Virtual Workshop Offerings
Virtual VorTEXT Intensive
Our VorTEXT intensive retreats suit writers at different levels of experience and phases in the writing process. The day begins with a chance for community connection during the half-hour Coffee Chat before the live writing workshop via Zoom. Writers are then encouraged and inspired to continue their writing on their own or in accountability groups, and the day wraps with a group share and structured feedback session facilitated by Hedgebrook staff. Writers also enjoy lovingly prepared care packages, mailed to your doorstep.
Current Offerings:
Fall VorTEXT with Sherri L. Smith
Saturday, November 2nd
9:30 am - 4 pm PT
More details to come.
Online Classes
Our self-paced offerings started out as live Hedgebrook webinars, led by inspiring Hedgebrook alumnae. We recorded the webinars and have made them into online classes for more writers to access and enjoy at their own pace. These pre-recorded classes are open to the general public. After you register, please check your email confirmation for log-in instructions.
Please see the FAQs below for answers to many of your questions.
Current Offerings:
Pulling Yourself Out of Writer Quicksand (Forever) with MK Chavez
Complete at your own pace now through November 2024.
Class Description:
This workshop is a quick and dirty dive into literary coaching.
Craft helps us to write, and inspiration gets us to the table, but literary coaching supports writers in exploring and dismantling patterns and beliefs that have us wrestling with a myriad of barriers to getting our work in the world.
In this workshop, attendees will explore their personal quicksand, engage in writing values clarification exercise, and leave with a toolkit for addressing writer’s block, book inertia, and other writing crises while they build a sustainable writing practice.
Whether you are an established writer looking for some new ways to approach your writing practice or an emerging writer looking to build a solid foundation, this workshop has something for you. All genres are welcome.
Class length: 108 minutes (broken up into 6 parts and includes participant sharing).
Videos offer closed captioning.
Lost and Found: A Generative Writing Workshop on Trusting Your Inner Compass with Jill McCabe Johnson
Complete at your own pace now through August 2024.
Class Description:
What can we discover when we lose ourselves in the world, in our thoughts, and in our writing? Open to all genres, this offering will venture into the tradition of French Medieval poets and the chanson d’aventure, or song of adventure.
We’ll explore ways in which getting lost can help us find our way. Join writer Jill McCabe Johnson for a generative workshop and path of discovery. Through a series of writing prompts, we’ll venture into what it means to be lost, ask ourselves what are we really afraid of, and look for ways to trust our inner compass. Writers of all backgrounds and experience levels are welcome!
Class length: 103 minutes (broken up into 5 parts and includes participant sharing).
Videos offer closed captioning.
Finding Your Theme in Memoir with Monona Wali
Access and complete at your own pace now through May 2024.
Class Description:
Structure can be elusive in crafting a memoir – there are so many stories and pieces that don’t often lend themselves to a cohesive narrative. Understanding theme is vital to organizing your material and bringing a spine to your memoir.
It also is what transforms a me-moir to a story that can resonate with a larger audience. Fortified with clarity about the inner urgency of their work, students will be able to craft a roadmap for their memoir.
This participatory workshop includes prompts, sharing work, and analyzing your own writing to discover the underlying themes that inform the heart of your narrative.
Class length: 103 minutes (broken up into 8 parts and includes participant sharing).
Videos offer closed captioning.
Online Class Sliding Scale
$80 Regular (Reflects true cost of running this program)
$120 Supporter (Registration at this level helps allow us to offer classes to all, regardless of ability to pay)
$20-$40 Pay-what-you-can (pay-scale based on your capacity during this uncertain time)
Online Class FAQs
How do I access the class?
Once you have registered you will receive an automatic email confirmation that includes the link and passcode to access the class. Please do not log into Wild Apricot as it is our registration site, not our online class site.
How does the class work?
This online class is a series of pre-recorded video sessions, divided into chapters in chronological order. Some classes feature the instructor and a small group of students in a cottage at the Hedgebrook retreat. Classes that began as live webinars feature just the instructor and voices of some of the webinar participants. Each class includes lectures and writing exercises. You may start and stop the video at any point. Most chapters end with a writing exercise.
Is there homework?
The class is one continuous session that you can take at your own pace (or over several days or a few weeks), with writing exercises woven in. The teacher will prompt you in the video when there is a writing exercise. After you’ve completed the writing exercise, simply play the next class video when you’re ready. There is no homework.
How much time will the class take?
This is totally up to you! Different classes are different lengths, and all are designed so you can move at your own pace. Once you register, you are welcome to return to the class as often as you like until the last day it’s offered. The classes in our Online Writing Series range anywhere from around 60 minutes to around 90 minutes of total recorded video time. The writing prompts will extend the total length of the class, depending on how many prompts there are. Each class is broken down into chapters, varying in length from around 5 to 20 minutes. Most of the chapters end with a writing prompt or exercise, which you can do on your own time simply by pausing the video and then coming back and starting with the next chapter. If not specified by your teacher, you might want to plan to spend 5-15 minutes on each of the writing prompts, in addition to the recorded instruction.
What types of classes do you offer?
We offer classes in a diversity of genres designed to ground your writing practice and hone your craft. The classes can be taken all at once or over the course of time it is offered. You can take each class you register for as many times as you’d like within the timeframe.
Is there a Discussion or Chat Room?
Once you log into your class, you will find a link to our Hedgebrook Online Learning Community Facebook group. This was created to build connection and community for our online class and webinar participants. Additionally, We have shared elements of Hedgebrook’s retreat experience to inspire your writing, such as recipes from our Farmhouse kitchen and chefs, images from our land to print or use as a screensaver, and messages to energize your process.
Will the teacher review my work?
No, the teacher are not available to review your work. These are pre-recorded classes.
Can I take the class on my phone?
No, you’ll need a tablet or a computer with a fast internet connection to access class videos. You may find that having a notebook and pen or your computer to do the exercises will be helpful.
Is there a discount if I take more than one Hedgebrook online class?
When you register, you will see options to pay anywhere from $120 (support others to take the class) to the regular rate of $80, as well as a range from $15 – $60. For some who are not in a position to pay for the class at this time, there is also a free option. Each time you register for a class, you have an opportunity to decide how much you can pay. These classes are providing much needed income for Hedgebrook, at a time when many of our in-person classes have been canceled. However, we believe everyone should have access to these classes regardless of ability to pay, so we will leave it up to you to decide what you can afford.
Please send other questions to programs@hedgebrook.org