SCRAPS: A Composting Workshop

USE YOUR NOTES APP TO GROW YOUR WRITING PRACTICE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2026

9-11am PST/12-2pm EST | REMOTE ON ZOOM

Where does good writing begin? It’s not a bolt out of the blue, it’s an ongoing practice of honing your curiosity, tracking your ideas and observations, and connecting them in exciting ways. “Composting” is at the heart of this practice, and writers who take our larger workshops consistently cite it as one of the most helpful concepts we offer. So we’ve decided to give it space to shine.

Our workshops aren’t like other writing classes. We’ve got proven tools, not platitudes. Are you ready to turn all those half-formed ideas in your notes app into long-form writing that fulfills your creative goals? It starts here: Two hours with the Midwives of Invention.

Let’s the do the work, together.

Workshop Fee: $289

BOOK YOUR SPOT

All The Details

In this two hour zoom workshop Ann and Jade will lead you through the practice that underpins every one of their writing projects – every essay, every book, every issue of the newsletter. It all begins with composting. You will leave with a clear understanding of how to develop and maintain your own composting practice, and how to use it to enrich all of your writing. You will also know how to answer that perpetual question: How do I know when an idea is ready?

Who’s it for?

Do you have an endless pile of notes, but no sense of how to turn them into anything more lasting?
Do you feel certain you want to write something, but get intimidated by the blank page?
Do you have a lot of little half-formed ideas, but struggle to connect the dots?

SCRAPS will address all of these writing roadblocks and give you tools to surmount them every time.

Our workshops have an encouraging and propulsive dynamic that will get you excited to dig in and do the hard work. We are pro-ambition and pro-experimentation, and cultivate an inclusive environment. We welcome writers of all experience levels.

(If you’ve attended one of our past workshops, either in person or online, please be aware that this workshop will cover familiar material. If you’d like a refresher course, you’re still welcome to join us!)

Who are the Midwives of Invention?

You are the mother of invention. We are your midwives!

Jade and Ann are writers and friends who have been leading workshops as the Midwives of Invention since 2018. Between us we have written best-selling fiction and non-fiction books, published pioneering newsletters, edited magazines, written for beloved television shows, and created podcasts and audio essays. We are not tortured writers toiling alone. We are in constant dialogue with each other about our projects and processes, and we started the Midwives of Invention because we wanted to share that dialogue with the wider world. For us, coming up with ideas, crafting sentences, and revising drafts is actually fun, and doing it in community is the best part. We don’t think writing is easy, but we know how to make the hard work worthwhile.

Click here to read more about us.

What have past participants said?

“You loosened my grip and allowed me to fall in love with being an artist again.”
“The best professional workshop I've ever attended.”
“The practical and very well laid out simple steps were super helpful for a novice like me.”
“I like the how tightly pragmatic and how deeply personal this process is. I can see a LOT of fruitful writing coming out of it!”
“I can't believe how engaging a three hour zoom was, the time flew by. “
“Honestly a transformative experience for me.”