Writing
2026 Writing Workshop with Barbara O'Neil
Deepening the Writing Life
Do you love to write but don’t find the time for it? Have you started a memoir and find it is more about the facts of your life and less about the soul of your life —the things that really matter? In generative writing sessions, we will leave the inner critic at the door and keep our hands moving across the pages of our notebooks.
Writing in a supportive environment, structured by prompts to stir the imagination, writers are often amazed to see what emerges onto the page. By reading passages and poetry by published authors and listening deeply to the writing of fellow students, our own work becomes richer.
Our time together will include teaching, writing, reading aloud, small group and individual work and time to quiet the mind with periods of silence and meditation. You will take away from this workshop methods on how to continue your writing practice long after the week is over. All are welcome, no experience necessary.
Barbara O’Neil, is a life long teacher and writer. For twenty years, she has led writing groups for students in the Boston area and at a yearly writing retreat at The Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, New Mexico. She finds writing to be a powerful vehicle for self expression and creativity and is passionate about guiding others on their path as writers.
Barbara has studied in New Mexico and France with Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, with Kim Stafford, poet laureate of Oregon, at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, and has attended writing retreats in County Clare, Ireland and at The Omega Institute. She has studied with Julia Cameron, author of The Artists Way at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. In 2019, Barbara was awarded a writing residency at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, New Mexico. Barbara has published poems and essays in many small, local journals. Barbara’s website: writinglifebarbaraoneil.com
What to bring or wear:
Simple notebook and favorite writing pens
(Recommended reading, but not required:
Natalie Goldberg: Writing Down the Bones, Old Friend from Far Away.
Anne Lamott: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.)