Begins on January 3rd, 2026, with support ongoing throughout the year
Spend a year finding fulfillment in your creative life. Together, every three months, we'll pause, step back, and determine what is essential in our work and creative lives—and how it fits into our whole lives as well. Enroll in Projects & Practice and receive…
Four two-hour gatherings over Zoom, spaced out over the year. These sessions will feel spacious and unhurried. I will lead you through guided reflections; introduce strategies for establishing momentum in creative projects; and explore your current questions and challenges.
Clarity of vision. Awareness of time and progress. Creative fulfillment and growth. These are the core focuses of the class. Everything we do in Projects & Practice is designed to hone and deepen our relationship to our creative practice and work.
Four letters, delivered in between gatherings, focused on staying committed to our practice. Topics determined based on what's been guiding me that I feel could help you, too, as you maintain a practice and continue your projects. Assembled with care. Sent only to Projects & Practice participants.
April 9th-May 7th, 2026
Join Elana K. Arnold and me for our spring session of Writing Nights, a series devoted to craft explorations and experiments.
How many times have you set down a book and thought, “I’d follow that voice anywhere”?
Infusing every aspect of storytelling, language and voice are the mushrooms of your story forest, ever-present nutrients and facilitators of communication between your characters, settings, plot strands, and more.
And yet, sometimes in the process of crafting a whole story or novel–of plotting and discovering our characters and deciding on structure–we lose touch with the pleasures and importance of spending time with language and voice. The more closely we pay attention to the language in our own writing and others', the more we can begin to recognize and capture that which seems elusive.
The Slow Novel Lab offers a transformative six weeks of writing explorations, craft lessons, and video lectures by bestselling and award-winning novelist Nina LaCour. Nina guides you through deepening your craft as you write your novel with intention, increased clarity, and a spirit of exploration. You’ll find new ways into your story, gain momentum, and develop mindset strategies to help you navigate the uncertainties of the writing life.
about your teacher
Nina LaCour is a nationally bestselling and award-winning author whose novels have been translated into over a dozen languages. She has been published by (or has work forthcoming from) Penguin Random House, Flatiron Books, Wednesday Books, Candlewick, Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Algonquin.
As a faculty member of Hamline University’s MFAC program and a visiting lecturer at universities, conferences, and festivals across the United States and in Europe, Nina has guided hundreds of writers toward a fuller realization of their creative process and craft. Click here to read more about her work and teaching, and learn more about her approach to writing and creativity by listening to her podcast, Keeping a Notebook.
Would you like to host Nina for an in-person or virtual visit? Nina has traveled the country and abroad to speak to elementary school students, middle schoolers, high school students, and adults about creativity and humanity. She takes on a select few appearances a year, ranging from elementary school visits that focus on emotions, relationships, and our specific places in our community and world, to retreats for adult writers who want to strengthen their craft. Please reach out to learn more! Send an email to hello@ninalacour.com for rates and availability, as well as detailed descriptions of Nina’s offerings.