First things first: fear is a loser.

There were whole years of my life where I knew I wanted to be a writer and yet I never wrote a single word. I’d buy the notebooks. I’d make the plan. I’d plot out these crazy characters in my head but they would never make it to paper. Their breath was never formed on the page. I was obsessed with the idea of being a writer but I could not write.

It made me feel like failure. It made me feel like the one thing I knew I was on this earth to do was never going to become a reality.

I even remember there was a period of time where I couldn’t walk into a bookstore because I wanted a space at the table so bad. I didn’t think there was room for me there.

All that to say, my Spring Writing Intensive has so much more to do with fear than writing. Writing is the discipline that emerges on the day you tell your fears to quiet down and you pick up the pen instead. Writing kills fear. My prayer is that we can begin killing your fear that you are powerless, voiceless, and ineffective together. I want April 23– two Saturdays from now– to be a day that shifts you and changes something inside of you. I’ll do everything it takes to motivate you, inspire you and open your eyes to new things about writing in my three-hour class.

You can expect a lot from the 3-hour online class. Here’s just a few topics we are getting into next Saturday:

• The elements of compelling storytelling
• Breaking the fear
• Developing voice
• Connecting with readers
• The art of Taylor Swifting
• Consistency & control in writing
• Vulnerability hangovers
• Finding direction within a crowded writing world

I can promise you this: it is gon’ get real. And the coolest part? It’s online. Again, you don’t even need to leave your house. You can join the class while wearing slippers and hot chocolate on a Saturday. You can buy a new notebook and fill the whole thing up. You can slug wine at 3 in the afternoon and play Macklemore in the background as I am teaching if that’s your deal (though I recommend taking the class sober). You can do whatever you want, the world is truly yours. I will not stop you. The whole class will not stop you.

BUT, BUT, BUT… there are only a few spots left before we close the doors until the sweet, sweet summertime. 25 spaces, friends. That is all! 

 

I’ve worked hard on all this content but I’ll just come out and say it now: I’m not an expert. No, not really. However, I’ve managed to get a few things done in the last couple of years:

• At the age of 24, I signed to New Leaf Media Literary Agency. My first memoir “If You Find This Letter” (Howard Books of Simon & Schuster) came out in March 2015. It will release in paperback form in Spring 2016 and will also hit the shelves in Russia & Germany. My stationery kit (Potter Style, an imprint of Random House) came out in December 2014.
• I am deep in the trenches of book #2. 50,000 words and counting…
• I took the TED stage at the age of 24 for their Global Talent Search and have since continued to travel around the world to colleges and conferences across the country sharing my story. I’ve hit over 100 stages in the last few years.
• I’m the Founder of The World Needs More Love Letters. In the last four years, More Love Letters has grown into a community of over 20,000 individuals across all 50 states, 53 countries, and over 60 college campuses.
• I launched my own creative copywriting & consulting services for personal brands and individuals back in 2014.
• My work has been featured in (but not limited to) the following publications: The Wall Street Journal, Oprah, Glamour, Cosmo UK, USATODAY.com, Chicago Tribune, BBC News, the White House, and Reader’s Digest.
• I’ve worked with brands such as the United States Postal Service, Tiny Prints, Kleenex, KIND, Holstee, and Catalyst.
• In 2015, I launched If You Find This Email with one of my best friends, Jenna Bednarsky.
• I once managed to keep 1 fish alive for approximately 9 months– which shows dedication and commitment.

More than any kind of street cred, I am simply someone who has sat down nearly every single day for the last 5 years to write something– whether it be pages for a book, an article, a blog post, or a project. I am obsessed with the guts and grit it takes to be a writer in this world. I want to pass that on.

There’s only a few more spots left to my Spring Writing Intensive. When the gates close, they close forever… Come on in, friend. We saved you a seat.