The Big One

A 9-month-long writing journey

You’re standing by the side of something huge.

You may not quite know what it is, but you know it’s important, it’s beautiful and it’s yours. Sometimes you can feel it breathing, talking to you, trying to find its way into the world.

But life gets in the way. It’s hard to find the time to focus on it, it’s hard to stay motivated. There are so many other things that need your attention. And then there’s the self-doubt — what if this isn’t really anything at all? What if it doesn’t work? What if people don’t like it?

After many, many years of working with writers, we know that this phase — the long journey between “I have an idea” and “I have a draft” is one of the hardest in the creative process. It’s true that, “In order to cross the ocean we must have the courage to lose sight of either shore” but how do we keep swimming when the waves are crashing and the skies are dark? How do we just… get it done?

Every process is unique, but a generous dose of accountability, focused time, thoughtful feedback and genuine encouragement is our tried and true recipe for crossing that channel. It can also help to be among others who are on similar journeys so that we can share our wins, face our challenges and know that we’re not alone. This class is designed to offer all those things in big, luxurious quantities, so that our projects can make the long journey out of our minds and into the world where they can sparkle and shine.

Here’s how it works:

We’ll meet 19 times on Zoom in a small group of 7 writers to workshop our writing, talk about our process, gain direction and watch our word counts rise. We’ll start by meeting weekly. Then, once we gain momentum, we’ll move to every other week. We’ll take a break — because breaks are good — and then arrive back with a full weekend workshop in the comfort of your home. (We’ll follow this format for the weekend.) We’ll start up again after the weekend workshop and meet every other week until the end of the program.

In the second half of the workshops, we’ll use a workshop method that we’ve adapted from Felicia Rose Chavez’s work to lead the group through a deep-reaching workshop process. Each participant will be invited to bring in 3500 words of work to share for this.

Each participant will also get two 60-minute virtual coaching sessions and a 9-month subscription to Morning Coffee Sessions.

The focus of this class won’t be on finishing necessarily, but on having a deep-reaching, productive writing experience. Some participants will finish their projects and start new ones. Some will discover new ideas part-way through. Some will just keep swimming, even though the other shore is too far away to see. We’ll approach the idea of “accomplishment” with curiosity, knowing that it will look different for everyone and may change as we go.

Details:

This workshop isn’t running this season but it will be back soon! Join our early bird mailing list for early access to registration or sign up for our newsletter.

Cost:

The fee for this workshop is $2,480, which includes 19 small group sessions, a stay at home writing retreat, a 9-month subscription to Morning Coffee Sessions, two one-on-one coaching sessions with the facilitator, and a final celebration. When you’re accepted into the class, you’ll have the option of paying the full amount of $2,480 or breaking up this amount into 8 monthly credit card installments of $310 each. Tax will be added for Canadians in your local provincial rate.

Note: If you cancel up until 3 weeks before the workshop, all but $500 is refundable. See our financial policies.

If the price is a barrier, don't hesitate to apply for a bursary. More info here.

If you don’t have a credit card, let us know and we’ll gladly find a way to make it work.

Questions?

Your answer is probably on this page.

Looking for more options?

Take a peek at our other in-house workshops, our coaching services, or our monthly writer’s care package.

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