SIX TUESDAYS: SEPTEMBER 17TH TO OCTOBER 22ND

Whether your goals include writing for emotional expression or publishing your words, we hope you'll join us for our six-week online writing groups for adult adoptees who have stories to share.

In a supportive environment designed to help adoptee voices shine, the Adoptee Voices writing groups offer:

Dedicated writing time: bring your work-in-progress or write something fresh using the week's adoption-specific prompt
Writing accountability and motivation
Community with other adoptees and writers
Optional feedback on your writing
Practice at sharing your adoptee story
Your choice in interest tracks: "Honor Your Voice" or "Hone Your Craft"
Publishing and writing support
Opportunities for sharing your work in a small and supportive setting
An invitation to publish your writing in the Adoptee Voices e-Zine

Interest Tracks

Honor Your Voice: Helping build confidence in your abilities as a writer and learning to honor your adoptee voice.
This track supports both beginning and experienced writers who are new to writing about adoption. Under the creative and compassionate guidance of facilitators Jennifer Dyan Ghoston (The Truth So Far and Once Upon a Time…In Adopteeland) and Kate Murphy, LCSW (The Couch blog), adoptees will be led through weekly warm-up activities that invite the unconscious to play, and then invited to write from adoption-specific prompts. After “side by side” writing time, adoptees return to share their writing in small groups with 6-7 other adoptee-writers from their interest track. Open to 16 adult adoptee writers.

Hone Your Craft: Focusing on the craft of storytelling and writing with publication in mind.

This track supports adoptee-writers experienced with writing about adoption and considering publishing fiction, essays, articles, op-eds, blog pieces, memoirs, or other nonfiction pieces. Under the savvy and supportive leadership of Sara Easterly (Searching for Mom and Adoption Unfiltered) and Alice Stephens (Famous Adopted People), adoptees in this track begin with a craft-focused mini-lecture before writing to an adoption-specific prompt. After “side by side” writing time, adoptees return to share their writing in small groups with 6-7 other adoptee-writers from their interest track. Open to 16 adult adoptee writers.

Meeting Structure

Meetings take place over Zoom from 4-7 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesdays.
We start each meeting as a large group, and then break into track-specific groups for: A) Warm-up activities to invite your unconscious to play ("Honor Your Voice" track); or B) Publishing and writing instruction ("Hone Your Craft" track).
After the adoption-specific prompts are shared, we turn off audio/video to write "side by side” for 1.25 to 1.5 hours.
Following writing time, we meet in track-specific groups of 6-8 adoptee-writers. Each week, writers can expect to share for 3-4 minutes and receive 2-3 minutes of feedback.
We close each meeting with writers from both tracks for a grounding exercise and large-group discussion.

Registration Details

All genres, all writing levels, all adoptees 18+ welcome.
Limited to 16 writers in each track.
Cost is $165.
Includes access to a private online group for ongoing dialogue.

Adoptee Voices Writing Group: Sept-Oct 2024