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Next Session Starts October 13th, 2024

The Art of Masterful Writing

Elevate your craft and ignite your creative potential.

Become a Master Writer is not just another writing course. It is a crafted journey into the hidden world of writing excellence, designed for those who are passionate about honing their skills, sharpening their focus, and cultivating creative habits

What if I told you that you could write like Hemingway? Or Maya Angelou? Or Aristotle?

Imagine wielding a secret practice that takes your writing from good to extraordinary.

Picture yourself crafting stories that leave readers breathless, characters that leap off the page, and prose so magnetic it's impossible to put down.

Take hold of a future where your words hold the power to captivate hearts and minds, leaving an indelible mark on every reader fortunate enough to discover your work.

This course is tailored for writers who are not content with mediocrity, but aspire to become true masters of the written word. As every great writer started somewhere, Become a Master Writer is your first step toward joining their ranks.

Uncover the secrets, refine your expertise, and become the writer you've always aspired to be.

Your journey to literary mastery begins today...


What Is Become a Master Writer?

Become a Master Writer is an 8-week interactive online course.

This masterclass is a treasure trove of insights, where vivid excerpts await to light your path and help you discover your unique voice.

Immerse yourself in daily lessons, engage in weekly mastermind sessions, draw inspiration from writing prompts, explore additional resources, participate in student forums, and gain insights from video training…all designed to nurture your writing skills and mindset towards mastery.

What's In It For You?

🎯 Precision and Attention

Hone in on the art of attention to detail and cultivate a razor-sharp focus that will set you apart in a world filled with distractions.

🧠 A Writer's Mindset

Adopt a mindset that champions curiosity, resilience, and a deeper understanding of the writer-reader connection.

I was excited about the idea that there was so much to learn! And I just kept pushing myself to find out what kind of writing is actually in my wheelhouse.

Jewel Aldea

Blogger

🔐 Secret Techniques and Practices

Uncover hidden disciplines and methods employed by literary masters, providing you with the tools to create writing that stands out.

🐲 Creative Inspiration

Reignite your creative spark, helping you overcome writer's block and tap into a wellspring of innovative ideas whenever you need them.

How Can You Apply This To Your Writing Craft?

Discover the unknown and not-often-talked-about techniques used by renowned authors, journalists, and wordsmiths to create impactful prose that captivates readers and leaves a lasting impression.

You'll also learn precisely how to apply them to your own writing. Through a combination of hands-on exercises, writing prompts, and guided practice—it's about the immediate and tangible improvements you can make in your writing. You’ll be learning how to improve even when it doesn’t feel like you are actively learning!

Whether you're an aspiring novelist, an online creator, a journalist, a poet…the techniques and practices revealed in this course will empower you to learn how to create compelling narratives, craft captivating characters, and master the art of storytelling. Whatever genre or industry you’re in, it’s imperative for you to turn your words into vivid, unforgettable experiences for your readers.

If you're serious about becoming a better writer, then this course is your pathway to success.

Here’s what people are saying about the course...

BAMW helped me to write in my own voice...

Not everything needs to be all-business-all-the-time. BAMW allowed me to write for pleasure, so I can start writing my own opinions and ideas again.

Rachel Mazza - CMO, Copy chief 

BAMW expanded my sense of what writing could be...


Bob gower - Writer, author, consultant
BAMW got me writing every day...

I like that it is structured to get me writing every day, even if it's not my own words, I am physically putting my pen to paper, and building that sort of practice.

Mariza Monteiro - Sales & Business Development

How Does It Work?

Every day, you’ll open a new lesson. It includes an master's excerpt (or a writing/learning prompt), and some guidance for what to focus on as you do the copy work.

Print out the lesson, download it to a mobile device, or view it directly on your screen.

Grab your notebook, legal pad, or other scratch paper ... and start writing. By hand!

Click through the additional resources and materials we’ve curated for you to dig deeper into the lesson.

Jump on our live mastermind call once a week to learn more, in real time.

While this might seem like a lot, you can do most (if not all) of the lessons themselves every day in 60 minutes or less.

Join the Ranks of Writing Masters

"Become a Master Writer" unveils the secret practice that will supercharge your writing abilities and set you on a path to literary greatness: Copywork 

Don't take my word for it!

You’ll be joining a pretty esteemed group of famous writers and thinkers who’ve used this exact method to develop their own craft. And they all admit that it has been a driving force to their success as writers.

  • Hunter S. Thompson copied F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls so he could feel what it was like to write a classic novel—and it worked!
  • Virgil copied Homer (and Plato copied Socrates … copying your teacher’s writing was one of the only ways to get essays circulated in Ancient Rome and Greece.)
  • Stephen King notes in his writing theory book On Writing that he copied releases of his favorite cult horror short stories and graphic novels as a child to teach himself how the authors wrote.
  • Benjamin Franklin copied interesting newspaper articles as a teen to learn how to write for publication.
  • Buddhist monks handwrite ancient sutras and aphorisms again and again and again until the phrases are etched into their mind.

In fact, most master writer have learned by doing some form of copywork, even if they were unaware of the term.

What’s In The Course?

Our course unfolds in a carefully crafted journey, each module building upon the last, as we guide you through a progression of foundation and storytelling themes.

It's a journey that promises not only growth, but also an exploration of your creative depths.

01.

Module 1: Learning and Reading

Master Writers Include:

Ira Glass, Stephen King, Jenny Colgan, Matthew Salesses

02.

Module 2: Language and Words

Master Writers Include:

Kory Stamper, Christina Garcia, Shion Miura, James Joyce

03.

Module 3: Structure and Flow

Master Writers Include:

Ann Handley, Shane Parrish, Bohumil Hrabal, Maya Angelou

04.

Module 4: Concept and Premise

Master Writers Include:

Aristotle, Charles Dickens, Anne Lamott, Marie Vieux-Chauvet

05.

Module 5: Characters and Heroes

Master Writers Include:

Gabrielle Bellot, Gus Wezerek, Brit Bennett, Elena Ferrante

06.

Module 6: Settings and Surroundings

Master Writers Include:

Willa Cather, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Chuck Wendig, N.K. Jemisin, Ray Bradbury

07.

Module 7: Themes and (Life) Lessons

Master Writers Include:

Leo Tolstoy, Gabriel García Márquez, Bob Dylan, Langston Hughes

08.

Module 8: Voice and Style
   

Master Writers Include:

Ernest Hemingway, Joan Didion, bell hooks, Toni Morrison

About The Course Teacher,
Elisa Doucette

Elisa is a professional writer, editor, and writing coach. (Which is a fancy career title way to explain that people pay her a great deal of money to do these things, and have for over two decades.)

Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Forbes, Yahoo! Small Business, The Shine Network, The Huffington Post, and Brazen Careerist among others. Two of her columns have been syndicated (The Single Slice on MaineTodayMedia and Shattering Glass on Forbes.) Her short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines and websites. She previously hosted the podcast Writers’ Rough Drafts, and has appeared as a guest on radio shows and podcasts around the web—such as The Writing Coach, Entrepreneurs on Fire, Smart Brand Marketing, Huffington Post Live, and The Business Of Writing. She's also found herself on stages around the world, speaking on topics like writing, creativity, editing, and anything nerdy about words. When she's not doing all this, Elisa works as the Founder and Managing Editor of Craft Your Content, a virtual editing and writing coaching agency, that helps driven writers make their writing even better.

Frequently asked questions

What if there's no way I can set aside time every day to do this?

I bet that is what you say about your own writing as well; I know I do. Carving out 30-60 minutes daily to do these lessons is a fantastic way to build a writing habit without having to struggle for something to say.

Can't I just do this all myself?

You absolutely could do this yourself. All you need to do learn the elements of storytelling, read 500+ books and essays to find ones that exemplify those elements, identify the passages that you'd like to copy, figure out how they apply to the elements of storytelling, and find others doing the same thing with the exact same content to chat to and learn with.

Do I have to do the WHOLE thing?

Please note the “Have To” conversation. The longer you work at this, the more easily masterful writing will become second nature for you, and you’ll continue to grow. You've gotta put in the time though.

Will there be (Classical, Fiction, Blog Posts, Insert Writing Genre Here) excerpts? I hate reading that stuff.

The writing excerpts will come from a myriad of different genres and time periods, because you never know what you might end up learning. Or liking. I spent half my life thinking I hated onions. But sauté or caramelize them, and they’re delicious!

Do I have to read the additional stuff?

What is it with all the “Have To’s” around here? This isn’t English 170; there will be no grading at the end. The additional resources are just that … additional. You will learn a TON from the daily prompts alone, but if you want to learn more, these resources have you covered.

What is a writing master class?

This course was originally called a Writing Masters Class because you’re learning from lots of masters, not just one. Per the all-knowing power that is Wikipedia, “A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, any of the arts, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed.”

How do you reprint excerpts and essays from writers and authors?

We have selected excerpts from various works of literature and non-fiction books, and reprinted them under the Fair Use doctrine (meaning we only selected a small portion of the complete work.) Essays and articles are either available in the public domain, or we have requested special permission to share. If you are the writer, creator, or publisher of a piece of content contained in this course and you would like us to remove it, please let us know and we will remove it immediately. And know we selected it in the first place because we felt it was a piece of masterful writing, and we were excited to share it with the course participants as something they should learn from.

Do I have to hand write it?

There are but a few tasks in life that you HAVE to do (breathing and eating your Mom’s or significant other’s cooking come to mind). But many studies have shown that you’ll get a more cognitive experience writing by hand.

How is handwriting a more cognitive experience?

Did you know that you have more nerve endings in your hands than in any other part of your body? One finger has more nerve endings in it than your entire forearm. The key is to engage those nerves! It will have a massive impact on the structure of your brain, as you literally change your neurological wiring.

What happens if I fall behind?

Then you catch up. Do a double dose one day. Bang out a few on the train. Eat your cereal with one hand and jot down words with the other. Take advantage of the mid-course break week. Catch up the same way you would with a regular writing routine.

Won’t I lose my unique voice/writing style if I copy others?

Did you totally lose your sense of self the first time you traveled? Was Michael Jordan less of a standout athlete because he watched game tapes? Did you not make that kickass dinner/desk/decoupaged planter because you got the idea off Pinterest? We all learn by doing, and part of that is seeking guidance from those who are better at something than we currently are. You’ll learn to appreciate the different nuances of these writers, and eventually adapt them to your own.

Won’t I lose my unique voice/writing style if I copy others?

Did you totally lose your sense of self the first time you traveled? Was Michael Jordan less of a standout athlete because he watched game tapes? Did you not make that kickass dinner/desk/decoupaged planter because you got the idea off Pinterest? We all learn by doing, and part of that is seeking guidance from those who are better at something than we currently are. You’ll learn to appreciate the different nuances of these writers, and eventually adapt them to your own.

Do I really get 60 lessons, bi-weekly mastermind calls, direct conversations with Elisa, and online forums?

BAMW has been called a "mini MFA", which would cost tens of thousands of dollars. A single course like this online will run up into the thousands. While my peers assure me that it would be "better business" to charge something way higher, I want people to be able to take this course! I want the folks who want to become master writers to have the opportunity to do just that. It's important to me to put it at a price that gives you serious skin in the game (so you want to participate and finish) but isn't unreasonable.

Whatever your goals and dreams, Become a Master Writer will help you find a new way of thinking, make connections and observations, and build a habit of attention that will directly impact your writing craft.

You’ll love...

  • The strength you find in becoming a powerful writer who intentionally works at their craft
  • Learning what was going on inside the minds of history’s greatest writers
  • Finding how to put together words in a beautiful way that captivates readers
  • Knowing how to deliver a story and develop characters or subjects with perfect dramatic pacing

You can finally be…

  • Confident in your words
  • Bold in your storytelling
  • Captivating in every narrative
  • a True Master Writer...like you've always dreamed

Don't let another day pass without exploring the path to writing mastery. 

Join Become a Master Writer and embark on a transformative journey to becoming the writer you've always wanted to be. Enroll now and start crafting stories that will leave a lasting impact on your readers and the literary world. 

Your words have the power to change liveslet us help you unleash that potential.

Before I go...

I wanted to give you a quick bit of personal backstory to this course. People have asked me for years "But How?!"

  • How do I write the way I do?
  • How do I think the way I do?
  • How have I built the insights that make me a sought-after editor and writing coach?

This course is a BIG part of that explanation.


I spent over 5000 hours working on it, and that's not including the 1000+ books and essays I've (re)read to pull excerpts and exercises from...specifically for this course.


You are getting centuries of learning, experience, and insights when you enroll. This has long been my passion project, and I hope you'll find as much joy in joining me as I've had creating it.