Writing Goals

Set your intentions for 2023. 

Have you made your 2023 writing resolutions yet? Now is the time to think about your writing goals. What do you want to achieve by the year’s end? Do you want to explore your creativity? Get published in a lit mag? Tell your story to a live audience? Whatever your dreams, Project Write Now is here to help you achieve them. Below we offer some inspiration along with the classes and workshops that can help you reach your goals. 

Start Writing

Make 2023 your year to start or generate more writing.

Just Write
Develop as a writer.
Just Write is aimed at the shy, closeted, or new writer. In a safe, supportive environment, we invite you into the storytelling mindset with the help of guided writing prompts. Learn more & register.

Lunchtime Write-In
Spend your lunch break writing with us.
Join us for one hour of instructor-led writing time. Each Friday, we provide three timed prompts based on a different theme. We leave time at the end of class to share your work if you choose. Learn more & register.

Find Your Writing Community

Make 2023 your year to connect with like-minded writers. 

Write Out Loud – A Workshop & Open Mic
In-person, starting at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings at Asbury Book Cooperative.
Join us for a fun evening of storytelling, conversation, and community! Using creative prompts, we generate new writing and then share our work. Come to write, read, or listen! Your story matters and we want to hear it!. Learn more & register.

Zoom Open Mic
Join us at 5 p.m. ET on Zoom, Friday, January 27.
Why read your writing out loud? Because it helps to hear what is and isn’t working. Because it improves public speaking skills. Because it builds community. Because your story matters. Learn more & register.

Get Unstuck Writing Retreat
Put aside time for you this winter.
Join us for a writing retreat in a supportive environment that offers inspiration and connection with other writers. Give yourself dedicated time and space to discover your writing needs. Learn more & register.

A Happier Hour: Writing & Open Mic
In-person at Bell Works, Holmdel, 5 p.m., Tuesday, January 31.
Write, read, and be happy! Using creative prompts, we generate new writing and then share our work Join us for a fun evening of storytelling, conversation, and community. Learn more  & register.

Throws & Prose: A Bowling & Writing Workshop
In-Person at Monmouth University Ciniello Family Bowling Center, 5 p.m. Friday, February 3
If you like bowling and storytelling, then this event is right up your alley! After one hour of playing bowling games, we play on the page, letting inspiration strike us from unusual places. Learn more  & register.

Tell Your Story

Make 2023 your year to write and share your personal stories.

Memoir
Write the story you were meant to tell.
During this course, we discuss how to find the moments that resonate with readers and turn them into a compelling narrative. Analyzing mentor texts, we explore concepts such as story arc, voice, purpose, and emotional resonance. Learn more & register. 

Memoir Writing Intensive
Take your stories to the next level.
In this class, we explore the emotional truth in your experiences and find the best form to convey your story. We read mentor texts in a variety of genres to analyze the narrative techniques—such as characterization, voice, imagery, and structure. Learn more & register.

Story Tellers: Write to Perform
Move your story from the page to the stage.
There is special power in live performance—as the audience becomes part of the storytelling experience. During this class, we give you the confidence and skills needed to move your stories from the page to the stage. Learn more & register.

Extraordinary Ordinary Stories
Explore life’s smaller happenings.
During this class, we explore life’s smaller happenings through reading short slice-of-life mentor texts and responding to generative prompts. Join us as we unearth the funny, quirky, and just plain ordinary stories of our lives. Learn more & register.

Personal Essay: Lyric & Alternative Forms
Experiment with the personal essay format.
Each week, we look at a different style of lyric essay, such as braided, collage, and hermit crab essays, and discuss how fragments, juxtaposition, and poetic language amplify meaning. We generate new work through exercises intended to shake loose innovative ideas. Learn more & register. 

Memoir
Your story matters.
If you have thought about writing a memoir but have no idea where to begin, this is the class for you. In a supportive environment, we invite you into the storytelling mindset with guided prompts while also introducing the fundamentals of memoir writing. Learn more & register. 

book inc: Memoir Incubator
Complete a 50,000-word manuscript by the end of the year.
The Memoir Incubator is a year-long program to guide and support memoir writers from their initial story ideas to the completion of their manuscripts. You must apply and be accepted to register for this program. Learn more.

Write a Children’s Story

Make 2023 your year to write KidLit! 

Kidlit: Picture Books
Immerse yourself in children’s literature.
Do you have an idea for a picture book but are not sure where to begin? During this class, we explore the strength of your storyline by helping you sketch out your ideas. Learn more & register.

KidLit: Picture Book Critique Group
Workshop your draft to be submission ready.
During this class, we workshop drafts so you can get constructive feedback. The goal is to create polished manuscripts that are submission ready for conferences and/or agents/editors. Learn more & register.

Write Your Screenplay

Make 2023 your year to write a film or TV script! 

Screenwriting Yearlong Incubator
From initial concept to completed script in one year!
In this yearlong program, we take you from an initial concept to a completed first draft. You’ll learn the importance of industry script notes and how to receive and provide constructive feedback. Learn more & register. 

Write Poetry

Make 2023 your year to discover the poet within.

Poetry
Discover and play with language in a supportive environment.
Each week we analyze a poet and discuss craft points and elements. By responding through our writing, we strengthen our own creative abilities. The goal is to produce work that moves you to a new understanding of your obsessions and talents as a writer. Learn more & register. 

Poetry & Plants – A One-Day Workshop
In-person at Kula Urban Farms in Asbury Park
Kick off National Poetry Month with us for an afternoon of celebrating poetry and plants alike. In partnership with Kula Farms, this free community event kicks off with a writing workshop and is followed by an open mic. Learn more & register. 

Write Fiction

Make 2023 the year to get your story out of your head and onto paper.

Fiction 101: From Discussion to Draft
Get in the fiction writing habit.
This class is perfect for students interested in learning more about the craft of fiction or for writers who want to get in the habit of fiction writing. Community, craft, and creativity benefits everyone! Learn more & register. 

book inc: Novel Incubator
Complete a 50,000-word manuscript by the end of the year!
The Novel Incubator is a yearlong program to guide and support novel writers from their initial story ideas to the completion of their manuscripts. You must apply to register for this program. Learn more.

Revise Your Book

Make 2023 your year to edit your full-length manuscript! 

book inc: Book Revision Lab
A six-month program to guide you in revision.
During the Book Revision Lab, writers learn a variety of revision techniques. Working together, writers exchange feedback on their manuscripts, build book revision plans, and execute their plans to complete a meaningful revision. Learn more.

Write an Op-Ed

Make 2023 your year to share your opinion!

Having Your Say: Op-Ed & Expository Writing
Weave facts with personal insights.
Do you have opinions you want to share with a wider audience? During this class, we explore how to take a nugget of a concept and build it out into a full-fledged narrative. Join us as we craft Op-Ed pieces, letters to the editor, blog posts, and more. Learn more & register.

Get Published

Make 2023 your year to unleash your writing to the world!

How To Submit to Lit Mags – A One-Day Workshop
The Ins & Outs of the Lit Mag Publication Process.
You’ve drafted, revised, edited, proofread, and polished your piece. Your written work is ready to claim its place in the world—but where in the world will you send it? Join this collaborative workshop to discuss the literary magazine market and how to craft your cover letters and author bios. Learn more & register.

PWN Coaching, Consulting, or Editing
Get ongoing support, encouragement, accountability, and feedback.
Whether you have a story to tell but you’re not sure where to begin or you have a work-in-progress that needs feedback and editing, we offer several services tailored to your needs. Learn more.

Demystifying the Book Proposal – A One-Day Workshop
How to pitch and present your nonfiction book.
During this workshop, you learn what is typically included in a book proposal and review sample proposals. Come with your idea for a book and leave several steps closer to bringing the book to life, with not only the beginnings of a book proposal draft, but also the confidence to finish and submit it. Learn more & register.