Come write with me!

It's going to be a wild & wonderful ride

Hello, friends!

It’s going to be a busy week here at Going Solo. I’m tooling along on a lighting-fast loop through some favorite spots, stopping off for events with some of my dearest peeps, and likely to cover just shy of 10,000 miles in under six weeks.

So if you spot a pickup that looks like it’d go by the name Big Red zooming past with a trailer on its tail that might fairly be called the Tramp Scamp, that’s Luna and me, bringing you a little luck as we fly by.

Actually, we’re bringing more than luck.

This here is a right rolling writers’ retreat, a Write-a-Book-Mobile, a serious writers’ classroom on wheels, and it’s headed your way.

That’s why I’m up in your inbox early this week with a quick spin through the courses I’ll be teaching this summer. You’ll also get the rare Riffs & Rants bonus audio post featuring a reading from Karen Babine’s The Allure of Elsewhere in celebration of its publication on Tuesday, and on Friday I’ll be by at the usual time with just a teeny-tiny Postcard from the road. Thanks for reading, friends, and if you have any questions about these classes, just reply to this email or DM me! xo - M

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Want to deepen your knowledge, sharpen your skills, develop community, and work with the pros?

Thought so.

My co-founders at the Caravan Writers Collective and I are thrilled to offer a year-round, multi-genre roster of classes, workshops, weekend intensives, craft talks, and 1:1 coaching for writers of all kinds.

Whatever your genre, background, experience, and area of expertise, we’ve got something you’ll love. If I don’t teach it, one of the amazing writers in the Caravan Crew - Paul, Holly, and Matt - certainly does. And as a true collective of working writers, we get to co-teach a bunch of courses, too.

But something occurred to me: while a few of you know me as a teacher, a lot more of you don’t.

Don’t let the flannels-and-tattoos disguise fool you. I own dress pants and somewhere a hairbrush. I can see over the lectern if I stand on a box.

And since we’re a traveling circus in a rolling Writer-Mobile, who cares if I have pants?

in which I am absolutely standing on a box

You may ask yourself - what does some sailor-mouthed solo traveler know about writing?

Kind of a lot.

Sure, I’m a brassy old broad. But I know exactly where that f-bomb goes, and why, and if there was a word that worked better I would use it, and if it didn’t scan right in that spot, I would put it somewhere else.

I’m the New York Times Bestselling author of five books and I’m currently wrapping my sixth (Solo, Hachette/Cardinal Books 2027). I’ve won a heap of awards for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid forms. I’ve published thousands of pieces in magazines, newspapers, and literary journals over the past 30-plus years. I did the homework, got the stupid letters after my name, and I’ve been teaching writing since I was knee-high to a grasshopper myself.

I know my way around writing, and I teach it pretty well.

Now, about teaching.

Until 2020, I taught primarily in traditional academic settings - college and graduate school, specifically - but as time went on and people changed and the world about which we write transformed and the literary landscape upheaved and spasmed and twerked, I began to gravitate toward writing spaces outside of academia. I’ve loved (and still love) my MFA and PhD students over the years, but not every writer wants or needs or can access grad school.

I wanted to work with writers who didn’t give a hoot about degrees or pedigrees, in places where everybody would for the love of god stop name-dropping and get to work: in coffee shops and prisons, church basements and shelters, clubhouses and green rooms and boardrooms and the back rooms of bars.

I wanted to bring my love of writing and training in craft to people who were excited to write wherever they were.

For the past five years, I’ve been teaching and coaching writers and other creative folks online, Zooming in from the Scamp's dinette and, not infrequently, the side of the road.

Ever wanted to study travel writing with a travel writer who can’t even be arsed to get out of her truck? Well, here’s your chance.

Those of you who’ve studied with me before know that I’m a dedicated, attentive, and deeply engaged teacher - and I’m a lot less salty in real life than I guess I sound. ;) I can cite my sources - check out what former and current students and coaching clients have said about working with me on my website. My classes are led more than taught. I have some ideas and info to offer, but the time and space belong to the writers in the room. Come be a part of that with me.

Know someone who’d enjoy these courses? What about someone who’s looking for 1:1 coaching and mentorship? Please forward this email to the writers, readers, educators, and students you know!

In June…

Crash Course—

Who Is This Guy? Crash Course on Character

Every literary genre lives and dies by the presence and vitality of its characters. This crash course will explore the function of character in our chosen genre, then move into discovering who our characters are, developing their dimensions, motives, tensions, and quirks, and ultimately creating vibrant, realistic characters with whom readers will resonate and connect.

Mondays, 4 pm–6 pm PST / 7 pm–9 pm EST
6/9, 6/16, 6/23, 6/30

Enrollment: $300 if you register by June 1, $350 after that.

Bootcamp—

No, You Are Not a Mad Genius: Mental Wellbeing for Creative Folks

The creative process has a lot of highs and lows. This bootcamp isn't therapy - it's a practical approach to balancing creative work with day-to-day life. We'll tackle core practices of self-care, pinpoint go-to habits where we can make changes, and develop strategic responses to issues with attention, anxiety, disappointment, inspiration, and stress.​​

Friday 6/27, 4 pm–6 pm PST / 7 pm–9 pm EST
Saturday 6/28, 12 pm–2 pm PST / 3 pm–5 pm EST
Sunday 6/29, 12 pm–2 pm PST / 3 pm–5 pm EST

Enrollment: $225 if you register by June 1, $275 after that.

Co-Taught by the Caravan Crew—

June Lit Lab: On Setting

Lit Labs are hands-on, stress-free monthly gatherings dedicated to writing, publishing, and literary craft. With presentations from Caravan instructors and expert guest speakers, discussion, and generative prompts, the Lit Lab series provides both the depth of knowledge you'd expect from top-tier writers and the low-key approach you'd expect from a bunch of...well, people who live in their vans.

In June, we'll dig into an oft-overlooked but utterly crucial element of craft: Setting. Hear from some masterful writers of place and dive into the wide world of world-building in a community of writers just like you.

Single Lit Lab: $50 - Bring a friend: TWO Lit Lab seats for $60. A year's subscription to the Lit Lab series — for yourself or the writer, reader, educator, or student in your life — is just $250 (a $960 value), AND you also get a year's membership to all the Saturday Write-Ins you can attend (a $360 value)!

And our Weekly Write-In series kicks off Saturday, June 7!

Write alongside others and be inspired to take your writing to new heights. Drop in any time for $10/session, or attend all the write-ins you want by purchasing a year's membership for $50 (a $360 value). First Saturdays are always free!​

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In July…

Deep Dive—

There are Three Rules to Writing a Novel

“Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.” —W. Sommerset Maugham

​About 50 pages into a novel when you found yourself running out of know-how and steam? This class moves participants past inspiration into the real work of writing a novel. Participants leave with a significant sample, a synopsis, a detailed outline, and a concrete, achievable completion strategy.

Mondays, 4 pm–6 pm PST / 7 pm–9 pm EST
7/7, 7/14, 7/21, 7/28

Enrollment: $350 if you register by June 1. $400 after that.

Bootcamp—

Do the Damn Thing: Strategic Planning for Creative People Who Can't Plan for Sh*t

Everybody has a great idea. But most of us could use some help creating a strategy for turning it into a finished work. Do the Damn Thing weekend intensives provide real-time exercises, time management tips, and creative tools so participants leave with an effective, achievable strategic plan for their creative project.​​

Friday 7/25, 4 pm–6 pm PST / 7 pm–9 pm EST
Saturday 7/26, 12 pm–2 pm PST / 3 pm–5 pm EST
Sunday 7/27, 12 pm–2 pm PST / 3 pm–5 pm EST

Enrollment: $225 if you register by June 1, $275 after that.

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In August…

Crash Course—

The Give a Sh*t Factor: Making Your Writing Matter

Everybody's got a story to tell. But the best stories, the ones that matter, aren't actually 'about' the author or the author's personal concerns.This class digs into the practical ways in which writers can connect our individual creative work to the reader, the culture, the era, and the world about which, and for which, we write.

​Thursdays 4 pm – 6 pm PST / 7 pm – 9 pm EST
8/7, 8/14, 8/21, 8/2

Enrollment: $300 if you register by June 1. $350 after that.

Bootcamp (co-taught with Holly)—

From the Road: Writing about Travel

Join veteran travel writers Holly & Marya to hone your skills, sharpen your focus, and amplify your voice. 'The road,' as we define it, is wide: Think your own travel or that of others. Think past or present. Think inner journeys and outer quests. Featuring special guest award-winning author of The Allure of Elsewhere and professor Karen Babine.

Friday 8/22, 4 pm–6 pm PST / 7 pm–9 pm EST
Saturday 8/23, 12 pm–2 pm PST / 3 pm–5 pm EST
Sunday 8/24, 12 pm–2 pm PST / 3 pm–5 pm EST

Enrollment: $225 if you register by June 1, $275 after that.

And rounding out our summer session with an all-hands collaborative co-taught course with the Caravan Crew…

Build-an-Essay

Learn to create an essay in four weeks. A different Caravan instructor each week will walk you through the fundamentals. Jumpstart your work with generative prompts, tools, and guidance. Leave with a full-length piece. New to the form? (Poets?) Want to reboot your practice and sharpen your skills? This course is for you.

Sundays, 11am-1pm PT/2 pm-5pm ET
8/3, 8/10, 8/17, 8/24

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Don’t miss the whole schedule of summer courses at the Caravan Writers Collective!