The imagination is a skill. Dreaming about your future is a skill. And words are the tools you will use to develop those skills. This course will help you develop these skills and wield these tools so you know how to dream big, work hard, and make the magic happen.
How we tell our story, and how we write our story, matters deeply.
If you can build skills and weave your journey into a compelling tale, you can communicate your vision, your expertise, and your value.
You will literally (ok figuratively) build a house and cultivate the land and fill it with light.
Each lesson focused on one element of a writer’s house, and walks you through the process of building your own custom space to which you will return again and again to kickstart projects, overcome obstacles, and make a living doing what you love.
Writer.House will teach you how to:
- Activate and cultivate your imagination (AKA build your dream)
- Develop the ideal problem-solving process (AKA obstacles become inspiration)
- Organize ideas and inspiration into actionable projects (AKA earn your dream)
- Identify an area of expertise where you are the prism unicorn (AKA life-long dreamer)
- Develop confidence in your voice and your story (AKA live your dream)
How will the Writer.House course do this?
- Train you to become a better, more engaged reader.
- Train you to become a stronger, more engaging writer.
- Share trade secrets honed through real-world application over 15+ years.
Writer.House is grounded in the following principles:
- Flexibility
- Creative capacity
- Adaptability
- Fortitude
We strive to instill these traits through a step-by-step process that combines lessons in:
- Reading
- Writing
- Organization
- Identity
- Natural talents and gifts
Transparent goals: Pay it forward + launch writing center.
This course is the first step toward the creation and launch of the Xilhouette.Horse community writing center. The ultimate goal is to open a community writing center and support writers in San Diego, then beyond.
And, when you buy one course, we'll reserve a course for a future student in need of support, who can apply for a free course. Want to apply? We're launching the application form soon. Stay tuned. For now, hit me up on LinkedIn.
When do we learn how to learn?
This is the creative problem-solving course every young person should take.
Writer.House is a course that enhances your basic instruction because it provides context for all future lessons. Step by step, you will develop an approach to obstacles and challenges. With Writer.House, you won’t ever feel stuck on a project or problem again.
This course answers the questions we’ve all asked in class: why do I need to learn this? Will I ever use this in real life? How will this help me lead a successful and purposeful life?
With the course, as you work through Algebra or History or Psychology, etc., etc., you will have a proven process and a rock-solid foundation that will help you not only succeed in your traditional education, but get more out of it. You will have a space to put these traditional lessons so you can make sense of them in your own world.
The ideal candidate for Writer.House is…
Junior High or High School students overwhelmed by this weird thing called a future. The W.H course will help you develop essential executive skills so you are able to thrive in your current classes and apply a growth mindset to the entire experience so you feel more confident about your performance in school and the opportunities ahead.
Still undeclared college students uncertain about their future. This course will help you find your voice and become an expert in an area you are passionate about. Not sure what you're passionate about? This course can help with that too.
College students already on their path in search of an edge. The skills you will master in this course will help you identify any blank spaces in your field, and help you become the purple unicorn AKA a confident, intelligent, rare find unlike anyone else in your field.
Graduating college students concerned about choosing the right job and transitioning from lecture hall to cubicle. No matter the industry, the W.H course will teach you how to make a strong first impression and deliver consistent, creative solutions.
Currently employed professionals curious about what else is out there, struggling with the balance between passion and profession, anxious about taking a leap of faith.
Writer.House is the antidote to the growing anxiety many of our young people are experiencing.
Young at heart? Life-long learner considering a new career?
Afraid to take the leap? You are not alone.
Have you heard of "Menterns?" It's a mashup of mentor and intern and it describes a new class of employees emerging from the Baby Boomer generation.
You've built a successful career, you have the experience and wisdom, but you don't have a vehicle to relay that knowledge and expertise. And why would you? You've been focused on your career and its demands for years. Now's the time to take a hybrid approach and consider the legacy of not only the company you work for, but the legacy of your career.
This course will help you structure the mentor aspects of your journey, and launch you into the next chapter of your career where you are starting over in some ways. Where you are a wide-eyed intern on their first day.
How does the course work?
Each lesson focuses on one skill within the five categories of lessons: read, write, organize, identity, and gifts. Each skill represents a crucial element of the house metaphor to help you conceptually build this creative problem-solving space.
Every lesson is unique and indispensable. But the framework for each lesson is rooted in the following topics:
- Examples of successful application in real-world scenarios
- Breakdown for how this relates to the basics of writing and communicating
- Trade secrets learned from years of failures and successes alike
- Writing prompts and exercises to inspire further growth and inspiration
- Reading recommendations from outside resources to expand on the lesson
The first 10 lessons are ready for you now. And when you purchase these first 10, you get access to the rest of them as they are released. That’s 35 lessons for the price of these initial 10, to say thank you for helping us launch Writer.House.
Videos to support your journey are on their way as well. And they are included with your purchase of the first 10 lessons.
Buy now & save on lifetime access.
Once we’re clear of this introductory offer, the price of this course will increase to $500 for the first half, and $1100 for the full course.
You’re not only getting the first 10 lessons now, you get the rest of the lessons, plus all the videos, plus any further lessons we create for a fraction of that price.
The first 10 Writer.House Lessons
- READ // Preparing the Plot: How to be an engaged reader.
- ORG // Collect Kindling: How to organize your inspiration.
- READ // The Flint: How to believe in your story.
- ID // The Fire Inside: Understand why.
- READ // The Fire: How to begin reading the outside world.
- WRITE // The Light: How to journal.
- ORG // The Garden: How to read with purpose.
- ID // Spaces inside us. Identity framework.
- ID // Beams: How to ID your expertise.
- READ // The Well: How to identify resources.
Why should you believe in me?
I created this course for my 15 year-old self because no one ever teaches you how to learn.
We are never taught how to develop a process to get started, to solve problems, to stay motivated in the face of a tough challenge.
I created the course I wish I had at 15 as I considered colleges and career paths.
I created the course I wish I had at 19 as I thought I was a future failure for changing from a business major to an English major.
I created the course I wish I had at 21 as I grappled with graduating from college.
I created the course I wish I had at 27 when I had just left my landscaping job and was selling insurance, certain my dream of being a writer was out of reach.
But most importantly, I created this course for my daughters as they begin to prepare for middle school and high school.
If you need a little guidance, and want a definitive guide to understand how to tackle any problem through creativity, give Writer.House a try. If you simply want to do better in school and save some time while turning out high quality work consistently, give Writer.House a shot. If you want to elevate performance in your current career or want to switch gears and start over or find a better job, Writer.House can help.
I’ve made a home for myself through writing.
I’ve worked as a university instructor and an insurance salesman
I’ve worked as a content marketer, SEO copywriter, and content strategist.
I’ve managed teams of writers at smaller local companies, and larger global corporations.
I’ve graduated from a creative writing MFA program and the IDEO U Creative Leadership program.
Every role has come with obstacles and doubt and fear and more doubt. But with each role, I’ve learned a ton. And I want to share these lessons with you so you can focus on thriving, instead of struggling to survive.
Looking back at my 15 year old self, I wish I could give these lessons to that person so they didn’t have to struggle so much. Now of course, those struggles made me who I am today. I wouldn’t change any of it.
But it all started with the ability to imagine it. Writer.House distills all of these lessons and collapses the time frame and provides an easy-to-follow road map that leads to a realization of your dreams.
If you can take these lessons, gain an advantage throughout high school and college, and get ahead, maybe the path becomes a little easier. And maybe you reach heights I can only ever dream of.
You may have what it takes to do all of this on your own. But I’d love to help you get there faster and with less heartache and doubt.
You matter. Your story matters.
Sometimes we need help telling our story. We need help believing in ourselves. We need help believing that we belong.
This course will help you make a home for yourself, so you not only become a better writer and communicator, but also develop a set of skills that will offer shelter, foundation, inspiration, encouragement, confidence, and ultimately, an unshakeable belief in yourself.