Remote workshops this spring
sponsored by Grub Street, Boston
Your Book Starts Here: How to Plan, Write, and Develop Your Book
Saturday, June 13, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Meet on Zoom with other writers and learn to storyboard your book-in-progress! All books need strong structures to keep readers engaged and turning the page. This workshop taught by the author of thirteen books in three genres will lead you through the steps to explore your book idea and its possible structures, get feedback on your idea, and come away with a visual map to help you plan, write, and revise your book. Find out more >
Summer online classes
sponsored by the Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis
Storyboard Intensive: Your Book Starts Here (four weeks, starts June 17) This four-week class is an immersion into an organization tool that turn writers into authors. It's especially helpful for those who've constructed a rough draft or are in revision (but may be stuck on whether the structure works), but it's also very useful for new writers just starting with an idea and some freewriting. Or anyone in between. Find out more >
sponsored by Grub Street, Boston
Your Book Starts Here: Storyboarding Intensive (four weeks, starts June 24) So you have a work in progress that you're excited about--maybe you have a first draft, maybe you have a lot of pages but no idea yet how they all fit together, or maybe you just have an idea and a lot of research material--but you're not sure where to go next. If you're ready to turn all of that material into a fully fleshed out book, you've come to the right place! Find out more >
Remote writing retreat and independent study intensive this summer
Best creative week ever! I came with just an idea and I left with a detailed map that I can use to write my first draft. Wonderful community, too--relaxed, yet everyone is focused and productive. I can see why writers return every year.
—past attendee
sponsored by Madeline Island School of the Arts
Your Book Starts Here: How to Plan, Write, and Develop Your Book
July 20-24
A week for you and your book, at any stage, in any genre. Daily workshops with Mary on Zoom, private coaching and personalized assignments, and a wonderful virtual community. Give yourself—and your creativity—a week to focus on your book, have plenty of time to write, plus gain craft skills at your level. Excellent for writers with a book in process in any genre or those just starting out. Set aside time to get quiet enough to hear your own words. Sponsored by Madeline Island School of the Arts. Find out more >
I made more progress in this one week than in two years of my MFA program. Now I understand the bones of my novel and will finally finish it.
—past attendee
Summer remote workshops
sponsored by the Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis
Writing Your Life: How to Plan, Write, and Develop Your Memoir
(Friday, July 17, 12:00 -5:00 p.m.)
Whether you're writing your memoir for legacy or publication, bring your ideas or draft to this afternoon Zoom workshop and dive into the structure, flow, and organization of your story. Learn the difference between autobiography and memoir, why memoir needs a focus, and how to create yours. Find out more>
Afternoon Intensive: Writing Dialogue for Fiction or Memoir (Saturday, August 22, 12:00-5:00 p.m.)
Urban legend has it that agents and editors read through a manuscript to find a page of dialogue--and if it doesn't sing, they don't read more. Dialogue is one of the trickiest aspects of memoir and fiction to write well. But it is learnable--so bring your dialogue scenes and tune up your ear and language with this afternoon Zoom workshop. Details to come.
Retainer program
"I love how my book is finally taking shape, with your remarkable guidance and amazing gift for eliciting my best work." "Your help and excellent counsel has helped me persevere to write my first book. I can't thank you enough." “You've given me so much—to not only jump start my rewrite in response to the agent feedback I received, but also to keep improving my writing on future projects."
—past retainer clients
Get personalized help with your writing project at any stage. Five weeks of private coaching with check-ins by email, customized assignments, and evaluation of up to 250 d/s pages of your book-in-progress. Limited spaces available. Now booking for fall and winter 2019. Find out more >