Three weeks to turn your idea into your first 25 pages.

READY, SET, NOVEL is a three-week, generative class designed to get you out of your head and into the flow of your book.

ready, set, novel!

Sundays, Oct 25 + Nov 1 + 8

w/ author and book editor Susanna Daniel and

Meets 930–1130am CT / 1030-1230a ET

Hybrid format: live in person and live on Zoom

Class fee: $175

Limited to 8 writers.

I’M READY

all You need is an idea you're curious enough about to explore.

Maybe you’ve been thinking about writing a novel for years. Maybe you have a character, a situation, a first line, or a handful of scenes in mind. Maybe you know exactly what you want to write but haven’t figured out how to begin.

We’ll spend our first session clarifying what you plan to write—character, conflict, desire, stakes—and how you might tell it, making choices about point of view, tense, voice, and where to begin.

And we’re going to write.

Our goal is not 25 perfect pages. Our goal is 25 draft pages that didn’t exist before.

THREE WEEKS, THREE STEPS

WEEK 1: What’s your book?

We’ll start with the idea at the center of your novel: character, desire, conflict, stakes, and change. Through short exercises and plenty of writing time, we’ll figure out what you already know about your book—and start putting it on the page.

You’ll leave with pages underway and a plan for writing forward.

WEEK 2: How are you going to tell your story?

We’ll experiment with point of view, tense, voice, and beginnings. Who’s in charge of this story? Where does it actually start? What happens when you tell the same material another way?

Then we’ll get back to writing.

WEEK 3: Write deeper.

By now, you’ve encountered your novel where it matters: on the page. We’ll look at what you’ve discovered, rough out what you know about where the book might go, and talk about structure, scene, pacing, and what to do when you don’t know what happens next.

And we’ll write.

You’ll leave with a plan for finishing your first 25 pages — and what comes next,

who should join us?

This class is perfect for writers who have a novel idea in mind but need some structure, momentum, encouragement, and community to get started.

You do not need an outline. You do not need to know how the book ends. You do not need to arrive with polished pages.

All you need is an idea you're curious enough about to spend three weeks exploring.

This is a generative class rather than a workshop, so there is no advance submission or feedback required. We’ll write in class, solve problems, try different approaches, talk about what we discover, and keep moving.

The craft skills we’ll cover in this workshop apply to writers of all experience levels, whether you’ve been writing for a month or decades.

Limited to 8 writers. Hybrid format: participate live in person in Madison, Wis, or live on Zoom.

I’M READY

What’s Included?

Three live, energetic sessions full of guided exercises, craft discussion, and writing time.

By the end, you’ll have:

  • a clearer sense of your novel’s central character, conflict, desire, and stakes

  • answers to questions about POV, tense, voice, and beginnings

  • a practical plan for continuing

  • and, if you keep up with the writing, 25 draft pages.

so, WHAT COMES AFTER 25 PAGES?

Ready, Set, Novel is designed to set writers up for Book in a Year, our yearlong book-writing craft workshop, which begins in January. and continues throughout 2027.

Unlike Ready, Set, Novel, writers in Book in a Year workshop their drafts every month in 25-page submissions.

Book in a Year starts with your first 25-page workshop submission — so the pages you generate could become the pages you share in January.

Writers who take Ready, Set, Novel and continue into Book in a Year will receive a $125 credit toward BIAY.

Start with an idea. Get 25 pages down. Then, if you want, come write the rest of the book with us.

I’M READY

Sundays, Oct 25 + Nov 1 + 8

930–1130am CT / 1030-1230a ET

Hybrid format: Live in Madison + on Zoom

Fee: $175

Limited to 8 writers.

 

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

the goal is progress, not perfection.

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the goal is progress, not perfection. *

Is ready, set, novel right for you?

Book an appointment or email Susanna with any questions.

I’M READY

Enroll in ready, set, novel

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!