Courage to Write: Yearlong in Writing Practice

The product of writing is the words on the page. But the work of writing is showing up consistently: for your ideas, for your voice, and for the part of you that knows this matters.

This yearlong course is a gentle, steady companion for writers who want to build (or rebuild) a sustainable writing practice. Whether you’re returning after a long break or trying to write through doubt, perfectionism, or overwhelm, this class offers structure, encouragement, and space to grow.

Over nine months, you’ll reconnect with why you write and develop a rhythm that fits the shape of your life. We'll draw inspiration from writers like Melissa Febos, Brenda Ueland, and Anne Lamott; set and work toward personal goals; keep a writer’s notebook; and share (if you’d like) in a supportive circle of peers. You'll experiment with tools like mindfulness practices, community accountability, writing exercises, and more—building a custom approach that supports consistency, confidence, and ease.

Most importantly, you’ll work on building and sustaining the courage and habits to keep you going, even on the hard days.

You’ll leave with a deepened sense of creative identity, practical strategies for staying engaged, and real progress on your creative projects.

Perfect for writers looking to strengthen their practice, build trust in themselves, and make writing a joyful, integral part of their lives.

This class focuses on:

• Generative Writing: Focuses on producing new writing through prompts and exercises.
• Writing Life & Process: Focuses on developing writing habits, overcoming procrastination, or sustaining creative momentum.
• Writing for Personal Growth: Emphasizes self-expression, journaling, or therapeutic writing practices.

What to expect: 

• Goal-Setting & Accountability: Includes tools or practices to help students stay motivated.
• Project-Based: Students will work toward completing a specific project (e.g., a story, poem, or essay).
• Reading & Analysis: Published works will be closely read as part of the learning process.
• Class Discussion: Facilitated class conversation
• Prompts & Exercises: Class features guided writing activities.
• In-Class Writing Time: Class will include dedicated time to write.
• In-Class Sharing: Students are invited to share their writing aloud or in small groups during class.
• Instructor Feedback: Students receive direct feedback from the instructor.
• 2-3 hours of reading and/or writing outside of class per week.

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Q&A with Courage to Write: Yearlong in Writing Practice instructor Beth Slattery

What do students need in order to take this class (craft knowledge, specific skills, projects, etc.)?

While students do not need to be at an advanced level of writing, they should be committed to the idea that writing needs to be a regular part of their life, just as a workout schedule or a meditation practice might be. With that in mind, they should have a willingness to interrogate their own writing practice, where it is strong, where it is weak, where it is non-existent. They should have both the time and willingness to write regularly during any given week, and for the purposes of the class, time to do the reading and writing exercises that we'll be discussing. No other special writing skils are required.

What is the community-building experience like in this class?

Community-building is very important to me in all of my classes and in this one in particular. My goal is that many of you will leave the class with writer connections that will being lifelong. Because writing is mostly a solitary process, it is important to make connections with like-minded people with similar goals so we feel supported, understood, and _heard_. With this in mind, class discussions are guided in a way that should help you discover, implement, and work to retain connections with some of your classmates. We will talk a lot, offer support, share concerns, share work occasionally, and make a safe space for each other to investigate what makes our inner-writer tick!

What are you most excited to share and/or experience with your students?

I'm most excited about having the coninuity of working with the same group of people for an academic year. At the end of a 6- or 8-week course I find myself wishing we had more time to see what happens as writing projects unfold, as students discover new aspects of their creativity, of their writing self, etc. And then there is the work; I'm looking forward to reading some of the pages sent my way and watch the stories unfold, the characters develop, and the plots become tighter.

What is your philosophy on being an artist?

For too long, I believed that to be a writer you had to already know what you wanted to say and that other people needed to hear it. Now, I believe that to be an artist of any kind you have to be a person for whom the question is the thing. The experiment. The search. If you already know the ending, what’s the point? Exploring what makes me curious is what will give the work authenticity and why it will resonate with a reader. (People who have the answer before they start are usually wanting to sell us something: an antidote to unhappiness, a new diet, a vacuum cleaner.) I can’t hyper-focus on the end product because that is not where the magic happens. It’s no good being too precious about anything we create. My own writing explores themes and connections in personal essays that have to do with synchronicity, faith, hope, the American Midwest at the end of the 20th century, and how I was shaped by being raised on Pop-tarts and TV by an unintentional feminist. And I’ll never have the answers about any of those things.

Anything else you'd like to share with your students?

Writing should be messy and thrilling and unexpected. It's a puppy with poor bladder control who barks too much and doesn't like to heel. We'll talk about it. We'll commiserate and try methods to help ourselves and each other learn to live with and love our writing life.

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Students say…

"Beth was very encouraging to all participants and did a great job checking regularly with our progress, and what we felt about the readings provided. I felt that in class she really made an effort to help us problem solve with specific sources of fear that we were experiencing and help to direct us towards solutions based on where we wanted to go next and what would help us to address particular issues. I do think that this process helped to build community for many of the members of class”

“I have nothing but praise for this class. I almost feel embarrassed to say that I consider it almost life-changing?! Beth knows her stuff so, so well. She knows when to encourage, when someone needs gentleness, when they need a more firm hand, and most importantly she knows how to do all these things. Each week's reading was well chosen and had something interesting and important to impart. The discussions always left me with something to think about. I could go on, but most importantly, I appreciated Beth's personal touch. Having an instructor who cares about you as a writer, even though there are so many people in the class, and who will give tailored feedback and advice, makes all the difference.”

“Really excellent readings/topics that encourage fantastic group discussions. I’m not sure if the best people take Beth’s classes or if she’s just really great at bringing out the best in her students (probably the latter) but it was a very supportive and vulnerable group that felt very intimate despite the larger class size.”

Registration Dates:

• August 12: Member registration opens at 10:30 am PT   
• August 19: General registration opens at 10:30 am PT 
• August 26: Scholarships open
• August 31: Last day of Early Bird discount

This class is not eligible for a member discount. Learn more here »