Mine to Tell 2023 | A semester-long writing course

The Official Mine to Tell Course

Clear the decks of your mind, make sense of what you’ve experienced, and create beautiful writing in the process—with this self-paced version of our flagship online writing course.

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Let's be honest. In the last few years...

...you went through some sort of major change or massive challenge.

No matter who you are or where you live, the last few years have altered your trajectory. And honestly, it's been intense.

We want to help you make meaning and beauty out of what's happened, so you can write the story that belongs to you.

The Official Mine to Tell Course

A TRANSFORMATIVE PERSONAL WRITING COURSE

Mine to Tell is a semester-long online writing course, hosted by two published writers and experienced instructors.

In this course, we help you open the door to meaning, healing, and beauty through writing. You'll finish with confidence in your voice, beautiful words on the page, and more clarity about your personal experience.

We have taught this course live 1-2 times per year since 2018.

This is the recording of all those years of refining, in our most recent live session. Which means you can take it at your own pace.

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What you get from Mine to Tell

1. Writing courage and craft

11 ONLINE LESSONS

We have taught this transformative course nearly a dozen times since 2018. This recording of our most recent session (2023) gives you Mine to Tell lessons and exercises that have been refined over years.

In 90-minute classes, we actively guide you through writing exercises that give you confidence and skills, so you have words to show for every lesson you listen to.

2. Tools to nix writer’s block

WRITING VISUALIZATIONS

The biggest block to writing isn't skill level. It's fear. Throughout the course, we'll guide you through key visualizations that we've refined over the past 5 years. Corresponding writing prompts/assignments help you get to the heart of the story that's yours to tell.

You'll discover the true source of your writing fears—and overcome them. We know from experience that these exercises yield powerful results.

3. Consistent writing motivation

DEDICATED WRITING TIME

If you don't have extra time to write, taking a writing class can feel tricky. We got you! During the lessons, we invite you to do active writing along with the lesson.

Put Mine to Tell on your calendar once a week for 12 weeks and you'll have enough writing time. Promise.

4. Insight into the writing life

PUBLISHED WRITER INTERVIEWS

When you register, you get access to a collection of inspiring interviews we've hosted with published writers, including a pep talk from Allison Faulkner, thoughtful insight to overcome writerly self-doubt from Amy Lee Scott, and wisdom about publishing, audience, and more.

"Mine to Tell changed my approach to writing by forcing me to do the emotional work of figuring out why I wanted to write and for whom. Thinking through and rejecting the narratives I'd learned about how I should write freed me to write with the voice I wanted to hear. I can't recommend this course enough."

—Natalie

"I have taken several online writing courses from various places and Mine to Tell has been my favorite. Ashmae and Kathy are amazing instructors and help you beginning to end to pursue an interest in writing in a personal and insightful way. Thanks for helping me continue to be passionate about writing and feeling like my story is important to tell."

—Jana W.

"I registered for Mine to Tell because I thought it could help me finally tell my own life story, and it did. I'm standing on this side of a finished manuscript because the Mine to Tell writing exercises shook something loose in me. I wrote like I haven't written in years."

—Laurie S.

Come write with two published writers who will encourage you.

We’re Ashmae and Kathy, friends who met in an MFA program, and writers who have published books, essays, and short stories.

We've taught writing for years and we want you to know 2 things...

1. Our Mine to Tell course will help your writing become a doorway to beauty, meaning, and healing for whatever you've gone through these past few years.

2. You have what it takes to write.

You've lived through something recently, and there's a story in there that's worth telling. We'll help you discover the most important threads and weave them together into something meaningful on the page.

"Kathy and Ashmae are THE writing coaches you need—absolutely worth every penny... They know how to teach you to pay attention, and how to turn that attention into beauty on a page, but they also chart a course for you across the really rugged terrain of all the fears, procrastination, and longings that can keep you from doing your best work... Some of my best work would not exist without them."

—Michaelann G.

Creating Your Writing Space

WEEK 1: Recorded Lesson + Slides + Chat Transcript

WEEK 2: A Letter in Your Writing Room

Protecting Your Writing Space

WEEK 3: Lesson 2 Recordings + Slides + Chat transcript

WEEK 4: Audio, reading, and exercise to help you decide what to write

Excusing Your Audience So You Can Write

WEEK 5: Lesson Recording + Chat + Slides

WEEK 6: Interview + fun reading + 750 words

Trusting What the "I" Has to Say

WEEK 7: Lesson Recording + Slides

WEEK 8: Practicing your "I" perspectives

Practicing the Art of Description

WEEK 9: Recorded Lesson 5

WEEK 10: Delving into description

Getting Personal Feedback on Your Writing

Workshopping recording

Stretching a Moment

WEEK 11: Stretching a Moment Lesson Recording + slides

WEEK 12: Optional writing assignment

Writing Yourself and Others as Complex Characters

WEEK 13: Writing yourself and others as complex characters

Mastering Beginnings and Endings

MTT Lesson 9 Beginnings and endings.m4a (91.5 MB)

WEEK 14: Beginnings and Endings Lesson

Making Your Words Do the Work

WEEK 15: Making Your Words Do the Work

Revising and Sharing Your Writing

Recording of final Online Reading

Writer Interviews (Bonus!) available before and during the course

Alison Faulkner: A Pep Talk for Writing Your First Draft

(1h 06m 41s)
610 MB

Amy Lee Scott: On Writing Through Self-doubt

(1h 00m 37s)
207 MB

Samyak Shertok (Part I): On Poetry and Why You Should Write

11 mins
69.2 MB

Samyak Shertok (Part II): On Poetry and Why You Should Write

60 mins
416 MB

Courtney Kendrick: On Finding an Audience & Honing Your Craft

(1h 01m 40s)
584 MB

After all the change you've been through, after all the lessons you've learned, after everything you've put into life lately... it would be a shame not to make some sense and beauty out of it.

Silence cuts us off from ourselves and from each other. Come find the words you need to write the story only you can tell.

There's a story glowing inside you. Don't let it go out.

Feeling an urge to write and actually writing are two different things—and too often, they don't match up. We want to change that for you.

We'll help you get past your writing blocks, gain momentum, and enjoy accountability for a long enough time to really get your writing going. This course gets results and writers come out the other side saying it's worth every penny.

Write with us and we'll help you...

Make sense of life changes and challenges.
Feel confident in your unique writing voice.
Know how to nix writer's block every time.
Finish with beautiful writing that you're proud of.

"Can I buy this course as a gift?"

ABSOLUTELY. WHAT A THOUGHTFUL, GENEROUS PERSON YOU ARE!

How to place a gift order:

Purchase the course using your own name and email address.
Email us your gift recipient's name, email address, and the date you'd like the course welcome email to be sent. (We don't want to spoil any surprises for you!)
Send your email to: minetotellcourses@gmail.com

"I registered for Mine to Tell initially because it was a gift from my daughter who has always encouraged me to write. I am taking a course for a third time because I found it so helpful in both improving my writing and motivating me to write more."
—Donna Thomas

PURCHASE MINE TO TELL AS A GIFT

Answers to your questions

What will I write in this course? What is the finished product?

You will finish Mine to Tell 2023 with at least one short piece of finished writing that you can share in our final course reading—but you can absolutely write more than that. (Some writers in past courses have finished book drafts.) Where most writing courses focus on product, we focus on process. In other words, we give you tools to write prolifically for the rest of your life, rather than prodding you with deadlines that just run out in a few months. Every week, you'll get a writing exercise in class or a prompt to write on your own. Some exercises build up a finished product; others guide you to realizations about yourself as a writer. We always give you a minimum bar to start an exercise and we encourage you to keep going with that momentum.

What writing experience or skill level is this course for?

Because we guide you past your own personal writing blocks, this course is designed for whatever level of experience you have, whether you've been writing for years or you've never written a word. There's no flexing or showing off—just help and encouragement. If you have the urge to write your way through something but you've felt stuck, this is the place for you.

What genre is this course?

All genres welcome. We're here to help you overcome the blocks that keep you from writing—whatever kind of writing that may be. While the majority of the writers who join us are drawn to narrative non-fiction, writers of poetry and fiction absolutely benefit from overcoming writing blocks and becoming more confident in their own perspective on the page.

When does this course start and end?

This course is a recording of the most recent time we offered Mine to Tell as a live course. That means you have instant access to the entire course and you can move through it at your own pace. It can start today and can end whenever you're finished using it to help you write.

If I'm not really a "Writer" will this course work for me?

Yes! This course is designed to be accessible by writers of every skill level (even if you think your skill level is zero). We're here to help you learn how to write first and foremost for yourself, to move past the blocks that keep you from writing in the first place (like self-doubt), and love the process of writing itself. There's no flexing or showing off here—just help and encouragement.

If you have the urge to write your way through something, this is the place for you.

How long do I have access to the course?

As soon as you purchase the course, you have unlimited access to all lessons, slides, and audio across any and all devices you own. You will have access for as long as our website is running (and if that were to change, we'd give you a heads up in advance).

Can I purchase this course for someone else?

Absolutely. (We're writers ourselves and if someone bought us a gift like this, we might swoon a little bit. In other words, this is seriously a good spouse or partner gift. You win at Christmas if you get them this.)

We'd love to make sure the welcome email is sent to the right place at the right time. Email us at minetotellcourses@gmail.com with your gift recipient's name and email address and we'll help you personally.

Would this course be appropriate for a teenager?

Definitely. The content in this course speaks on an adult level, but if you have a child who likes writing but doesn't know where to start, this course will help. Young teens might be a little out of their depth, but 15-18 years old would be totally comfortable here. If you have a teenage child, relative, or friend who is an aspiring writer, this course will encourage them and push their creative writing to new levels.

What if I find I don't like the course?

If you start the course and find it's not the right fit for you, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund—no questions asked. (Though we really would love to know why, just so we can always keep improving the experience for others.)

If you feel like now is your time to write, trust that urge.

Clear the decks of your mind, make sense of what you’ve experienced, and create beautiful writing in the process—with this self-paced version of our flagship online writing course.

START MINE TO TELL NOW

"There are a lot of voices in the world, and taking this course guided and welcomed me back to my own." —Carla T.