Writing Place Near and Afar: Finding Your Story

Record, recall, + revise - travel notes, essays, images -- through writing exercises with award-winning author Leslie Carol Roberts.

How do we record, recall, and revise our explorations—from faraway travels to everyday walks, meanderings, and reflections?

Join author and Fulbright Fellow Leslie Carol Roberts for a welcoming, hands-on writing workshop exploring how observations and memories become stories. We will kick off our shoes (if desired!) as we gather in the cosy, 4th-floor, light-filled MFA Writing Studio (designed by Studio Gang with views of Potrero Hill and beyond )-- at CCA, settling in as we work through and read from our exercises in a supportive group workshop.

We’ll begin with a brief observation of local flora, practicing how to document details and make useful notes. Through three guided exercises and conversation, we’ll then sort through your notes and memories, follow unexpected connections, and get words onto the page.

What writing to consider? Perhaps a place you keep thinking about: a familiar neighborhood, a treasured memory of a journey, or somewhere you’d like to understand differently. Limited to 10 participants for a small, conversational workshop with individual attention. Writers at every level are welcome.

What you’ll take away

• Ten writing exercises: three we’ll explore together and seven to continue on your own.
• Practical approaches to recording observations, recalling experiences, and revising your writing.
• Fresh material and ideas for finding your voice and developing your story.
• Camaraderie and connections to keep your writing moving forward.

Enjoy a farmers’ market spread featuring Acme pastries, cheeses, and fresh fruit, accompanied by tea and juices.

What to bring: A notebook, tablet, or laptop; any notes you’d like to revisit; and memories of a place—near or far.

This workshop is based indoors at CCA, with a brief local-flora observation warm-up. A separate December gathering will take the practice outdoors in the Presidio.

About Leslie Carol Roberts

An experienced MFA workshop leader, program chair, and professor, Leslie Carol Roberts has spent years helping writers find their voices and discover the stories they want to tell. Her teaching combines close attention, practical exercises, and thoughtful encouragement to help writers turn promising material into compelling work.

She is the author of Here Is Where I Walk and The Entire Earth and Sky and the world’s first Fulbright Fellow in Antarctic humanities. Her teaching experience spans California College of the Arts, Saint Mary’s College of California, the University of Iowa, and San José State University.

Arrival: Meet at the main gate at 145 Hooper Street. The workshop is in the MFA Writing Studio / HS Homeroom, Fourth Floor, Double Ground Building. You will be met at the gate, where you will sign in at the guard's desk and then be escorted to the studio.