the last class. Feedback will be given, and I will provide tips on how to do so in a constructive and positive manner.

6. Blooming & Sharing

In our last class we will share our work out loud and offer brief feedback to each other, and discuss how we have discovered, or rediscovered, the importance of nature and developing a healthy relationship with our kin. Time will also be spent discussing how to submit your work to literary magazines/journals/newspapers, if you are so inclined, and options for expanding shorter pieces into a series, collection, or book.

Why Take a Nature Writing Course with Writers.com?

• We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
• Small groups keep our online writing classes lively and intimate.
• Work through your weekly written lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
• Share and discuss your work with classmates in a supportive class environment.
• Award-winning instructor Dana De Greff will offer you direct, personal feedback and suggestions on every assignment you submit.

Student Feedback for Dana De Greff:

I loved taking Dana De Greff’s ‘The Shape of a Novel’ course at Books & Books. In just four classes, I managed to finish the outline for a novel idea I’ve had stewing in my mind for years. Her writing prompts were productive and inspired me to start writing pages from day one. Her workshops are incredibly nurturing, too. She offers a space where writers can feel comfortable sharing their work and her feedback is always constructive and helpful. I would take more classes with her in a heartbeat! Patricia Garcia

I have attended two workshops with Dana. The first helped me to focus on a topic for a novel. The second has resulted in a structure and 5,000+ words. Dana is knowledgeable, perceptive, and, as a writer, brings her experience to the group. She is well informed and often suggests novels that we should be aware of as inputs to our writing. All of us in the current workshop we are attending would be happy to continue to work with her. That’s the best compliment. Charles Wendel

Dana's approach to teaching is fun and light-hearted and allows for creativity and exploration. If you've been working on an idea or are stuck in your writing process, I highly recommend you take one of her classes or use her coaching services.  Jeanette Rodriguez

Dana provided resources that helped encourage and organize my writing. She was flexible and really catered to the individual needs of each participant. She was always encouraging and open-minded. Aside from her being an amazing teacher and supporter, the class is also great because it introduces you to other gifted writers. I met so many unique and wonderful people who inspired me with their writing as well as their experiences and their own challenges putting pen to paper. It was the first time I had felt creative in a while. I only wish the class had lasted longer! The structure really helped me set goals and keep up with my writing. I recommend her courses for anyone who has any interest in writing. It was a special experience that I was happy to be a part of. Jordana Cutajar

About Dana De Greff

Dana De Greff holds a Masters in Fine Arts in fiction from the University of Miami. She has taught Creative Writing classes at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Miami, Miami Arts Charter, Books & Books, The Loft Literary Center, The Writing Barn, and Austin Bat Cave.

She is the author of Alterations (winner of the 2018 Rane Arroyo Chapbook Series published by Seven Kitchens Press), recipient of the 2018 Lillian E. Smith Writer-in-Service Award, and the 2017-2018 Literary Artist-in-Residence at the Deering Estate. She has been accepted or awarded scholarships from Tent: Creative Writing, the Tin House Summer Writers’ Workshop, The Key West Literary Seminar, the Lemon Tree House Residency in Tuscany, and Hedgebrook.

Her work appears in Cosmonauts Avenue, Jabberwock Review, PANK, Origins Journal, Philadelphia Stories , and Gulf Stream Magazine , among others. Most recently, she’s the recipient of a 2021 Pushcart Prize Nomination for her story “Storms,” published in the Winter 2020 Issue of Jabberwock Review and was selected as a finalist for the 2021 Key West Literary Seminar's Marianne Russo Award for her novel-in-progress, EVERYDAY MYSTICISM . She is represented by Writers House.

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Walloon writers review call for submissions, northern michigan regional literary magazine now accepting original creative writing, nature photography.

PETOSKEY — Walloon Writers Review announces its annual call for submissions for the upcoming Ninth Edition.

Walloon Writers Review welcomes creative writers and photographers, whether seasoned or new, to share their work as part of this annual collection.

Since its founding in 2014, Walloon Writers Review has provided a safe harbor where writers and photographers celebrate the sights and sounds of Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

Co-editors Jennifer Huder and Glen Young welcome contributors to continue to highlight the river bends and hilltops, as well as all the places in between, that mark this region as eternal. Walloon Writers Review accepts fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and nature photography.

For more information about this independent literary magazine, guidelines, and how to submit, visit www.walloonwriters.com.

The deadline for submissions is Aug. 30. All submissions are accepted via Submittable.com.

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