A Workshop for Writers Over 50
Six weeks of live instruction and meaningful feedback in a small, supportive community of writers. By application only.
The next session of this workshop will be October 8 - November 3, 2025. We meet on Wednesdays, 1:00 - 3:00 pm. PT. Enrollment is limited to 8.
Again and again, I hear from my retired and/or empty nester students that they have felt a lifelong pull toward writing, but have never had the time to pursue it. Only in midlife and beyond do they feel they can finally pursue their dream of writing.
I believe I am a better writer now than I was when I was younger. While I brought more raw energy to the page in my twenties and thirties, I bring more depth to the page now. The heartbreaks of youth have been tempered by time, and the challenges of midlife bring insight I didn’t have twenty years ago, or even ten.
As a reader, I often find myself gravitating toward older voices: Susan Minot writing about an unexpected later-in-life affair, Deborah Levy assessing the cost of living, Richard Flanagan tracing his father’s origins as a slave laborer near Hiroshima, Roger Rosenblatt on grief, Ann Patchett on marriage.
Fifty and beyond is the perfect time to commit to writing. Although the years may be narrowing, the days are often expanding. This is a happy coincidence, because many writers get better with age. Raw ambition has often been replaced with deep experience. Whether we’ve become empty nesters, or retired from a long career, or simply found a better balance in our daily lives, we may have more time to focus on writing. Even when our schedules are full, we may be better at managing the time we have.
With all of that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to celebrate and support writers with more decades under our belts. That’s why I’m launching Second Act Story Workshop, an intensive 6-week workshop for writers over 50.
If you want to work on your fiction, memoir, or personal essays in a supportive, encouraging space, apply now. The free application takes about three minutes to complete.
Enrollment is limited.
Dates: August 27 - October 1, 2025. We'll meet by Zoom for two hours each week on Wednesdays.
What you get:
12 hours of live instruction from a New York Times bestselling author and veteran writing teacher
Honest feedback from me on 5,000 words of writing
Thoughtful feedback from your peers
Weekly writing suggestions to inspire and motivate you
A private Substack group and discussion forum
A supportive community of writers over 50
Workshop fee: $597
Whether you’ve been writing for years or are returning to the page after a long break, this workshop is designed to help you carve out time for your writing, rekindle your creativity, and make progress toward your writing goals in a supportive community of writers over 50. I look forward to reading your application!
UPDATE: The August-October session of this workshop is now closed. To be considered for a future session of this course, apply now.