A MONTHLY guided writing circle for WRiTERS of fiction and creative nonfiction

One dedicated Saturday morning each month to generate new stories or essays in a guided and instructive way.

The Monthly Draft

Jan 23, Feb 27, Mar 27, 2027

w/ author and editor Susanna Daniel

Hybrid format: attend live in person or live on Zoom from 9a-12n CT / 10a-1pp ET

Class fee: $225

Limited to 8 writers.

join the monthly draft
A woman with curly brown hair sitting on a teal couch, smiling and resting her head on her hand, with colorful pillows and a quilted blanket nearby.

Are you making progress in your creative life?

You want to write, but finding a long, open stretch of time can feel impossible.

The Monthly Draft gives you one Saturday morning each month to make a new piece—and the weeks that follow to revise it.

What happens each Saturday?

We’ll begin with a brief check-in. In February and March, you’ll have a chance to tell us what happened when you returned to the piece you started the previous month.

Then we’ll turn to a new draft. I’ll guide you through the process of writing a new story or essay step by step. We’ll use short, timed exercises to find a subject, a situation, and a way in. A 5- or 10-minute sprint will help you discover an opening; a 20- or 25-minute stretch will give your time to deepen and intensify a scene, follow a piece of exposition, or see what happens when the initial situation changes.

We’ll pause between sprints to offer a little craft guidance and the next prompt. You’ll keep writing rather than stopping to make every sentence right. As the morning goes on, we’ll look for what the piece is moving toward and write our way to an ending—even if you later decide to change it.

We’ll finish by sharing. Each writer who wants to can read about a page of the day’s work aloud. These are fresh drafts, so the emphasis is on listening, noticing what’s alive on the page, and celebrating what we made.

You’ll leave with the beginning, middle, and end of a new short story, scene, or piece of creative nonfiction, along with a plan for revising it over the next month.

who should join us?

Maybe you have ideas but rarely sit down to begin. Maybe you start pieces and lose momentum before you reach the end. Or maybe you write regularly and would welcome a morning devoted to trying something new.

This circle is for writers who want to write fiction or creative nonfiction but have a hard time making room for it.

You don’t need to arrive with a plan, and you don’t need to be an experienced writer. The prompts will help you find your way into a piece, and the timed sprints will help you keep going.

If you’d like the company of other writers while you make new work—and a month to see what that work might become—the Monthly Draft will help you reach your goals.

 

the monthly draft Meets in person and online thursdays, oct 22 + 29.

Join us from 9a-12n CT / 10a-1p ET live in person in Madison, WI, or live online via Zoom.

A computer screen displaying a Zoom video call with eight participants, some smiling and others looking at their screens. The laptop is on a desk with a visible keyboard and pink pencil underneath.

Meet the Instructor

  • Susanna Daniel, author and editor

    Susanna Daniel is the author of three novels. Girlfriending is a spinoff of her award-winning short story, "The Goddess of Illicit Choices," Stiltsville, was awarded the PEN/Bingham prize, and Sea Creatures, was a Target Book Club pick.

    Susanna is the co-founder of the Madison Writers’ Studio with author Michelle Wildgen, and she’s been leading the Book in a Year workshop since 2013. She’s coached and edited more 100+ novelists and memoirists, either from the blank page or from the full draft.

    Susanna is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and was a Teaching-Writing Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a Carl Djerassi Fiction Fellow at the UW Institute for Creative Writing. She’s been awarded residencies at the MacDowell Colony and UCross, and has been published in the Sewanee Review, Newsweek, Slate, One Story, Wisconsin People & Ideas, Significant Objects, Epoch, and elsewhere. Before co-founding MWS, she taught college-level creative writing for ten years.

    You can learn more about Susanna at her website, and you’re welcome to contact her about Book in a Year via email.

  • “It’s rare to get a nurturing environment coupled with a deep, productive critique for one’s work. You set the bar high for writing workshops.”

    — Kyle W.

  • “Without being too simple – I loved it! And yes I will do it again, and if I knew anyone who was serious about being a better writer, I would recommend the classes.”

    — Mary

  • “For me, this was a great re-entry into the practice of writing. I would take another class. It’s a wonderful resource for people from all walks of life who want to write.”

    — Zara

  • “I felt that the group was respectful of the individuals while being honest with each other. Susanna fostered that environment and made it look easy.”

    — Tami

protect your writing time

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is the monthly draft right for you?

Book an appointment or email Susanna with any questions.

join the monthly draft

Enroll in the monthly draft

We’ll get in touch with details and an invoice within 48 hours of receiving your registration.

Please note that all returning students receive a 10% discount on workshops.

We look forward to getting to know you and your work!