Hello and Welcome!
I’m Dr Yasmin Chopin and my purpose here is to provide inspiration and guidance to help you jump away from the 9-5 and focus on your creative writing.
Have you been waiting years to write that book?
Itching to draft a series of essays?
Are your notebooks bulging with great ideas?
Write with us!
Let’s talk about Place Writing
There’s never been a better time to write about place. In the current geological age of the Anthropocene, when human activity continues to dominate and influence changes to our environment both positive and negative, our relationship to place is in constant flux. Geopolitical turmoil results in mass migration. This, along with memories of the pandemic and future-talk about living on Mars, gives us cause to reconsider what ‘home’ is, where it is, and what it means to us.
Place Writing offers a vital framework for processing such existential questions; it provides a means of expressing our thoughts and emotions through the craft of writing.
Who am I?
Place Writing is a relatively new genre so there’s lots to discuss. To my knowledge, no shelves exist in libraries or bookshops labelled Place Writing and I’d like to change that.
🌿 Living in the Scottish Borders, I hold a PhD and a Masters Degree in Creative Writing—specialising in Place Writing—and an Honours Degree in Art History. I spent a lifetime in professional management roles followed by a second career in interior design. Having always enjoyed writing, it is only now in later life that I have the opportunity to write full-time. I’ve edited magazines, contributed articles to publications, devised and delivered training materials, presented motivational talks, written magazine columns, regularly guest-posted on websites, and I’ve had writing accepted in peer-reviewed journals and anthologies. Most recently, my essay, ‘The Date’ was published in the University of Strathclyde’s Getting On anthology.
A Publication for Writers
Home and Place Writing is for you if you want to:
Transform your concerns about living in the world today into compelling words.
Produce thoughtful original pieces of creative non-fiction.
Develop the skills and confidence to publish work that matters.
Learn craft techniques that will give your writing a strong framework.
Find ways for your established professional life to make space for writing.
Write with more authority, more impact and clarity.
Be inspired and motivated to write regularly.
Discover new ways of thinking and writing about Nature, Home, and Place.
Become familiar with research methodologies that support your writing.
Understand more about Place Writing as a genre.
Examine how successful authors use Home and Place in their writing.
Subscribe Today!
Join a community passionate about the craft of writing, a community of thoughtful, committed writers who, like you, approach writing with the seriousness it deserves.
Receive weekly posts that explore Home and Place through multiple lenses: nature, travel, art history, architecture, environment. Practice your craft and polish your writing technique with regular prompts and exercises.
Enjoy access to the complete Home and Place Writing archive.
Upgrade!
Paid subscribers get all the above PLUS motivation and support in the Writers’ Room where you’ll find articles, posts, and video shorts specifically designed to help you develop your writing practice. With writing prompts rooted in place-based research, you’ll also receive offers of feedback on your work-in-progress.
My AI policy and copyright:
As a writer, my natural modus operandi is to research carefully before I develop my posts. I use a wide range of sources in order to be as accurate as possible with any facts I provide. I assimilate the information I’ve gathered then write what I feel is relevant to the subject in hand, and I do so in my own words.
When I incorporate quotes I reference them. I use my own photographs in preference to others but when I use others I obtain the relevant permission and quote the source.
My purpose here is provide inspiration that will help professionals make the jump to focus on their creative writing. My particular interest is in the subject of HOME and PLACE. What you read in this Substack will always be my own original work.
©YasminChopin2026
