Schedule

Application and Decision Schedule

Story Mastermind sessions begin twice per year on the following schedule:

January to June: Novel and Picture Book Story Mastermind Session

  • Applications open September 1

  • Applications due October 15

  • Admission decisions sent by October 31

June to August: Outline Intensive

  • Applications open April 1

  • Applications due June 1

You can defer admission once. If you do, you will have first pick of your desired future session. Returning students—like those going from the Outline Intensive to Novel Mastermind—will have top admission consideration.

If you are accepted into a cohort, you will have until one month prior to inform us of your decision, sign the Story Mastermind participation agreement, decide on your payment preferences, pay your deposit, and make your attendance official! Written material submissions for your Mastermind—which vary from program to program—will be due by then as well.

Documents and welcome packets will be distributed to you and all of your fellow cohort members by the next week. Each of the three Story Mastermind programs will have submission and reading requirements for the month before the program starts. Initial feedback from faculty to you and from you to your fellow cohort members will also be delivered during this time.

Novel Mastermind students will be asked to submit a preliminary outline and up to 50 pages of writing. Picture Book Mastermind students will submit two picture book manuscripts and a list of other ideas. Outline Intensive students will be asked to submit a preliminary outline.

The month before your Mastermind starts will be crucial in setting you and your fellow writers up for success, and making sure that everyone is ready to start in January for Novel and Picture Book Mastermind and in June for the Outline Intensive.

Sample Session Schedule

In the month before your Story Mastermind session starts, you will be reading submission materials from your peers, so it’s important that you have an outline and sample pages (for novels), an outline (for outline intensive students), and at least two complete picture book manuscripts ready when you apply.

Once the session starts, there will be group discussion of all the materials already submitted, big picture overview feedback on your concept, goal-setting, and then individual workshops will start in earnest.

Cohorts meet twice a month for two hours per meeting. Workshop sessions will take place during the day or evening, Central time. A poll will be taken to set the schedule at the beginning of each cohort. The rest of the time is spent writing/revising and reading peer submissions.

A novel sample schedule might be:

  • Week 1: Write or revise 30 pages of material and submit

  • Week 2: Read peer submissions, and attend workshop

  • Week 3: Write or revise 30 pages of material and submit

  • Week 4: Read peer submissions, and attend workshop

A picture book sample schedule might be:

  • Week 1: Write or revise one manuscript

  • Week 2: Read peer submissions and attend workshop

  • Week 3: Write or revise one manuscript

  • Week 4: Read peer submissions and attend workshop

An outline sample schedule might be:

  • Week 1: First half of class workshops Layer I of their outlines

  • Week 2: Second half of class workshops Layer I of their outlines

  • Week 3: First half of class workshops Layer II of their outlines

  • Week 4: Second half of class workshops Layer II of their outlines

  • Week 5: First half of class workshops Layer III of their outlines

  • Week 6: Second half of class workshops Layer III of their outlines

This program will be intense and will demand a lot of your reading and writing time and energy. This isn’t a program for dabblers. Only the most driven and dedicated writers should apply to—and reap the rewards of—Story Mastermind.