Bikini Body

Beauty Standards

Mar 28

Are you are uncomfortable by what you see?
I would not be surprised.
We're trained to judge a body by what it is,
and what it is not.

Every flaw has been painted into my mirror,
drilled into my brain from the first time
I saw my Mother mix Slim-Fast
into a cup of fat-free milk.
The first time I heard she’s happier
now that her love-handles are gone.

Every ad is a microscope to this body’s flaws.
Every plan to lose a dress size in two weeks
Every new squat, press, and lunge;
Peel off those inches.
Fit into that bikini by summer.
Take up less space.

You are more comfortable
the smaller I become,
the smoother I become—
that much easier to slip from view.

I know you are uncomfortable.
My body, this swimsuit,
a burden to your eyes.
How else to explain how you can’t
lift them to meet my own.

My body is a sin—
I know this, feel it every day.
I send my wallet up as a prayer
to the gods of Sephora and Planet Fitness.
I lift, press, color, and pluck
until I'm forgiven for getting old.

What a day it would be to have you look at me
without me hiding my muffin top.
Oh, the relief it would be if I could stop worrying
about the dimples in my thighs.
What it would be to have you look at me
without me wondering if you notice
my frown lines and hooded eyes.

I will wear this bikini today.
Wear it without layering it
in shirts and shame.
I can’t carry the weight
of your judgement, anymore.
My body will touch sunlight.

-Alexis-Rueal

Submit a Story

Join a Critique Group

Take a Workshop

IT’S NO SECRET THAT FEEDBACK IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS.

In fact, we argue that it might be the most important part of the process.

But it’s hard to find a writing community. It’s hard to find the people who are willing to take the time and the effort to read your work and give the feedback you really, truly deserves.

That’s where HerStry Critique Groups come in!

HerStry Critique Groups are small groups of 6 women who gather online for 6 weeks to share their writing, give constructive feedback and gain skills as writers.

Weekly online sessions last approximately ninety minutes, with three women sharing their work each week. Writers of all genres and levels are welcome and you may share both works of fiction and nonfiction.

Sessions take place on Mondays 7PM CT, Tuesdays 11AM CT, Fridays 11AM CT

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE HERSTRY CRITIQUE GROUPS?

Six 90 minute live workshop sessions
Three 20 minutes sessions in the “hot seat” to get you work critiqued
Written and verbal feedback from your fellow workshop participants
A weekly in depth edit and critique of your work from the group leader after each session
Weekly writing goals and accountability check ins
Full video recordings of each session to keep for your records

Say goodbye to the lonely, stuck in your head writing life!

Sold out

Short Story Summer

$305.00

LET’S WRITE!

From conception to submission. Let’s make summer sizzle with stories.

Writing a short story doesn’t happen in one session. It takes multiple drafts to get it exactly right, to create characters that come to life for the reader and a world they can’t stop thinking about. In this seven week course we will work on a single short story from conception to submission ready. The seven week session will include generative brainstorming sessions, short story craft talks, multiple workshops for feedback from fellow writers, and detailed line by line feedback and edits from your instructor. Plus, we’ll talk about submission venues, cover letters, and when to know if your story is ‘finished.’

Critique Groups (10 Weeks)

$150.00

IT’S NO SECRET THAT FEEDBACK IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS.

That’s where HerStry Critique Groups come in!

HerStry Critique Groups are small groups of 6 women who gather online for 6 weeks to share their writing, give constructive feedback and gain skills as writers.

Sessions take place on Mondays 7PM CT, Tuesdays 11AM CT, Fridays 11AM CT

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE HERSTRY CRITIQUE GROUPS?

Six 90 minute live workshop sessions
Three 20 minutes sessions in the “hot seat” to get you work critiqued
Written and verbal feedback from your fellow workshop participants
A weekly in depth edit and critique of your work from the group leader after each session
Weekly writing goals and accountability check ins
Full video recordings of each session to keep for your records

Say goodbye to the lonely, stuck in your head writing life!

Let's Get It On...the Page: Writing the Sex Scene

$175.00

October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4 and 11 CT

WRITING THE SEX SCENE.

Writing a sex scene can be delirious fun, a harrowing challenge, a literary milestone—possibly the most important part of building your short story or book. In our six weeks together, you’ll experience just about every possible emotion as you explore the erotic in different modes: comic, tender, harrowing, soul-shattering … because it really is all about the characters’ feelings, not just the mechanics. So we’ll talk about tone. Vocabulary. Metaphor. Sensory detail. How to get big emotions on the page … and when to pull back and let the reader’s imagination go to work.

Mastering the Short Story Cycle

$175.00

This is a course for writers who want to explore the intersection between the novel and short stories, and would like to weave their short stories into a story cycle (or collection of "linked stories" or "composite novel"). This is also a class about the interaction of form and content, and how one influences the other. We will read works of interlinked stories by writers from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, focusing on modern classics and contemporary practitioners of these hybrid forms. Weekly discussions will center on elements of craft, such as the expansion and compression of time, setting as an organizing and connecting principle, character development within and between stories, structure and plot for interconnected stories, and responding to literary influences in the same genre.

Submission Season: Finish & Submit with Confidence

$175.00

This six-week course guides writers through the literary submission process, offering insider insight and practical tools to help you get your work into the world. We’ll demystify everything from reading submission calls to writing cover letters and choosing the right journals. Along the way, we’ll workshop short bios, develop submission trackers, and build personalized plans that align with your voice and goals.

By the end of the course, you’ll walk away with a polished piece ready to send, a tailored submission list, and the confidence to navigate the lit mag world with clarity and purpose.

Ideal for writers of literary fiction, poetry, personal essay, memoir, and hybrid forms.

Hold Back to Hook: Writing Tension

$50.00

Tension feels tangible to a reader, an active experience. But from a craft perspective, tension is often a function of restraint, palpable from what is withheld, delayed or left unresolved. Why do some stories feel urgent even in stillness while others fall flat despite dramatic events? Our impulse to resolve tension often comes from a deeply human instinct to seek coherence and moral clarity, but resisting that instinct creates compelling narratives. When we let characters misbehave or allow ambiguity in their actions, we pull readers closer to them.

This course examines tension as a narrative force. We’ll consider how writers can counter the impulse to resolve too quickly, to justify wrongful acts or to redeem a character’s behavior. By looking at ways to sustain tension without escalation into spectacle, we’ll experiment with evoking it in the ordinary and the unspoken. The class will combine close reading, craft reflection and writing prompts to practice distinct approaches to writing tension. This course is designed for writers working in fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid forms who are interested in deepening the psychological and structural complexity of their work. Ultimately, tension is what compels the reader to turn the page.

Your One Wild and Precious Life: Nature Writing and the Modern Adventurer

$50.00

In this generative writing workshop, ecologist and poet Anne Marie Wells will introduce participants to some of today's eco-poets and essayists and guide participants through a series of writing prompts that will use the outdoors and personal experience as inspiration for creative expression. No writing experience is necessary to participate.

Alexis-Rueal is a Columbus, Ohio poet whose work has appeared in online and print journals throughout the US and Europe. She enjoys performing in venues and festivals throughout Ohio and Kentucky, and she was a member of the Women of Appalachia: Women Speak project in 2016-17. Her first full-length collection, I Speak Hick, was published by Writing Knights Press in 2016.

beauty standardsself careFinding myselfSelf esteempoetry

Julia Nusbaum

Bikini Body

IT’S NO SECRET THAT FEEDBACK IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS.

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE HERSTRY CRITIQUE GROUPS?

LET’S WRITE!

IT’S NO SECRET THAT FEEDBACK IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS.

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE HERSTRY CRITIQUE GROUPS?

WRITING THE SEX SCENE.

Learning to Reclaim My Body

You're Supposed to be Suffering

Herstry LLCMilwaukee, WIContact us

Herstry LLC
Milwaukee, WI
Contact us