This mentorship is designed to help you identify the rhythms and routines that will help you complete your novel or collection of short stories. In six months, the goal is not only that you will have a large number of new pages (although you will have that, too!), but that you will also learn what you need to do to access your best writing. My goal is to use compassion and rigor to help you deepen your relationship to the project and your own work.

I’m Alyssa Songsiridej, the author of Little Rabbit, a Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and PEN/Hemingway Finalist, and a National Book Foundation 5 under 35, and a former editor at Electric Literature. The first story I acquired and edited for the magazine, “It is What It Is” by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, was selected by Min Jin Lee for the 2022 Best American Short Stories Anthology. I am also the author of more than one failed “drawer novel” and, in the course of drafting and failing and then eventually publishing a book, learned a great about what it takes for me to complete a solid project. My hope is that these personal insights will also help you with your writing.

We will work together to identify your personal outcome goals for the full mentorship, and the milestones you will need to meet along the way. The main purpose of this mentorship is to help you find the rhythms and instincts you will need to carry your project all the way to the end.

Who this mentorship is for:

This mentorship will be the most helpful for writers who already have a basic knowledge of the craft of fiction—perspective, time, scene work, etc.—and are looking for motivation and guidance outside of a workshop or MFA program.

Because of the one-on-one nature of this program, the mentorship will be tailored to you, and you’ll get the most out of it if you’re open to outside views, eager to work, and excited to encounter new materials. Submission deadlines and expectations are firm, but meetings and check-ins will be flexible within reason.

By the end of our time together, you will:

• Have 10-20K words completed.
• Produce about 5,000-6,000 words per month, or around 200 words every day.
• Be able to create a non-word-based touchstone for the project (playlist, altar, collections of images—we will personalize and discuss).
• Be able and excited to revise, discuss, and receive feedback on existing work.

Mentor’s Input:

• Initial consultation.
• Personalized process goals and accountability schedule, recommended readings, and exercises.
• Regularly scheduled email check-ins and guidance. These monthly check-in and planning sessions will last between 30 - 45 minutes.
• Optional monthly 30-minute video or phone conference.
• Editorial feedback: critique letters (1-2 paragraphs) and in-line comments.
• Moral support.

MENTEE'S RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain and update the daily writing log, and a short monthly reflection paragraph.
• Meet the personalized monthly page goal and turn in on time.
• Do the suggested reading, including fiction, essays on craft, and videos.
• Participate in email check-ins in order to reflect on progress and growth.

Click HERE to Apply Now.

6-MONTH MENTORSHIP OUTLINE:

Month 1:

Week 1: Initial consults. Establish plans and goals. Packet 1 due (existing work)
Two weeks later: mid-month check-ins via email. Feedback on Packet 1 returned
Week 4: Check-in/optional videoconference
End of month: Packet 2 due

Month 2:

Week 1: Monthly check-in and planning session
Two weeks later: mid-month check-ins via email. Feedback on Packet 2 returned
Week 4: Check-in/optional videoconference
End of month: Packet 3 due

Month 3:

Week 1: Monthly check-in and planning session
Two weeks later: mid-month check-ins via email. Feedback on Packet 3 returned
Week 4: Check-in/optional videoconference
End of month: Packet 4 due

Month 4:

Week 1: Monthly check-in and planning session
Two weeks later: mid-month check-ins via email. Feedback on Packet 4 returned
Week 4: Check-in/optional videoconference
End of month: Packet 5 due

Month 5:

Week 1: Monthly check-in and planning session
Two weeks later: mid-month check-ins via email. Feedback on Packet 5 returned
Week 4: Check-in/optional videoconference
End of month: Packet 6 due

Month 6:

Week 1: Monthly check-in and planning session
Two weeks later: mid-month check-ins via email. Feedback on Packet 6 returned
Week 4: Final consultation and mentorship debrief 
End of month: Final packet due. Feedback to follow.

Click HERE to Apply Now.

PRAISE FOR ALYSSA SONGSIRIDEJ:

PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FINALIST * PUBLISHING TRIANGLE'S EDMUND WHITE AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION FINALIST *CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE SHORTLIST * NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION “5 UNDER 35” HONOREE * NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, DEBUTIFUL, ELECTRIC LITERATURE, AND MORE.

"A darkly sensuous tale of awakening that will quietly engulf you in flames."-Ling Ma, author of Severance

"The first great book of Summer 2022, and it'll certainly be one of the best books of the decade."-Debutiful

"Bold, frightening, and magnificent."-Julia Phillips, Vulture

"A love letter to bottoming and being an artist and following yourself."-Carmen Maria Machado

"A modern queer feminist Story of O."-Electric Literature

Click HERE to Apply Now.