In this 12-week writer coaching program you will work closely with Author Blair Hurley to improve your writing and polish one or more short stories!
You will refine your craft and learn the art of writing exceptional short stories. You'll receive weekly feedback on your writing, enjoy motivation and accountability, and join a fun, supportive community of your fellow writers.
How does the process of writing a short story begin? And how does a writer carry an idea through to a finished work of fiction?
Writing is not just the arrival of an idea on the doorstep: it’s a process of drafting, shaping, and revising that leads to a polished final work.
In this 12-week group coaching program, Author Blair Hurley will teach you how to jumpstart your story idea, from inception to the creation and revision of final drafts.
At the end of this 12-week program, you’ll use the feedback you've received from an industry expert (and your peers) to raise your writing and your short story to the next level.
You'll walk away with a great foundation in the craft of creative writing—from character, to point of view, to voice, etc.
There is no better motivation for writers than getting instant feedback on your work. In this program, you will share your writing (up to 4,000 words each week) and receive helpful feedback and guidance from author Blair Hurley and other writers in the program.
Consider this program a kind of “One-Stop Shop” for building your short story writing career. It will turn you into a better writer, help you finish your book faster, and create the best, most polished product at the end of the 12 weeks.
From our experience helping hundreds of writers with their books (and being writers ourselves), we know that writers improve fastest when they share their writing, get feedback, then incorporate that information into their work.
The best kind of feedback is from an expert in the field—someone who has written and published numerous stories, and had her debut novel long listed for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize—someone like Blair Hurley, who will lead this coaching program.
Because this program is limited to 6 writers, each participant will get to share their writing each week and receive critical feedback from an industry expert and their peers, which will help you revise and improve your short story.
Each week, Blair will assign an optional short story reading that will help reinforce the lecture material and illustrate the application of these elements to the art of writing short stories. There will also be an optional 1- to 2-page assignment each week to reinforce the material on craft.
At the end of the 12-week program, you will have a polished short story written, and you will be well-positioned to publish, either traditionally or by self-publishing.
Blair Hurley is the author of THE DEVOTED, published by W.W. Norton, which was longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Her work is published or forthcoming in Paris Review Daily, Electric Literature, The Georgia Review, Ninth Letter, Guernica, West Branch, and elsewhere.
She received a 2018 Pushcart Prize and two Pushcart Prize nominations in 2019.
Blair received her A.B. from Princeton University and her M.F.A. from NYU. Today she teaches creative writing at Grubstreet, Catapult, and elsewhere.
She is the host of the Writerly Bites podcast.
We have designed a program that's meant to support writers who are at many stages in the writing process, but this is not for everyone. The format and approach will likely not suit the following writers:
Picture your short story featured in your favourite literary magazine. Picture holding a printed copy of that magazine in your hands, your words staring back at you. Picture seeing it on bookstore shelves around the world. Picture pulling it up online and seeing hundreds of rave reviews.
This 12-week intensive mentorship will help you get there.
This program is led by Blair Hurley, an award-winning author with numerous years of experience in the publishing industry. She knows great writing, and what publishers—and readers—are looking for.
You've been struggling to master the art of the short story for long enough.
You've read countless blogs and interviews with legendary authors, hoping to finally find the secret sauce that will elevate your slapdash stories to Murakami heights.
You've come up with countless ideas, but only finished a handful of stories; and are truly proud of only a few.
You could stay in this place, unsure about what makes a good short story, desperate to know what you're missing, and why your stories aren't connecting.
You could continue trading notes with writing friends you met online, scrolling through blogs, or wasting time on Twitter.
...But we'd rather help you leave a legacy for the world in the pages of your stories!
In this program you will go from confused about character development, point of new, and outlining to clear on how to write a compelling short story...
From overwhelmed by the publishing process to clear on the exact steps needed to bein pitching to magazines...
From writing inconsistently to producing up to 4,000 high quality words each week...
From unsure if your writing is any good to confident that the right magainzes will find value in and publish your stories...
From writing alone in a vacuum, to writing in a supportive, enlightening, motivating, and fun community with talented peers and curated resources, under the guidance of an experienced industry insider and a team of experts.
Register Now
(Dates subject to change.)
September 15: Introductory video chat and first sharing and feedback session |
September 22: Video session |
September 29: Slack session |
October 6: Video session |
October 13: Writing catch-up week |
October 20: Slack session |
October 27: Video session |
November 3: Slack session |
November 10: Video session |
November 17: Writing catch-up week |
November 24: Slack session |
December 1: Video session |
December 8: Slack session |
December 15: Video session |
In this program you will receive weekly feedback that will help you improve your writing, find accountability and motivation, and join a fun, supportive community so that you can produce your best short story and get published faster—all under the guidance of an established author.
The cost for 12 sessions and ongoing engagement via Slack is USD$1,495 USD $1,795.
Registration closes in:
Not sure if this program is a fit for you?
Our consultants (who are also writers) will meet with you to discuss your project, goals, and suitability for the program.
Or email us with your questions. We try to accomodate all special requests.
Type: Group Coaching
Category: Author, Fiction, Short Story
"Blair is an absolutely wonderful instructor. She has an innate knack for turning a conversation into a moment to drop brilliant knowledge on the writing process. In short, Blair is truly brilliant.”
“Terrific! I didn't expect to generate so much new work and Blair's critiques were extremely useful. Plus, she was available when I needed specific guidance. I'll definitely take any class Blair offers in the future.”
“Never met a more passionate, well-versed, and intelligent professor who encouraged meaningful discussions and the opportunity for professional growth.”
“Blair gave me great feedback on my drafts, which really helped my writing.”
We stand by our services with a 100% satisfaction guarantee if you are unhappy with the program. We also realize that life happens. If you are happy but still need to withdraw from the program early, here are our refund policies:
• 50% refund before session 4
• No refunds after session 4
Final decisions about refunds are at the discretion of So You Want to Write? Inc.
Register NowCan't find what you're looking for? Have a special request?
Send us a note about your writing project and we'll respond within 2 business days.
Nothing is off limits. Cast your head-scratcher into our inbox and we'll put our brightest minds to a response.