Contemplative Writing
Participants sharing at the summer retreat.
What is “Contemplative Writing”?
I have written and read since I was in primary school, when I learned that fiction could carry me away from difficult struggles at home. Poetry saved me from my father’s death in middle school, and plays softened the harsh realities of my high school experience. But I stopped writing in college, when my mother died. More on my story here, if you wish.
A participant in a workshop in LA.
Contemplative Writing is a way to get to know our minds and hearts with compassion, in community.
I believe writing is a way to heal, but only if we stay open to our minds and have curiosity about who we actually are. My writing classes and retreats are often called, “therapeutic without being therapy,” and “nurturing and healing.” I put “contemplative” first because to me, the curiosity about the mind and orientation towards compassion are actually the core views in why we write the way we do. What makes writing “contemplative” in my world is not the content - it is the view of trusting our minds, approaching ourselves and others with curiosity and compassion, and focusing on process over product.
I have developed my own style and content over the last fifteen years, but I wish to give credit to my founding teachers. My weekly in-person classes are modeled on my first teacher, Paula Novotnak, and her courses Writing from Center. My retreats are modeled on those of Natalie Goldberg.
Natalie Goldberg has said of me:
“Miriam Hall has the heart and head and hands of Writing Practice. Study with her.”
Contemplative Writing Testimonials
Miriam is a brave, expansive and loving container as she holds space for my writing. Even when at times my writing doesn't feel worthy of sharing, she has a gentle and exquisite way of encouraging me and other class members to keep going through our discomfort of sharing (always optional) and then helping us see the worth of what has been shared. Often, I come into class feeling covered with the cobwebs of life's stressors but, by the time I leave class, I am refreshed and renewed from the inside out.
A participant writing haiku with her dog in Georgia.
- SUE RIVER – ONLINE CLASSES, RETREATS, AND WEEKLY CLASSES
Quantity, not quality. Just being free to write, write, write without judgement. No one had ever told me to do that before, and it was amazingly freeing.
- ADELITA BALSALOBRE – ONLINE CLASS
Miriam hears with her heart and holds space with compassion. From her reflections, guidance, and presence, I'm learning to trust the process of writing practice, find the value humming under the surface of even my most scattered efforts, and listen more deeply to myself and others. Attending weekly writing class is a gift.
- SARAH ORLIKOWSKI – WEEKLY CLASSES, FEEDBACK GROUP, RETREATS
NEW! If you would like to simply receive weekly Contemplative Writing prompts from me, and not participate in a live group or online forum, I am now offering that option! Follow this link to the store and look for “Contemplative Writing Prompts Only.”
Offered by the quarter, sustainable price of $100 (pay from the heart $50-$150) for three months.
Weekly Hybrid Class details (ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL US/CHICAGO)
Previous to COVID, these were located on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin.
For the foreseeable future they are hybrid in-person and on Zoom.
I offer four quarters a year, alternating every other week (on average), and including online forum options:
Participant in one of my weekly in-person groups.
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
Class times:
Mondays, 6:30-8:30 pm
Fourth quarter 2024: October 14 and 28; November 11 and 25; December 9
Tuesdays, 10 am-12 pm
Fourth Quarter 2024: October 8 and 22; November 5 and 19; December 3
Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm
Fourth Quarter 2024: October 22; November 5 and 19; December 3 and 17
Sustainable cost: $350 (sliding scale $100-$700) per quarter. If you are already registered for a group, you can send payment to me via PayPal. As always, if you need to pay something different, please let me know.
If you are not already in a group, fill out this form now so you can join a waiting list. Make sure to include which times and days work for you. Classes fill quickly and students often stay in the same time slot, but openings do come up from time to time.
Online Only Groups (all times are CENTRAL US/CHICAGO)
I run two online groups that meet two times a month (five meetings over three months, including an online Mighty Network forum in-between meetings).
I run them quarterly:
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
They are from 6-8 pm Central US on Saturday
Fourth quarter 2024: October 12 (Canadian TG) and 26; November 9 and 23; December 7
and 9-11 am Central US on Sunday
Fourth quarter 2024: October 20; November 3 and 17; December 1 and 15
Sustainable cost: $350 (sliding scale $100-$700) per quarter. If you are already registered for a group, you can send payment to me via PayPal. As always, if you need to pay something different, please let me know.
If you are not already in a group, fill out this form now so you can join a waiting list. Make sure to include which times and days work for you. Classes fill quickly and students often stay in the same time slot, but openings do come up from time to time.
Winter writing retreat
Contemplative Writing Retreats
Summer Writing Retreat near Arena, WI (hybrid) - dates for 2024 were July 20-25, and 2025 dates will be similar.
Winter writing retreat will be January 4-9, 2025. Registration will open soon.
As of December 2022: For as little as $5 per month, join me on my Mighty Network, and be a part of our community!
Find my writing online at my blogs, insidespace or memoirmind; via an archive of my articles at elephant journal; or this interview with me at Psychology Today. I also had two essays published in 2022, one at Isele Magazine on grief, and one on mindfulness, embodiment, and grief at Tendon Magazine.