Week 1: Who are we as writers?

• Introductions
• Writing your name poem
• Dreams and fears for writing
• What do we like and dislike about our current writing processes?

Week 2: How do we portray important moments in writing?

• 50-word essays about experience
• Writing childhood memories & important people in our lives
• What motivates us to write?

Week 3: How do we create different worlds in writing?

• Writing with fantastical elements
• Writing humor
• What different purposes exist for writing, and which are most important to you?

Week 4: How does our writing change when we return to it? What are our goals as teacher-writers?

• Exercises in the revision process
• Structured feedback on each other’s work, centering interest and excitement
• Writing day-in-the-life pieces
• Discussion of goal setting, and what we’ve learned about our processes
• Reflection: why writing is meaningful for teachers and how to sustain it

What do I need to do before joining this workshop?

You don’t need to do anything in advance besides register here! You just have to want to write and to support other writers.

Why is this workshop only for teachers?

Teachers who write have a unique experience of writing. You have less control over your own time than many other writers do; your classroom is usually not just a “day job” but a space you feel strongly about and want to bring your best self to. It’s hard to have time to do both, and you deserve a group of other writers who really understand that.

What will we do?

We’ll do warm-up writing exercises, read the work of other writers (especially those who were also teachers!), and create short pieces in different forms—poetry and prose, fiction and memoir—through guided writing prompts and processes. Ultimately, we’ll publish a group zine to preserve and share your favorite pieces from our time together!

Will I have to write outside of our meeting times?

There will be writing time during our meetings—I have found this is the most effective way to build your writing practice (And the most fun!) You are very much encouraged to continue what you’ve begun. We’ll talk about the most sustainable ways to do that both during the summer and during the school year. You will also have opportunities to share your work—but there is no formal homework or requirement to submit a big project.

Is this only for English teachers?

No, this workshop is available to anyone who longs to write. Teachers who work with all grades, in all subjects, will make this workshop richer and more exciting. What unites you is the structure of the job and the nature of your everyday work.

How will we share our work with each other during the workshop?

We’ll have a class Google Drive organized by week, and you can upload any writing you want to share. That’s also where the pieces we’re reading together will be.

And do I have to share my work?

During the first meeting, you will not be asked to share work as you reconnect to your process. As we develop as a group, you’ll share your work so that you can learn to give feedback to each other in a supportive, engaging way!

How will we use genAI in this workshop?

The most important part of this class is your process—how you think, how you create, how you develop your ideas. Therefore, we will not be using genAI in any way during the workshop. You will learn and develop many tools to brainstorm, create, and refine your writing without it!