2020. Remember back in March when everyone on the internet was like, “learn a new language! Take up painting! Write a book!”
I don’t know about you, but all of my energy went into simply managing the deluge of figuring out the logistics of farming in a pandemic, figuring out how to parent in a pandemic, figuring out how to navigate the sometimes daily emotional breakdowns of living in a pandemic.
As the year comes to a close, there’s the pull to open up again.
Winter has a way of creating a blank slate: the snowy landscape a metaphor for the possibility of an empty page.
In many ways, the pandemic halted my creativity. I was caught in reaction mode, feeling too heavy to process it all in the moment. In other ways, it was my journal that got me through this year.
Writing is a deep breath.
A way to unwind the stress, dive into the questions, relax the fear. Here in the quiet of winter, writing offers a pause to reflect and craft a new story into being.
With a new season and a new year comes a new session of Harvesting Words: a writing workshop for farmers & gardeners.
If you’ve ever felt your mind wander as you thinned carrots or pruned tomatoes, turning words over in your head as ideas popped up for an essay or blog post — or maybe even a book — Harvesting Words is for you.
If you’ve felt the pull to add a blog to your farm website so you can better connect with customers, but you’re not sure if you’re a “good enough” writer to do it, or if you’ll be able to find the time, Harvesting Words is for you.
Farming and writing aren’t so different from each other.
Plant one seed, write one word at a time. Tend to the soil, tend to your creativity. Grow nourishment for the body and the soul.
Whether you want to blog, write poems, essays, or simply write a story for your loved ones — Harvesting Words, a writing course for farmers and gardeners, can help you grow it.
Enrollment for Harvesting Words is open from Monday, December 21st through December 28th.
I believe that creativity is just as essential as food. I also believe everyone deserves access to fresh, local food, and access to education.
That’s why I’m offering scholarships to Harvesting Words.
After graduating with a degree in English and Environmental Studies in 2009, over the last 11 years I’ve continued to invest in courses on both writing and farming.
I’ve paid full price for some, but have received scholarships for others, and I know the feeling of possibility, relief and excitement that comes with it. I also know the depth of growth that comes when you dig in and continue learning.
Now you have the chance to grow your writing skills with a scholarship.
The Harvesting Words Scholarship
What it is: complimentary access to the Harvesting Words online writing course.
How to be considered: Write your answers to the questions below in a comment on this blog post. Answers must be 250 words or less. No email entries will be considered.
The deadline to apply is Monday, December 21st by 6:00 pm eastern. The scholarship recipient(s) will be announced by Wednesday, December 23.
Scholarship application questions:
- What are your writing goals?
- What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to writing?
- Are you a farmer or a gardener? If so, how long have you been growing, and how would you incorporate writing into your farm/garden?
I’m looking forward to reading your entry! Remember, the deadline to apply is Monday, December 21st at 6:00 pm eastern.
The next live round of Harvesting Words begins on January 2nd.
Bonus: Share this post and the photo below on Instagram with the hashtag #harvestingwords and tag me @goodheartfarmstead.
Scholarship Recipients:
Thank you to everyone who applied for a scholarship! Taking action and putting your words down here means you are a writer — you’ve taken the ideas from your head and put them to paper. And that matters. It may not have been easy, but you did it! And that means that word by word, you can do it again.
No matter what I want you to know this: your words matter.
You have the ability to cultivate creativity. You have something beautiful and unique to offer the world through your words. Keep writing.
Full Scholarship Recipients:
Scarlett, a dairy farmer who works to build community through farm-based education, and who wants to cultivate her writing to weave together stories and education on chronic illness, community, and the experience of being a Black female farmer in the midwest.
Sara, a market gardener who’s goal is to make farming more accessible to differently-abled people, and who wants to use writing as a way to increase awareness, educate, and create connection.
