Building a Writing Practice
that Works for You
A 6-month small-group coaching program
to help you bring renewed energy and momentum to
your academic writing practice.
The program will help you reflect on what you need &
experiment with different strategies & structures
to see what works for you.
Program Dates:
Sept 4, 2026–March 5, 2027
Program Overview
Monthly group coaching and a thoughtful curriculum, delivered through 9 video modules and optional exercises, designed to help you figure out what sorts of strategies and structures make it easier for youto write consistently, focus your efforts strategically, and work through blocks. (Optional add-ons: one-on-one coaching and/or enrollment in my cowriting community.)
In the video modules, I offer concrete strategies and ideas for you to experiment with so that you can see what adjustments actually help make your writing practice feel more energizing or sustainable. Strategies for calming anxieties, building momentum, and managing tendencies toward procrastination or perfectionism. Structures that make it easier to do your writing. Boundaries to protect your time and focus. Ideas specific to particular stages of the writing process (for getting "unstuck" or for getting feedback that's actually helpful).
I encourage a sustainable approach to work and writing, and a spirit of experimentation: the goal is for you to figure out strategies and structures that work for you as an individual. Our monthly coaching sessions provide a safe space for reflection, mutual support and conversation, and for thinking through your "next steps." In the video modules, I draw from many dozens of books (and other sources) on "sustainable productivity," including ideas tailored to neurodivergent individuals and strategies specific to the context of academia and academic writing. I also recommend that participants purchase a single book (that we will draw from as a "supplemental" text in two modules): Michelle Boyd's Becoming the Writer You Already Are.
Logistics
The program is capped at 8 participants. Group coaching calls will be held on the first Friday of each month from 12:15–1:30 ET; scroll down for more details. If you can’t make it, a recording of the call will be posted in the private forum for the group.
I’ve built the program to be flexible: you can opt for an option with regular cowriting and a daily accountability thread (the “Support & Accountability Community”) and you can also add on one-on-one coaching calls or editorial consultations. The core program includes 7 monthly group coaching calls and 9 video modules (with optional exercises) on the topics below.
Curriculum
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Cultivating strong BASE writing habits (behavioral, artisanal, social, and emotional habits) and bringing pleasure into the writing process. Using easing-into-writing and end-of-session rituals to make it easier to get started each day.
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Managing your inner critic. Overcoming procrastination and easing any tension you feel about writing.
Supplemental reading: chapter 2, “More Than You Think: How Head, Hand, and Heart Make Writing So Hard” from Michelle Boyd’s book Becoming the Writer You Already Are.
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Taking a clear-eyed look at the ebbs & flows in various time commitments across the semester, & developing better time estimates for tasks. Building flexibility and self-compassion into planning and goal-setting. Setting up a project management system that works for your brain and your life.
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Figuring out a good structure and rhythm for your workweek—and thinking about what level of structure works best for you. Maintaining motivation.
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Strategies for setting boundaries, both around particular sets of tasks and with other people.
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Strategies for protecting your focus. Managing your email efficiently and minimizing distraction in your workday.
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Two different ways to think about “stages” (one focused whether you are at the generating, shaping, or polishing phase in your draft; and one focused on different micro-stages within each part of the drafting process). Concrete ideas for moving forward at each stage.
Supplemental reading: chapter 3, “Turning Toward Yourself: How Writing Process Can Get You Unstuck,'“ and chapter 5, “Growing from the Inside Out: Exploring and Expanding Your Writing Process,” from Michelle Boyd’s book Becoming the Writer You Already Are.
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Handling both constructive and less-than-constructive criticism. Asking for the feedback you need for the writing stage you are in.
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Clarifying your “why” to tap into the sense of purpose that motivates your creative and intellectual work.
This is a “mini-module” with a very short video and then an (optional) reflective exercise.
Overview of the Coaching Calls (Dates & Topics)
September 4 (12:00–1:15 ET): Kickoff call for program. Introductions, reflections on current challenges (with writing or work more broadly, or in the intersection of writing/work and life) and on things that are going well.
October 2 (12:00–1:15 ET): Group coaching call for modules 1 and 2. These two modules both broadly focus on bringing positive momentum to our writing practices and ways to navigate emotional blocks (in particular, the common challenges of procrastination, perfectionism, and negative self-talk).
November 6 (12:00–1:15 ET): Group coaching call for modules 3 and 4. These two modules both broadly focus on experimenting with various structures for our work lives to figure out approaches to scheduling, planning, goal-setting, accountability, environmental design, etc. actually make it easier to do our writing.
December 4 (12:00–1:15 ET): Group coaching call focused on managing the end of semester and transitioning into break (whatever break will look like for each of us).
January 8 (12:00–1:15 ET): Group coaching call for modules 5 and 6. These two modules both broadly focus on setting boundaries (around tasks, with others, through environmental design) to protect our time and attention.
February 5 (12:00–1:15 ET): Group coaching call for modules 7 and 8. These two modules both broadly focus on thinking about what we need at specific stages of the writing process (ideas for getting unstuck at specific stages, types of feedback to ask for at specific stages).
March 5 (12:00–1:15 ET): End-of-program group coaching call. Reflecting on module 9 (a “mini-module”) about clarifying—and then regularly tapping into—our larger sense of purpose.
Details about the Support & Accountability Community (one of the two optional add-ons):
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Come as often as you like, for part or all of each session!
In each 2-hour call, we’ll generally have
a moment to stretch, share goals, and “settle in” at the start,
two 45–50 minute cowriting blocks (with a short break and “check-in” in between),
an optional prompt for reflection + for leaving yourself “breadcrumbs” (to make it easier to get going the next time you write), and
a final moment when you can share how things went or mention any goals for the coming days.
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During the second week of each month, I’ll be available for on-the-spot one-on-one coaching in a breakout room during one of the cowriting calls. (If I offer the coaching during the Tuesday call one month, I’ll offer it during the Wednesday call the next month.)
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During the cowriting call with the on-the-spot coaching, we’ll also have a longer check-in time at the start (more like 20-30 minutes than 5). This longer check-in will include a short reflective writing prompt as well as time for group conversation.
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I’ll create weekly check-in threads on the private online forum for the group where you can post about goals, challenges, or little wins (giving a high-five or encouragement to the person who posted above you in the thread).
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Writing prompts and strategies (shared in a Google doc during each cowriting session) tailored to the generating, shaping, and polishing phases of the writing process. You can look at the prompts for inspiration if you’re feeling stuck.
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I’ll also share a Google doc during each cowriting session (which I’ll invite everyone to contribute to!) about little ways to bring more fun or pleasure into your writing practice.
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Once during the 6-month session, I’ll hold an editorial Q&A where you can pick my brain about revision challenges or academic book publishing. (If I don’t have an answer for you regarding some aspect of the publishing process, I can reach out to my network to see if I can get information!)
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My goal in creating this group is to foster a supportive community to help you make consistent progress on your writing projects without burning out.
Details about one-on-one coaching calls or writing consultations (the other optional add-on):
In sustainable productivity coaching, I can support you with things like creating schedules and plans that feel supportive, working through emotional and logistical barriers to doing your writing, clarifying priorities, bringing more fun or pleasure into your writing practice, and setting any needed boundaries. Writing coaching brings in an editorial component: we can discuss both the writing process (and your larger work life or home life, if helpful) and your writing itself.
The editorial consultations that I offer as a possible add-on for the group coaching program feel closer to coaching than to my developmental editing process in the sense that I’m helping you figure out solutions to issues you’re working through in your writing rather than developing potential solutions for you. Instead of reading a full manuscript so that I can enter into deep “puzzle-solving” mode myself, I engage with targeted elements of your project so that I can help provide some direction for your puzzle-solving process.