Welcome to The Writer’s Atelier.
I’m the writer-in-residence, Nicole. Enchanté! It’s so wonderful to meet you.
Think of this space as my quiet workshop of words — or, as the French say, atelier des mots.
My desk is scattered with ink-stained pages, loads of half-finished drafts, and so many post-it notes with scribbled thoughts that eventually grow into something bigger.
An atelier is a space where artists shape, refine, and imagine their work. That’s the spirit I bring here: an intimate corner of Substack for writing, reflection, and conversation.
In my Atelier, I’ll share some of my words in progress: essays, reflections, and musings that sit somewhere between the margin and the finished piece. Some will be polished, others will be raw and unfiltered — but all of them are a part of my craft.
Here is what you can expect to find lying around my Atelier:
The Atelier Journal: A mix of my personal journals, reflections, non-polished work, and thoughts. Sometimes about personal subjects, other times about my own writing process and my path to [hopefully] getting published. There is no formula, much like a journal that sits on my desk or on my nightstand.
These will be a mix of free and paid subscriber posts.
Behind the Lines: Think of this as my personal “craft corner” where I take you behind the scenes (or, lines) on how I hone my craft for a particular piece. Bite-sized breakdowns of my process for a certain post, deeper workshop-esque posts with an academic spin — all in the name of improving our writing practice.
This is exclusively for paid subscribers of the Atelier.
The Atelier Shelf: My shelf includes a monthly recap of all the books I read and seasonally, you can enjoy The Open Tab. This is where I gather the online pieces that have lingered in my browser — essays, interviews, and reflections that sparked something that shapes the work inside The Writer’s Atelier.
This will always be free to read!
Across the Desk: Held exclusively here (and shared in short-form via Notes), this is my series of conversations with fellow writers, where we have an exchange on process, craft, and inspiration. These will be featured monthly and drop on a Sunday morning, typically mid-month. Want to be featured? Fill out this form!
These will be posted monthly and are always be free for you to enjoy.
Writing Prompts: My goal is to provide you with a low-commitment way to strengthen your writing practice via handcrafted writing prompts. I have these available in a couple of ways — a year-long, monthly series loosely tied to the seasons and weekly prompts posted to The Writer’s Atelier Chat on Substack.
These are available exclusively for paid subscribers — join the chat below!
Please, enjoy a sampling of what has made its way out of my journals and onto the Atelier desk. A little charcuterie, if you will:
Ready to enter my atelier?
Welcome. Bienvenue. Please, grab a cup of coffee (or whatever you enjoy) and get cozy. I’m thrilled you’re here. 🥰
The Writer’s Atelier is mostly free! Some pieces, like my deeply personal journals or Behind the Lines posts will be exclusively for paid subscribers. But my series Across the Desk and The Atelier Shelf will always be available for free.
Simply subscribe below to support my workshop.
The Substack app is pretty sweet too, and you can set it up to only get notifications in the app to cut down on emails.
You can also open up the website to read my full archive.
A bit more about me:
I am a melomaniac (music lover, in layman’s terms) and I feed my soul by composing poetry, prose, and fiction. I have a Bachelors of Arts in English (Writing & Literacy) from Indiana University and call the Midwest home.
I began writing when I was young. Basically, since I picked up a crayon. Journaling, creating stories and poems and songs, filling notebooks with pre-teen and teenage nonsense. I’m still finding myself through the lines of those notebooks and margins of the journals I’ve collected over the years. I’m constantly exercising my writing muscles and post a lot of that here for others to read. If you join me in my Atelier, we can work on this together!
Previously, I was a senior editor for my university’s student-run literary magazine, genesis. One of favorite poems I’ve ever written was published there, too — vexatious adoration — before I joined the staff.
After college, I was a partner for a small literary collective, The Geeky Press. I coordinated local writing events and acted as an editor for our two volumes of Hoosier Lit and the anthology Dear America. You can find links to those on my website.
Additionally, I was a top contributor for the VINAzine, an online publication geared toward Millennial and GenZ women.
I love to connect with fellow writers and readers alike. I’m very into pop culture, excellent television, fine films, and a vast array of books. Please, say hello!
instagram • goodreads • bluesky • other links
