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Take some time for your writing this fall with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Take some time for your writing this fall with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
We welcome you to an evening of readings by members of The Writers Grotto. Refreshments will be provided.
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3rd | Diversity means having a wide variety of people, thoughts, options and perspectives. Being diverse helps us contextualize complex stories, ideas and narratives. The goal of this course is to keep race in mind without it detracting from the stories that are telling.
This is a discussion based course where we will cover:
FRIDAYS, Dec. 5th - 19th | What do the things we keep say about who we are?
From heirloom jewelry to a cracked bowl, from a watch ticking through generations to a phone filled with unsent messages, objects hold our deepest stories. In this three-week generative poetry workshop, we’ll explore how poets turn the physical world into vessels of emotion, history, and identity. Each session includes close readings of contemporary poets, craft discussion, and guided prompts designed to generate new poems.
By the end of this course, participants will:
• Examine how poets use objects as portals to memory, lineage, and transformation.
• Generate at least four new poems centered on material or symbolic objects.
• Practice metaphor, personification, and associative logic.
• Learn to let things speak—discovering what the object knows that the speaker does not.
For poets of all levels. Each week includes readings, generative writing, and space for sharing new work.
December 16 at 6:00 pm
San Francisco Public Library
So Good It Has to Go on a Holiday Card
Hosted by Jessica Martinez and Britta Stromeyer. A generative class to turn narratives and poems into a greeting card.
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 17th | Diversity means having a wide variety of people, thoughts, options and perspectives. Being diverse helps us contextualize complex stories, ideas and narratives. The goal of this course is to keep race in mind without it detracting from the stories that are telling.
This is a discussion based course where we will cover:
SUNDAY, January 4th | Rituals in writing can be as varied as the fonts we prefer to write in or the specific times and places we choose to write.
This workshop’s three-hour journey is designed to explore the powers of ritual in our writing practices. We will prospect our personal writing for known and unknown rituals, habits, and routines and move on to study their impacts on our creative outputs. Taking place in January, a threshold month where we stand between what has been and what’s yet to come, this class invites you to use the quiet clarity of midwinter to renew our relationship with intention. It's an ideal time to listen inward, create new patterns, and kindle fresh creative energy.
Participants will be offered complex generative writing exercises to create first drafts of writing with more depth and insight than most generative prompts. We will create a sacred space for writing and enhance our ability to channel creative energy and focus. Whether you want to understand your writing habits better or create new rituals to aid your writing process, this workshop welcomes you.
This workshop is appropriate for all creative writing genres and writers of all levels.
MONDAYs, Jan. 5th - 26th | What happens when you let the ear lead the poem? In this four-week generative workshop, we’ll explore how poets build feeling through rhythm, repetition, and the strategic choreography of the line. We’ll read contemporary poems as if they were musical scores—attending to how lineation and visual choices direct pace, pressure, and voice on the page.
Each session blends close reading, in-class writing, and guided discussion. We’ll experiment with echo, pause, and patterned sound, not as ornament, but as architecture, then translate those discoveries into revision moves that clarify intent.
By the end of this class, participants will:
• Identify how line, rhythm, and visual arrangement cue breath, emphasis, and momentum.
• Read contemporary poets like Ruth Awad and Danez Smith to see sonic craft in action.
• Draft at least four new poems that foreground the ear—and refine them with targeted revision.
• Leave with a practical “listening checklist” to carry into future work.
For poets of all levels ready to sharpen sound and line.
TUESDAYS, JAN. 13th - 27th | In this workshop, students will look at how stories are put together, why they are the best person to tell their particular story, and how to test story ideas to see if they are meaty enough to fill a book. We will analyze story premises and examine how authors weave together character, plot, and theme to give readers a fantastic read with meaningful take-aways. Students will practice generative writing with their own material as well as watch Lisa live test story ideas based on student suggestions.
At the end of the course, students will have a clearer idea of the story they want to tell, and how to persevere as they navigate the rocky road of storytelling.
Suggested reading but not required, Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody.
Option Add-On: Lisa is available for a one-hour private consultation for registered students. These consultations will be scheduled outside of class sessions, at a time that is mutually convenient for instructor and student. This consultation includes reading a one-page synopsis and a maximum of a five-page sample of your manuscript. All submissions should be 12 pt font double-spaced. The consultation hour will involve an in-depth conversation regarding the writer's story premise with the aim to understand, clarify, and elevate the writer's unique vision.
TUESDAYs, Jan. 13th - Feb. 10th | You might not have a bad story — you might just have a weak beginning.
This five-week intensive focuses on the most decisive real estate in fiction: the first page. Readers, agents, and editors make a call within a few paragraphs, long before a story has the chance to prove itself. Through close reading of opening pages by Meg Wolitzer, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lorrie Moore and others, we will examine how writers create voice, stakes, orientation, and narrative pull immediately — and then apply those methods to your own openings through guided exercises and workshop critique.
By the end of the course, you will have rebuilt your opening so that it does what a first page must do: compel the reader to turn the next one.
WEDNESDAYS, Jan. 14th - Feb. 18th | Is it true or is it fiction – and does it matter? Often the lines between memoir and fiction can be blurry. Most great literature has at least some elements of truth in it, from books that are largely autobiographical, like Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, and Chris Kraus’s Aliens and Anorexia, to fictional worlds like Denis Johnson’s that could only be created through personal experience. The term autofiction has been used to describe works by Ocean Vuong, Marguerite Duras, Sheila Heti, and Rachel Cusk. Since Annie Ernaux won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022, the genre has been getting even more buzz.
In this class, we will talk about the debate over autofiction versus memoir. We will explore memories, experiences, and characters from our own lives and turn them into fictional stories, blending the richness of our emotional and felt experiences with elements from our imagination to create compelling writing. We will even experiment with putting fantastical elements into our work, creating speculative autofiction like that of Ariel Gore and Laura van den Berg.
We will have writing prompts, in-class exercises, and reading assignments of autofiction and semi-autobiographical fiction. This class is primarily a writing workshop, and your work will be discussed twice in the class. You will be expected to read and comment on classmates’ work.
Asynchronous learning materials for this class will be available online (via the Wet Ink platform). Scheduled class sessions will take place via Zoom. Registered students, please contact the instructor directly for Zoom details. Instructor contact details can be found in the order confirmation email.
THURSDAYs, Jan. 15th - Feb. 19th | Looking to dive into creative writing? This six week class will hone and stretch your creative writing muscles.
We will start with the building blocks and move quickly into more nuanced lessons that I'll form around where your work is leading you. This is a rare opportunity to slow down, write together in community, and share your writing with others. Each week, I will share sample readings in class to introduce you to new authors and techniques, give you exciting writing prompts to inspire new work, and give feedback on the work you've produced. Both fiction and nonfiction writing are welcome. You are also welcome to bring a novel project or larger book project that's underway; we can adapt all exercises as necessary. You will have the opportunity to workshop your works-in-progress, if you wish. Bring a pen and paper to start, though we will end up typing things as well!
MONDAYS, Jan. 19th - Feb. 23rd | Unleash your inner storyteller and discover the power of your voice in this engaging and supportive writing workshop.
Do you have a story waiting to be told? In "There's a Story in You," we'll transform your ideas into captivating narratives. Explore diverse genres, experiment with writing styles, and hone your craft with essential techniques through inspiring prompts and dynamic exercises.
In this workshop you will:
This workshop is perfect for:
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
In this two hour class, we will discuss the ways writers of color have written about sex and desire while navigating the politics of shame, sexual identity, race, and gender. Taking inspiration from works by Natalie Diaz, Raven Leilani, Lucille Clifton among others, we will dive into freewrites and short writing sprints to make new work or advance the poems and prose pieces we are currently engaged in. There will be time for sharing, however, this is not a critique based session. All genres and writing levels are welcome. This space is made possible by support from the San Francisco Arts Commission.
Participants can sign up either for January 24 or January 31 — both sessions will be the same. Open only to Rooted and Written Alumni who self-identify as women, trans and non-binary writers. Not open to current Grotto members. Successful applicants will be informed in a separate email confirming their registration.
Preeti Vangani is an Indian poet & writer based in San Francisco. She is the author of Mother Tongue Apologize (2019) and Fifty Mothers, forthcoming from River River Books (Feb 2026). Her work has been published in AGNI, The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast, Prairie Schooner among other places. Her debut short story won the 2021 Pen/Dau Emerging Writers Prize.Vangani has been a resident at UCross, Djerassi and Ragdale. She holds an MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco and currently teaches in the program.
MONDAYS, Jan. 26th - March 23rd* | You’ve started something — a story, a memoir, a novel, a strange experiment — and it’s asking for more of your attention. The beginning is always exciting, but staying with it is where the real dedication comes in. This class is for writers who want to keep working on an ongoing project in a supportive, structured space. Whether you began the piece in another class with me or on your own, this is your time to return to the page, go deeper, and see where your writing wants to go next.
Classes include dedicated writing time, optional prompts to spark momentum, individualized craft readings and feedback from both me and your classmates. As part of the class, I will offer you a one-on-one session to help with any places you might be feeling stuck in your writing, using either coaching, teaching or hypnosis tools. As a hypnotherapist and coach, I know that there is more to finishing a book than just buckling down and doing it, writing involves creative, emotional and community support.
Asynchronous learning materials for this class will be available online (via the Wet Ink platform). Scheduled class sessions will take place via Zoom. Registered students, please contact the instructor directly for Zoom details. Instructor contact details can be found in the order confirmation email.
*no class on President's Day, February 16th
In this two hour class, we will discuss the ways writers of color have written about sex and desire while navigating the politics of shame, sexual identity, race, and gender. Taking inspiration from works by Natalie Diaz, Raven Leilani, Lucille Clifton among others, we will dive into freewrites and short writing sprints to make new work or advance the poems and prose pieces we are currently engaged in. There will be time for sharing, however, this is not a critique based session. All genres and writing levels are welcome. This space is made possible by support from the San Francisco Arts Commission.
Participants can sign up either for January 24 or January 31 — both sessions will be the same. Open only to Rooted and Written Alumni who self-identify as women, trans and non-binary writers. Not open to current Grotto members. Successful applicants will be informed in a separate email confirming their registration.
Preeti Vangani is an Indian poet & writer based in San Francisco. She is the author of Mother Tongue Apologize (2019) and Fifty Mothers, forthcoming from River River Books (Feb 2026). Her work has been published in AGNI, The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast, Prairie Schooner among other places. Her debut short story won the 2021 Pen/Dau Emerging Writers Prize.Vangani has been a resident at UCross, Djerassi and Ragdale. She holds an MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco and currently teaches in the program.
WEDNESDAYS, Feb. 4th - SUNDAY, March 4th | Hybrid Class! Nature writing is vitally important in the era of climate change, not just for its ability to inspire action and shine a light on the crisis but for the ways it grounds us in the wonder of the natural world. Over the course of five sessions, we will explore California ecosystems, meet the species that make them tick, and generate our own writing inspired by the amazing and complicated place we call home.
In class sessions will include guest speakers and presentations, live writing exercises, and judgment-free shares. Homework will take place mostly in nature with outdoor observation and short prompts.
THURSDAYS, FEB. 5th - March 26th | Writing memoir draws upon all of us. We are the writer, the narrator, and the character living the events recounted. But which events, and how recounted? And how do we organize it all? Our stories rarely leap fully-formed to the page, however well we think we remember all the pieces.
This class will provide concrete help through exploration and practice of narrative distance; scene, summary, and musing; imagery; and the handling of time. We'll explore the challenges of writing about real people and our own lived experience, of placing our narrative in a wider context, and of examining our own motivations, perceptions, and insights. And we’ll have fun learning and practicing the craft in a close community.
If you're committed to finding your story, and telling it as only you can tell it, please join us for 8 weeks of discovery. There will be regular reading assignments and written homework, as well as in-class exercises and sharing of work in a supportive atmosphere. Students will finish the course with a portfolio of work designed to provide both structure and content for moving toward a complete memoir with confidence and skill.
Required class reading: Writing the Memoir by Judith Barrington
FRIDAYS, Feb. 6th - 27th | What happens when a poem stretches its limbs into sentences, or when prose breaks into breath?
In this four-week generative workshop, we’ll inhabit the borderland between poetry and prose, tracing how language moves when freed from strict forms. We’ll read contemporary writers who blur the line:Jericho Brown, Maggie Nelson, Ross Gay, Ocean Vuong, and others. We will study how rhythm, image, and silence shape meaning.
Each week combines close reading, discussion, and generative writing. You’ll experiment with prose poems, lyrical vignettes, micro-essays, and hybrid fragments that move by pulse and intuition rather than plot. Expect craft talks that explore line versus sentence, compression versus expansion, and the emotional logic of sound and image. You’ll leave with a collection of short hybrid works and a deeper sense of how to let your writing breathe across forms.
By the end of this course, participants will:
For poets, prose writers, and the in-between. Each week includes readings, craft reflections, and generative prompts with optional sharing in a supportive environment.
SATURDAY, Feb. 7th | Dive into the world of flash fiction, where every word matters and every sentence packs a punch. Welcome to the universe of micro fiction, where the power of storytelling meets the art of brevity.
In this class, you will:
Whether you aspire to craft standalone micro-stories or use this form to enrich your longer works, this course will equip you with the skills to create concise, impactful narratives that leave a lasting impression.
FRIDAY, Feb. 13th | Whether you are writing a novel, short story, flash or creative non-fiction, the first line is the opening gun that gives a reader their first inkling of where you are going, a force that sets your story in motion. What makes a great first line and how can you improve your own? We’ll discuss these questions and practice with one or two prompts. Come join us!
SATURDAY, June 6th | Dive into the world of flash fiction, where every word matters and every sentence packs a punch. Welcome to the universe of micro fiction, where the power of storytelling meets the art of brevity.
In this class, you will:
Whether you aspire to craft standalone micro-stories or use this form to enrich your longer works, this course will equip you with the skills to create concise, impactful narratives that leave a lasting impression.
An in-depth editorial review for poets ready to elevate a small body of work. Submit up to four poems (seven pages total) and receive annotated feedback before a 30-minute discussion focused on craft, image cohesion, and sequencing. We’ll talk through how each poem functions individually (imagery, language, craft, etc) and as part of a packet, thematic threads. You’ll leave with a revision plan and submission strategy tailored to your goals. Flat fee: $50. Feedback provided prior to the session. 30-minute consultation via Zoom.
Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a Pashtun-American Muslim writer and poet based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She co-directs Rooted & Written at The Writers Grotto and leads writing initiatives for BIPOC writers. Her work has appears in SWWIM, Rising Pheonix, Taboos & Transgressions, and others. A semifinalist for the Philip Levine Prize and University of Wisconsin's poetry contest, she teaches at LitQuake and The Writers Grotto. She's currently working on a poetry collection, A New Vocabulary, and a novel, The Poppy Flower.
A short, high-impact consultation for poets who want specific feedback on a single piece.Send one poem (up to two pages) and receive detailed notes prior to a 15-minute meeting. We’ll focus on imagery, sound, emotional center, and revision strategy—clarifying what’s working and where to cut or expand. You’ll leave with actionable next steps, not abstract notes. erfect for poets of all levels. Flat fee: $25. Feedback provided in advance. Session via Zoom.
Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a Pashtun-American Muslim writer and poet based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She co-directs Rooted & Written at The Writers Grotto and leads writing initiatives for BIPOC writers. Her work has appears in SWWIM, Rising Pheonix, Taboos & Transgressions, and others. A semifinalist for the Philip Levine Prize and University of Wisconsin's poetry contest, she teaches at LitQuake and The Writers Grotto. She's currently working on a poetry collection, A New Vocabulary, and a novel, The Poppy Flower.
Editing on consultation on nonfiction book manuscripts.
A dramaturgical script consultant can function in several ways. Depending on the project we function as a literary, historical, or artistic advisor as you are developing your script for the stage or screen.
Consultations can look multiple ways. For example, perhaps you just need 1-2 script meetings to discuss story evolution, character development or consistency in theme. Or perhaps you need someone to comment on what is working, what feels like it is missing, and a list of questions to support development. Or perhaps you want 4 -6 session of coaching, homework, and suggestions for how to strengthen, tighten, clarify in the service of moving your script forward.
Consultation fees are developed in conversation about the project (bespoke), and begin around 150.00- 200.00 an hour.
Doug Henderson offers two levels of developmental editing:
Full Developmental Edit for $12/page. This level provides writers with a comprehensive road map that will help them hone their manuscripts for publication. This includes:
-An initial conversation about the project (via Zoom).
-Extensive page notes, including editing suggestions, margin comments and questions.
-A thorough editorial letter discussing craft and structure elements — such as theme, tension, narrative and character arcs — as well as thoughtful suggestions to strengthen your story.
-A second conversation to discuss next steps.
Read-Through Evaluation for $8/page. This level is good for writers who want broader feedback, including new writers who want early advice, or more experienced writers who seek general input, but don’t need or want detailed editing. This includes:
-An initial conversation about the project.
-Light page notes.
-A thorough editorial letter discussing craft and structure elements — such as theme, tension, narrative and character arcs — as well as thoughtful suggestions to strengthen your story.
-A second conversation to discuss next steps.
Let’s chat about how your ideas fit into a basic story structure that will lead to an engaging narrative. Send me up to 2000 words of idea or story summary prior to meeting consult. Session will take place via Zoom.
Polish your writing with Carly Stern, an award-winning independent journalist. Carly offers one-on-one consultations on all forms of narrative non-fiction, with an emphasis on writing about the self. Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Guardian US and The Washington Post.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Polish your prose with New York Times best-selling author Julia Scheeres.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee.
Are you struggling to finalize a piece of science writing, whether it's an academic manuscript, article, or marketing blog? Need editorial help to make sure your message is clear and concise without losing accuracy? Jenny can help you improve your scientific content, using her unique combination of scientific and creative expertise.
Jenny Qi has a PhD in Cancer Biology from UC San Francisco and over a decade of experience in science communication spanning a range of industries, including biopharma, tech, and journalism.
This listing is for a 20-minute consultation to determine the scope of the project.
As an award-winning journalist, author, and consultant with decades of experience, I offer expert editorial consulting services at competitive rates. I write reports, policy briefs, articles, op-eds, blogs, and other materials for major national institutions and individual clients. As a veteran reporter, I also help writers develop and tell their stories for articles and book projects. First, we discuss your project and needs and how I can meet them, then I provide you with an estimate and we move forward with a simple straightforward contract. I look forward to talking with you, learning more about your project, and working together. Estimates are based on $100/hour fee. You can check out my work at www.christopherdcook.com.
Industry veteran writer-director-producer provides consulting for documentary and narrative film projects of any length and at any stage, from concept to pitch deck to rough cut to screenplay draft. Production services also available through Bay Area-based The Unscripted Company.
We will build your fictional work in a collaborative process for as long as it takes to create a whole and satisfying story. Thaisa Frank, a Pushcart Fellow, has published a novel and three collection of short stories. Her original approach, developed through teaching, addresses fiction from all cultures.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Laird Harrison, author of the novel Fallen Lake, provides editing and consultation services on all aspects of novel writing.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Laird Harrison will work with you one-on-one to improve your written communication. Laird has experience with both creative and business writing and can assist with all levels of writing.
Full-length poetry collections (45-80 pages in length).
Individual Poems up to 2 pages in length.
Folios consultation, up to 7 pages in length, with no more than 5 poems.
Chapbooks consultation (16-40 pages in length).
Got an idea for a children’s book? As the brilliant Madeleine L'Engle said, "You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grownups, then you write it for children.” In this 30-minute private Zoom consult, Lisa will give feedback on your idea to help you realize your vision and elevate your story to reach multiple audiences in today’s market. And if you don’t know what “multiple audiences” means in the kid-lit genre, that’s okay; she will tell you! Lisa’s YA crossover novel JUST LIKE BEAUTY was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and is in pre-production as a movie. She has decades of experience writing children’s books for major publishers and regularly teaches workshops to kids and adults who want to write for kids. In her free time, she enjoys petting rabbits and eating cake. Curious cats can find out more at www.lisalerner.com
In this three-session package of Creativity Hypnosis, experienced hypnotherapist and writing coach Jenny Bitner will help you delve into the depths of your subconscious mind to awaken your imagination and overcome creative blocks. This can be customized to deal with whatever issues around writing you are experiencing. Start this journey today!
Unleash your writing potential with Jenny Bitner. As a trained hypnotherapist, coach, and writing teacher, she'll help you overcome fear and tap into your creativity. Experience a transformative hypnotic session to release barriers and claim your full potential as a writer. Take the first step today.
Initial bespoke services consultation by email to determine the fee. Katia will draw on her expertise as an award-winning longform journalist to provide written feedback on magazine pitches. Katia has written for The New Yorker, Forbes, Mother Jones, Marie Claire, The Atavist Magazine and many other publications.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Maw is a writing coach and editor for poets. Maw has many years of experience as an educator, author, and editor. She teaches in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco and is the inaugural poet laureate of El Cerrito, CA. You can learn more about her at mawsheinwin.com.