2024 Sunday Workshop Series

Let’s write together — all year.

Every day. No matter what. Real writers write every day and I don’t care if your basement is flooding due to a climate-change fueled storm that also ripped the roof off and your dad keeps calling telling you the whole thing is a hoax for the Great Reset.

Well perhaps that’s not how this goes. “Real writers,” a concept I’m pretty sure is only useful as a tool of self-loathing, do one thing: They keep coming back.

Now we sound like an AA meeting.

But seriously. Let’s define a “real writer” as a person who writes regularly for a long time and at least occasionally does something with that writing so the rest of us can read it, returns to the page, again and again, no matter what, no matter how much time has passed, no matter how ridiculous the whole thing sounds. And because the only thing more miserable than writing is not writing.

The desire will not ever fully go away. And that’s what makes us “real writers.”

This idea of coming back again and again was the inspiration for the eight-month workshop series I offered in 2023. The first Sunday of each month, we met online, wrote, and studied an element of craft or process for 2.5 hours, and each week I held an online writing room. Many of the monthly workshops also involved feedback on writing.

I wanted to create a space where each month writers could return to their work, no matter where they had gone the month before. I hoped it would serve as a sort of accountability, mentorship group, and I was blown away by how close we all became. I mean, we really spent a lot of time together. It was wonderful.

It was such a success I expanded it to 10 months for 2024 (January – October (let’s be real, nothing happens in November and December)) and added quite a few new elements:

of course, there are all new workshop topics;
a second mid-month “check-in” meeting, in which we’ll discuss how the writing is going and/or read each other’s work in small groups;
an option for 1:1 video calls with me each month to increase the level of mentorship; and
a WhatsApp group or Discord server (group can decide) that will be used for week-long writing “sprints” in which we’ll write every day for a week and hold each other accountable.

I truly hope you’ll join us. We really created a little community. And now, to our regularly scheduled description.

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So what is this series about?

In my six-week workshops we often encounter topics that we’d like to discuss forever. The hour allows enough time to achieve quite a bit of depth, but some topics lend themselves to more hands-on work, extensive discussion, and more 1:1 feedback.

So I grabbed all those topics and turned them into in-depth sessions.

2.5 hours on the first Sunday at 10am PST/1pm EST of every month from January through October. You can sign up for one, a few, or all of them.

While the group is designed to be a longterm support system, you can also select only the topics you would like to study in more depth. Here’s what’s included in the 10-month series:

You’ll start each month with a 2.5-hour workshop to get you refocused on writing.
You’ll be a member of a private Facebook group where we will keep each other accountable and you’ll be invited regularly to share your work, respond to others, etc.
Online writing sessions once a week (these are standing meetings, come when you can).
My feedback on 5 pieces of writing.
A WhatsApp group or Discord server to help us facilitate week-long “writing sprints” in which we write every day.
A mid-month check-in call.

Every workshop allows the time we need to go more deeply into each topic and have opportunities for discussion, questions, and breakout rooms for workshopping writing.

Why does the term “breakout room” hurt my soul a little? I think I’m having flashbacks to beige Marriott conference rooms and corporate bonding.

I’m excited about this. Nerd-level excitement. Almost as excited as when I have a blank Japanese notebook in my hand.

I apologize for exaggerating.

For each workshop, we’ll meet online (Zoom or GoToMeeting) from 10am-12:30pm PST/1-3:30pm EST. Dates are listed below, but as I said, it’s the first Sunday of each month January – October.

Recordings will be made available afterward for download.
You can buy the whole series upfront for €1690, which is a savings of €200 from the individual prices.
Or you can subscribe to 12-month installment plan (€149/month) or four installments (€488/every 3 months)
You can also purchase a single workshop individually through the links below.
Enrollment is capped at 10.
In five of the workshops I will provide feedback on your writing.

Note: If you’ve taken my 6-week workshops before, why would you also take these? Good question. So glad you asked. Brief answers follow, but always feel free to email me with questions:

Much more depth to the discussion
New examples and sources of all craft and process artists
Hands-on work. As in, you will receive prompts, write, and receive feedback just on that topic so you really come away with clarity on a very personalized basis.

Alright, here we go:

Why do you write? Locating your identity as a writer

Writing Emotionally Resonant Scenes

Procrastination, Fear, and How to Write Anyway

Developing Persona & Creation of a Narrator

The Braided Essay: Choosing Topics, Connecting Themes, Creating Structure

What’s a plot and How do I make one?

Listening for voice: What makes you different from other writers?

Sentence-level Analysis: What specifically do we look for to simply write better sentences?

The Role of Conflict in narrative & characterization

Rhythm & Pacing

Why do you write? Locating your identity as a writer

Sunday, January 7 (10am PST / 1pm EST)

We don’t have to write every day to be “real writers.” In fact many of us cannot write every day. We do, however, have to keep coming back to writing, no matter what, over and over again. That motivation must come from inside of us, and it’s unique to each of us. In this workshop we will explore what drives you to creative work–your interests and priorities, as well as what you get from this work–so you can situate yourself in the larger creative world and tap into that motivation when you need it.