Not Sorry is pleased to announce programming for NaNoWriMo 2024:

Writing Romantic Stories
with Vanessa Zoltan & Julia Whelan

Writing Memoir, Telling Your Story in Eight Weeks
with Vanessa Zoltan & Micaela Blei

Writing Romantic Stories with Vanessa Zoltan & Julia Whelan

While we at Not Sorry feel passionate about Romance novels, we know that writers have romantic stories to tell centering characters who aren’t necessarily guaranteed their happily ever afters.

For the past two years, Not Sorry has offered a Romance Writing workshop in honor of November’s “National Novel Writing Month” (NaNoWriMo), and with this tradition in mind, we present “Writing Romantic Stories,” an eight week course that offers writers a chance to explore their own romantic stories in a supportive format, alleviating the pressure of worrying over the excellence and perfection of those tales.

We’ll dedicate the month of October to discussing the hallmarks of romantic story writing, and we’ll journey onward through November writing 50,000 words, sourcing inspiration and accountability from fellow cohort members. With four weeks of instruction and small group collaboration, followed by four weeks of writing using the pomodoro method, we believe these 50,000 words are entirely achievable – and what’s more, participants will have the encouragement of experienced instructors as well as a community of fellow writers offering support every step of the way. And what’s EVEN more - we know you’ll feel more confident in your ability to build a believable relationship arc that has readers rooting and swooning.

Romantic stories range from small to operatic, but they are certainly where we explore how we feel about human connection. And as is true in real life, in romantic fiction, you can’t always predict how the story will end.

This class is for you if…

• You’re already writing a romantic story, but you’re feeling stuck in your own manuscript

• You’ve always wanted to try writing a romance scene, but you want a community to support you

• You’ve got a romantic story you’ve always wanted to tell, but you’re not sure how to start

• You’re processing a personal romantic experience, either wonderful or heartbreaking, and you’re looking for a creative outlet to share that experience and reflect

The details, writing romantic stories:

• Dates: Sundays, October 6th - November 24th from 11:30AM - 1:00PM EST

• Tuition:

  • $450 Early Bird Tuition (Before August 1st)

  • $500 Standard Tuition (August 1st - October 6th)

• Recording: Class meetings will be recorded for asynchronous viewing, but the course is best experienced if participants attend each session live.

• Prep work or pre-reqs: None! The instructors have assignments ready for you when you arrive.

• Scholarships: If you wish to participate but cannot do so without a scholarship, please submit your application here. We will begin offering partial scholarships in mid-August and close them on October 1st, so expect to hear from our team via email at programs@notsorryproductions.com.

  • If you apply for a Writing Romantic Stories scholarship, you are still eligible to apply for a Writing Memoir scholarship.

• Storytelling Bundle: If you wish to purchase both the Writing Romantic Stories Workshop and Memoir Writing Workshop, you can do so here.

  • $675 Early Bird Bundle Tuition (Before August 1st)

  • $750 Standard Bundle Tuition (August 1st - October 6th)

• There is no registration limit to this course; however, we advise you to sign up prior to October 6th in order to receive your welcome email from the course TA!

• Instructor Note: Julia Whelan will join the Writing Romantic Stories class on October 13th and continue her participation as instructor for the remainder of the course.

Writing Memoir, Telling Your Story in Eight Weeks with Vanessa Zoltan & Micaela Blei

Sidestep your inner critic, and get to know yourself in powerful ways, with eight weeks of planning and writing a story from your life.

November is “National Novel Writing Month,” and this year, we’re using November as a chance to write a memoir – in community, without worrying about perfection. 

We’ll spend October “training” for November’s marathon. We’ll reflect on different memoir styles, choose a form and brainstorm the stories from our lives we want to tell. We’ll consider audience, motivation, story structure, and different forms that memoir can take– from written text to audio storytelling.

In November, we’ll spend 30 days writing 50,000 words as that blessed “bad first draft” of your memoir. You’ll join weekly writing sessions using the pomodoro method with lots of encouragement from your instructors/coaches and small group check-ins so you’ll know you’re not alone.

While there’s no registration limit to this class, you’ll have a small group for the full eight weeks to keep you accountable and cheer you on– all the way to the finish line.

You’ll leave this class with storytelling strategies to use anywhere, a whole first draft of your memoir, and a community of writers who have your back beyond November!

This class is for you if…

• You’re already writing a memoir, and you’d like a sprint to get past a block

• You’ve always wanted to try personal narrative, but you want a community to support you

• You’ve got a story you’ve always wanted to tell, but you’re not sure how to start

• You’re processing a big transition or a new identity, and you want a creative way to reflect and make meaning

The details, Writing Memoir:

• Dates: Sundays, October 6th - October 27th from 2:00PM - 3:30PM EST and Sundays, November 3rd - November 24th from 11:30AM - 1:00PM EST

• Tuition:

  • $450 Early Bird Tuition (Before August 1st)

  • $500 Standard Tuition (August 1st - October 6th)

• Recording: Class meetings will be recorded for asynchronous viewing, but the course is best experienced if participants attend each session live.

• Prep work or pre-reqs: None! The instructors have assignments ready for you when you arrive.

• Scholarships: If you wish to participate but cannot do so without a scholarship, please submit your application here. We will begin offering partial scholarships in mid-August and close them on October 1st, so expect to hear from our team via email at programs@notsorryproductions.com.

  • If you apply for a Writing Memoir scholarship, you are still eligible to apply for a Writing Romantic Stories scholarship.

• Storytelling Bundle: If you wish to purchase both the Writing Romantic Stories Workshop and Memoir Writing Workshop, you can do so here.

  • $675 Early Bird Bundle Tuition (Before August 1st)

  • $750 Standard Bundle Tuition (August 1st - October 6th)

Faculty bios:

Vanessa Zoltan - Lead Instructor (she/her)

Vanessa is the CEO of Not Sorry Productions. She is the co-host of the podcasts Hot & Bothered, Harry Potter & the Sacred Text and The Real Question. She is the author of the memoir, Praying with Jane Eyre; Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice. She has also written two NanoWrimo Romance novels and has studied the form both as a fan and journalist. Vanessa has her MDiv from Harvard Divinity School and her writing has been published in Slate, Elle and other sources. You can learn more about Vanessa’s body of work at vanessazoltan.com.

Julia Whelan - Romantic Stories Instructor (she/her)

Dubbed "The Adele of Audiobooks" by The New Yorker, "the Michael Jordan of Audiobooks" by General David Petraeus, and "the YOU! of Audiobooks" by her mother, Julia Whelan is an author, screenwriter, lifelong actor, and acclaimed audiobook narrator of over 600 titles. After a successful career as a teen actor, Julia left Hollywood for Middlebury College, where she graduated with a degree in English and Creative Writing. She also attended Oxford University where she earned a First for her thesis on the Victorian appropriation of the Arthurian legends.

She returned to Los Angeles in 2008 and parlayed her academic achievements, as one does, into a bevy of underpaid gig work: screenplay doctoring, the occasional guest star role, a beloved tutoring career, writing workshop leader, and, eventually, audiobook narrator. During her spare time, she wrote many novels, one of which became her debut: the international bestseller My Oxford Year. No, it is not a memoir. In fact, it was based on an existing screenplay she was hired to rewrite; a screenplay which, after many more iterations, is finally being made into a Netflix film starring Sofia Carson and Corey Mylcreest. You can learn more about Julia Whelan and follow her work at jmwhelan.com.

Micaela Blei - Memoir Instructor (she/her)

Micaela Blei, PhD, is a storyteller, story editor and educator who lives in Portland, Maine. As a two-time Moth GrandSLAM champion storyteller and the former (founding) Director of Education at The Moth, she has over a decade of experience working with individuals, organizations and communities to shape and share the important stories of their lives.

Her own stories have appeared on This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour, WGBH’s Stories from the Stage and live on sold-out storytelling stages worldwide. Her debut audio memoir, "You Will Not Recognize Your Life," is forthcoming from Audible Originals November 2024. She has a BA in Literature from Yale University and a PhD in Education from New York University. You can see her stories and learn more about Micaela at micaelablei.com.

Norah Murphy - Teaching Assistant (she/her)

Norah is Not Sorry’s most veteran teaching assistant and manages that work for our yearly, ongoing programs such as What Matters and annual NaNoWriMo writing courses. Her expertise is a true asset to our programming, so you might catch her popping into other virtual classes as well.

She received her BA in English from Harvard College, and her M.Phil in Irish Writing from Trinity College Dublin. She was previously an intern on Hot & Bothered, and she is now working towards her degree in Library Science at University of Washington in Seattle. When Norah’s not reading for school, she’s reading for pleasure and finding excuses to bake cake.

What to expect from Not Sorry Virtual Classes:

• Immediately after payment, all workshop participants should receive an email from programs@notsorryproductions.com with the appropriate Zoom links and some other basic information for the course. Participants should expect another email within 72 hours of the course beginning from the course TA Norah Murphy at norah@notsorryproductions.com. Please check your spam folder first if you do not think you have received these emails.

• These writing workshops have capacity for an unlimited number of registrations. This means that each course might be 150+ people. With that being said, our instructors will make use of regular small group time, with breakout rooms of 5-10 participants in size.

• Recordings: Meeting recordings will be emailed to all registered participants before Tuesday at 6:00PM EST and available for six months following the course end date (November 24th).

• Instructor Note: Julia Whelan will join the Writing Romantic Stories class on October 13th and continue her participation as instructor for the remainder of the course.

Questions about the 2024 NaNoWriMo courses? Email our team at programs@notsorryproductions.com.