The General Schedule & Timeline
Classes will take place on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm ET. The schedule can shift occasionally due to holidays and the needs of the class. Any changes will be discussed with the class as a team.
Phase I: September 16th - December 16th, 2026 (Twelve Weeks) | No class on October 28th and November 25th
Class meets weekly. Students will:
- Review the theory and basic tenets of the Writing to Heal genre, outlining guidelines and boundaries, steps and goals.
- Review Grub Street’s expectations and policies, and decide, together with the instructor, on specific expectations and guidelines for this particular workshop community.
- Have one individual meeting with the instructor to outline personalized goals and plans for the program.
- Read essays, poems, articles, columns, op-eds and memoir excerpts that demonstrate the transformative power of healing narratives.
- Study craft particularly related to this genre, and do weekly in-class writing prompts with on-the-spot feedback.
- Create and share a self-care list, which we’ll return to throughout each phase.
- Submit two pieces for full-class workshop.
- Write a process journal for every workshop submission.
- Learn revision guidelines and techniques.
Phase II: January 6th - January 27th, 2027 (Four Weeks)
Class will meet on January 6th for an hour or so to kick off Phase II. Otherwise, class will not meet, but students will be required to meet in weekly accountability groups. There also will likely be a guest speaker sometime during Phase II (attendance optional).
Weekly group work and two optional full-class check-ins. No class meetings. Students will:
- Spend time on their own either generating new work or revising one or two pieces from Phase I.
- Meet in small assigned accountability groups.
- Check in with instructor over email for encouragement and trouble-shooting.
Phase III: February 4th - April 28th, 2027 (Twelve Weeks) | No class on March 17th
For Week 11 only, class will meet on Tuesday, April 20th rather than Wednesday, April 21st, in observance of Passover.
Class meets weekly. Students will:
- Workshop new material or revisions from Phase II with the full group.
- If project-appropriate, polish revised pieces to get them ready for submission.
- Learn about the publication process for this genre.
- Have one individual meeting with the instructor to check in on writing goals and progress, and plan next steps.
- Have the opportunity to hear from and talk with guest authors.
- Write and share a final process journal for the entire Writing to Heal journey.
- Potentially participate in a community reading.