Learn to Write your own Stories of Change: Online Story-Writing Class - October 2023

ABOUT

The Barefoot Guide Connection presents:

An Online Class in Four Sessions

Do you have a good social change story to tell?

This is an online writing class for people who have been involved in

social change processes who have good stories and insights to share

and who want to learn to write these down in ways that capture their rich reality and meaning.

The class will be in 4 sessions on Zoom, of 3.5 hours each.

N.B. the times are in GMT - go to the Timezone Converter (https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/) to find the time where you live.

SESSION ONE - Tuesday 17 October 2023 - 7.30am to 11.00am GMT

A step-by-step process to write your first draft of about 800 words, using the Outside/Inside Story free-writing technique.

SESSION TWO - Friday 20 October 2023 - 7.30am to 11am GMT

After a brief input on a powerful listening approach (head/heart/feet) you will enhance your story before reading your draft to two peers to get valuable feedback. And give them feedback too. You will then incorporate the feedback into a next draft. 

SESSION THREE - Tuesday 24 October 2023 - 7.30am to 11.00 am GMT

We will introduce you to the Action Learning Cycle to enable you to draw valuable insights, learnings and implications for future practice to include in your draft. You will then get peer feedback on your second draft and immediately incorporate that into a third draft. 

You will then send your draft to the facilitator who will give you editorial feedback to learn from and to incorporate into your fourth draft.

SESSION FOUR - Tuesday 31 October 2023 - 7.30am to 11.00 GMT

After an input to assist you to polish your language, do stylistic improvements and improve your beginnings and endings, you will receive feedback from your peers to enable you to produce a final draft.

A Writer's Guide

We will provide you with a comprehensive and helpful Writer's Guide, full of practical advice to finetune your writing pieces. 

Your facilitator

Doug Reeler has facilitated Barefoot Guide Writeshops and provided coaching and editing support for writers for the past ten years. He also practices as an organisation and practice development facilitator with Tamarind Tree Associates.

The Course Fee

For the 4 Writeshops:  65 euros / R1200

Our Experience 

The method developed by the Barefoot Guide Connection during the past ten years has culminated in a wide array of eight Barefoot Guides, articles, reports, blogs written by communities of practice in social change fields like health, environment, organisational change, agroecology and inclusion. Most of the hundreds of people we have supported to write stories from their own rich experience had never imagined they could write something worth publishing. But they have and so can you.

Our approach

We facilitate enjoyable processes to help participants to overcome their writers’ block and to use the writing process itself to reflect and learn. This also helps those involved in monitoring and evaluation to develop a deeper learning dimension in their practice.

What previous participants have said about this course

“During the writeshop I experienced my story coming alive and communicating directly to my audience. The direct and honest feedback from my peers helped the story to get even more on purpose.”

“Such a simple process, yet so profound. Absolutely loved it. Can't wait for the next session. I feel like the next Jane Austen.”

“This course has stretched and deepened how I think about what I write.”

“If you're a left-brainer, just do this course, even if you don't particularly need to write anything, although it would be best if you did. It shakes you up and resettles you in a better way!”