What if we did not force the creative process but allowed it? In this four-week online class, we will re-imagine the creative process for ourselves. With the help of guided exercises, discussion, and practical creative experimentation, we will look at some of the common creative blocks — fear of failure, overthinking, comparison — and practice calming the inner critic. Participants will participate in low-stakes creative prompts in a range of mediums (writing, drawing, movement, & mixed media) to instill trust in intuition and enhance awareness of the present moment. This is a great class for every type of artists, writers, educators and anyone wanting to reconnect with their creative instincts. No prior experience is necessary—just a willingness to investigate, think critically and embrace the unknown.
Michelle Donice is the author of The Other Side of Through (Balboa Press) and Following Your North Star (Atmosphere Press). She is a graduate of Sierra Nevada College’s MFA Program in Creative Writing (now part of the University of Nevada system). Her short fiction has been featured in Midnight and Indigo Lit, Free Spirit, Clockhouse, New Delta Review, and Flash Fiction for Flash Memory (Anchala Studios). Additionally, her writing has earned her placement in the following writing residencies and retreats: Mont Blanc/Chamonix Writing by Writers, Colgate Writers’ Conference, AWP Writer to Agent, Corporeal Writing’s Sitka. Seed. Self Generative Retreat, Chesapeake Writers’ Conference, Anaphora Arts Writing Residency, Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, Sewanee Writers Conference, the Hedgebrook Mother Tree Residency. Her short story “The Buffalo Soldier” was nominated for a 2025 Pushcart Prize. Michelle lives in Nashville with her husband and two dogs. She teaches yoga and writing and often incorporates themes of spirituality, African American culture, and women's empowerment in her fiction.
Michelle is new to The Porch. Welcome!
