How to Finish Your Book, Really.

Online Class

with Minal Hajratwala

October 17, 2026

This class is about diving deep to understand your true needs and how to keep making progress on your book—all the way to the end—despite the obstacles you may be facing. Through writing prompts and exercises, we’ll diagnose where your book might get bottlenecked and figure out your best next step, and the one after that.

You’ll learn how to anticipate sticking points before they block you, and create power and momentum for your book. You’ll leave the workshop with a roadmap to navigate your own book-writing process so that you can proceed with clarity, confidence, and joy as you move toward the day you finish your book.

This class is for writers who are starting a book, have written a partial draft, or have a mostly complete draft that needs a boost.

Class length: 92 minutes; broken up into 12 parts and includes participant sharing.

Online Class FAQ’s

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • 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 105 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.

  • No, the instructors are not available to review your work. These are pre-recorded classes that don’t include interaction with the teachers.

  • 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 $20-40.  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.  

“Hedgebrook isn't a retreat… it's an advance.”

–Gloria Steinem