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Why Join A Weekly Writing Group?

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Nerissa Nields holds amazing writing workshops out of her home in Northampton. Write. Be entertained. Laugh. Cry. Foster community. Eat cookies and drink hot beverages. All kinds of writers are welcome. We are poets, novelists, songwriters, memoirists, journalers and scribblers.

E-mail her at NFNields@aol.com to see what the fuss is about. The groups go for ten-week sessions. Come as a guest for a one-time drop in to see if it's for you. We like to work as a cohesive group, so committing is better.

"Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it." — Goethe

Tuesdays 7:15-9:15
Thursdays 6:30-8:30
$30 a night or $300 for ten weeks. In an ongoing strategy to take your money, Nerissa now accepts PayPal. Just click on the button to send in your registration! (Be sure to specify in the Comments section during checkout which workshop(s) you are signing up for.)

Nerissa has after school workshops for teens on Mondays-Thursdays at 3pm and 4pm.

Nerissa has two evening workshops for adults on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• Tuesday mini semester starts Nov. 23-Dec. 21. This is a great opportunity for you to test out a workshop and see if you like the process.
• Tuesday regular (10 week) semester starts January 4. 7:15-9:15
• Thursday regular (10 week) semester starts January 6 6:30-8:30

To sign up, write to her at NFNields@aol.com.

Participants write:

• “Before [the workshop] started, I was in a big writing slump, and it was really good for me to be in that sort of environment where I had to write, even if it was only for an hour a week.” — JB, Creative Writing MFA candidate
• “I finished an entire first draft of a novel in three months, writing only during the workshop time.” — ND, novelist
• "It is such an incredible opportunity to come here every week and walk away inspired, my soul recharged, my muse happier with me, and full of amazement for what I get to witness…[Nerissa’s] tending hands are sure; [she] know[s] when to be gentle, when to push, when to guide, when to just step back, when to encourage.” — MK, songwriter and painter
• “I can’t imagine my life anymore without this workshop. I hope you have them for the rest of my life! — CB, small business owner
• “It is [Nerissa’s] friendliness and openness that creates the pallet upon which we, as the oils and pigments, are splattered onto the great canvas that is the creative process.” — MB, poet
• “It’s always like Christmas at Nerissa’s house. I can practically smell the wrapping paper when a writer gives us her new work.” — LH, retreatant

More testimonials

What the heck is Writing It Up In The Garden?

Do you write? Do you love literature and stockpile books? Do you long to make your creative work a more habitual part of your life? Join Nerissa and the Muse and discover your own world of creativity and joy. Writing it Up in the Garden is a method for learning how to write through fellowship, patience and perseverance. Nerissa, a writer herself for the past 15 years (see bio below), teaches her workshop attendees how to make a space for their writing. In her classroom, which she refers to as "the garden" (because so much is constantly growing and being harvested), participants actually write, right there, in the moment. "You don't go to a yoga class to sit around and listen to a discussion about yoga," she says. "You actually do yoga. Writing is my yoga."

Fresh material is treated with gentleness and respect, wonder and encouraging humor.

"We encourage the new shoots," she says. "We create an atmosphere of safety and TLC. That's what fresh work needs. I like to demonstrate to people that they have amazing wells within them, waiting to be tapped. I like to think of myself as a big cheerleader and encourager."

She is more than that. With a well tuned ear, honed for years by collaborative work with her band The Nields, Nerissa has an unusual way of detecting the sparkle of a fresh piece of writing, finding the strength in her fellow writers and pointing the way to each artist’s best work.

It is amazing what comes out of a person when she or he is sitting in a roomful of like minded, earnest, scared, confused but determined fellow writers. One participant wrote an entire play, some of which has been staged at a local venue. Recording artists have written fully formed songs in a half hour in the Songwriting Room. Poetry has been pouring out of this humble house on Prospect Street. Novels are being written, secrets are being told.

Workshops take place in Northampton, at an old Victorian house nestled in a delightful garden (hence the title). Nerissa regards these meetings as a means to fellowship, creativity, laughter, joy and perseverance. Explore the amazing world of the word and the tune and the muse. All levels of writers are welcome, and all styles: poets, short story writers, songwriters, journalists, memoirists, novelists, columnists, doodlers, you name it.

Nerissa's workshops run for ten week sessions at a time, one session on Tuesday nights, 7:15-9:30, and one on Thursday nights, 6:30-8:45.

Workshops for Teens after school

This is a creative writing workshop for young people. Writers spend part of the workshop time writing fresh material, and then the remainder sharing with each other. This is fun, not academic writing.

Here’s what's come out of these workshops so far:

• a Cinderella story told from the point of view of one of the stepsisters
• a play about a crazed mime and some characters from Harry Potter
• a science fiction novel about a thirteen year old and his friends getting stuck inside a computer game
• a novel about a planet run by expatriate Greek Gods and Goddesses
• a story about a girl who switches schools and needs to adjust

Young people are discovering that they are poets, science-fictionists, playwrights, and everyone gets to see that sometimes, they are really quite funny. Also, we eat the best cookies.

Writing It Up In The Garden Weekend Retreats

Nerissa Nields hosts and facilitates writing retreats for all kinds of writers: novelists, short story tellers, songwriters, poets, journalists, memoirists, essayists, doodlers and scribblers of all kinds. She works with experienced writers and beginners alike.

The retreat starts Friday at 5:30pm with registration, dinner and a round of introductions. We will do writing exercises and work on works in progress until 9:30. The next morning at 9:30, we will congregate for coffee, tea and a short lecture, discussion and some exercises, followed by individual writing. Break for lunch. Regroup in the afternoon for sharing finished work or works in progress and another writing session. We will have a group dinner on the porches of the fine Victorian homestead we'll be using.

Sunday will be the same as Saturday, but we will end at noon. We may share works in progress at PACE (Performing Arts Center of Easthampton) at 2pm, though this is not definite yet.

Registration fee $125. Deposit of 50% by December 1.

The fee does not include accommodations, but there are lovely and affordable places to stay nearby and we can help direct you to them. Fee includes dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, abundant coffee and tea, and light refreshments. Breakfast and lunch are catch as catch can. The retreat is 1.2 miles from downtown Northampton, and a half a block from the bike path, right on the bus line.

To participate, email NFNields@aol.com.

Private Work

Nerissa is available for one-on-one work with individuals. If you are a creative writer, she will invite you to write with her and then go over your fresh work. For other kinds of writing, she can work on-line or by phone with snail mailed manuscripts. Currently, she works with several creative writers and graduate students. To enquire about fees and availability, email NFNields@aol.com.

About Nerissa:

Nerissa Nields has been a member of the band The Nields since 1991. She has toured North America, been on major labels, minor labels, had big fat publishing deals and moderate but very gratifying successes. Between the Nields and her duo with sister Katryna Nields, she has twelve CDs out. Her work has appeared in many compilations, magazines and movies. Her first novel, Plastic Angel, is being published by Scholastic Press in 2005. She is currently working on her second novel, The Big Idea. She is an honored graduate of Yale University and holds a BA in English. She has taught creative writing, songwriting and guitar for her entire adult life and is passionately in love with what she gets to do for a living.

To schedule Nerissa for retreats, workshops or seminars, contact NFNields@aol.com.

Writing It Up In the Garden Credo

1. Create time in your life to write consistently.
2. Read voraciously.
3. Write as if there were no one looking over your shoulder.
4. Let go of the results.
5. Bravely look at your material and share it with people you respect when you are ready to hear criticism and make changes.
6. Take vacations from your writing.
7. Live as if you were a journalist, documenting every aspect of your life and the lives of the people around you. Everything is grist for the mill.
8. Listen to the work of others with generosity and an ear for noticing what works.
9. Give support.
10. Accept support.
11. Do not read The New York Times Book Review.

More Testimonials

"This time I arrived feeling a sense of warm familiarity as I walked up the path to Nerissa's. Though the weather had turned colder, but the steps felt the same beneath boots as they did beneath sandals. And this time I was not only greeted with familiarity, but a squeal of delight and a tight hug from Nerissa. It seemed like only moments ago that we had all gathered in the kitchen, picked our mugs, settled into dinner and getting to know one another.

"This group was made up of half of the original August group and half of new folks I couldn't wait to meet and discover. Hugs were shared, laughter, and the training of Sir Cody, the country dog who was learning that not all bumps and knocks needed barks in the city. After introducing ourselves and finding out what kind of writers we all were, we set our intentions for the weekend. Nerissa gave us a prompt ... and we took off to our favorite and newly discovered writing spots. I chose the dining room, rightly congregated by plants that had just moved inside after staying outside all summer. A humidifier, for the plants and the guitars, hummed comfortingly from the table with the pottery top and leaf motif. I felt the hum inside me ... that hum that I had uncovered under so many layers back in August. It wasn't early so deep down this time around and I wrote a poem that had been hanging around for a while ... then I worked on the science fiction book I had started at Nerissa's months ago. When we came together in the living room, I volunteered to get it over with and read my piece ... or rather, because of its emotional nature, have someone else read it for me. Gwynne, newly married and still glowing, offered to read it and did a beautiful job ... I was teary by the end and the whole room kind of sighed quietly. Nerissa looked at me with an expression that said a lot – she shook her head, pointed out the parts she loved and looked at me again saying, "That was wonderful ... I can't say much more than that." Then she had Gwynne read it over again and everyone made comments that made me feel blessed and made us laugh. I felt different this time around – I didn't need to be made to feel complete as a writer anymore ... I just needed those looks from Nerissa, her words of guidance, and the comments of the other women/writers who had gathered with me. I sat back and was relaxed, taking in all the different pieces, feeling comfortable and invigorated by the words that were coming to all of us ... many with odd and undeniable similarities.

"By evening I was flying. And it took me a while to fall asleep – I thought of everyone's work, my own, where they were going ... and most of all looked forward to the next day.

"We were pouring tea and eating pastry and fruit by 9:30 Saturday and settled in to hear the rest of the works read. But first there was a stretch – we got in a circle put one hand behind our backs then reached out and took the person's hand that was next to us ... the one behind their back ... until we were all joined and then twisted. Then switched sides and twisted some more. Our prompt this time was a basket full of odds and ends ... something I hadn't planned on writing came to me because of that prompt and it's a poem I'm very proud of. Each retreat, each writing session, I'm amazed at what gets spurred in me to be written. I wonder what would happen if I did a retreat each month what would happen ... I was really impressed with everyone's work – each had her own style, her own aims, her own muse. There were a few young people and I was blown away by their knowledge and the joy with which they were proceeding with their educations, as well as their clear talent for writing. Nerissa gave us an assignment for after lunch on Saturday, and that was to go find a bookstore, sit down, and read a children's book. I found a beautiful store called the Mulberry Tree full of kids toys, clothes, books and games. There was a Brio train rep there with all sorts of trains, so Lottie sat right down with Eli and started to play while I sneaked off to find a good book. I picked one off the shelf about a little duck named Ruby. Ruby's was the last egg to hatch in the clutch, she didn't eat at first, and she didn't grow or do the other things her brothers and sisters were doing. The father duck was worried, but the mother assured him that Ruby would do all these things, "in her own time." At the end Ruby flies higher, farther, and faster than all her siblings and comes into her own, in her own time. Then she as she flies off her father says, "Will she ever come home?" and the mother says Ruby will, "in her own time." And then the last page shows her back at the pond with her own ducklings. It seemed like that book landed in my hands for a reason ... it spoke so well to what the retreat was teaching me.

"I can now say, without lying, but with a wink, that I've been to Lhasa. Okay ... so it's not 'the' Lhasa, the Tibetan holy city where the Dalai Lama once lived, studied and taught ... but it was a Tibetan restaurant run by a Tibetan family. When Eli mentioned it while looking at an area guide to eateries I jumped up, literally. We had to go there because it was as close to Tibet as I could get at the moment. We found it by the prayer flags fluttering out front. The interior was decorated with photos from Tibet, a large photo-map of Lhasa and a huge painting of Potala Palace. Our server Dhalma was beautiful with a husky voice. She took our order, asked about/included Lottie (bringing her a beautiful roll that resembled a lotus flower), and enjoyed my exuberance for being there. The food was incredible and I enjoyed seeing the photo of the Dalai Lama in the kitchen. His smile went along with the combined spiritual calm and excitement that was welling up in me. I had just written a poem that expressed what I was experiencing in my faith, so at Lhasa I felt like I was going to explode with joy.

"We returned to the house and I returned to the Adirondack chair by the sofa, the cd collection, and the piano. Another humidifier hummed ... more of my science fiction novel came out. Another reading of pieces, while the smell of dinner wafted through the living room. Laura likened the whole experience of the retreat as opening gifts in the living room on Christmas, each of us bringing a gift to give the rest of the group in written form. What she said was entirely true – it was a gift to be there, a gift to be grouped with those particular souls, and a gift each time someone read a new piece.

"After a lively dinner and wonderful food around the table in the dining room (Tom, Nerissa's fiance, joining us), we got more tea and settled in for our evening together. Normally at this point we would sing joyfully and laugh heartily. But this was only days after the election ... Nerissa picked up on the fact that we needed something different this time, so we sat down and did a ten minute forced write – our prompt was to write down our feelings about the election and then we would share what we would do next to make a change, to try and heal not only ourselves but the country. The prompt was to help us get out our feelings and what was beneath the feelings left by the election. It was the first time I've journaled honestly, off the cuff, without thinking ahead or editing. Normally I'm paralyzed by the thought of writing in a personal journal ... worried about what I'd write, worried about someone finding it ... but this time it was as if Nerissa had somehow given me permission to let it all go and write whatever was inside me. And I did. And I knew from the moment that ten minutes was up that this would be a new form of catharsis each day – ten minutes first thing in the morning (before I was fully awake and ready to edit) was something my muse could handle and I would keep at it. (and I have ...)

"We talked and laughed, got teary and revealed all of our emotions and hopes that night. Gwynne sang a hysterical and brilliant song she had written at the Aug. retreat, and we convinced Nerissa to sing one of the songs she had written for her novel the Big Idea. We left feeling lighter, with hope rekindled, with laughter on our faces and in our hearts. I listened to Quebeqouise on the way home on the local public radio station.

"On Sunday morning I was mixed with the feelings of excitement for another writing session ... and the twinge of sadness that meant this magical time was almost over. But somewhere inside I also knew that I would be back ... these friends were friends I'd have for a long, long time. I would use the mug in the kitchen again ... I would sit in the Adirondack chair again ... I would be greeted by Nerissa's smile again ... I would gather with these women again ... I would write like I never thought I could again.

"Sunday's stretch was such a big one that we had to do it out on Nerissa's front lawn with the Sunday morning traffic idling by. We made a circle with our backs to each other ... we joined hands ... we trusted each other's strength and grip ... and leaned out like so many bows of sailing ships. With whoops and cheers we felt our bones and muscles lengthen ... our creativity was just about contained. Cody barked from the front door at our seemingly lost minds.

"Then with pieces read by Nerissa from different authors about different desert-like elements ... off we went to write. I'm usually not a form poet ... but that morning I felt like the challenge, reigning in my free verse and giving it a road to walk and certain stones to step on. I thought of my own creative desert and what it would be like for a traveler to be dropped into my head for a while and return with full knowledge of who and what I am. What I wrote, I'm extremely proud of.

"It was too soon that Nerissa called us back together ... and there was a pregnant silence when the last piece was read and we had to face saying goodbye. As the morning progressed, an outsider would have noticed that as our group of intent and intense writers wrote ... one by one we went into the bathroom and peeked under the sink. There was a card hidden there and each of us added a line or two creating a poem as a thank you to Nerissa for the weekend. Another card was there, too, one that had flowers with long stalks – we each added the name of a piece we had written to one of the stalks and produced a garden of work. As the cards were presented we all heard for the first time this serendipitous poem. Nerissa, a woman who can belt out the most emotional of songs ... was stopped the fourth line into our poem, emotion catching in her throat. That did it for me and I was in tears! Tears of joy and contentment, and the sincere gratitude for being a part of such an incredible experience once again.

"It is an amazing poem – it says it all. We'll all hang copies of it on our walls, no doubt.

"My arms ached to hug each and every one of the group – so I went around the room as we made plans for the next time, shared email addresses, and promised to come back again. I kept thinking ... I'll be back here in this place someday ... which made the goodbyes easier. It has been an honor to be a part of these groups ... and unbelievable blessings. The word that was on everyone's lips was ... fulfillment. And that's exactly what it was."