QUARRY: An Excavation Workshop

REVEAL WHAT LIES BENEATH THE SURFACE OF YOUR WRITING

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2026

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

There’s gold in your personal history. In this workshop, we’ll help you find it—and use it to make your writing fuller, deeper, more you.

In this two-hour workshop, we’ll lead you on a personal excavation of your earliest creative self. With our guided exercises and rich prompts, you’ll see that you’ve been engaging with the world as an artist since childhood and you’ll uncover details to make your writing sparkle, whether you’re working on fiction or nonfiction.

Let your past guide your future. You’ve already done the work. Let’s dig it out!

Our workshops are not like other writing classes. We’ve got proven tools, not platitudes. And we’re serious about giving you a structured way to connect with other writers. Are you ready to turn 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.

Workshop $60

Want to make a weekend of it? Bundle QUARRY with SCRAPS for a DIY writing retreat – and a discount. Details here.

REGISTER FOR QUARRY

All The Details

In this two hour Zoom workshop Ann and Jade will lead you through our Core Sample exercise, a foundation of our writing workshops and a tool you can use again and again in your practice. We’ll give you step-by-step prompts to analyze and deepen your understanding of what you’ve revealed. You’ll connect with other writers to reflect and share your insights. You’ll leave absolutely dying to open a document and get to work.

Who’s it for?

Have you ever wondered, “Why am I the person to write this?”
Are you drawn to the same themes over and over, but aren’t sure why?
Do you love your ideas but have a hard time finding the right details to bring then to life on the page?
Are you ready to make your inner child a co-author?

QUARRY is for you. 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. 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!”
“Honestly a transformative experience for me.”

Workshop fee: $60