From Corporate to Creative Writer

A workshop for people who want to explore writing but don't know where to begin.

One of the most common questions I got on book tour for my novel was, “How did you start writing seriously?” This was in reference to starting writing after a pretty aggressive career in something very different, making a sharp turn in my life at the very point most people my age were “settling down” into theirs.

Mostly, this question was from people who also had an itch to write but didn’t know where to begin, or if beginning was even feasible if they hadn’t been doing it all along.

And, well, I had a lot to say.

Writing is funny. On one hand, all you really need to start writing is to grab a pen (or keyboard) and…START WRITING! It’s one of the reasons I love it—the same reason I love running—its wild accessibility. On the other hand, because the barrier to entry is so low and the internet is so insane and putting thoughts into words is VERY HARD and especially now that a dozen apps are fighting for our attention at any given moment, to say nothing of our actual jobs and relationships and day-to-day obligations, you can quickly spiral into what is the point and why am I doing this and what the hell did I want to say again anyway?

But maybe you do carve out time to write, maybe you even read The Artist’s Way and do it every day (at least a few days at a time)! But now maybe you actually want to share your writing, feel the thrill of exposing your most honest self and have a stranger understand exactly what you mean—where do you start? Publish on Substack, sure, of course, but like most spaces on the internet, it can feel like throwing pebbles into the ocean to build a mountain. And then there are more traditional paths—personal essays, reported pieces, novels, short stories, maybe a memoir if you have it in you. But how does that all work and is it worth it and what do you need to do to make it happen?

The answer is you don’t really need anything except time and commitment and a somewhat delusional belief in your own ability, which for most people is fostered through the gracious encouragement of others. And all of the above is what this workshop is about. Despite the occasional gimmick—x many words a day, a novel in a month—there is no silver bullet to writing that works for everyone. Mostly it’s understanding the various styles, habits, and tricks employed, getting in touch with what works for you specifically, then building a life and community that bolsters that.

They say to write the book you wish you had when you were younger. And I did—please buy it!! Now I’m teaching the class I wish I had when I was younger, too.

I’m hosting a workshop designed for people who want to get into creative writing but don’t know exactly where to begin. People who might feel intimated by the traditional, more intensive writing workshops and the demographic of writers who attend them. People who want real, candid information about how to make writing work alongside a professional career and how to get from from point a to b even if you don’t currently identify as a “writer,” or know exactly what “point b” might look like for you.

The format of the class is a bit non-traditional because I designed it specifically based on what I wish I had when I was starting out:

• An intimate group of people who are in a similar place in their journey, but who you’re not forced to share your work with.

• One-on-one time with the instructor (👋) so you can get very specific about your personal situation, needs, and questions.

• Detailed feedback on a piece of your writing from said instructor without exposing your work-in-progress to the entire class.

I started writing in my thirties because while most of my friends were settling into relationships, having kids, and moving forward in their careers, I was deeply single and feeling an increasing urge to burst out of my own. This made me feel like something was very wrong with me, and in a way it was. I had oriented my life around chasing what I assumed I should want without ever asking myself what actually made me happy. This manifested in high-functioning shades of depression, alcoholism, and anorexia that I mostly masked under the veil of a good career and bustling social life. Writing felt like a way to untangle all this, sit with myself and my most honest feelings rather than trying at all costs to keep sprinting forward. It was also an excuse to be completely alone and sedentary in a culture that over-valued extroversion and exercise. Whatever the reason, figuring out how to tell stories and express myself through words quickly became all I wanted to do.

A few years later, I mustered the courage to take my first writing class. I was terrified and almost turned around at the door. I regularly led meetings for work full of men twice my age but walking into a room full of “real” writers felt like the very picture of a panic attack. What if I had to read something I wrote? What if I was asked my thoughts on, like, Moby Dick or some other classic that I couldn’t name because I studied engineering and hand’t really read the classics.

But taking a class shouldn’t be scary—we all have to start somewhere—and that first class changed my life. I met another writer who then introduced me to other writers who over many, many years helped me demystify the whole writing thing and keep going at it. Although it took me about five years to actually call myself a writer and many more to eventually publish my debut novel, I’ve since become a firm believer that if you write, you are a writer—full stop.

The literary world can be confusing and intimidating because, like the world of finance and bike shops, people like to make things seem more complicated than they are to feel important. But anyone can do it if they’re willing to put in the time. Yes, it may take more time for some and less for others depending on your starting point. But mostly, it’s about figuring out how to structure your life such that you have the support and motivation and time you need to keep doing the work.

If you want that initial push to create a writing practice that works for you, demystify the writing world, and make connections along the way, please to sign up! The cohorts starting in June will all be discounted as I collect feedback and experiment with format, which means you not only get a deal, I’ll actively structure the sessions around what works best for you.

Apply here and please help spread the word!

I’m excited connect ❤️