NEW CLASS: From Dreamseed to Final Draft
A 12-month novel intensive at Writing Co-Lab, starting March 2024!
It’s time to hijack this newsletter for some actual NEWS!
Here it is:
I’m teaching a brand new 12-month novel writing intensive designed exclusively for Writing Co-Lab, starting March 2024!
What this is:
From Dreamseed to Final Draft is a genre-inclusive, multi-dimensional, year-long artist space that exists in three phases, each suited to a part of the manuscript life cycle: drafting, revision, and publishing. Unlike other novel generators which focus solely on manuscript production, this course is built to be an immersive creative experience, weaving together literature study, Tarot, astrology, writing philosophy, and literary marketplace 101 to open up the art of novel craft in a wholly new way and demystify the process of bringing your work into the world. The manuscript you produce here will be the byproduct of your course experience (per Yves Klein: My canvases are only the ashes of my art), but the toolkit you come away with will serve you in every step of your creative journey.
Drawing on over a decade of experience in writing, editing and teaching, I have had the privilege of designing this first-of-its-kind class specifically for Writing Co-Lab. If you missed out on my classes at Catapult, or if you’re looking for something totally different than what’s out there, this is the one to take!
What you get:
—120 hours of instruction, including up to six (optional) genre-sensitive workshops of substantial excerpts per student
—Four 30-minute one-on-one meetings with me via phone or Zoom
—Four (optional) Tarot consultations to diagnose and illuminate creative issues
—Traditional and unconventional craft assignments, including writing exercises, readings, art projects, and tailored field trips/artist dates
—A list of personalized next steps, including a future revision schedule for the draft produced, agent suggestions, career guidance, and more
—A deeper understanding of the craft of novel writing and an in-depth exploration of how to develop a narrative across the span of a book
—Personalized reading suggestions during and after the course
—A full manuscript consultation with me whenever you want—never expires!
—Guaranteed recommendation letters from me whenever you need them (for graduate programs, residencies, jobs, etc.)
—Lifetime comped subscription to Black Lipstick!
—Greater fluency with the contemporary literary marketplace
—Professional and creative insights from guest visitors, including authors, agents, editors and independent publishers
—A close-knit community of peer readers
—A unique class format that emphasizes generativity and artistic sensitivity in equal measure
—A deeper understanding and appreciation of yourself as artist and observer
—A complete novel draft! (or the tools to eventually produce one)
It’s the new way to decide things. If I never do this before I die, do I care.
—Eileen Myles, Inferno
Who I am:
Official bio: Mila Jaroniec is the author of Plastic Vodka Bottle Sleepover and the creator and editor of Black Lipstick. Her work has appeared in Playgirl, Playboy, Joyland, Ninth Letter, PANK, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Southwest Review, The Millions, NYLON and Teen Vogue, among others. She earned her MFA from The New School and teaches writing at Catapult, GrubStreet and Writing Co-Lab. She is represented by Annie DeWitt at The Shipman Agency.
Unofficial bio: I am the author of two novels (one published, one soon to be on submission) and one (forthcoming) novella. I have been teaching creative writing since 2018 and have led two previous novel generators. I failed my Honors Biology final because I stayed up the entire night before making a pictorial representation of The Waste Land for my final project in the graduate T.S. Eliot seminar. I live and write in Ohio with my husband Cory Bennet, my son Silas and two rescued Siberian huskies.
This class is for you if:
—You have the spark of a book begging to be written
—You’re interested in understanding novel craft from the ground up
—You have (or are willing to develop!) creative discipline and stamina
—You thrive in an unconventional, experimental learning environment
—You want to develop your artistic approach without (or before) an MFA
My least favorite received idea about writing is that one must find one's voice, as if it's there inside you, ready to be turned on like a player piano. Like character, its very existence depends on interaction with the world.
—Sarah Manguso, 300 Arguments
Selected evidence that I know what I’m doing:
“The word I keep coming back to is doula. Not that I ever had a birth doula, but in my fantasy this is what an ideal doula is: centering, calming, insightful, encouraging, supportive, prescient, and wise beyond years. Mila is all those things (and brilliant and refreshingly honest and encyclopedically read) and a unicorn, to boot. Her class gets you to the page, plain and simple. Her remarkable spirit quells voices of doubt, enabling you to get out of your own damn way to arrive at your story. To unearth the heart. To do the work. Because that's all that matters. I learned more from Mila in a few short weeks than I learned over many, many years.” —Sara Lippmann, co-founder of Writing Co-Lab and author of Lech
“Working with Mila at an early stage of developing a new book was exhilarating, generative, and inspiring. I spent all week looking forward to my next meeting with her. Highly recommend studying with Mila if you want to get deeper into a book project!” —Leigh Stein, author of Self Care
“Mila Jaroniec’s editorial direction was extraordinarily helpful to me. She shaped my writing toward a greater purpose and effect with an assured but gentle hand. I’m very grateful for her guidance and generosity toward my work.” —Jac Jemc, author of Empty Theatre and False Bingo
“As an editor, Mila was able to tap into the undercurrent of my writing. She discerned the universal issues I was grasping at in my work and helped me bring them to the forefront in immediate and visceral ways, making my piece more organized and so much stronger. Her guidance helped me take my writing from ‘essay’ to ‘work of art.’” —Elle Nash, author of Deliver Me and Animals Eat Each Other
“Mila Jaroniec is a strong and sensitive writer who knows how to cut to the heart of any story. I’d trust her completely with my words.” —Chloe Caldwell, author of Women and The Red Zone
“Mila Jaroniec is responsible for one of my favorite editorial experiences—the splicing together of an essay and a poem. She saw what I handed her for what they could be, and helped me transform the disparate pieces into something cohesive and totally orginal.” —A.E. Osworth, author of We Are Watching Eliza Bright
Everytime you read, you are walking among the dead, and, if you are listening, you just might hear prophecies.
—Kathy Acker, Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia
Questions?
Feel free to email me, ask anything in the comments or get in touch with Co-Lab! Spots are going fast and there are payment plans available!