NEED SUPPORT?
Do you have a writing project you’re excited about, but just need a little (or a LOTTA) help to complete?
Are you feeling alone in your writing journey? Do you need coaching? Community? Accountability?
This six-month Writing Circle will help you reach your writing goal, whether it’s to finish a book, a book proposal, or a series of essays.
Many writers get stuck—not because they lack talent, and not because they lack discipline—but because they’re trying to do it alone. They’re trying to write their first book, trying to complete a series of stories, or trying to start a writing career all ALONE.
Writing a book, completing a writing project, and building a professional writing career are all filled with ups and downs, joys and disappointments. Writing at a professional, publishable level AIN’T EASY! It’s writing at the highest level, essentially the Olympics of the literary arts world.
OLYMPIANS & MAMAS
Now tell me - which Olympic athletes (or hopefuls) don’t have coaches?
Which Olympic hopefuls train alone, without a coach and without community?
Not a single one.
But if the thought of being an Olympic athlete feels too intense, imagine you’re a stay-at-home mom or a working mom. To parent successfully, you need other moms to give you tips and provide support and community, right?
And I’m pretty sure that when you were pregnant, you read AT LEAST one book about parenting.
The best way to successfully birth your writing dreams & grab literary gold in publishing is to NOT GO AT IT ALONE. The best way is to journey alongside a trusted coach within community.
Chanté Griffin, Writing Circle Coach, yougochante.com
the circle offers
6 months of dedicated focus on the writing project(s) of your choosing
Short inspirational messages to fuel your writing life
Monthly communal gatherings
Small group coaching
Accountability for your writing
Feedback on your work-in-progress
Writing tips + Craft discussions
Spiritual Care for your writing journey
circle STRUCTURE
Monthly gathering (approximately 1.5 hours, depending on the cohort’s size.)
Receive feedback on work-in-progress
Share successes and where feel stuck to receive guidance from group
Discuss that month’s inspirational message
Discuss that month’s optional craft essay
Share writing plans for upcoming month
Receive prayer over your writing journey
Between sessions: read work-in-progress of 1-2 writing circle members
Between sessions (optional): read one essay to improve your craft
dates
Start Date: Week of January 13, 2025. Each cohort meets on a different day & time:
- First Monday of the Month Evening Cohort: 5:45-7PM PDT (open for new members)
- First Monday of the Month Evening Cohort: 7PM-8PM PDT (open for new members)
- First Thursday of the Month Morning Cohort: 9-10AM PDT (open for new members)
- First Thursday of the Month Evening Cohort: 5-6PM PDT (open for new members???)
End Date: June 30, 2025
Closing Celebration: Monday, July 7, 2025
cost
The Writing Circle costs $150 a month for 6 months for a total cost of $900. (If this amount is cost-prohibitive, we can discuss a trade-for-services option to accommodate your budget.)
Final day to join is Saturday, January 11, 2025
Payment Options
(Zelle is preferred because it’s feeless, but other payment methods work.)
Zelle: yougochantetv@gmail.com
Venmo: @GlitterCrossMediaLLC
Paypal: paypal.me/GlitterCrossMediaLLC
After you submit payment, you will receive a welcome email & survey.
questions?
Set up a 15-minute informational call or email: yougochante at gmail
Photo by Joel Muniz
Wanna know more about me, your coach?
Here’s my long bio!
Chanté Griffin is a writer and natural hair advocate whose work centers race, culture, and faith. She splits her time between Los Angeles and Paso Robles, CA, freelancing as a contributing writer for The Washington Post, Faithfully Magazine, L.A. Parent Magazine, and others. She is also a former contributor for The Root, LA Weekly, and The Lily.
Chanté authored “Jessi on the Margins: Black Characters Then & Now,” an essay that explores how race is portrayed in children’s literature in the 1980s and ‘90s. This thoughtful and personal essay was published in Literary Hub and the anthology, We Are The Baby-Sitters Club: Essays and Artwork from Grown-up Readers, by Chicago Review Press in 2021. The project’s precursor was a 2019 article she penned for The Washington Post, “Beyond ‘Peter Pan” and ‘Baby-Sitters Club’: How (and why) to find more diverse books.”
As a 2022-2023 U.S. Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism, Chanté partnered with vogue.com to report on the mental resilience of Black women diagnosed with alopecia. She received a 2021-2022 California Arts Council Fellowship to support her debut book, “Loving Your Black Neighbor As Yourself: A Guide to Closing the Space Between Us,” which was published by WaterBrook and Penguin Random House Audio in June 2024. Chanté’s forthcoming project, “10-Minute Bible Study Journal for Women,” releases April 22, 2025 via Quarto Publishing.
Prior to Chanté’s career in journalism, she served as a university chaplain at UCLA and USC. Today she attends Vision Christian Fellowship in Pasadena, CA, where she has served on the worship team and prayer team.
Because Chanté believes that the arts can ignite social change and soul transformation, she co-leads Spirit & Scribe, an online workshop that explores the intersection of writing craft and spiritual formation. Chanté also coaches writing through the Loft Literary Center and the PAX Fellowship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, pretending she’s a cast member on Dancing with the Stars, and making folks laugh via the @kinky_coily_comedy platform on Instagram.