A life well-lived is a story well-told.
To write with depth is to live with intention—to move through the world as both participant and observer, attuned to the rhythms of conversation, the quiet language of landscapes, and the undercurrents of emotion that define human experience. This is what I call living narratively—engaging with life in such a way that story naturally emerges, not only on the page but in the way we perceive the world.
In online creative writing courses, whether as teacher or student, we are reminded that narrative is not just a literary construct—it is the shape of our days, the architecture of our memories, the way we make sense of what we see, hear, and feel. The tools of narrative nonfiction—its scaffolding and style, its tension and texture—are not just the elements of good writing. They are, in many ways, the elements of meaningful living.
The craft of narrative nonfiction rests on eight pillars, each offering a lens through which we can both write and experience the world.
1. Narrative Arc: The Movement of a Life
In storytelling, narrative arc is the path a story takes—the rising tension, the climax, the resolution. A well-told story has structure and momentum, even in its quiet moments. But isn’t this also true of life?
When you write your own stories, do you recognise the arc? Do you see how the moments of loss and discovery, stillness and motion, have carried you forward? I’ve discovered in my online creative writing courses how people make a significant transition to seeing their lives — past, present, future — as art we shape: we shape a narrative but how to shape a perspective—how to recognize movement, meaning, and transformation in both story and self.
New and curious: start with The Art of Narrative Nonfiction Level 1, which starts February 12.
2. Narrative Presence: The Storyteller’s Hand
One of the most essential yet subtle aspects of writing is narrative presence—the way an author’s consciousness permeates the work. It is not just what is told, but how it is told. By us.
In writing courses, we develop this presence. We learn to make deliberate choices—when to lean in with detail, when to step back and let the story breathe. And as we do, we begin to recognise our presence not only on the page but in the way we move through life: with curiosity, attentiveness, and a sense of authorship over our own experiences.
3. Setting: The Poetry of Place
Good nonfiction is deeply rooted in setting. The places we live and travel through are not just backdrops but active forces—shaping our moods, memories, and metaphors.
An online creative writing course teaches us to notice: the shifting light across a tidal marsh, the scent of rain-soaked soil, the way an ancient oak holds its space in the world. As we learn to write about place, we also learn to inhabit it more fully—to notice, to linger, to find language for the landscapes that shape us. Learn more in my Narrative Nature Writing course that starts February 9.
4. Dialogue: The Music of Human Exchange
Writing courses train the ear to listen. Dialogue is more than conversation; it is rhythm, subtext, and energy. It reveals character, creates tension, moves the story forward.
The best dialogue captures the way people truly speak—not just in words, but in pauses, in what is left unsaid, in the weight of a glance or the hush of a room after something significant has been spoken. To write dialogue well is to listen well, to hear the world with both precision and empathy.
5. Language: The Elegance of Expression
To live narratively is to live linguistically—to savour the texture of words, the cadence of a well-formed sentence, the exactness of a metaphor that illuminates the ordinary.
As my student know, we can say, “The moon shone bright.” We can also be wow’d by Anton Chekov’s words, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
In all of my online creative writing courses, we refine our relationship with language. We cut what is unnecessary, sharpen what is dull, and infuse sentences with lyricism and clarity. The result is not just better writing, but a heightened awareness of the power of words—the way they shape perception, build connection, and leave an imprint long after they are read or spoken.
6. Voice: The Echo of the Self
Your voice—that distinctive signature of sound and style—is already within you. A creative writing course does not impose a voice upon you; it unearths it.
A strong narrative voice is confident yet unforced, intelligent yet natural. It is shaped by experience, by reading, by listening, by the slow and steady practice of writing. As you refine your voice on the page, you also refine your voice in the world—the way you tell stories, the way you claim space, the way you make yourself known.
7. Character: The Study of Being
At its heart, narrative nonfiction is about people—their desires, contradictions, and complexities. Whether writing about yourself or others, the goal is the same: to create a living, breathing presence on the page.
In writing courses, we learn to look closely. What do gestures reveal? What does silence signify? What small details illuminate a person’s essence? The more attuned we become to character in writing, the more deeply we engage with those around us—seeing not just their words and actions, but their layered humanity.
8. Dilating from the Personal to the Universal
The most powerful nonfiction does not remain in the realm of the personal—it expands outward, touching the universal. It takes individual experience and finds its resonance in something larger: history, culture, nature, the shared longings of humankind.
An online creative writing course teaches this balance. It shows us how to move fluidly between the intimate and the expansive, the deeply personal and the widely relevant. It reminds us that our stories, when written well, do not stay confined to the self—they reach out, offering recognition and connection to the reader.
Living the Story You Write
To engage in the study of writing is to engage in the study of life itself. Every time we craft a scene, choose a word, or shape a story’s arc, we are sharpening not just our skills, but our awareness of the world.
Any of my online creative writing courses are more than an education in craft. They are an invitation to live narratively—to see with greater clarity, to listen with greater care, to shape experience with greater intention.
Because, in the end, the most extraordinary thing about writing is this: As we create stories, stories create us.