Looking for an Agent?

Are you writing a book? Have you already written it? Are you starting your journey toward finding an agent? If you said yes to any of those things then this workshop is for you. Join us for an informal evening with Melanie Figueroa an agent with Root Literary as she talks about finding an agent, keeping an agent, and selling your book.

Walking the Tight Rope

Let's talk about writing historical fiction! We'll discuss the various definitions and sub-genres of historical fiction, researching your topic, when to stop researching your topic, balancing history and story, dealing with dialogue, and anticipating reader biases.

Our spring open mic is here! Come read what you’ve been working on. Things you’ve had published, things that are fresh off the printer. Or, if you don’t feel like reading this time around just come support your fellow Babes!

Playing with Poetry

In this workshop, we will go over examples of what is canonically understood to constitute a poem, and subsequently apply that logic to less traditional or “non-poetic” forms. Investigating the liminal space between what does and doesn’t count as a poem will breed rich conversations, and will inform the work generated in the free-write and workshopping parts of the session.

If you want to traditionally publish a nonfiction book, a completed manuscript usually isn't enough to land you a book deal. You'll also need a book proposal. A book proposal is essentially a business plan for your book; it convincingly argues why your book is a salable product in today's market.

The Last Open Mic of the Year!

Its the last Open Mic of 2023. Come read what you’ve been working on all year. Things you’ve had published, things that are fresh off the printer. Plus, whether you choose to read or not we’ll be setting goals for 2024 and talking about where our writing might take us in the next year.

Plot in the Personal Narrative

Plot is not simply a tool used in fictional writing. All stories, fiction and true, need a plot. The plot provides structure and cohesion and helps the writer convey to the reader a specific message.

An Evening Craft Chat

Join us for a virtual craft chat with Stephanie Wrobel, author of Darling Rose Gold and This Might Hurt. Our virtual craft chats are small, intimate gatherings where YOU get to ask the author questions. Want to know about writing process? About publishing? Craft questions? This is the place for you to get those questions answered.

Pssst, your characters have sex….

But is their sex germane to your story? Writing Sex, a one-night workshop will help you discover the answer to that question and more.

Nail Down the Elusive Query Letter

In this comprehensive workshop, you will learn the fastest and most effective way to approach agents via query letter. This will include how to properly research which agents are the best fit for your project, how to navigate submission guidelines, how to write an effective synopsis of your manuscript, what a “hook” is and when it’s appropriate to use one, if ever, and so much more.

Our Summer Open Mic!

Sweet summertime is here and excited to gather for our next open mic. Grab your cocktail, mocktail, or cup of tea and come hang out with us for an evening of literary fun and community!

An Evening Craft Chat

We’re talking writing, publishing, and all things books with Kate Wisel, author of the short story collection Driving in Cars with Homeless Men. Join us for an informal evening with Kate as we discuss process, short stories, the writing life and more. This will be an interactive conversation, so come with your questions.

Let the ideas flow.

The Creativity Oasis is not a workshop, its an hour long guided brainstorming session in which you’ll have the chance to generate new writing.

LET’S GET AT THE HEART OF IT*

At the 2023 HerStry (virtual) Conference, we’re reaching for the heart of our work. Digging at what it means to be writers in this bumpy world and how to tell our stories, to bare our hearts.

Join us for a day full of craft workshops, agent panels, publishing advice and so much more.

Interested in the art of the interview? Trying to gather resources for a story or essay?

This workshop will teach you the basics of soliciting, preparing for, and conducting interviews from start to finish.

SHOW OFF YOUR WORK

Three times a year we like to gather online to support our fellow Babes and their work!

Come read your work in progress, your just published works, or a work that has yet to find it’s home.

Queer is a huge spectrum and with changing language around gender identity and orientation, there are so many avenues to explore when it comes to writing queer characters. In this workshop, queer trans author Finnian Burnett will explore the divide between own voices and inclusive writing.

The Pen is a Sword: How to Give and Receive Critiques

Too many new writers stop writing after receiving feedback on their work. Most likely, that feedback either wasn’t delivered properly or wasn’t received in a positive way. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll examine critiques, both how to give them in their most helpful form, and how to receive them in such a way that doesn’t leave the writer paralyzed or bruised.

Find Your Creativity

SoulCollage® is a highly accessible expressive arts activity for exploring and enhancing our creative gifts and the innate wisdom that exists within us. Through the use of images, SoulCollage® helps fire up our creative juices and offers us a uniquely right-brained way to excavate knowledge and ideas that can benefit our writing practice and projects. In this interactive, generative session, you’ll learn the basics of the SoulCollage® method, then jump right in to create cards that we’ll engage with via imaginative writing prompts.

The Last Open Mic of 2022!

It’s our last open mic of 2022! Grab your drink of choice and join us online to hear your fellow babes read their work. Or, read your own work.

An Evening Craft Chat

We’re talking with Shoulder Season and The Second Home author Christina Clancy.

As the late Irish poet Eavan Boland used to advise her students, "The only way out is through." And yet, when we are bogged down in a work of several hundred pages, it can be difficult to see a way through to the end. In this 90 minute session, we will discuss several methods of puzzling our way to the end of our novels-in-progress.

Write an Ending that Sticks

How do you write an ending that sticks with your reader for days to come? One they will think about while brushing their teeth, doing the dishes, driving to work. Ending are—notoriously—one of the hardest parts of the essay and often they get neglected.

An Evening Craft Chat

We’re talking writing, publishing, and all things books with Jell-O Girls author Allie Rowbottom.

It’s Summer Time And The Mood Is Right For an Open Mic

It’s our summer open mic! Grab your drink of choice and join us online to hear your fellow babes read their work.

Flash fiction is hot right now and getting hotter!

What does it take to write a killer story that evokes an emotional response and draws readers into your world? In this workshop, Finnian Burnett will use generative exercises, story analysis, and guided questions to help each participant hone their flash fiction skills. We'll talk about subverting point of view, deep character dives, and revision techniques. Come prepared to write. Sharing your work is encouraged, but not required.

This workshop will focus on practical craft approaches to writing about trauma,

including alternative forms, slanted metaphors, and utilizing different points of view. These strategies are geared toward staying vulnerable and authentic to your experience, but also creating distance when needed.

FIND YOUR VISION

2022 is the year of new vision for life and for work. Join us this spring as we explore what it means to deepen the work we’re already doing and reimagine what it means to be women writers and creatives. We’ll talk craft, explore new ways to gain inspiration and of course go in depth on the work of revision.

We don’t always get to make space for our writing. Life gets in the way - family, friends, work, whatever it may be. We want to help you carve out some space. Come join us for a silent write in on Zoom. No talking, just a hour to yourself to work.