It could be the book that’s been ‘nearly there’ for years, the chapter that brings you out in a cold sweat, or the memoir that’s spread across eight notebooks, three desk drawers and a laptop. They can all be finished, and Show Up will help you do it.
We’re Bec Evans and Chris Smith. We’ve been writing coaches for over 15 years, and we’re the authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts, creators of the bestselling Breakthroughs & Blocks Substack and producers of the This Might Work podcast.
Over six weeks, you’ll try small experiments with your time, your routine and the things that get in the way, and keep the ones that work. It asks something of you, and the effort pays off.
For six years, we’ve asked writers how satisfied they are with their writing at the start of the course and again at the end. On average, the score doubles: from 4 out of 10 to 8.
Enrolment opens on Monday 16 November, with an early bird price for the first three weeks. Subscribe to our free newsletter, 'Breakthroughs & Blocks', and we’ll let you know the moment places are available.
Show Up might be for you if…
You have a writing project on the go, at any stage, and you want to finish it
You’re ready to commit to showing up for it, in whatever way works for you
You’re willing to experiment and try new approaches
You suspect the problem isn’t talent or discipline, even if it feels like it
Show Up probably isn’t for you if…
You don’t have a project yet and you’re looking for ideas
You want feedback on your writing or help with craft
You’re looking for one system that will fix everything
Finishing is possible, even for the project that’s been stuck for years. Most stalled writing doesn’t need more willpower or an empty diary. It needs you to keep coming back to it, in a way that fits your life.
Showing up can be small: a few minutes here and there, or a return after weeks away. It doesn’t mean being perfect or writing every day, and it doesn’t need to be a lot to count. It just means doing something, so the idea in your head starts to become something real on the page.
Creative work doesn’t follow a formula, so what keeps one writer going will stop another in their tracks. That’s why the course is built on experiments: you find out what works for you, and you keep it.
There will be moments that feel uncomfortable, uncertain or unglamorous, like the point where it’s 80% done and you can’t see the end. Show Up doesn’t pretend those moments won’t happen. It gives you ways through them. And each time you show up anyway, the finish gets closer.
Two live workshops with Bec and Chris, at the start and the end
Six Show Up sessions: live, hosted write-alongs where we all come together and write and reflect on what's working
Direct access to the authors of Written throughout the six weeks
A questionnaire before you begin, support to set a clear goal and identify what’s holding you back
A theme each week, with short experiments to try
Exercises, tip sheets and further reading, for when you need them
A community of writers working on their own projects alongside you
Before the course begins, we ask writers to rate how satisfied they feel with their writing.
Last year, the average score was just 4 out of 10.
Six weeks later, at the end of the course, we asked again. The average had doubled to 8. 🙌
What might change for you?
We start with a live workshop. You’ll set a clear, specific goal for your project and look honestly at what has stopped you before.
When, where and how long you write. You’ll test different ways of fitting writing into your week and find out which ones work for you and your life.
Distraction, interruptions, doubt, procrastination, guilt. This week you’ll work out what’s actually stopping you and try ways round it.
Every project hits a point where momentum drops. You’ll learn why it happens and try ways of getting through it.
By now you’ll know which tactics are paying off - and which aren't. This week you’ll turn them into a way of writing that fits your life rather than someone else’s.
We finish with a live workshop. You’ll look back at your progress and leave with a plan for getting your project finished.
Kick-off workshop: Friday 8 January
Week 1 begins: Monday 11 January
Wrap-up workshop: Monday 15 February
Last day: Sunday 21 February
The course materials stay open until 14 March with Bec and Chris on hand for support during this time.
"Wise, sympathetic, encouraging and incredibly helpful." ― Sophie Hannah, bestselling author
"Collects the best advice I've ever encountered for constructing a writing habit that actually works." ― Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks.
"An empowering guide to creating a writing habit that lasts." ―Tanya Shadrick, author of The Cure for Sleep.
"A fascinating and extremely useful book." ― David Quantick, Emmy Award-winning scriptwriter of Veep and The Thick of It.
"A lovely, friendly book." ― Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Write It All Down.
"An invaluable guidebook for writers at all stages." ― Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work.
The full price is £299 per place. Payment plans are available.
Early bird offers are available - sign up beforehand to find out more.
Our coaching programs are about helping you to improve your productivity and get unblocked whatever you are writing. Professors, poets, business writers, PhDs, novelists, short story writers, scriptwriters, memoirists are all welcome and will all benefit.
No. Show Up is about how you write, not what you write. We don’t cover story structure, character, argument, style or grammar. We cover time, routine, motivation, and the obstacles that get in the way of your writing.
Each week opens at 8am GMT, with a theme, short videos, reading and experiments to try. The two live workshops are at 1pm GMT, and both are recorded, so it doesn’t matter if you can’t make one or you’re in a different time zone. Each week there’s also a Show Up session, a hosted write-along. Yes, we’re Brits, and yes, there will be tea and cake! Writers join us from all over the world.
That’s up to you. There’s no minimum, because productivity is personal: what works for one writer won’t work for another. What we ask is that you commit to showing up, whether that’s an hour a day or ten minutes between other things. You don’t need to take time off. The point is to find time for writing in the life you already have. You’ll get the most from the course if you follow it week by week, because each theme builds on the one before.
You probably will at some point. Most writers have a week where life gets in the way. That’s not a sign the course isn’t working. It’s exactly what the course is about. We’ll help you pick it back up, and everything stays open for three weeks after the end so you can catch up.
We can’t make you, and nothing is marked. But the writers who do the experiments and answer the reflection questions get the most out of the course, and your answers help us support you.
Be honest: will there ever be a right time? This course is about making progress in the middle of a busy life, not waiting for a quieter one.
Yes. We know that some institutions/funding bodies require evidence of attendance. Just ask!
Email us at: hello@writtenacademy.com