Hi Friends!
It’s that time of year when we look back on 2025 and kick or congratulate ourselves. And while most of us will wish we’d published more (👋me), there are other ways to Be A Writer. Sure, we deal with drafts and Craft, but why not work on Career, Community, and Cashflow too? Let’s get active!
Build out your bio and CV
Chat with a Residency Director about successful applicants + moreUpgrade app materials for opportunities & funds
Pop into a special prep session for Apps & AdminConnect with an acclaimed author and screenwriter
Chat + Q&A with Elaine Hsieh ChouDevelop your drafts & writer toolkit
Enrollment is open on our editor-led MFA-style Writing Workshops!
And before you reach for that Mastercard — did you know LMC members save 33% on Workshop tuition? And Basic memberships are just $15/month.
Yep. Members get big savings on Workshops AND *checks list* our Guided Writing Studios, prompts, chats with lit world insiders, and a friendly community of writers to connect with. All for the price of a McDonald’s meal. (Minus the cholesterol.)
All the below takes place in our members-only Discord server. All times US Eastern.
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🌲 SPECIAL EVENTS 🌲
Landing a Funded Residency II: Chat + Q&A
Missed your chance to ask questions in November’s Residency Chat?
Don’t worry, here’s another: on Tuesday, Dec 2 5PM ET, we’ll talk with the Director of the dreamy and very generous residency every writer should know.*
We’ll discuss how to better present ourselves to jurors, what it means to have a ‘brand’ or ‘vision,’ and who should actually be listed as a reference.
Improve your chances with grants and fellowships too.
Got more questions? Bring them.
Performing in Purgatory: Chat + Q&A w/ Elaine Hsieh Chou
We love Fun Chats about Serious Things
On Sunday, Dec 7 8PM ET, we’ll discuss Elaine’s story “Featured Background” and collection Where Are You Really From, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2025.
We’ll talk about the role of a literary jester, hard satire vs. the slyly comic, and the performance of piety & sin.
Got questions for Elaine? Bring them!
(We hear she might know some things about writing for the screen as well…👀)
Special Prep Session: Apps and Admin
Sorry to share bad news but… there’s more to Writer Life than publishing in lit mags.
Apparently, we should Professionalize and become Public Figures. We should build out our bios, plump up our CVs. (Ask your future agents, marketing teams, etc. why.) And it’s scary to apply for honors, opportunities, and funds. But if we don’t, we’ll never get them. So… let’s make things less scary by doing it together.
On Wednesday, Dec 10 7PM ET, let’s research opportunities, make spreadsheets, prep + revise our materials — whatever needs to be done before we apply, apply.
Editor Steve will be taking questions and offering eyeballs + emotional support.
LMC Writing Workshops
Ready to light a fire under your butts drafts? Our editor-led MFA-style workshops are OPEN for enrollment!
We’ll talk through your goals, intentions, and concerns as we troubleshoot your WIPs together.
What to expect
• Committed cohorts capped at 8 writers
• Weekly 90-minute online meetings
• Two writers workshopped per session
• Craft insights, fresh perspectives, and a kind community
Sound helpful? Sign up for our 1st round of Workshops, kicking off in January.
4 week session: Tuesdays 8 PM ET w/ Editor Autumn.
8 week session: Saturdays 11 AM ET w/ Editor Steve.
🌲 OUR CORE PROGRAMMING 🌲
Accountability Sessions
Write with other members online! No excuses. No distractions.
Process Groups
Mondays: 11AM-12PM ET
Drop-in Coaching
Fridays: 10AM-12PM ET
Sundays: 6-7PM ET
Guided Writing Studio
Ready to earn those sugar cookies? On Wednesday, Dec 17 8PM ET, Editor Autumn Watts will lead a group writing session to unstick even the stickiest of writer’s blocks — and keep you writing through the holidays.
Writing Sprint
Get ready for a fresh writing year with a competitive writing sprint! Led by Editor Autumn Watts.
Join the scrimmage on Tuesday, Dec 30 9PM ET
Book Chat
Let’s take a little reading break for the holidays… and sort our 2026 TBR lists 😼.
Prompts
Posted by flash fiction superstar Kathy Fish on Dec 1 and 15.
Firelight Readaround
On Sunday, Dec 28 8PM ET, share your work with our warm supportive community!
🌲 COMMUNITY NEWS 🌲
Our Pen Pal Work Swap was so wholesome we’re making it ongoing + official! 💖 Now snail mail OR email. Members only.
Karen Karason has an essay “Something New” in The Rumpus: her first publication!👏
Gregg Williard has a surreal hybrid “I Was a Swim Pal in Abruzzo” in Winamop!
Eleanor Ball’s “The Cards Say” has been nominated for Best Microfiction by Fifth Wheel Press!
Justin Gibson’s “Rasputin Loses Employee of the Month” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Pinch!
Kyla-Yến Huỳnh Giffin is selling linocut prints to fundraise for a local food drive.
Plus: Readarounds Facilitator Emily Afifi met Karen Karason IRL in Minnesota! (We’re super jealous).
Aaaand… Writing Challenge Facilitator Heidi Marjamäki got a new puppy!
Introducing Helmi! 😍
🌲 RECAP & PRECAP 🌲
In November, we talked with writing powerhouses Meredith Talusan and J. Robert Lennon about cute boys, writing humor, and tracking progress on our WIPs, and learned that Meredith uses… wooden blocks?
So satisfying! And genius!
And here’s a recap teaser from November’s Residency Chat w/ Justin Rigamonti, former Program Coordinator for the Carolyn Moore Writers House, and Jeff McMahon, Director of Operations at Willapa Bay AiR.
Discussions live forever in our Discord, so catch up and chime in anytime.
And looking ahead to Winter 2026…
What the heck are Low Res MFAs? Who are they for? If you want honest talk about the pros & cons, we know some folks who don’t mind sharing👀
Rumors abound that Editor Steve is cooking up a series of Guided Writing Studios on “Crooks & Detectives.” Generative sessions and craft chats on when and why to think of protagonists as — you guessed it! — Crooks & Detectives.
And… our mantra for 2026? “Don’t just set goals, make plans.” So we might be rolling out a program to help writers do just that.
More big plans (and collaborations) on the way in 2026! Subscribe to stay in the loop and see you in Discord!