begin your writing journey
Online Courses
Well-Read Black Girl workshops cover a range of genres: fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, romance, science fiction, and more. Our instructors will provide advice, real-world experience, expertise, and the motivation and drive to help you achieve your goals. Register for our workshops and begin your writing journey today!
Workshop Description
This workshop is for writers holding on to ideas that feel alive but heavy with expectation. Beginnings are charged with promise, but they’re also where doubt creeps in, where the work can stall under the pressure to “get it right.” Messy Starts invites you to stay with the uncertainty and write anyway. We’ll focus on generating momentum, trusting instinct, and letting the first draft reveal what it wants to become.
The session will blend close reading of powerful openings, guided generative prompts, and in-class writing time designed to quiet the inner editor. We’ll experiment with different approaches to beginnings, write past the first page, and learn how to follow what’s already working instead of fixing what isn’t broken yet. This is not a workshop about perfection or completion. It’s about listening closely to what emerges when you allow the draft to stay unfinished.
This workshop is ideal for beginner and intermediate writers working in fiction, memoir, essays, or hybrid forms.
Sunday, 12:00 pm EST - 3:00 pm EST
January 25, 2026
Spaces are limited — reserve your spot today!
