New classes for 2024! Let's Write!
How many notebooks is too many notebooks?
Hello everyone!
A quick note: I recently switched to Substack to help keep all of my emails organized. If you’re getting this email, you’ve expressed interest in taking a writing class with me and/or you’ve already taken a class with me and might want to take another. If you know any other writers or friends who might be interested in this, I’d be so grateful if you could forward it along to them!
I’ll mostly be using this platform to send out info about new classes, but I’ll also be sending out some emails throughout the year about books I’ve read or any other writing news/thoughts that I have.
On to the fun stuff:
Happy 2024! I have to admit that I always get kind of sucked into the new year spirit. I’ve bought two different habit trackers, a 2024 planner just for my writing (more about that later!), a planner for the rest of my life, and three new notebooks. The new year always does this to me—I feel a lot of energy to sharpen my routine and see what I can do better. (Which I guess for me translates into buying tons of new planners and notebooks.)
(Side note: If you love notebooks and planners too, check out this DC based company here. I’m obsessed with them. Everything they do is gorgeous and I also truly believe pretty notebooks make writing more fun.)
I read somewhere about the idea of journaling about your writing and that was what inspired the planner dedicated JUST to my writing. Each day, I’ll write down a few lines about what I did that day, what went well, what frustrated me, etc. I’m also going to keep track of when I sit down at my desk and when I get up, write down what specific scenes I want to work on for each day, books I want to read, and issues I’m having.
One goal I have for January: Write every day, even if it’s just one sentence. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I also had this wonderful delusion that I was going to write 300 pages in the three weeks I had off from teaching. This didn’t happen, but it was still nice to dream about.
New Classes for 2024:
I’ll be teaching my Getting Started 4-week class through Writing Co-lab starting on March 20. The information is here:
https://www.writingco-lab.com/classes/getting-started-4-sessions-with-jennifer-close
Many of you have already taken this class, but I would be so grateful if you would spread the word to anyone you think might be interested. Writing Co-lab is new and many of the Catapult teachers have landed there. (It’s also a great place to look for other classes you might be interested in!) This is a wonderful new spot for writing classes and it would be very helpful if you could help direct people to it.
I’ll be offering another 12-Week Novel Workshop in late spring for $1200. The class will run from 7-9pm on Tuesdays from April 2-June 18. This class is very similar to the Novel Generator, but with new readings and craft lessons. After each workshop you’ll receive written feedback from me and we’ll have a call to discuss the workshop and critiques.
The class will be limited to 6 students and if you are interested in applying, please email me back with a 15-page sample of your novel and a brief answer to the question: what do you hope to get out of this class?
This class will be on zoom and we’ll be using word or google docs for the submissions. Please let me know if you have any questions!
I’m going to start a 12-week Accountability and Coaching Group for writers.
This is something new that I’m really excited about! This isn’t a traditional workshop—this is a place where we’re going to set goals and hold each other accountable. We’ll talk through issues in our work, read essays and craft pieces that are helpful. The goal is to help you write and produce work.
Almost every day that I sit down to write, I email my best friend from grad school. (She does the same.) We write about what we want to work on that day, what we’re struggling with, what we’re excited about. Just talking about it makes the whole thing feel less scary. When we were getting our MFA, we were able to do this chatting in person and after graduation, we transitioned to email. It’s been one of the most constant parts of my writing practice.
Writers need other writers! For the past year and a half, I’ve been in a writing group with two other writer friends. We meet every other week and I don’t know what I’d do without them…all I know is that most of the writing I’ve done in the past year is because of these meetings.
As I thought about this, I wanted to create a support system and class that’s similar to what has helped me.
Here’s the info:
The class: 8-10 writers who are working on long projects and looking for accountability and support. Again, this is not a traditional workshop. You won’t be required to read anyone else’s work and you won’t be getting specific feedback on your own. We’ll be talking through issues and roadblocks that you come up against. We might share small sections of our work and do some short writing exercises, but the main goal is to help you be productive.
Meeting times: This class will run from May 1-July 17 and meet every other Wednesday from 7:00-8:30pm. On the off weeks, we’ll have scheduled meet up times to gather on zoom and write. We’ll say hello, turn off our camera, and write!
Phone calls: You will each have 3 phone calls with me over the course of the class to discuss your work and any issues that you’re having.
Cost: $450 for 3 months
(My thought is to keep this going with writers coming and going as they need it, but this is new so after the initial 3-months, I’ll check in and see how it’s working and what needs to be adjusted.)
Finally, I have space for 1-2 manuscript reads/edits this spring and summer. If this is something you would be interested in, please email me and we can discuss prices and options.
If you are interested in any of these classes or have any questions, please email me at Jennifer.a.close@gmail.com and we can discuss!
As I said above, if there is someone who you think would be interested in any of these classes, please forward this email to them!
Thank you!!
Jennifer
Hurray! Love this!