Over the next two weeks, I’ll be wrapping up two wonderful writing classes, filled with brilliant writers, working on exciting and diverse projects. I always feel such a mix of emotions when a class ends. I want to do more for my students; I need a break; I know I will truly miss the writing projects and people in which I have become so invested.
It feels like an extra special time in history to lead a writing class because so many folks are struggling not to let their creative lives slip away, while trying to understand what art and creativity means to them in dark times. Most of us are facing hurdles every single day, too, straining just to get some quiet time to write or think.
I learned long ago that without writing, I really cannot survive, but it has never felt more true. “Like water or bread,” Sylvia Plath said, “or something absolutely essential to me.” I have that quote posted above my writing desk. If you relate, fortunately I have a couple of really exciting classes and offerings coming up soon for new and returning students. I hope you’ll join whether you are clinging to your writing like a life raft, or trying desperately to find the shore and get going again.
Check out what’s coming up below.
Want to work with me one-on-one? My books are open for a limited time for late summer and early fall. Among other offerings, I’m running a summer special on query letter editing. I also have a few open spots for book proposal and manuscript consults, as well as essay consults.
You can check out all the options by clicking on the button below.
Sign up now before these spots are gone by scheduling a free 15-minute consultation to see if we are a fit, or by emailing me at careforwriters@gmail.com to get yourself scheduled.
Discounts for paid subscribers below!
Want to work on developing an essay in a group setting? Come to this virtual 3-hour seminar on Writing Essays that Move Conversations, hosted by the incredible Scribente Maternum.
We’ll discuss how to enter literary and cultural conversations, and how to write in a manner that cracks open discourse and language, pushing the needle forward, rather than rehashing the same old tired scripts. Come with a few vague ideas for essays, and leave with at least one solid outline or draft of a promising, publishable piece.
Last but definitely not least, I am so very excited to share a class I’ve been cooking up for a long time. Birth Your Book is a structured revision workshop to support writers as they move their embryonic draft closer to its due date.
This virtual class is for writers who are ready to whip their messy manuscript draft into its intended shape. Through guided outlining, re-visioning exercises, and revision “passes” or rounds, writers will pinpoint, assess and improve elements in their drafts such as character, plot, arc or argument, structure, theme, language/symbolism, and more.
Starting August 3, for 12 weeks, this intimate, supportive group will meet every Monday for 2-hour Zoom sessions. Meetings will include discussion and intensive revision exercises for the first 4 weeks. The remainder of the class will include further guided revision activities alongside writer-focused workshop review of up to 100 pages per writer (2 rounds at up to 50 pages/each).
Writers will receive generative comments from their peers and me. Our focus will be on high-level, developmental feedback and on analyzing sentence-level patterns for style and voice, not on copyediting— in other words, on turning your draft pages into a viable book manuscript.
Admission to the class includes a 30-minute next-steps virtual conference with me. Writers enrolled in the workshop will also have a chance to share their full draft with me for an editorial consult at a discounted cost.
Learn more here. Get your manuscript in shape before the end of the year!
Register before July 1 for $150 off. Paid subscribers of this newsletter also get an additional $50 off the class—scroll down below the paywall for your discount. A 25% deposit is due at the time of registration to secure your spot in this limited enrollment group.
I’d also love to know how many of you out there are interested in regular cowriting sessions this summer. I may try to offer these more casually through the newsletter if there is significant interest, or through a summer camp class model, which I’ve done in the past.
The emphasis would be creative play and experimentation: a communal space to read an inspirational excerpt, write from a prompt, and discuss how it felt to create something new. My hope is you could access these sessions anywhere—at home on your laptop, even by a pool or on the beach, writing by hand (gasp!). Let me know in the comments if this is of interest and what format appeals to you most.
Either way, I hope to see many of you in the coming months through one of these offerings! I’ll publish some notes next week about summer programming for Mad Woman, but you can expect lots of pool and beach read roundups and threads, along with suggestions of what to watch in the AC, and occasional essays coming at you at a summer pace.
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