The Spirit of Place with Laurence Mitchell
Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, this workshop with Laurence Mitchell reveals how to weave culture, folklore, and personal memory into the heart of place and landscape.
Selling Fast
Nurture your creativity and learn to bring the spirit of landscape and place onto the page.
Through group discussion, examination of a variety of source materials, and short guided writing exercises, you will move beyond basic descriptions to explore the ‘spirit of place’. Together, we will explore how the echoes of the past continue to shape the present:
- Exploring animism and what defines the ‘spirit of place’ in modern prose. What are the essential features of a place or landscape that make it special?
- How spirit of place may be used to provide landscape character for both fiction and creative non-fiction.
- Balancing stories, folklore, and memory against the physical reality of monuments and boundaries.
- How childhood, family, and personal history colour our perception of a landscape.
- How place acts as a bridge between past, present, and future.
- Utilising fresh metaphors and avoiding clichés to bring a setting to life.
- Incorporating embedded imagery to deepen the atmosphere of your prose.
This workshop is designed for writers of all levels and genres, including fiction and creative non-fiction.
Part of NCW Academy
Laurence Mitchell
Laurence Mitchell is a travel writer with a number of guidebooks and walking guides to his name. He also writes features for magazines like Geographical, Walk and Discovering Britain. He has contributed to Echtrai Journal, Elsewhere: a journal of place and several anthologies, and was a regular guest writer for the Berlin-based magazine hidden europe for many years. His first book for Saraband, Westering, was published in 2021 and his second, Flint Country, published in 2025.
NCW Academy Bursary Programme
There is one bursary space available for this workshop.
You are eligible to apply for an NCW bursary if:
- You are a full-time student or pensioner
- You are in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, Disability Benefits, Income Support, Universal Credit or Working Tax Credits
- You have an income of less than £18,000 per year
- If none of these apply but you feel you are still eligible, you may be asked to submit a signed declaration outlining your circumstances.
To apply for the bursary placement, email [email protected] with the name of the course/workshop you would like to attend. Please also attach one of the following proofs of low income listed here.
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