A focused, five-session accountability cohort — with one-on-one coaching time built in.

You know the feeling: the manuscript that's been "in progress" for months, the pages that only get written when someone's expecting you to show up. That's what this is for.

The Brown Bag Lit Fall Cohort is a five-session writing accountability group, the newest version of Lunch Break Writers, which we’ve offered for years. This fall, it's a more focused, bounded format than before, with something new added in: a private coaching session with Shasta included for every member.

What's included:

• Five every-other-Tuesday writing sessions. 90 minutes each, starting September 15th

• One private 30-minute coaching session with Shasta during the cohort. Use it however is most useful: talk through a stuck scene, brainstorm revision or submission strategy, or check in on your goals

• A capped cohort: 15 writers max so it stays personal

• A proven structure: 15 minutes of goal and intention setting, 60 minutes of silent writing time (cameras optional), and a final 15 minutes for progress sharing and encouragement

Schedule:

Every other Tuesday, 12:00–1:30pm EST, September 15 – November 10. Meetings held via Google Meet.

• Tuesday, September 15

• Tuesday, September 29

• Tuesday, October 13

• Tuesday, October 27

• Tuesday, November 10

Cost:

$119 for the full cohort

Includes five live group sessions, one private coaching session, and a small group of writers who'll actually notice if you disappear.

Who this is for:

Writers who've tried going it alone and know it doesn't work as well as showing up with other people. Whether you're deep in a draft, circling back to something you set aside, or just need real structure this fall, this is built for you.

This isn't just writing time. It's a small group of people who show up for each other's goals and progress, week after week. That's what's made Lunch Break Writers work for years, and it's what this cohort is built to carry forward.

Enrollment:

Space is limited to 15 writers. Enrollment closes September 10. Sign up below to hold your spot.

Enroll Now →

Questions about how this works? Reach out at brownbaglit@gmail.com

You are invited to join our community of poetry readers and writers this spring!

We will read poetry together and workshop your poems; you will receive individual feedback from Chloe each month.

Class is limited to four students to ensure that everyone’s work has ample time to be considered and discussed.

Why I’m Offering This Class:

I can’t tell you how much I love poetry. I suppose that is my failure as a writer, so I’ll try: Reading poetry keeps me company (from my darkest to, yes, my happiest days). Writing poetry helps me to untangle this (sometimes heartbreaking) world. And editing poems for publication nudges open a door for conversation with readers.

My second collection of poetry, Perforated, came out in January. I’ve been thinking a lot about the community of people who helped to make that book come together. This class of poetry readers and writers is an effort to recreate the community to help make your next poem – or even collection! – come together.

What You’ll Do:

Read, annotate, and discuss four poetry collections

Draft, revise, and workshop four poems with the group

Attend monthly individual conferences with Chloe to workshop additional poems and/or revisions

Receive written feedback via email

Schedule:

Monthly Zoom classes: 12-2 PM EST

Wed., Sept. 16

Wed., Oct. 21

Wed., Nov. 18

Wed., Dec. 9

You’ll schedule your monthly ½ hour conference with Chloe at your convenience and receive feedback from her over email.

In each class, we will dedicate time to discuss the assigned poetry collection and each poem submitted for workshop. Our focus will be on how to strengthen your own writing (we’ll consider craft issues such as surprise, line breaks and sound) and find joy in the process, too.

The class will not be recorded.

Topics:

Prompts will be offered, but you can follow your instinct.

We will focus on craft elements like surprise, line breaks, and sound—always with kindness.

Cost:

$1,000*

Total class time: 8 hours + 2 conference hours

*Financial assistant available; see the application.

Refund Policy:

Full refund up to one week before the class begins.

Application:

Email Chloe (chloemiller@gmail.com) with:

Your poetry/writing experience

What you hope to learn (3 questions you'd like to explore)

Current creative projects

1-3 sample poem drafts.

Optional: Financial assistance request

Deadline:

Rolling admissions until the class is full (4 students maximum). Payment due after acceptance (Venmo or check).

After you receive an acceptance email, your payment will be due to Chloe.

Dreaming of writing a book but aren't sure where to start? Already started your book but aren't sure how to move forward? Join us for an inspiring and practical workshop where we'll share how we each took our projects from initial spark to finished manuscript.

Chloe Yelena Miller will discuss the journey of writing her second poetry collection, while Shasta Grant will walk through the process of completing her debut novel. Together, we'll explore how to sustain momentum across different genres and project lengths—from nurturing that first seed of an idea through the inevitable messy middle to typing "The End."

In this session, we'll cover:

How to develop and stick with a long-term writing project

Strategies for maintaining creative energy and momentum

Navigating doubt, revision, and the non-linear writing process

Practical tips we wish we'd known from the start

Writing prompts to help you push forward on your own manuscript

We'll also read short excerpts from our books and discuss how specific passages came together.

Whether you're just beginning a manuscript or stuck partway through, you'll leave with concrete tools and renewed motivation to complete your project.

Cost: To register for this class, purchase or preorder both Chloe's PERFORATED and Shasta's WHEN WE WERE FERAL. Email proof of purchase to brownbaglit@gmail.com to confirm your enrollment. If you prefer to pay instead, the enrollment fee is $50 and can be paid online here.

Let’s spend an hour getting organized for a new writing year. You’ll be given some categories to consider (editing, researching, etc.). We’ll spend some time jotting down not only our goals, but when we plan on working towards them. We’ll think both big (write x book!) and small (write y character’s background!) You’ll leave the session with a to do list and scheduled times to work*.

This session is appropriate for all levels of writers (those just getting started through to those working to complete a particular project). 

Please come with your calendar and paper (or your computer) for writing your To Do list. 

Cost: $50 (25% discount for Lunch Break Members)

This election was a doozy. But we are still here and our voices are more necessary than ever. 

In this class, we’ll write in response to a few prompts inspired by current political issues. You’ll be given a prompt (which you can follow or veer off from) to write pieces that might be directly or indirectly political. You can write fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, lists, etc., or draw or just listen. We’d love to have you. 

We'll share some of what we wrote and discuss how you might revise and share your writing to help encourage peers and encourage them to act*. 

*Of course, we each have different levels of privilege and safety. You decide what you want and can safely share. This course is meant to be both encouraging and practical.

Cost: $75 (25% discount for Lunch Break Members)

This Poetry Month, we welcome prose writers to read and write poems together. 

Nursery rhymes, lullabies and songs are close cousins to written poems. Which is to say, even if you don’t call yourself a poet, you have experience (beyond that stern high school teacher who insisted you were wrong in your interpretation). Poetry uses space and line breaks to create images and more while communicating with the reader.

Which is to say, poetry isn’t (or doesn’t have to be) scary. You can use poetry (or at least ‘poetic lines’) to add variety to your prose writing, too. This course will also help you to feel comfortable reading those books of poems you periodically buy and haven’t read yet.

We’ll read poems to discuss line breaks and white space, and then generate drafts in response to prompts. 

Cost: $125 (25% discount for Lunch Break Members)

Some writers love revision while some writers hate it. Either way, it’s almost always necessary. This class will not only demystify the revision process but take you through a 3-step process for revision your flash fiction. Bring your draft and a red pen (any color will do, of course) and be prepared to roll up your sleeves!

Cost: $75 (25% discount for Lunch Break Members)

Our relationships with our mothers are complex. Maybe you were embarrassed of your mother when you were a child. Maybe you fought as a teen. Maybe you became best friends as an adult. Maybe she let you down in ways you can never forgive. Or maybe she’s been your biggest champion and supporter. Some of us spend years wrestling with our feelings about our mothers, even long after they pass away. Whatever your relationship with her is (or was), the mother-child bond is formative. This provides us with material that is ripe for writing, perhaps too ripe.  How do we write without being sentimental? How do we write without being judgmental? Through reading, discussion and writing exercises, we’ll learn how to tell the stories of our relationships with our mothers.

Cost: $75 (25% discount for Lunch Break Members)

All classes are held online and limited to ten students. Minimum enrollment of 3 students needed for classes to run.

Lunch Break Members receive a 25 percent discount on all classes! Click here to learn more and become a member. The discount will automatically apply for members logged into their Buy Me a Coffee account.

Refund policy: Full refund available for cancellations made 7 or more days before class. No refunds available for cancellations made less than 7 days before a class.

We aim to make our classes financially accessible. If the cost is prohibitive, please contact us.