May Writing Workshop
Motherhood
I thought I would write most days of my son’s life. Not long ‘dear diary’ entries, but notes at least. I thought I would mark the calendar when he ate his first food, began to crawl, or pulled himself up for the first time. I thought I would lay in bed at night or early in the morning and take notes of myself growing up as well. I would mark how my marriage is changing and grieve the solo relationship I used to have with my dog. And I do sometimes. Various notes trickle their way onto paper or into my phone, but mostly this period has required a deep presentness. Spotting my child so he doesn’t fall leaves no hands left to write down words. I follow him constantly as he explores our new home, tries to climb the stairs and bang on the window at the birds. By the end of day, I’m so tired of the heightened awareness a new human in this world requires that doing anything but putting my head on the pillow and closing my eyes feels irresponsible. The reality is that life requires so much presentness now that forgetting details is inevitable. And that has to be okay. It has to be more than okay. One moment blends into the next as life has always been for generation after generation.
And while I’m embracing the act of letting memory evaporate, I don’t want to miss documenting it all together. So, on May 17th we will gather a group for a writing workshop themed around motherhood. While I will enter with the perspective of a new mother, please know that this workshop is for all. Perhaps you want to reflect on your own mother, a grandmother, or another strong female presence in your life. Or maybe you will enter this workshop in conversation with Mother Earth; there will be at least one nature-centric prompt included in our session. Or perhaps you are like me some years ago and questioning if motherhood is the right choice for you.
And with Mother’s Day coming up, consider gifting this workshop to a mother you love. If group time doesn’t feel right, consider an individual story coaching session. These are great for anyone looking to organize a family archive or are in the midst of a personal storytelling project and needs a helping hand.
As a reminder: These online writing workshops are a chance for writers of *all experience levels* to come together in community to think, feel, and document our world as we are experiencing it. My hope is that this space can offer a pause from the chaos of daily life and a chance to do some generative, free-flowing writing. There will be an emphasis on memoir and family history throughout the workshop, but the prompts and exercises will be broad enough that you can choose where to take them. Ages 14+ are welcome and first time writers are encouraged to join. Details for the May workshop are below.
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026 from 4-6:30pm EST
Theme: Motherhood. We will use poetry, book excerpts, and visual prompts to explore the topic.
Location: Zoom. I’ll send the link and a reminder email the week before.
Fee: $135. If you’re a paid subscriber to my Substack, have worked with me as a story coach, or have joined a previous workshop, the fee is $100. (If the cost is prohibitive for you, please reach out and let’s discuss a way to make it work).
To Sign Up: To reserve your place, please email me at rachaelcerrotti@gmail.com with the subject line: MAY WRITING WORKSHOP 2026. Include the name of the participant, the location, and if there is any helpful or relevant information for me to know. You can also sign up through my website.
The workshop will be capped at 10 participants. If you are unable to attend after signing up, you can transfer your spot to someone else but I will not be able to refund the cost.
A poem and a curiosity…
I recently made my way through a collection of Mary Oliver’s poems about her dogs. It’s a sweet little book titled Dog Songs and I highly recommend it. While pulling together this motherhood-themed writing group, I realized that I’d love to spend dedicated time writing about my dogs. They have been the greatest teachers and best friends in my life. They have taught me how to soften and how to protect. They have made me so many friends and have led me to corners of nature I wouldn’t have explored on my own. Lucky (who passed when I was 21), Sushi and Shiva are their names and I love them so. If you would be interested in a writing group dedicated to pets (not just pups), please let me know and I’ll make it happen. Below is one of my favorites from the collection. It’s titled Every Dog’s Story.
