Learn to Write your own Stories of Change: Online Story-Writing Class - July 2026

Learn to Write a Story of Change: Online Class in Four Sessions

4 x 3.5 hour Zoom sessions in July 2026

85 Euros | R1600 (South African)

For activists, leaders, organisers, practitioners, community leaders, researchers... anyone in civil society with a story to tell.

What You'll Do

Turn lived experience into compelling narrative. Move past surface events to explore the assumptions, emotions, dilemmas and discoveries that shaped your work. Use freewriting prompts to unlock memory. Apply narrative arcs to structure your story. Give and receive peer feedback. Hold deep dialogue about facilitating social change.

You'll work with the Action Learning Cycle to extract insights from crisis moments, transformation, or the messy work of practice itself. The Writer's Guide we provide offers practical advice for refining your pieces.

The Sessions

Four x 3.5-hour sessions via Zoom:

• Tuesday 14 July, Friday 17 July, Tuesday 21 July, Tuesday 28 July
• 09h00–12h30 GMT | 11h00–14h30 SAST | 12h00–15h30 EAT
• You must attend all four sessions

What You Need

Notebook, pen, computer, open mind, and a story you care about. No prior writing experience required.

You will be emailed the Zoom link a week before the first session.

Your facilitator

Doug Reeler has facilitated Barefoot Guide Writeshops and coached writers for 12 years. He works as an organisation and development facilitator with Tamarind Tree Associates.

Track Record

Over 20 years, this method has produced 14 Barefoot Guides and numerous books, articles, reports and blogs across social change fields. Hundreds of people who never imagined they could write something publishable have done exactly that. See www.barefootguide.org

WHAT PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE COURSE

"The writing course was life-changing - it gave me both the practical tools and the inspiration to get writing!"

"This workshop empowered me to not only surface my inner voice and reflections, but to move beyond the constraints of detached bureaucratic report writing and academic research abstraction, and to embrace a new level of intimacy in storytelling writing."

"The idea of the 'outside' and 'inside' story was illuminating - it's something that you sort of know about but giving it a language and intentionality was really nice. The facilitation had a nice rhythm and the space was held well. I really enjoyed the course and encourage others to do it."

"Learn to Write Stories of Change is an engaging and enjoyable course providing just the right balance of technical know-how and hands-on practice. Great for beginners and more experienced writers."

“During the writeshop I experienced my story coming alive and communicating directly to my audience. The direct and honest feedback from my peers helped the story to get even more on purpose.”

“Such a simple process, yet so profound. Absolutely loved it.”

"I thought I was a pretty good writer before, but that was more 'work' writing. This was something quite different, and really fascinating. I want to use it in one of the organisations I work with, where we're always looking for stories from the teams themselves. What shifted for me is 'putting myself in the picture'. I had never thought about that before. And using specific language that brings the scene to life, then moving the story forward. It can be simple and so effective."

"It's good to connect with people from different parts of the world and from various experiences. That was one thing that stood out. Another was Doug's facilitation, the way he enabled and stimulated our thinking. Great."