Ink + Alchemy

Monthly missives to help you access your creative magic and build a writing practice you love.

In This Newsletter

• Our main topic: Why every literary witch needs a coven (and an invitation to join one!)
• An oracle card pull
• A poll (and an update on the previous one!)
• An invitation to the August meeting of The Ceremony
• Book recommendations to boost your TBR
• Writing resources to spark creative magic

I talk to a lot of writers. It's kind of my whole deal, after all. I'm always interested when I start seeing a theme come up again and again.

• “Your feedback gives me the confidence I need to keep working on this,” a book coaching client told me during a one-on-one meeting.
• “I do my best thinking about writing in conversation with other people,” said a participant in a writing circle I was leading.
• “I don’t know why I waited so long to reach out and get support from other writers,” a new client said during our initial discussion.

These are all real things writers have said to me over just the past month. The theme I keep noticing? Connection.

Writers are often depicted working in isolation. It’s a common trope in media representation (think of the lone genius balling up piece after piece of paper until—at last!—inspiration strikes)... and a common trap for real-life authors.

We assume working alone is the way “real” writers get their books done. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Writers need to be in community with other writers. It’s how we grow, find opportunities, test our ideas, and get the encouragement we need to keep going when the writing gets tough.

Sure, at times it will just be you and the page. We all need to have solo time with our ideas and our writing. But we also need far more community with other writers than you might have been taught.

A writing group opens the door to new possibilities for your writing. I see it each time I teach a class or run a workshop, and whenever I host a session of The Ceremony: Creativity flourishes through connection.

Writers who were feeling stuck walk out with a new pep in their step and fresh inspiration. People collaborate on the spot to come up with innovative solutions to a plot problem or a tricky writing schedule. New ideas burst into being like blooming flowers.

It’s pure magic.

Just like a witch needs a coven, a writer needs a writing group.

The tricky part is that finding the right writing group isn’t always easy. Schedules don’t line up. Meetings get disorganized. People drift away (or, worse, don’t get along). There’s no clear structure, so not much happens with anybody’s writing. Things just…fizzle.

I know so many writers who are hungry for a writing group but can’t find one that works for them.

After a brief word from our sponsor, let's talk about what I'm doing to help solve that problem.

I created The Coven to be the writing group you've been craving.

The Coven is a witchy writing group for visionary authors who want to grow their craft in community.

Here’s how it works:

The Coven is a 6-month, cohort-based group coaching program designed to help you deepen your creative practices and make progress toward finishing a book.

It’s a small group so that every writer gets the community support and the individual attention they need to flourish.

​I have spots for 5 writers, and 4 seats are still open.

During The Coven, we will focus on the three elements of writing alchemy: Mindset, Practice, and Craft.

• Mindset refers to how you think about writing and yourself as a writer.
• Practice is all about how you show up for the work and get words on the page.
• Craft is where we build new writing skills.

The first cohort of The Coven will meet in September, October, and November of this year. We’ll take December off for the holidays and kick off the new year with meetings in January, February, and March of 2027.

During one of our two monthly meetings, we’ll practice creative ritual, work on leveling up our writing, and learn from the occasional guest expert. The second meeting will focus on writing feedback and group coaching.

You’ll also have a private, Coven-only community space, two one-on-one meetings with me to take a deep look at your book project and writing practice, and free access to The Ceremony for all six months.

My role in The Coven is to bring together the right writers, coordinate meetings, and co-create this coaching container alongside you. I’ll be a teacher and a guide—someone who’s been in the writing process where you are and can help you brew up new inspiration and find unexpected paths forward.

The Coven is open to authors of fiction (novels and short stories) and nonfiction (memoirs, business/education, and academic books).

​The Coven is for you if you are:

• Curious about the connection between magic and creativity—and especially curious about how that magic unfolds while in community with other writers
• Working on a partial draft of a book and ready to commit to making real progress on it over the next six months
• Willing to give and receive encouraging, constructive feedback
• Excited about the prospect of learning from the Literary Witch, other teachers, and your fellow writers
• A passionate writer who’s ready to break out of a creative rut and re-enchant their writing practice
• Curious about how intuition and magic combine with strategy and experimentation to create a powerful writing practice
• Eager to do things differently and embrace cyclical, intuitive approaches to writing
• Prepared to invest time and energy to co-create the magical writing group you’ve always wanted

I encourage the writers I coach to experiment with their practice, and The Coven is in a similar experimental state. This first cohort of Coven members will help me refine and redesign elements of this group program through their feedback.

For that reason, I’m launching The Coven at 50% off.

Future cohorts of The Coven will join at the standard price: $2,400 ($400 per month for 6 months). The cohort that launches in September will invest $1,200 ($200 per month for 6 months). I will likely never run The Coven at this rate again—now is the time to apply if you know you’re interested!

Applications are already coming in, and I’ll be contacting interested writers on a first-come, first-serve basis (although I reserve the right to welcome the applicants that I think are the best fit for the group).

The Coven begins in September. Applications close on August 20.

Your Coven is forming. Are you ready to join?

Take me to the application!

New Moon Oracle Card Pull

The new moon is a time to set intentions and reflect on our creative practices. I pulled an oracle card to see what aspect of creativity might need our attention during this moon cycle.

The bleeding tooth mushroom card asks us to think about stagnation. Use these questions as jumping-off points for reflection and action!

• Where do you need to shift the energy in your creative practice?
• What unfinished project is hanging around, stealing your energy? Can you finish it—or should you let it go?
• Think about what you have been avoiding in your writing. What is keeping you from facing it?
• How can you let go of your assumptions about what might happen and just take action?
• What fresh energy can you bring in to create something new?

A Poll!

The last poll I ran was all about additional resources you might find helpful, and the winner was a quarterly zine of seasonal, magical writing advice! Watch your inbox for more updates soon. 👀

For now, I have another question for you!

What would you like to learn more about in the September issue of Ink + Alchemy? Mindset: Understanding the motivation cycle to get more writing done Practice: Treating your writing routine as a seasonal experiment Craft: A strategy for writing more beautiful sentences Other: Reply with your burning writing questions!