Building a Writing Practice
that Works for You

A 9-week online workshop & writing accountability group
to help you build a sustainable writing practice and
bring your article or book chapter to completion.

Workshop Runs September 22–November 21, 2025 and costs $480*
*Sign up by June 30 for a 20% discount or by August 31 for a 10% discount

Enrollment Opens May 1, 2025

As an academic, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed as you try to make progress on your writing while juggling all the other demands on your time.

This workshop provides concrete strategies and support for building a writing practice that helps you make consistent progress on your projects while avoiding burnout.

The workshop offers 8 thoughtful video lessons (20–30 min in length) on the topics below, a workbook with activities designed to help you make the most of the lessons, weekly group calls over Zoom, weekly cowriting sessions over Zoom, and an online forum for accountability and support. With the exception of the kickoff call and wrap-up call, the weekly group calls alternate between group coaching sessions on the topics addressed in the videos and “Ask the Editor” sessions with editorial mini-lessons.

The weekly group calls will be 60 minutes in length, with an (optional) additional 10–15 minutes at the end for anybody who wants to share goals for the coming week and talk about how things went the previous week. Most likely, I will hold the group calls on Fridays from 12:00–1:00 EST (or 12:00–1:15 EST with the optional add-on); I will survey people who sign up for the interest list to see if that time will work well. The cowriting session will be held from 10:00 to 11:45 EST on Tuesdays.

The main program is 9 weeks in length, but weekly accountability check-ins on the online forum will continue for an additional 3 weeks after the main program finishes, and there will be a bonus 30-minute check-in call the week of December 8th.

We’ll dig into the following topics:

WEEK 1: Finding a Calm Focus & Bringing Pleasure into Your Writing Process

  • Group call: Kickoff meeting! Intros and goal-setting for the nine-week period, followed by a short cowriting session.

WEEK 2: Managing Perfectionism, Your Inner Critic, & Your Urge to Procrastinate

  • Group call: Coaching session on bringing pleasure into the writing process and handling your inner critic.

WEEK 3: Planning Your Semester & Setting Achievable Goals

  • Group call: First “Ask the Editor” Session. 20-minute mini-lesson on organizing your chapter or article effectively, followed by a Q&A in which Ellen provides advice on the revision process or the publishing process in response to participant questions.

WEEK 4: Planning Your Week & Building in Ways to Stay Motivated

  • Group call: Coaching session on goal setting and project management.

WEEK 5: Protecting Your Time for Writing & Self-Care

  • Group call: Second “Ask the Editor” Session. 20-minute mini-lesson on citing confidently, followed by a Q&A in which Ellen provides advice on the revision process or the publishing process in response to participant questions.

WEEK 6: Protecting Your Focus

  • Group call: Coaching session on protecting your time and protecting your focus.

WEEK 7: Getting Unstuck at Various Stages of the Writing Process

  • Group call: Third “Ask the Editor” session. 20-minute mini-lesson on making your writing clear and accessible at the paragraph-and-sentence level, followed by a Q&A in which Ellen provides editorial advice in response to participant questions.

WEEK 8: Asking for the Help You Need at Various Stages of the Writing Process

  • Group call: Coaching session on finding ways to move forward at various stages of the writing process.

WEEK 9: Creating a Flexible Action Plan

  • Group call: Group conversation on how everybody’s writing practices have evolved and on future goals, followed by a final brief “Ask the Editor” session.

BONUS (WEEK 12): A 30-minute group check-in call (for accountability and to navigate challenges) after main program is complete

  • Somewhat scaled-back check-ins in the online forum (weekly check-ins for goal-setting and to cheer one another on) will continue for an additional three weeks after the end of the core program, to provide continued support during the final weeks of the semester.

BONUS: Once-per-semester editorial Q&A calls for workshop alumni

  • Once each semester, I will offer an “editorial Q&A” call for workshop alumni where I will answer broad questions about book manuscripts, the revision process, and publishing. (If there’s a question I can’t answer, I’ll tap into my network and do my best to get an answer for you!)

The time commitment for the workshop during the core 9-week program is roughly 2 hours per week. Every week, you’ll need 60 minutes for the group call (75 minutes if you stay for the check-in on goals) and up to an hour to watch the video lesson and work through the activities in the workbook.

If you have a journal article or book chapter that you are revising, you could use this workshop to help you bring it to completion! Of course, it’s also fine to be working on writing projects at earlier stages of the drafting or revision process.