Women’s Writing Groups
All writing groups are based on the Amherst Writer’s and Artist’s method (AWA).
A description of this method can be found at the bottom of the page.
Give yourself the gift of writing
These workshops make dedicated time and space for you to write in a warm-spirited, supportive space. Participants are encouraged to “come as you are” and write what arises, whether fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or something else. In the AWA writing workshops, clear guidelines are established to create a space for authenticity and creativity, while also developing the skills and craft of writing. No writing experience is needed.
What you will receive:
- Time to write
- Connection with other women
- The pieces of writing that you create
- The opportunity to hear and benefit from the writing of others
- Time to share your writing and receive strengths-based feedback (optional)
What to expect:
You can expect a welcoming space with 4-8 participants who get to know each other over the weeks of writing together and who come with an attitude of care and openness. The writing groups have a clear structure that allows you to write what you want to write. The general flow of the writing groups look like this:
- A brief grounding exercise to fully arrive
- A warm-up write
- Two writing sessions that each open with a prompt (poem or writing exercise) to invite you into a 15-20 minute writing session.
- Time to share and receive positive feedback about your writing (sharing is optional).
Benefits of writing with others:
- Writing in a group can create a sense of camaraderie and connection, reducing the isolation that often accompanies solo writing.
- Regular writing times with others make space in your busy schedule for consistency. With regular writing, your skills develop and so does your collection of writing pieces.
- Hearing the writing of other participants brings together different viewpoints, which can spark new ideas, insights, and perspectives that you might not have considered on your own.
- Group members encourage each other and share positive feedback, making the writing process more rewarding.
- When you have a time scheduled to write with others, your writing practice grows.
2025 Writing Groups
All groups meet online
Ink for the Heart: Verilujah
Sundays, 9-10:45 am PST, February 2nd-23rd, on zoom
Verilujah: [ver-uh-LOO-yuh]
n. the praise that rises when we are in a state of raw, naked honesty, aligning with the vast mystery of life as it is instead of clinging to our story about how we think life is supposed to be
from Latin verus (true) + hallelujah, song of praise
Credit and thanks to poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer for creating this unique word for praise (and three others) in her book, The Unfolding.
In this writing group, we will drop the effort to write something “good” and aim instead to write something true. We will do this through focusing on:
- writing sensory and concrete details
- writing “first thoughts,” the fresh, raw initial thoughts, rather than the second and third thoughts about thoughts.
- trusting the flow of the pen without editing or controlling
What stories will come to the surface to be told, as you align with the vast mystery of life? The writer is often surprised at what emerges. Prompts will be offered as doorways into the writing. There will be time to share and receive strengths-based feedback. All forms of writing are welcome. We welcome humor, tears, the mundane and more.
Cost: $125
This group will continue throughout the year. Pay by the month.
Limited to 8 participants
Women’s Writing Circle
Tuesday Evenings, 7:00-8:45pm PST, February 4th-25th
Thursday Mornings, 9:00-10:45am PST, February 6th-27th
(both groups meet on zoom)
This Writer’s Workshop offers a supportive space for participants to write what arises, whether fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or something else..
Prompts will be offered as doorways into the writing. There will be time to share and receive strengths-based feedback.
In this writing group, you will develop your writing skills, writing flow and creative expression. We will do this through focusing on:
- writing sensory and concrete details
- writing “first thoughts,” the fresh, raw initial thoughts, rather than the second and third thoughts about thoughts.
- trusting the flow of the pen without editing or controlling
- practicing and playing with craft techniques, such as word choice, dialogue, metaphor and more.
If you are working on a writing project, have an idea for one you would like to start, or seek to make time for a writing practice in your life, this group is a place to get inspiration and ideas, increase your joy for writing, build your skills, expand your creativity, make regular time to write, and a become part of a supportive community.
Cost: $125
This group will continue throughout the year. Pay by the month.
Limited to 8 participants
The Writing Momentum Project
Fridays, 8:30-10:30am PST, February 7th-28th, on zoom
Make significant progress on your writing project in a supportive small group of writers.
Groups will be limited to just 5 participants and the facilitator to allow for satisfying feedback as well as solid forward movement.
The Writing Momentum Project is a weekly two hour workshop designed for writers who have a specific writing project on which they want to make significant progress. In the first hour of this intimate two-hour session we will write together for two or three 20 or 30 minutes sessions, to produce a solid chunk of fresh writing or to focus closely on editing or revision, whether it be for fiction, creative non-fiction or poetry. In the second hour we will read at least one of our pieces and receive strengths-based feedback.
Cost: $145
This group will continue throughout the year. Pay by the month.
Limited to 5 participants
About the Amherst Writer’s and Artist’s Method:
We hold the following 5 essential affirmations in our writing groups:
- Everyone has a strong, unique voice.
- Everyone is born with creative genius.
- Writing as an art form belongs to all people, regardless of economic class or educational level.
- The teaching of craft can be done without damage to a writer’s original voice or self-esteem.
- A writer is someone who writes.
“Whether your purpose for writing is artistic expression, communication with friends and family, the healing of the inner life, or achieving public recognition for your art – the foundation is the same: the claiming of yourself as an artist/writer and the strengthening of your writing voice through practice, study, and helpful response from other writers.”
– Pat Schneider, founder of AWA, from “Writing Alone and With Others”
The Amherst Writers & Artists’ philosophy is a simple one: Every person is a writer, and every writer deserves a safe environment in which to experiment, learn, and develop craft. The AWA method provides just such an environment. Unique to the AWA method are these two revolutionary practices:
- Everything in the writing workshop is treated as fiction, to keep the focus on the writing rather than the personal and to minimize the vulnerability of the writer.
- The teacher or leader writes with the participants, and reads aloud along with the other writers.
These practices, along with keeping all writing confidential, responding to just-written work with positive attention on what is strong in the writing, create an environment that is non-hierarchical, honest, and safe. Accomplished and beginning writers learn from one another in a generous atmosphere that works seriously to develop craft and holds personal respect for the value of every voice.
The AWA method has been used successfully with experienced writers as well as beginners, writers who have confidence as well as those who are uncertain. It has been equally effective in helping those whose voices have traditionally been silenced by poverty, discrimination, illness, age or other obstacles to achieving the powerful combination of language and confidence needed to overcome social barriers.
While the AWA method is not therapy, it has great healing potential for writers from all backgrounds. Writers who have used the AWA method have published major works and taken top prizes and awards in the U.S. and Ireland, and over a thousand have completed the AWA training program in workshop leadership.
Peter Elbow, author of Writing Without Teachers, brought the writing process movement into classrooms across the U.S. In his the introduction to Writing Alone and With Others, he called Pat Schneider “the best teacher of writing I know.” The practices outlined in the book have proven effective in graduate school classrooms and in work with the homeless, in children’s schoolrooms, with nursing students, in bereavement groups and in living rooms among friends.