About Stephen

In 2010, I began a career leading 1- to 3-week Writing Immersion retreats in Italy, Bali and the Caribbean.

My specialty is to hold space for dynamic groups of creative people looking to learn, grow, or conquer some pivot in their personal or professional lives. There’s nothing better than bringing together a diverse group of people who share a common inspiration.

During the pandemic, I became inspired to make this happen online. I dove deep into computer science and worked professionally as a software engineer and web3 marketer. Although I’m not naive about its downsides, tech has the potential to be a highly empowering force for humanity. It all depends on the quality of the communities we form.

Sign up for my list to stay in touch. I’ll send you the first chapter of Deep Freewriting, which I wrote back during the Covid pandemic to impart the best of what I knew about writing for long spans of time. The book surprised me to become a bestseller.

I wrote Deep Freewriting and Writing from the Inside Out to lay bare some of the most impactful writing techniques I personally use and benefit from. My poetry, essays, and articles have been published in numerous literary magazines including Yellow Medicine, Free Verse, and the Atlantic. I write the weekly blog TMMW to talk about the ups and downs of the creative life.

I earned my MFA in Creative Writing from New Mexico State University. I earned a certificate in advanced software development from Code Fellows. I attended Chainshot to learn Ethereum development.

I’ve narrated audiobooks and written genre fiction under a different name.

Some writing/art influences: Marty Avrett, Walt Whitman, Ed Ruscha, Cy Twombly, David Shrigley, Henri Michaux, Denis Johnson, and Russell Edson. I love the idea of prose poetry regardless of what shape it takes. I’m fascinated by Keith Critchlow’s understanding of sacred geometry.

I am an avid meditator. I practice various types of breathwork and pranayama. I love to make pottery and draw.

I built a small off-grid retreat center in Northern California and lived there for a few years.

I live in Texas.

If you’re still reading this, then you should reach out! I love working as a writing coach to help creative people ideate and follow through on their creative projects.

Email me at offgridauthor (at) gmail.com