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 15–November 14, 2025

Enrollment Opens May 1, 2025

Sign up by June 30 for a 20% discount or by August 15 for a 10% discount
Cost before discount: $340 with institutional funding and $255 without institutional funding

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, and an online forum for accountability and support. The weekly group calls alternate between cowriting sessions (with one-on-one support available in a breakout room) and group coaching sessions on the topics addressed in the videos.

The weekly group calls will take place on Fridays from 12:00–1:00 EST. Enrollment will be capped at 8 participants. (If I add a second section, we will find a time for the group calls that works for all participants in the section.)

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 1st.

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. (Quick check-in at the end so that people can share goals for the coming week and talk about how things went the previous week.)

WEEK 3: Planning Your Semester & Setting Achievable Goals

  • Group call: Quick check-in for people to share their writing goals, challenges, and “little wins,” followed by a 40–45-minute cowriting session. (During cowriting session, Ellen will be available for individual “mini-coaching” sessions in the breakout room.)

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

  • Group call: Coaching session on goal setting and project management. (Quick check-in at the end so that people can share goals for the coming week and talk about how things went the previous week.)

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

  • Group call: Quick check-in for people to share their writing goals, challenges, and “little wins,” followed by a 40–45-minute cowriting session. (During cowriting session, Ellen will be available for individual “mini-coaching” sessions in the breakout room.)

WEEK 6: Protecting Your Focus

  • Group call: Coaching session on protecting your time and protecting your focus. (Quick check-in at the end so that people can share goals for the coming week and talk about how things went the previous week.)

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

  • Group call: Quick check-in for people to share their writing goals, challenges, and “little wins,” followed by a 40–45-minute cowriting session. (During cowriting session, Ellen will be available for individual “mini-coaching” sessions in the breakout room.)

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. (Quick check-in at the end so that people can share goals for the coming week and talk about how things went the previous week.)

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 short cowriting 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 1.5–2 hours per week (some of which is time spent cowriting!). Every week, you’ll need 60 minutes for the group call, 20–30 minutes to watch the video lesson, and up to an additional 30 minutes if you decide to 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.