• Community Studios

    Prompts from the Everyday that Spark Beyond

    This month, we will catch up on where everyone is with their writing and introduce prompts that go deeper into meaning and questioning.

    • Mentor Professional Development

    I Trust the Dirt: Developing An Accurate Cultural Lens

    Through reflective writing exercises and dynamic group discussions, mentors will examine how unconscious bias and power dynamics shape the mentoring relationship, while developing strategies to address these challenges and foster greater empathy and equity in their practice.

    • Community Studios

    Peer-Pair Vision Boarding

    In this session, we will be exploring cultural values as a means of storytelling and of finding yourself in your writing.

    • Committee Studios

    Creating Through Uncertainty

    In this session, we will immerse ourselves in the world of artistic expression by learning about how artists use physical tools and digital platforms to give form to fears, hopes, and experiences. First, we will observe and discuss a few art pieces. Following this, participants will engage in a drawing activity of their own.

    • Collaboratory Workshops

    Everything Can Be a Song: Storytelling Through Sound

    In this workshop, creative powerhouses Je’Vel and YawnyBlew will explore how songwriting can be another tool to tell one’s truth. Whether you write poems, essays, fiction, or journal entries, music can help you express emotion, set tone, and connect with people in new ways.

    • Community Studios

    Cultivating a Sense of Place in Fiction

    In this session, we’ll discuss how to use a character’s associations with their environment to build a compelling sense of place in your story. We’ll also explore the reverse: the ways a sense of place can help create dynamic characters.

  • Navigating the MFA Experience

    Join us on Tuesday, August 19, from 4:45–6:00 PM ET for Navigating the MFA Experience, a College Chat featuring poets, fiction writers, and screenwriters Nicole Caplain Kelly, Christine Singleton, Sasha Debevec-McKenney, Sheena Daree Romero, Marya Cohn, and Jessie Keyt, who will share insights from their MFA journeys, followed by breakout discussions and a Q&A session.

    • Community Studios

    College Essays & MFA Portfolios

    This session will focus on fine tuning personal essay hooks and beginning opening paragraphs for college applicants. For MFA candidates, we will facilitate choosing portfolio pieces that connect with their chosen theme.

    • Committee Meetings

    IV Edit – Digital

    Whether you’re WordPress savvy or looking to learn more about online editorial systems, this group offers opportunities to dive into editorial tasks, outreach, and the publication of Girls Write Now Stories.

    • Community Studios

    Mentor Support & Share

    This session will focus on the half-way point of the summer mentorship cycle and what we are noticing in our pairs. What’s working? What would we like to improve? How are we tracking for any of the pair goals in this cycle?