Summer 2026
Explore Tour
Explore all of the creative and storytelling pathways Girls Write Now has to offer through a multimedia, multi-genre experience that includes mini courses, exploratory studios, and one-on-one pair sessions. Discover new skills and build on existing ones with offerings that range from fiction to journalism to publishing, and dive into formats like video, podcasting, visual storytelling, and more. Ideal for mentees who enjoy working across multiple genres and media or are focused on specific projects, this Journey offers the flexibility to tailor your learning experience to your individual needs.
Summer 2026 Pre-Enrollment Is Open!
Express your interest in this Journey by filling out the form below.
You may also sign up for Mentorship on Demand at any time.
Learning Objectives
Explore Tour Community Experiences
Please attend at least one Girls Write Now Community Experience each month. You can find upcoming events in your portal under the “Events” section.
Explore Tour Courses
Horror: Becoming an Architect of Terror
This course is designed to provide insight into the genre, how it’s executed across mediums, various icons in the sphere of horror, and prompts to write your own horror story.
Graphic Design Fundamentals
This course is designed to provide budding writers with essential graphic design skills to enhance their storytelling and engage their audience. Through a blend of hands-on projects and discussions, students will learn how to create visually appealing content that complements their writing.
Poetry 101
In this mini course, you will learn about poetic form and poetic devices, explore sharing your writing in multimedia and learn to reimagine your writing through revision.
Magical Realism
In this mini course, you will learn the history of the genre, understand the nuances of the genre, explore transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary and drafting your own original pieces.
Photopoetry: A Synthesis of Photography
In this course you will learn about composition and angles in photography, delve into similarities and differences between poems and photographs, and explore how photopoetry unites poets and photographers.
Podcasting Fundamentals
This course is designed to help develop your overall knowledge of podcast genres and to get you started with basic podcast creation. Specific topics range from writing for an audio format to best recording practices at home.
Romance Fiction
This course is designed to help develop your understanding of the romance genre. Specific topics range from subgenres, tropes, and back cover copy for romance novels.
Social Media Fundamentals.
This course is designed to give you the tools you need to create engaging, relevant, and impactful social media for your personal projects, brands, and any kind of professional account. Even for the chronically online, this course will provide new and valuable insights for how to get the most out of social media for yourself or your brand.
Video Fundamentals
This mini-course explores the three key stages of video production—pre-production, production, and post-production—while introducing techniques that help bring compelling content to life.
and more…
Explore Tour Mentoring
Mentees and mentors in the Explore Tour Journey will be matched for one cycle. Each pair will meet two times per month and, as a pair, attend all of the community events listed above.
All Journeys within this Adventure focus on discovering new genres, mediums, and topics to inspire mentees and mentors to create together. Learn more about the other Adventures offered at Girls Write Now below.
Explore Tour is a Journey in the Explore 360 Adventure.
Explore All Journeys
Explore All Journeys
Poetry (Spring 2025)
Join us for an immersive journey into the art and craft of poetry through the lens of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, renowned for its dedication to celebrating African American poetic traditions. The curriculum draws inspiration from the rich legacy of African American poetry, reflecting on themes of history, identity, social justice, and personal narrative. Mentees will have the chance to interact with guest poets, participate in workshops, and collaborate on creative projects that challenge and inspire their own poetic expression.
Advocacy Journalism (Spring 2025)
Leverage creativity and interest in world events, storytelling, and media technology to help shape society. You’ll learn how journalists pitch stories, interview subjects, write news articles and maintain high ethical standards. Great for mentees who would like to be journalists.
Love Well (Spring 2025)
The Love Well Journey focuses on building self-esteem and confidence through increased self-awareness and empowerment within the Girls Write Now community. Using guided prompts to elicit metacognitive writing, journal entries to encourage self-reflection, and specially tailored courses to promote further learning, this journey will guide you to explore your feelings in a structured and safe way.
Perspectives on Publishing & Marketing (Spring 2025)
Learn about the different ways to publish creative work and the fundamentals of marketing yourself and your creations. This Journey will take mentees and mentors through the process of publishing from beginning to end. This is a great opportunity to learn about the publishing industry from employees who work in in the field. Perfect for mentees who would like to be published or work in publishing. With the information gained in this Journey, you will be ready to enter the publishing industry as employees and writers. You will have the knowledge you need to create change in an industry that needs your fresh perspectives.
Perspectives on Editorial (Spring 2025)
Embrace editing as an essential aspect of writing in this journey that leads you through lessons and experiences that explore everything from line edits and grammar to the psychology of revision. Great for individuals who are interested in honing their skills for editing their own creative work (and the work of others!)
Audio Storytelling (Spring 2025)
The Audio Storytelling Journey is for mentees and mentors who want to learn about the ways publishing companies create audio books and other audible content for publication.
Perspectives on Public Policy (Fall 2024-Spring 2025)
The Perspectives on Public Policy Journey offers a comprehensive overview of public policy and its role in addressing societal challenges with a focus on inequalities, public policy frameworks, design, analysis, and justification.
Investigative Podcasts (Fall 2024-Spring 2025)
In this journey, you’ll collaborate as a production team to produce a podcast series about the Cop City project that includes research, pitching episodes, outlining episodes, hosting the podcast, and editing. We’ll try to understand why these cop cities are popping up, why people are resisting their construction, and different ideas around what makes a community “safe.” Great for mentees who are interested in social justice, journalism, and podcasting.
The Power of Punchlines: Stand-Up Comedy for Change (Spring-Summer 2025)
In this 2-cycle journey, participants will explore the power of comedy as a tool for social change, with a special focus on stand-up comedy. From climate change and economic inequality to LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, and mental health, you'll learn how to write and perform material that blends humor with meaningful social critique. Through workshops and performance coaching, you’ll develop your own comedic voice. Discover how satire and personal storytelling can raise awareness, inspire dialogue, and challenge the status quo— all while keeping your audience laughing. By the end of the journey, you'll have developed a 5 -10-minute stand-up routine that not only entertains but sparks meaningful conversations about the world around us. Comedy is a form of intelligence, whether you’re new to comedy or a seasoned performer, this journey will help you use humor as a force for social impact.
Careers for Creatives: Unexpected Opportunities (Spring 2025)
The Careers for Creatives: Unexpected Opportunities Journey is perfect for mentees and mentors who are looking to turn their passion for storytelling, content creation, or journalism into a career. Through a dynamic online course, mentoring sessions, and live networking events, you will explore various career paths available to writers today, learn practical skills to help you succeed, and discover how to build a sustainable career that aligns with your interests and strengths. Discover career paths in finance, technology, corporate communications, publishing and more!
