Fall 2025
Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter
In this Journey, we’ll tackle one of the most daunting parts of novel writing: the opening chapter. Participants will explore how to hook readers while establishing character, setting, and stakes—asking big questions like where to begin and how to share key details without overload. Whether starting fresh or revising a draft, writers will gain tools to craft impactful, memorable openings.
Girls Write Now Collaboratory
This Journey is Closed, but You Can Pre-Enroll in a Spring 2027 Journey Now!
Learning Objectives
Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter Community Experiences
Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to attend the monthly Journey Meetings and one Journey Workshop listed below.
- Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1 pm ET
- Saturday, December 13, 2025, 1 pm ET
- Saturday, January 24, 2026, 1 pm ET
Query Letter Workshop:
- Tuesday January 27, 2026, 4:30 pm ET
If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—strongly recommended options include Community Studios and Salon Experiences.
Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter Courses
First Pages That Grip: Writing the Opening Chapter
This course is designed to guide you through the essential elements of a powerful opening chapter. Through short lessons, writing prompts, and examples from published works, you’ll explore how to develop complex characters, set up stakes, establish a vivid setting, and create a strong hook—all within the first few pages. Whether you’re drafting something new or revising existing work, this course will help you gain confidence and clarity in your storytelling.
Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter Mentoring
Mentees and mentors in this Journey will be matched for one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month. This journey is open to both Mentor/Mentee pairs and Peer-to-Peer pairs.
Journey Teaching Artist
Journeys in the Multigenre 360 Adventure focus on writing in a particular genre. It is perfect for mentees and mentors who want to focus on a specific kind of creative writing.
Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter is a Journey in the Multigenre 360 Adventure.
Explore All Journeys
Explore All Journeys
Teach GWN (Fall 2026)
In this Journey, members of the GWN community will develop curriculum and facilitate a community studio for one or more cycles within GWN’s Collaboratory structure.
The Career Journey: Inside Book Publishing (Fall 2026)
This Journey is for mentors curious about breaking into publishing, mentors already in the industry who want to pass on what they know, and mentees serious about building a career in books. Together you'll map the roles across publishing houses and literary agencies and get into the nuts and bolts of what each one actually does.
Explore Tour (Spring 2027)
Explore Girls Write Now’s creative and storytelling pathways through a multimedia, multi-genre experience featuring mini courses, exploratory studios, and one-to-one pair sessions. Develop skills across fiction, journalism, publishing, video, podcasting, visual storytelling, and more.
Independent Study (Spring 2027)
Create your own experience with our Independent Study Journey. Mentees and mentors meet as a pair, attend events of interest, and use coursework to support creative projects and personal goals. Along the way, you can connect with others during a mid-cycle mixer designed to spark inspiration, share ideas, and build community. The Journey culminates in a showcase where participants present the work they have developed throughout the cycle and celebrate their accomplishments together. Mentees and mentors will benefit by gaining greater independence in their learning, deepening their creative practice, and building meaningful connections while pursuing self-directed goals.
Teach GWN (Spring 2027)
In this Journey, members of the GWN community will develop curriculum and facilitate a Community Studio for one or more cycles within GWN’s Collaboratory structure. Each cycle involves facilitating three Community Studios, one per month. Mentees and mentors will gain valuable skills in leadership, teaching, and community building. Mentees and mentors can facilitate a Community Studio either independently (if they are 18 or older) or together as a pair.
Screenwriting: Crafting Short Film Stories (Spring 2027)
This two-cycle Journey guides participants from crafting a short film script to bringing it to life on screen. In the first cycle, mentors and mentees focus on developing compelling stories, dynamic characters, and engaging dialogue, learning the essentials of screenwriting for short films. In the second cycle, participants move from script to screen, exploring the practical aspects of video production, including planning, collaboration, and bringing their creative vision to life. By the end of the journey, mentees will have both a polished script and hands-on experience in producing their own short film.
Life Lines: Crafting Memoir (Part 1) (Spring 2027)
In this three-cycle Journey, writers will get the support and expert industry insight they need to write their memoir. In the first three-month cycle, participants will outline, structure their book, and begin their first drafts; in the second three-month cycle, participants will write and workshop their drafts; and in the third cycle, participants will finish their drafts and write their book proposals.
Lead Community Change (Part 2) (Spring 2027)
Lead Community Change is a dynamic two-cycle Journey that harnesses the transformative power of storytelling to drive social impact. Aspiring young leaders and activists will unleash their creativity to develop and implement innovative community-based social activism projects, supported by GWN’s rich storytelling resources.
Indigenous Poetry (Spring 2027)
Explore the rich traditions and contemporary voices of Indigenous poetry. Mentees and mentors will read and discuss poems by Indigenous poets that reflect identity, culture, land, community, resilience, and storytelling. Alongside close reading, participants will write original poems inspired by these works, experimenting with imagery, voice, form, and personal expression. Through discussion and creative practice, they will explore how poetry can honor heritage, preserve stories, and illuminate both personal and collective experiences. Mentees and mentors will take away a deeper appreciation of Indigenous poetic traditions, strengthened creative writing skills, and a greater understanding of poetry as a tool for connection and expression.
Journalism: The Art of Profile Writing (Spring 2027)
Every person has a story to tell, and profile writing offers a way to share those stories with the world. In this Journey, mentees and mentors will learn how to build trust with subjects, conduct respectful interviews, and maintain the writer’s role as observer rather than confidante. The Journey emphasizes a holistic approach that considers subject, writer, and reader.
