A 4-WEEK WORKSHOP WITH STEPH SPRENGER
& NATALIE SERIANNI
Workshop Your Personal Essay
Have you considered joining a small writing group for accountability and feedback, but don’t know where to begin? This 4-week workshop is an introduction to the powerful and motivating experience of writing in community. We’ll walk you through the process every step of the way, from idea generation to instruction on the ingredients of a successful personal essay to revision to providing feedback to other writers.
Together, we'll:
- Brainstorm ideas through discussion and freewriting to find topics that light you up and have the potential for a focused, polished piece of writing.
- Learn how to craft a powerful, effective personal essay, weaving in elements of premise, theme, structure, writing crafts, narrative arc, and vivid language.
- Collaborate to amplify your natural strengths as a writer and get to the heart of what you’re really trying to say.
- Offer positive, supportive feedback and thoughtful discussion to bring out the best in each writer and provide techniques for a healthy writing practice.
- Discuss how and where to pitch your personal essay.
The workshop includes a virtual forum with lessons, resources, discussion, community, and support, as well as weekly Zoom meetings.
The weekly workshopping will occur in our virtual meetings—this is where writers will share their writing, exchange ideas, and offer feedback to one another. Writers will then take feedback and ideas to continue crafting and revising their pieces.
HerStories co-founder Steph Sprenger will guide the first three weeks of essay building and workshopping, and on week four, one of our favorite guest instructors, Natalie Serianni, will provide detailed feedback on each essay, tailored tips and ideas for pitching, and individual publication suggestions.
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Session 1: Fridays at 1pm EST: 9/26, 10/3, 10/17, & 10/24
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Session 2: Wednesdays at 1pm EST: 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, & 11/5
*Space is limited to five members per cohort to preserve an intimate community and maximize feedback for each writer, so don't wait to grab your spot!
Register for FridaysHere's what you'll learn:
- Generative tools to brainstorm ideas and select essay-worthy material
- How to craft a compelling essay from start to finish
- Guidance to find the “lighthouse” of your story, identifying the theme, premise, and what you really want to say
- Support when integrating writing techniques, building an effective narrative arc, and developing your writer’s voice.
- Techniques for offering constructive, gentle feedback and an opportunity to learn how to provide accountability and support for fellow writers
- A system to apply to future essays, and a built-in critique group, should you choose to keep writing together!
- A polished essay as a “finished product” and guidance on how and where to publish it.
Meet your instructors
Steph Sprenger
Steph Sprenger is a writer, podcaster, producer of live storytelling and comedy shows, and single mom to two teenage girls. Her writing has been featured in O Magazine, The Washington Post, Mutha Magazine, The Belladonna Comedy, Motherwell, and more. She is the Executive Producer of Listen To Your Mother Boulder and podcasts at Peri-Normal, a show about midlife neurodivergence, hormones, and happiness. As co-founder of The HerStories Project, Steph has been teaching writing workshops for midlife women at MidCircle for over a decade.
Natalie Serianni
Natalie Serianni is a Seattle-based writer, instructor, and mother of two with work at the New York Times, HuffPost, Insider, Brevity, Scary Mommy, ParentMap, Motherwell, Mutha Magazine, the Keepthings, and other publications. She teaches personal essay writing at the University of Washington, Writing Workshops, and Hugo House. Connect with her at natalieserianni.com, or on Instagram at natserianni.
Space is limited to five members per session, so grab your spot today!
Why Writing Groups Work
Year after year, we continue to be amazed by the impact of community on women’s writing. When women write together, we can provide insights and suggestions, support and direction, encouragement and inspiration, and it always elevates the writing of each individual as well as strengthening the collective.
When you are a writer, you also yearn to be read, and that can be a vulnerable aspiration when you may not be ready to launch your words into the public. A writing group gives you the opportunity to share your words with like-minded women who will receive and care for your stories while you polish them and prepare to share them more widely.
We are the HerStories Project.
We are a community by and for midlife women who write.
Jessica and Stephanie have been teaching creative writing workshops to women for over a decade—everything from prompt-based groups to personal essays to month-long summits to planning books. Our community members have shared what matters most to them, and we are listening..
