New Year Writing Nights

Writing together on Zoom every Wednesday for 12 weeks, beginning on the very first night of the new year.

When

Wednesdays, 7:30-9:30PM EST
January 1 through March 19, 2025

Cost

$30 USD for 12 co-writing sessions.

Who benefits most from these writing sessions?

New Year Writing Nights are designed for writers of any level or background. Writers who work best with a structure of accountability in place will benefit most from this co-writing group.

WHAT TO EXPECT: This is not a traditional class or workshop in that there is no instruction. Here’s what we’ll do every Wednesday for 12 weeks.

• 7:30-7:40PM EST: 10-minute check-in where we share what we’re working on during tonight’s New Year Writing Night.
• 7:40-9:20PM EST: 100 blissful, bountiful minutes of camera-off, self-directed writing time.
• 9:20-9:30PM EST: Wrap up with an optional 10-minute writing progress report.

What am I allowed to work on during New Year Writing Nights?

Anything you want! Some ideas:

📖 revise your novel

📓 draft your essay collection

✏️ write in your journal

🧠 brainstorm new poems

🎬 outline that screenplay you've been kicking around your brain for the past five years

💌 get your newsletter off the ground

🗺 apply for residencies

💻 launch your author website

📔 work through The Artist's Way

📚 read for two uninterrupted hours

Even if you’re not a writer but want a structure of accountability among likeminded creative people, you’ll fit right into this group! Use your time in New Year Writing Nights to draw, collage, color, read, pen letters to your grandma, design your zine, make a quilt: the nighttime sky’s the limit.

FAQs

How do I log onto New Year Writing Nights? You’ll receive the Zoom link right after you sign up. Make sure you bookmark that webpage and/or add it to your own calendar.

Do I have to come to every session? Nope! Come as little or as often as you’d like. No attendance will be taken. There is no need to reach out if you’re going to be absent: simply join the next time.

Do I have to arrive to the sessions on time? You can drop in or leave anytime. If you arrive late, you’ll miss our check-in at the beginning of the session. If you leave early, you’ll miss our check-in at the end. You’ll be automatically muted when you join.

Do I have to have my camera on? No one is required to have their camera or mic on at any point during New Year Writing Nights. We’ll do some sharing at the beginning and end of each session, but participation is optional. We will have our cameras and mics off for the rest of class.

Will I fit in if I’m not a “writer?” Absolutely. If you’ve always wanted to write, this is a great place to get started.

Are you going to make me feel guilty if I don't get any writing done? Absolutely not. That's the beauty of committing to weekly writing time: when we show up for our writing regularly, we start to get a sense of our own process and how it ebbs and flows. If one session is more ebbing than flowing for you, we're here to cheer you on. If you need to use your time during New Year Writing Nights to bring a book to the bathtub and unwind, we're here for that, too.

If I can’t make it to a session, will a recording be provided later on? No recordings will be provided for this offering.

Praise for Writing Nights

"Hurley's co-working sessions set up the opportunity and discipline I needed to finally get my book started. Her strong sense of fun, encouragement, and her own solid commitment to writing were just the inspirations I needed." —Mary Anne

"What I found most useful was the community of creative people aspiring to make work, juggling life and battling resistance, coming together at the same time (together but apart) each week to do our best and share just a little about what we're working on. Even when I didn't write during the appointed time, I used it to think, to journal, to read - all that other prerequisite work that can be easy to jump past." —Jason

"The writing nights gave me the accountability I needed to keep writing, and the gentle and enthusiastic support of the group and Hurley was everything." —Tracy

Who’s leading this group?

New Year Writing Nights are brought to you by Hurley Winkler (she/her), a writer and writing teacher based in her hometown of Jacksonville, FL.

Primarily a fiction writer, Hurley is working on her second novel while her first is out on submission.

You can learn more about Hurley's work here.