Begins Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Class will meet once via Zoom on Wednesday, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET

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Instructor Bio

Instructor Jacquelin Cangro worked at Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster for more than twenty years. Now, as an independent developmental editor and book coach, she reviews novel manuscripts in many genres, including historical, YA, women's fiction, romance, and upmarket, providing writers with feedback to revise their stories. She teaches creative writing at GrubStreet and The Loft, and she's presented workshops at writing conferences around the world, including Stockholm Writers Festival, Auckland Writers Festival, San Francisco Writing Conference, and Colorado Gold Writing Conference. She's in the process of revising her own road trip novel set in France.

Who Is This Class For?

This online writing class is ideal for writers structuring their story's narrative arc around a character's physical journey. Open to all levels — whether you are in the drafting stage or in revision mode, this fiction writing workshop will help you harness the power of the journey.

What to Expect

This online writing workshop invites you to explore the road trip as a powerful engine for your story. You'll examine how physical movement generates emotional change, how varied landscape shapes character and voice, and how journeys reveal what can't be discovered at home. Through close reading, craft talks, and generative exercises, you'll learn to use travel — by car, train, or foot — as a catalyst for transformation on the page.

Whether you're writing fiction or memoir, this creative writing course blends discussion, short readings, and in-class writing exercises designed to generate new work or expand existing projects. You'll leave with concrete techniques for using motion, landscape, and destination (or lack of one) to drive your story's emotional arc.

Led by Jacquelin Cangro — a developmental editor with more than twenty years of experience at major publishing houses and a writer currently crafting her own road trip novel — this Zoom writing class offers an insider's perspective on what makes journey-based narratives work on the page.

What Are the Writing Goals?

In this course, students will deepen narrative momentum and emotional stakes through movement and setting. Through a mix of discussion, short readings, and in-class writing exercises, students will generate new work or expand existing projects. You'll come away with practical tools to immediately apply to your work in progress. There will be plenty of time for Q&A, but this seminar does not include individual instructor feedback.

Readings

Readings may include excerpts from The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, and The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

COURSE OUTLINE

Part One: Pacing and Transitions — How to handle time on the road, when to compress and when to expand, and how movement creates narrative momentum.

Part Two: Character and Landscape — How physical journeys generate emotional change, and how setting becomes an active force in the story.

Part Three: Practical Craft Tips — Structuring journey-based narratives, avoiding common pitfalls, and applying these techniques to your work in progress.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• A stronger understanding of how physical movement can drive plot, tension, and emotional change
• Tools for using landscape and setting as active forces in fiction and memoir
• Techniques for shaping journey-based narratives, including pacing, transitions, and structure
• A deeper understanding of how a character's emotional transformation connects to motion and place
• New writing generated through in-class exercises that you can apply to your work in progress

TESTIMONIALS:

The class was incredible, and most of that is due to the warm, positive, and encouraging energy Jackie brought each week. A lot of it is also due to the engaging and thoughtful classmates who made up our group. I loved how much time Jackie gave us to ask questions about any and every topic she covered, and she never made us feel like any question was too simple or off topic. She took every comment or question and turned it into another learning opportunity. She picked excellent reading excerpts for us to review in class, and the overall structure worked really well — each lesson built on the previous one seamlessly. This class has been the highlight of my week for the past six weeks. It was a warm, creative space to escape the monotony of daily life, and it made me feel like I'm capable of creating something special one day too. — Shannon H., Former Student

Jackie was responsive, supportive, and wonderful to learn from. The class was structured so well and each time I felt I learned something new and was motivated to do more and grow as a writer. My only suggestion would be to make the class longer! I didn't want it to end. — Amber L., Former Student

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $99 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

• Jacquelin Cangro, Instructor

• Begins Wednesday, June 17, 2026
  

• Class will meet once via Zoom on Wednesday, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET