2026 Summer Writing Reboot
Course: The Write Away
Write Away Session Leaders: Evan Parks, Tiffo Carmichael, Jean Synodinos, Amanda Churchill, Tandy Gutierrez, Gloria Rabil, and Danielle Roberson
Week One
Wednesday, July 15
7:00-8:00 PM CT / Orientation Session: Hear from the WLT staff and learn all about the month ahead!
Monday, July 20
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Tuesday, July 21
6:00-7:00 PM CT / Craft Talk: “Reaching Toward Unexpected Imagery” with Saul Hernandez
In this presentation, we will learn how to create images that haunt, invite, and linger. We will read and analyze work by writers whose imagery inspires awe, and through generative exercises, create our own indelible images to use in our own works in progress, no matter your genre.
Event recording (expires on September 8, 2026), Presentation slides
7:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session immediately following the Craft Talk, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Wednesday, July 22
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Week Two
Monday, July 27
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Tuesday, July 28
6:00-7:00 PM CT / Craft Talk: “ABCs and 123s: Making the Personal Matter” with Emily Rapp Black:
In this presentation, we will look at personal writing written out of their authors’ contradictions, dialogues, and disputes. We’ll explore strategies for integrating research into our own first-person writing, toward answering some burning questions about writing the personal: How do writers use “real” experiences to make stories that move? How do they create context that matters, turn personal anecdote into universally applicable meaning and write fresh perspective into experience and topics that are age old: culture, travel, death or love? What is the best way to build context, to shape personal stories so that they have momentum and meaning?
We’ll experiment with these questions with a conversation about genre. Where does creative nonfiction intersect with fiction and poetry? The masters import the most useful components of each form into the others: the clarity and momentum of fiction into poetry; poetry’s economy of language into fiction and nonfiction; and the perspective, restraint and applicability of creative nonfiction into all writing. We will explore the concept of “truth,” and how and whether honesty matters for personal writing. Directness, irony and perspective are key, as is the ability to structure your writing so that it happens in an order that’s logical, engaging, and propulsive.
Event recording (expires on September 8, 2026)
7:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session immediately following the Craft Talk, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Wednesday, July 29
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Week Three
Monday, August 3
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Tuesday, August 4
6:00-7:00 PM CT / Craft Talk: “Getting Unstuck” with Ramona Ausubel
Being a writer means coming up against self-doubt. But what if it doesn’t have to be so scary? What if the blank page felt more like an invitation than a cliff? Does it sometimes seem like your novel is trying to kill you? Have you considered divorcing a story? Me too. In this gathering we will work through a few exercises designed to bring joy and a sense of possibility and invention so that you and your writing will once again be besties (or at least unlikely to murder each other).
Event recording (expires on September 8, 2026)
7:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session immediately following the Craft Talk, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Wednesday, August 5
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Saturday, August 8
10:00-11:30 AM CT / Saturday Craft Seminar: “A Long Game” with Elizabeth McCracken
In this Saturday Craft Seminar, Elizabeth will present on descriptive language—metaphor, simile, and some straightforward description—and how it can build character. We will look at some published work, and then write our own sentences, envisioning our characters to bring them close to us, and our readers. The presentation will be followed by a conversation between Elizabeth McCracken and WLT Program Director Sarah Renee Beach and an audience Q&A session. Includes a complimentary copy of A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction
Event recording (expires on September 8, 2026)
Week Four
Monday, August 10
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Tuesday, August 11
6:00-7:00 PM CT / Craft Talk: “Why This, Now? A Guide to No-Judgement Revision” with Amy Gentry
“Should I cut this? Add that? Combine these?” The revision process is a tsunami of choices, large and small. When decision fatigue hits, it’s easy to start see-sawing between defensiveness and despair–or lose faith in your ability to judge your own writing at all. And if you can’t judge your work, how can you fix it?
The key to breaking out of the cycle is evaluating your work with intention, not judgment. In this interactive presentation, we’ll discuss an easy but effective tool to help you escape decision fatigue and move forward in your revision. Rather than chasing impossible ideals of objectivity, we’ll be focusing on curiosity and reflection; asking, not “Is this right or wrong,” but “Why this, now?” Through revision exercises, we’ll practice asking this question at the level of plot, paragraph, and sentence; finally, we’ll apply it to the writing process itself, learning how to use these three simple words to improve workflow and motivation.
Event recording (expires on September 8, 2026)
7:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session immediately following the Craft Talk, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463
Wednesday, August 12
6:00-9:00 PM CT / Write-in session: Join fellow SWR students for this virtual writing session. You’ll set intentions at the beginning, turn mics and cameras off for writing time, and then come back together at the end to share how the session went.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83348182463