Ready to write a novel? Not sure where to start? Join me for a 6-week online workshop with Writing Workshops starting March 11 from 6-8pm CT and get all the tools you need in a creative, informative, and fun atmosphere.

Everyone loves the idea of writing a novel…until they start it.

The truth is, most writers abandon their first novels halfway through, including this instructor, because they don't really know what they're doing, or they don't have the discipline needed to sustain a world for 50-90k.

However, with a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of writing a novel, practical strategies for completing a first draft, supportive mentorship, and a solid writing community, students of all levels will receive the guidance and tools they need to finish a large chunk or a complete working draft.

In this generative 6-week workshop, you will:

• Generate a novel questionnaire to help get you started.

• Outline your project and discover new writing methods.

• Work on character development exercises.

• Work through activities on setting and style.

• Learn tips on building scenes and creating conflict.

• Hone your dialogue practice with new techniques.

• Discover methods for incorporating backstory, flashbacks, and transitions.

• Learn actionable tips for next steps beyond the first draft such as crafting a query letter, finding an agent, and publishing.

Ready sign up? CLICK HERE.

This workshop is designed for those who are finished with a first draft of a novel and are ready to let others read excerpts of their book. You will be offered kind, helpful, and constructive feedback both in-class and via letters to the author in order to help you work forward in draft 2 and beyond.

Class will be capped at 6 students for maximum efficiency and attention, and each participant will be able to workshop 2-3 times, depending on the size of the class and manuscript.

SIGN UP HERE

Everyone loves the idea of writing a novel…until they start it. The truth is, most writers abandon their first novels halfway through, including this instructor, because they don't really know what they're doing, or they don't have the discipline needed to sustain a world for 50-90k. However, with a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of writing a novel and practical strategies for completing a first draft, students of all levels will receive the guidance and tools they need to complete a working first draft. We’ll start with the most essential element for successfully completing a novel: setting personalized intentions, word count goals, and assessing your current writing practice (or lack thereof). Beginning with an individualized plan will help you finish the novel, rather than starting with enthusiasm and ending in confusion or frustration.

SIGN UP HERE

In this course, you will start with the most essential element for successfully completing a novel: setting personalized intentions, word count goals (daily, weekly, for the 6 weeks, and beyond), and assessing your current writing practice (or lack thereof). Beginning with an individualized plan will help you finish the novel, rather than starting with enthusiasm and ending in confusion or frustration. This course is in no way meant to be punitive–if you don’t finish a novel in 6 weeks, that really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you understand what you need to do to get it done at your own pace and with the support of a seasoned author and instructor and a nurturing writing community of other writers just like you doing what they love.

In this generative 6-week workshop, you will:

• Generate a novel questionnaire to help get you started.

• Outline your project and discover new writing methods.

• Set goals for your writing—and stick to them.

• Work on character development exercises.

• Work through activities on setting and style.

• Learn tips on building scenes and creating conflict.

• Hone your dialogue practice with new techniques.

• Discover methods for incorporating backstory, flashbacks, and transitions.

• Learn actionable tips for next steps beyond the first draft such as crafting a query letter, finding an agent, and publishing.

• Have access to weekly writing circles to write with other writers in class in real time via zoom.

SIGN UP HERE

This workshop is designed for those who are finished with a first draft of a novel and are ready to let others read excerpts of their book. You will be offered kind, helpful, and constructive feedback both in-class and via letters to the author in order to help you work forward in draft 2 and beyond.

Class will be capped at 6 students for maximum efficiency and attention, and each participant will be able to workshop 2-3 times, depending on the size of the class and manuscript.

Price: $600

Returning student: $525

*Payment can be made via Zelle, paypal, or on venmo.

*Student and teacher discounts available

Whether you live in an urban area or in the countryside, this workshop aims to get you out of your head and into nature. We will write about the natural world, yes, but also our place in it and how we can protect our home for generations to come. We will use examples of writing across various genres, from poetry and essayettes to novel excerpts and feature articles, from authors such as Robin Wall Kimmerer, Richard Powers, Rachel Carson, Natalie Diaz, and Helen Macdonald.

In class we will discuss different ways of looking at and interacting with the outside world, techniques for writing about nature, and what constitutes nature writing. Each week there will be a new nature writing assignment that will require you to, in some way, leave your home (even if it is simply sticking your head out the window) and share your findings with the group.

This class is both interactive and active and will include research, observation, and contemplation. It’s also a chance for you to have some time to come home to yourself in the great outdoors, or, if you prefer, to build community with your friends and family as you rediscover place.

This course is open to all writers of any genre who are interested in writing about nature. Prior workshop experience is not necessary, but all members of the class must come to class prepared to discuss the readings, be willing to share their own writing and nature writing, and be generous in their responses to their peers’ work.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Have a strong sense of what nature writing can be, and how you can craft your own style to work with or against what has come before.

• Understand the many shapes nature writing can take, and how nature writing is about feeling, emotions, and above all else, stories.

• Discuss and contemplate questions such as: How do I interact with the natural world around me? Who is Indigenous to this land and is that reflected in the way my town/city is organized? How can I honor and protect the flora, fauna, and original people of the place I call home?

• Write and revise several pieces of original nature writing content and learn where and how to publish them, if so desired.

• Above all, we’ll explore and bloom as a writing community and have fun all the while.

REQUIRED TEXT:

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

SIGN UP HERE