Classes & Workshops
Inspired by the NYC writers’ groups where Emily honed her skills, our online writing classes offer both aspiring and professional writers the opportunity to deepen their skills through thoughtful prompts, readings, workshops, and community discussions.
Depending on your goals and availability, we offer lighter weekly classes and immersive month-long courses. We also occasionally partner with other writers to create weekend writing workshops and one-off classes.
“These sessions have greatly influenced my writing and my approach to my novel. I'm also just more excited about writing than I have been in a very long time. I love working with and learning from Emily and Katie and the groups [they] bring together.”
— Alyssa Farquhar
Writing Gym
Our monthly writers group
$199 per month
or
$477 for 3 months
Writing Gym is a monthly, virtual writing class that meets once a week. In each session, we focus on a brief excerpt from a novel or memoir, followed by a targeted writing prompt, a free-write, and a mini-workshop. We believe writing is a muscle and the more you exercise it, the better.
This class is a perfect way to exercise your writing muscle once a week and hear from other writers doing the same. All levels welcome, even if your goal is just to write for twenty minutes weekly. Many of our attendees choose to make Writing Gym a recurring investment, attending weekly every month — like a year-round online writing group — so every session has a friendly, community feel.
We currently have one section of Writing Gym available: Thursday afternoons. We plan to offer a Thursday evening option soon — so please subscribe to our newsletter (in our footer) if you’d like to hear when we bring it back!
What you’ll get:
Weekly excerpts and prompts that exemplify a craft lesson we review in class
Weekly free writes that allow you to put lessons into practice
Weekly mini-workshops with Emily and Katie (+ the rest of the class!)
A new community of writers
Duration: 4 weeks with 90-minute meetings weekly. Or buy a three-month package!
Instructors: Emily Stone and Katie O’Donnell
Format: Zoom
Date & Time*:
Writing Group, Option A: Thursdays 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm ET
Returning Soon: Writing Group, Option B: Thursdays 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm ET
*A note on enrollment: Writing Gym starts on the first Thursday of each month. Sign up until noon EST the day before (first Wednesday) to attend. If you sign up after that, you are registering for next month’s Writing Gym.
Scene Study
Four-week writing immersive
$599*
Scene Study is a four-week, dynamic, lecture-based course that provides a craft-first approach to writing scenes. The purpose of these classes is to learn and deepen craft knowledge, marrying rich storytelling with structure.
What you’ll get:
Four dynamic lectures that provide you with a detailed understanding of the building blocks of a scene
Four prompts that allow you to put your scene-writing lessons into practice
A new community of writers
Access to Katie and Emily for the duration of the class to ask questions about scene writing and get advice on what you’re working on
Instructors: Emily Stone and Katie O’Donnell
Format: Zoom
*Payment plans are available upon request.
14-Day Writer’s Retreat
An email writing class
Free
Every writer benefits from a writer's retreat — even if it's from their living room. Join us for Rest & Reboot: A 14-Day Digital Writer's Retreat, a free email micro-course designed to give you a taste of what you can expect in other Downtown Writers Workshop classes. Each week, you'll receive an email with craft tips, recommended reading, and a creative writing prompt to complete on your own time. Set a word count goal daily or do it all on the weekend — this writer's retreat is designed with busy lives in mind.
Other Writing Classes & Workshops
Pricing varies
Sometimes, we partner with other writers to create writing workshops and classes both online and in New York City. Check back here for regular updates or — better yet — subscribe to our newsletter to hear when we sign on to new events.