Writing the Sacred Ordinary

Class Description

We live among the sacred. We all have rituals, traditions, and daily pleasures that often go unnoticed. Many writers are burned out on trauma work or simply trying to digest the daily headlines. This writing class invites writers to slow down and turn their attention to the everyday beauty that surrounds them.

Through brief readings, guided prompts, and quiet reflection, students will explore how ordinary moments can carry meaning, wonder, and reverence. The sacred is open to all of us, and this class welcomes writers of all backgrounds and belief systems. We will focus on short forms such as flash nonfiction, devotionals, odes, poems, and fragments, using concrete detail and careful attention rather than abstraction.

By focusing on short works, we can finish several pieces in a short time. Sharing is always optional, and the emphasis is on attention, presence, and discovery rather than performance or productivity.

By the end of the course, students will have completed multiple short drafts and will have renewed ways of noticing and honoring the sacred in daily life.

Instructor: Rebecca Chamaa frequently celebrates the everyday in her writing and has contributed devotionals to Strength and Grace and spiritual reflections to Guideposts magazine.

Disclaimers

Please note that you will receive your Zoom link via email 24 hours before the start of this class. If you enroll in this class less than 24 hours before it begins, please either send us a message or email us at programs@sandiegowriters.org to request your link.

Please be advised that it is best to register at least a week before the start of a class to help our instructors prepare and ensure that it does not get canceled or rescheduled. Policies regarding registration, refunds, cancellations, etc. can be found on our policies page. At the end of the course, please complete the evaluation form—your feedback is invaluable for improving our classes and supporting the grant reporting that makes these programs possible.