‍“Meet the Teacher” offers a quick introduction to the talented writers who teach for The Porch. Today we welcome Michelle Donice, the author of The Other Side of Through (Balboa Press) and Following Your North Star (Atmosphere Press). Michelle is a graduate of Sierra Nevada College’s MFA Program in Creative Writing, and 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.‍

Tell us about a book you've recently read and enjoyed.

I recently read Rivers Solomon’s Model Home and it was excellent. I love a good haunted house story and this novel is much more than that. Rivers speaks to racism and social policies as the real horrors facing so many!

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What’s one book or essay you return to again and again to help you think about writing, get inspired, etc.?

Although it’s not a craft book, I return to A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson again and again to remind myself to carve out solitude, to spend time in nature, and to trust my inner wisdom. All of these things, I believe, help me to be a better writer. 

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What is your favorite writing rule to break?

I think my favorite writing rule to break is to revise as I go. I know this is a huge no-no, but it’s how I work. I write each morning  by longhand on a yellow legal pad, and then later in the day I use the voice-to-text option and revise my work. The next day I start my writing session by reading what I’ve typed the previous day and then I add onto it until I’m satisfied.  I then shut the computer and start writing longhand again.  It’s slow, but it works for me! 

So many writers try to create from an intellectual space and as a reader you can feel it on the page. As a yoga teacher and a creative writer, I understand that there’s so much deep emotion and wisdom within our bodies, and I love helping writers unleash this power! 

Music while writing: Y/N? 

Sometimes I listen to music but it has to be deeply spiritual music such as Grandfather drums, Tibetan monk chants, Negro spirituals, and African or Irish folk music. There’s something about these genres that makes me dig deep into my emotional well. 

What do you love most about teaching writing?

I think the thing I love most about teaching writing is helping students uncover the stories that are already within them. 

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For you, why does creative writing matter? 

I think so many writers view creative writing as a way to make money, but I see it as a way of processing intense emotions and understanding the world. I know I don’t know how I feel about a thing until I write about it, and I love to guide others through this process of discovery. 

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Tell us why you pitched your upcoming class or classes. 

I pitched “Writing the Body” because I’ve found that so many writers try to create from an intellectual space and as a reader you can feel it on the page. There’s a coldness or cerebral quality, which is okay occasionally, but it only scratches the surface.  As a yoga teacher and a creative writer, I understand that there’s so much deep emotion and wisdom within our bodies, and I love helping writers unleash this power! 

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Share something that has inspired your creativity lately, I recently read Rivers Solomon’s Model HomeModel HomeRivers Solomon’s Model HomeModel Home and it was excellent. I love a good haunted house story and this novel is much more than that. Rivers speaks to racism and social policies as the real horrors facing so many! a book.  

My mother, daughter, and I have started knitting. They are both really good, and I’m horrible at it, but I love that I’m learning to keep going even when I don’t know what I’m creating and the flaws are obvious. I knit because I have nothing to lose and that’s the same way I’m finally learning how to write!

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