It’s a new year. And, honestly, a new world compared to five years ago. In 2024 it became very clear that it was time to shake some things up at Ninja Writers. After a lot of brainstorming and soulsearching–we’re so pleased to introduce you to some changes that we’re extremely excited about.

The old Ninja Writers Guild is going away. We’ve found that it was both too complex for a post-Covid world (one where folks aren’t stuck at home seeking out connection online) and too expensive for where our world is currently.

The new Guild is different. It focuses more on learning at your own pace. While there are opportunities for live meetings, they won’t be the focus. And they won’t be required in order to get the most from your time with us.

Essentially, we're combining the best parts of both the Club and Guild to bring you this new program that we hope fits your needs and meets you where you are as a writer.

Here’s what’s included
in the new Guild.

(Be sure to scroll down to the bottom for the best part!)

Our Library

We have a library of more than 80 courses and workshops that we offered in the original Ninja Writers Guild. They cover everything from fiction writing to editing to the business of being a writer.

This library is everything Ninja Writers knows about writing, editing, publishing, starting a writing business, and so much more.

Access to Deeper Learning

Once a quarter, we’ll give you access to the recordings of a higher-level workshop that wasn’t part of the Ninja Writers Guild. Most of these cost $500 when we offered them live.

Sunday Live Workshops

Every quarter we’ll drop two brand new courses into the Guild.

One focused on fiction writing and one will be part of our Mastermind–focusing on the business of being a writer. We’ll meet on Sundays for discussion and feedback.

Guest Speakers

Our plan is to arrange guest speakers at least twice a year. You’ll be invited to these calls. 

Quarterly Informal Pop-up Workshop

Every quarter, during our off month (March, June, September, December) we’ll host an informal pop-up writing workshop on a specific topic. You'll be invited to join.

Book Club

This is our favorite!

Every month we read a novel–like writers. Then we get together and discuss that novel–again, like writers. We look at how the story is put together, the key plot points, what the writer did well, what we think they could have done better. This isn’t pleasure reading. This is artists studying the masters.

Most exciting? We sometimes have the author come in for a talk with us as well. A couple of weeks ago Gregory McGuire came to speak to us after we read Wicked for our December book!

Our (BRAND NEW) Writing Craft Book Club

In February we're starting a quarterly writing craft book club. We'll choose a craft book and read it together through out the course of three months - with live calls to discuss along the way.

In Febraury and March we're reading Diana Gabaldon's 'I Give You My Body (How I Write Sex Scenes)'.

A bold choice - we know. But if you write romance odds are you've thought more than once that you need to up the intimacy in your novel - and we aren't just talking about physical intimacy. Diana Gabaldon is the master and we're excited to dive into this one.

Quarterly Accountability Call

Once a quarter, in our off months (April, June, September, December), you’ll be invited to a live accountability coaching call.

Annual One-on-One Coaching

This one is only for annual Guild subscribers. You’ll be invited to get on a one-on-one coaching call to get personal guidance and mentoring. 

What's happening in the Guild this Quarter?

Two New Courses

The first is a fiction course:

Sequence 1&2. This year, each of the four fiction courses will cover two of the eight sequences that make up a novel. Starting with 1 and 2–which together make up Act I. We’ll cover figuring out where your story starts, opening images, the inciting incident, the lock-in scene (threshold to Act II), and writing backstory. And more. 

It drops on February 9. You'll get a written lesson at that time and we’ll meet for feedback and Q&A after you've had some time to work through the written lesson at 3pm EST on Sunday, March 9.

The second course is part of our Mastermind series:

Plan Your Writing Year. You’ll learn how to create or update your creative business plan, choose your projects, figure out what you need to focus on learning, and break it all down into doable tasks. 

It drops on Sunday, February 16. We’ll meet for feedback and Q&A at 3pm EST on Sunday, March 16.

Craft Book Work-Through

Every quarter we’ll work through a writing craft book together. There will be assignments and we’ll do the work to implement what we learn.

In quarter one, it’s Diana Gabaldon’s I Give You My Body: How I Write Sex Scenes. Of course, it’s about writing sex scenes (see the subtitle and also the fact that Gabalon is the queen of sex scenes.) But, what I found as I was preparing for this work-through is that the ideas she presents will make any intense scene better. 

In fact, I used a middle grade story as the example. Zero sex. Which means that you’ll benefit from this one, even if you don’t write romantic stories at all. 

For this program, we'll meet once a month.

We’ll meet on Sunday, February 2 at 3pm EST to introduce the book and I’ll give you your first assignments. We’ll meet again on Sunday, March 2 at 3pm EST for feedback, discussion, and more assignments. On Sunday, April 4, we’ll wrap up this book and introduce the next one.

Access to Deeper Learning

Every quarter, we’ll release access to the content of one larger course. These are courses that we taught live and that cost $500 or more to attend. All the worksheets and written notes.

This quarter’s Deeper Learning course is our Self-Editing Workshop. In it, you’ll learn a system I call Layered Editing. If you’ve finished writing a first draft, but you’re not sure what to do with it or now to make it better–you’ll love this. 

You'll have access to this workshop through March.

Quarterly Informal Pop-up Workshop

In April (date to be determined), our pop-up workshop will be about adding sensory details in order to add intensity to your scenes. This stems from our craft book walkthrough. 

Book Club

Our February book is James by Percival Everett. 

Our March book is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Book club meets on the first Saturday of every month, to discuss the book from the month prior, at 8pm EST. We look at each book through writer’s eyes–paying attention to how the story is put together, what works for us, and what doesn’t.

Good stuff, right? Especially when you put it together with the other goodies that come with being a Guild member.