Review of Freeflow writing/kayaking trip, "Writing the NonHuman"
I just got back from a Freeflow writing course in the San Juan Islands! Here's my review.
Full disclosure: If you put me in as your referral, I might get $100? Not sure if that deal is still active. But do it anyway so they can keep track. So, while this isn’t technically a sponsored post, there is that potential bias. I will say this is my honest opinion, but keep that in mind.
What is a Freeflow writing course?
I attended a 6-day course, “Writing the Nonhuman,” from an organization called The Freeflow Institute. There were 9 people, including one guide/chef, one naturalist/guide, and one writing professor. The idea is to merge in-person adventure with writing. We kayaked around the beautiful San Juan Islands with minimal planning (on the part of the participants, except to get there and back and to read the pre-trip readings.) We stopped on various islands to discuss writing and do writing exercises.
It was absolutely worth it to me! The mix of creativity, very specific discussion of writing about animals, and outdoor adventure was very fulfilling.
Very nice! See the phone pics.
Is this a real college class?
There is an option for getting course credit, but none of us on this trip did it.
The pre-course readings were well-selected and great to read.
The professor is a real college writing professor during the school year. I thought her exercises and knowledge of writing was insightful. She has trad published 10 books.
The class is not graded, difficult or stressful.
Do you produce good writing on the course?
We did plenty of writing on the trip in paper journals. I think my writing and the writing of the other people in the class was good–enough that you wouldn’t be surprised if you found the polished versions in real writing outlets.
I’m planning to polish some up and post them on Tumblr, but I don’t think I know enough about this sort of market (fiction, poetry, journaling) to publish anywhere for pay. I don't think it's a great market.
(Though, if you know of somewhere interested in paying for poetry and/or very short writing about animals, HMU.)
The downside for a nonfiction writer was I couldn’t look up any information (limited phone battery and internet access), so nothing I wrote was really reported. There were a few times I put [add reported info here] into some creative writing, though. Plus, I do reported stuff at home all the time, so I was ok with exploring a little more of the more artsy part of the craft for this time.
Is Freeflow for professional writers only?
No.
People had a variety of jobs and interests in writing. If you pay for it, you can go. That could be a pro or a con for you. Of course I enjoy meeting people in all fields and everyone was cool! But it wasn’t like a writers conference where you can go on for hours discussing updates to the field.
Also: of the two people who got partial scholarships I’m aware of, one was an outdoor guide (not the guide for this trip, but someone in a different location with a different company) with an MFA in creative writing. The other scholarship-getter I’m aware of was myself, a professional writer. (Not that I’m the most successful in the world, just, for reference.)
How hard is this physically? Is it only for serious athletes?
The kayaking was fairly rigorous, so you’d have to be in kind of ok shape, but I never lost my breath and was only a little sore, and I am not a serious kayaker or athlete at all. The excitement was more than enough to keep me going.
No one seemed to have a problem with the physical aspect. I’ll note that everyone took it seriously and got up at 4am without complaints when that’s what the weather called for. I mention that because it's not just Chill Day at The Beach, it's Outdoor Adventures.
How well did they integrate the location/nature/experience into writing?
The first night we saw a dead baby seal and that ended up as part of the a writing prompt but otherwise it was more like write, kayak, eat, write, explore, write, kayak without much intermingling. Writing and going through nature is a good pair, though, as you alternate between exercising your brain and your body.
What kind of writers do you recommend this for?
It’s kind of a “one size fits all” situation in that we discussed all sorts of genres relating to the nonhuman: reported nonfiction, speculative fiction, poetry, essays etc.
As a journalist, I liked the course in that it helped me expand some of my reading and writing to learn more about and consider different genres. And I felt appreciated for my knowledge on my genre.
However, I wouldn’t recommend this course to satisfy a goal of learning to do in-depth reporting or journalism. It was a little more creative.
Do you think you could just do something like this on your own for cheaper?
The guides had a ton of knowledge to share about the San Juan Islands, the biology of the place, the timing of travel, safe kayak travel, and lots more that I don’t have. The company also provided more good gear than I’d want to research, procure, buy, maintain, and transport. I mean, I think even a serious kayaker would be happy to have Outdoor Odysseys doing this work for them.
Not only do I not know how to do some of the things they did, I wouldn’t even know that you should do them. The guide kept careful track of the weather and waves and knew the map of the islands very well, and the company planned and provided for all the meals and camping permits–it would have taken WAY too much time to learn that stuff myself, and I’m sure I would have done it wrong.
And that’s to say nothing of getting the writing professor and naturalist on board!
I’m so glad I was able to do this particular course! And I’m very thankful to have had a partial scholarship. No complaints from me!
But, considering the costs and the fact that I am less interested in the other courses (The Law of People and Place, Co-Creating with Mother Earth, and Deep Time in the Grand Canyon,) I don’t think I will make the same investment again. I’m ok with it being once-in-a-lifetime. Maybe I’ll do another guided multi-day outdoor adventure tour with another component one day or something. But writing about animals is very relevant to my interests and profession and the other ones simply aren’t. If they are relevant to you, and worth the investment to you, I think it’s a good idea for you.
(That said, there was one attendee who had been on, I think, 3 previous Freeflow courses because he likes them so much regardless of necessarily having a deep obsession with all of the topics. So, to some it is worth it even when the topics aren’t aligned with their obsession!)
And I do sort of have an idea floating around in my head to suggest Freeflow hosts a course right before or after my prospective mini-residency for those who want to write a book proposal, so people who want to do it can get a little more value of their trip to the nature of Wyoming. If that’s something that interests you, feel free to comment about it. Maybe some feedback will get that kind of going. VERY hypothetically at this point.
Different trips cost different amounts. This one was USD$3,250, or $2,000 for me with my partial scholarship.
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If you want to go on one, please add K Hugo on the referral line!
You can check out their site for FAQ and if there's anything you want to know from a participant rather than from the org itself, feel free to ask me.
