Feeling stuck and overwhelmed during uncertain times?
Join us for the March HerStories Project Incubator.
This four-week community writing experience, starting March 6th, is for midlife women who write, and will include online lessons, meetups, co-working times, as well as workshops from 10 guest presenters.
Get the support you need from other midlife women to use your voice, even in these confusing, overwhelming times.
For the past decade, we have been astonished by the power of community to accelerate creativity and productivity. Accountability and connection are some of the most effective methods to stay motivated when working on projects, whether large or small.
What if you had...
Community
A group of women sharing ideas and cheering you on.
Accountability
Feedback on your ideas and assignments.
Learning
Expert guidance from other midlife women.
4 weeks of learning, inspiration, accountability, building habits, and collaborating alongside other midlife women
ENROLL NOW →Here's what you'll get:
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10 Zoom workshops with guest instructors |
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lessons and assignments to help you make real progress |
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regular co-working and office hours hosted in our private community forum |
what you'll learn
Through the workshops and lessons, get guidance on how to:
Stay motivated and inspired to write
Build a writing practice that works with your life
Improve your craft and find your people
learn from these incredible midlife women... more speakers to come!
Our presenters and their topics
Elizabeth Austin
"The Power of Personal Narratives: Crafting Op-Eds That Spark Change"
Elizabeth Austin’s work has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Narratively, McSweeney's, The Sun, Jenny, and others. She lives outside of Philadelphia with her two kids and their many pets. Find her on Instagram @writingelizabeth and at writingelizabeth.com.
Rev. Evelyn Bourne
"Radical Love in a Time of Crisis"
Rev. Evelyn Beatrice Bourne, RScP (she, her, hers) is a writer, an artist, and a mom to three daughters and a Yorkie named Queenie. She publishes a weekly newsletter, Sacred Creative Soul Speaks, and is the author of a poetry collection, I Am Heaven.
Lisa Cooper Ellison
"Healing Through Story: Writing about Trauma Without Retraumatizing Yourself "
Lisa Cooper Ellison is an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of the Writing Your Resilience podcast. She works and writes at the intersection of storytelling and healing, and combines her personal experiences with suicide loss and CPTSD with her clinical training to help writers turn tough experiences into art. Her essays and stories have appeared on Risk! and in The New York Times, HuffPost, Hippocampus Literary Magazine, and Kenyon Review Online, among others.
Ellyn Gelman
"Depth of View: The Voice of Innocence and the Voice of Experience in Memoir and Essays"
Ellyn Gelman is a storyteller by nature. After raising three children she earned an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University. She has taught creative nonfiction at Westport Writer’s Workshop and presented at the Writing Brave Summit.
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Áine Greaney
"Truth or Dare: Writing about Family in Our Non-Fiction or Memoir Essays"
An Irish native, Áine Greaney now writes and teaches writing in coastal Massachusetts. In addition to her five published books, her short works have appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Another Chicago Magazine, The Boston Globe Magazine, The New York Times, Books Ireland, WBUR/NPR and many other publications. Greaney is a trained teacher who has designed and led fiction and non-fiction workshops, presentations and keynotes for regional, national and international organizations.
Alice Kuipers
"Your Writing Year: Using Wintering as a Starting Point"
Bestselling, award-winning author Alice Kuipers has published thirteen books for young readers, and a book of non-fiction called Spark: On Writing For Young Readers. Her work has been published in 36 countries, and she's Head of Coaching at The Novelry. She lives in Saskatoon with her partner and four children. Find her at Confessions & Coffee!
Jo-Ann Finkelstein
"Write For The Next Generation"
Jo-Ann Finkelstein, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and the author of Sexism & Sensibility: Raising Empowered, Resilient Girls in the Modern World. A graduate of the Harvard University, Graduate School of Education and Northwestern University, she now maintains a private clinical practice in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Finkelstein’s insights have been highlighted in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Oprah Daily, and CNN, among others. An expert blogger for Psychology Today, her writing has also appeared in The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, and other publications. She maintains a Substack newsletter called The Feminist Parent..
Nancy Reddy
"Writing During Challenging Times"
Nancy Reddy is the author of The Good Mother Myth. Her previous books include the poetry collection Pocket Universe and the anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood, which she co-edited with Emily Pérez. Her essays have appeared in Slate, Poets & Writers, Romper, The Millions, and elsewhere. She writes the newsletter Write More, Be Less Careful.
Claire Polders
"The Writer as Character: How to Craft Narrators Readers Trust"
Claire Polders is the author of 5 novels and 100+ essays, stories, and book reviews. She was born in the Netherlands, lived in Paris, married an American, and is now slow-traveling the globe, sharing her experiences with Galápagos marine iguanas and Japanese grieving traditions on her weekly Substack letter Wander, Wonder, Write. Passionate about storytelling as a force that changes the world, she helps other writers as an editor and creative coach.
Karen Wesley
"Writing For Resilience and Healing"
Award-winning parenting blogger, writer, support community creator, mental health/autism advocate, and contributing writer for the Hogg Foundation of Mental Health, University of Texas, Karen writes about the complexity of motherhood, marriage, trauma, resilience, and healing from the perspective of a black mother of three young adults..
what else does the incubator include?
In addition to the workshops, you can join...
Co-working times
Co-write and share sessions
Writing "salons"
Have a question?
Don't see your question below? Send us an email at [email protected] and we'll get back to you ASAP!
What if I can't make one (or several or even ALL) of the workshops when they are scheduled?
No problem! All workshops will be recorded, and the recordings will be posted by the next day in our forum platform. You'll be able to interact, ask questions, and post writing based on the presentations inside the forums.
What happens during the co-working sessions?
They are one-hour long virtual meetups, and writers often say they are their favorite part of our writing groups. There is something about the alchemy of a group of midlife women writers all showing up in the same space to write or work together that brings extra focus, purpose, and inspiration. We begin co-working sessions with a collective deep breath or short grounding exercise, share what we are going to be working on and what our goals are, and then turn off videos and microphones to work for 45-60 minutes. We check in at the end to share what we accomplished.
What happens during the "freewrite and share" and "salon" meetings?
During the freewrite sessions, writers who are working on something specific are welcome to focus on their own writing, but we will also provide prompts for those who want inspiration to get unstuck or clear their creative pipes. After we write together, we’ll save time for optional sharing in smaller breakout groups.
While writing is intrinsically motivating, most of us also long to be read. There is something powerful and healing about reading your words out loud to other women. Salon meetings are opportunities for writers to share longer form pieces in a safe, supportive group. This is optional, and you do not need to read aloud to join these virtual meetings and support your fellow writers.
How do I get feedback on my ideas, progress, and my writing?
Inside our private forum, there will be spaces for you to post your progress and your writing and get responses from other writers and the instructors. You can also ask questions in our Zoom meetings.
Join us
✓ Forum for accountability and feedback
✓ 10 Workshops
✓ Co-working and office hours
✓ Lessons and assignments
What a few of our last month-long writing experience participants have to say:
"The summit empowered and energized me and my writing practice"
"The variety of workshops scratched the need for creative fulfillment, and this time of year was perfect for digging deep. The community felt small and intimate when, in actuality, the collected group was far and wide. The summit's platform, the variety of topics offered, and the ease of participating are a testament to how Jessica and Stephanie have, once again, created a magical experience for midlife women writers and the kind of creative experiences they seek."
"It felt a little like a family reunion. A chance to interact daily with interesting and relatable people who share challenges of writing and midlife."
"There’s a sense that no matter what the content or the presenter, people were just glad to be together sharing our love of writing in this safe and nurturing community."
Meet your hosts
Jessica & Stephanie
Jessica Smock and Stephanie Sprenger are the co-founders and co-editors of The HerStories Project, a writing community for midlife women, and of Midstory Magazine on Substack.
Jessica and Stephanie have been leading online writing courses, groups, and summits for more than a decade. The HerStories Project has published five essay collections of women's writing.
Our Incubator Schedule
Participate in as many or as few of the events that interest you and that work with your schedule. Or watch the recording and join the conversation later.
March 6: "Depth of View: The Voice of Experience and The Voice of Innocence in Memoir and Essays" with Ellyn Gelman at 12:30 p.m. ET
March 7: "Radical Love in a Time of Crisis: with Rev. Evelyn Bourne at 1 p.m. ET
March 10: "The Writer as Character: How to Craft Narrators Readers Trust" with Claire Polders at 11 a.m. ET
March 10: Night Owl Co-Writing Session at 9 p.m. ET
March 11: Co-working Session at 4:30 p.m. ET
March 12: Co-working Session at 1:30 p.m. ET
March 13: "Healing Through Story: Writing About Trauma Without Re-traumatizing Yourself" at 1 p.m. ET with Lisa Cooper Ellison
March 14: Free-write and Share at 12:30 p.m.
March 17: "The Power of Personal Narrative: Crafting Op-Eds That Spark Change" at 1 p.m. ET with Elizabeth Austin
March 18: Co-working Session at 11 a.m. ET
March 19: "Writing During Challenging Times" at 12 p.m. with Nancy O'Reddy
March 20: "Your Writing Year: Using Wintering as a Starting Point" with Alice Kuipers at 12 p.m. ET
March 21: Co-working Session at 1 p.m. ET
March 24: "Writing For Resilience and Healing" with Karen Wesley at 1 p.m. ET
March 26: Free-write and Share at 4 p.m. ET
March 27: "Truth or Dare: Writing about Family in Our Non-Fiction or Memoir Essays" with Aine Greaney at 2 p.m. ET
March 28: Co-working Session at 12:30 p.m. ET
March 31: Salon Experience at 11 a.m. ET
April 3: "Write for the Next Generation" with Jo-Ann Finkelstein, PhD at 2 p.m. ET
April 3: Night Owls Salon Experience at 9 p.m. ET
