The Writer's online Residency
Winter 2026
A season for your writing
Make real progress on your story, level up your craft skills, and move forward in this flexible, writing-focused, two-month program.
Welcome to the residency!
Welcome to The Winter Residency — a six-week, intimate craft program for writers who are already moving… but aren’t fully confident they’re moving in the right direction.
This is not a bootcamp.
It’s not motivational coaching.
And it’s not about forcing productivity.
The Residency exists to help you see your story clearly, understand what’s working (and what isn’t), and leave with a plan you trust.
If you’ve been writing — but quietly wondering whether the story actually makes sense — you’re in the right place.
What is "The Residency"?
The Residency like registering for a secluded writing retreat, and getting time to focus on your stories -- only you don't need to buy a plane ticket and you can continue your normal life, work, family, and hobbies.
You have a story you're trying to tell -- whether that is a complete draft or the first few chapters.
The Residency offers you a streamlined supportive environment to work on your writing, full of direct feedback and advice from me + encouragement, tools, and support.
And the new "Summer" edition makes this all available to writers for a lower price in a more focused package.
The big idea of this program: you spend two months talking to me and your fellow cohort about your story, solving problems as you go. You pick what fictional project you want to work on and work -- with support and advice -- at your own pace.
The goal is to increase the amount of effective writing in your life. On one level, the program is designed to support and incentivise you to make significant progress on a novel project; on another level, The Residency aims to equip you with habits, toolkits, and skills that will help you succeed at many novels in the future.
What makes this experience so exciting for writers? This is a program focused on you and how you will imagine, write, and revise your story. Through a framework of achieving small successes and working through your plotting problems with me, you'll be able to weave your way through the novel-writing process with new strength and ease.
What do you get from The Residency? Three things that matter:
Over six weeks, the Residency creates space to pause, reflect, and recalibrate — without stopping your momentum.
By the end, writers often describe feeling:
Clarity — the story has a shape they can see and trust
Confidence— decisions feel grounded rather than guesswork
Momentum — a substantial amount of writing is already behind them
Direction — with a realistic plan for how to continue through the year
Who is The Residency for?
The Residency is for writers who:
Have a story idea (or draft) that almost works — but not quite
Have tried other methods, courses, or advice that didn’t fully click
Are not beginners, and not looking to be rescued
Want craft, clarity, and direction — not hand-holding
Are writing, but don’t fully trust their current path
You might be on your second novel.
You might be mid-draft.
You might be revising something that refuses to come together.
What matters is this:
You’re already moving — you just don’t know if it’s the right movement.
This is not for you if:
You want daily accountability or pressure to “produce pages”
You want inspirational talks instead of practical diagnosis
You want someone to write the story for you
The Residency respects your independence — and helps you aim it properly.
Testimonials from past participants
Take a look at this summary of the program, with inspiring music added in, from two participants (very talented writers at an early stage of their careers)
On a typical week...
Each Monday, we'll share our weekly writing planners.
Each Tuesday, you'll send in a question for me.
Every week or two, you'll complete a new milestone and send it to me for feedback.
Every day -- if you choose -- you'll tell us about your progress in the accountability challenge.
The major components of this program:
A Unique Design to help you write
There are lots of great programs for writers. The Residency's design is a little unusual.
Some programs could be called "how to guides" -- they explain how to write a story or a chapter or how to create a character.
Some programs could be called "accountability groups" -- they encourage you to keep writing.
And some programs could be called "discussion groups" -- they focus on conversations about books or sharing chapters.
All of these programs can be great. But The Residency is different to all of them.
Why?
You are a writer. You want to write or make progress on a novel. Your central problem is "doing the writing." So this program creates a creative environment that guides you to doing the writing, well.
OTher key facts ABOUT THE PROGRAM
- It is all online, so there is no physical building or writing retreat offered here. Part of the magic of an in-person retreat is that you can get away from your regular life for a week or two. I am compensating for that reality by making this a three-month program: you can give it a small amount of time each day / week (as much as your real life allows you) and get a lot in return. An hour or two each week will let you complete each milestone in time.
- If this is all online, why call it a “residency”? Because that connotation is exactly what I’m going for in this program. In a writing residency, the role of the retreat or host is to set you up to be as productive and capable as possible. You get the support, environment, tools, lessons, and community to help you write your best. It is not, however, a “done for you” experience with a hands-on coach or a ghost writer. The goal is to inspire and equip you.
- When the three months are over, the support and guidance part of the program is over. But you will get all program materials with ongoing access.
- In end Nov, the next round will begin, and we will work together for three months – end November to mid-March.
- This is a massive re-design of an older program, PPN Plus, with more lessons, an adjusted framework, and a better name.
- What if I need a break or have a holiday planned or can’t start on time exactly? This will be perfect for you – take the time off!
- Important note: once we begin, we will not have weekly Zoom meetings or ongoing solo coaching sessions. I want to state this simply so you know exactly how this program is supposed to work. Yes, we might have Zoom get-togethers during the three months, and if you are feeling lost and need advice, I can absolutely hop on a call, as they say, but that’s not the focus of the program. Rather, you are working on your own book, at your own pace, chatting to me and the other participants about your progress.
- How will I advise you? Through the “Pathway” system. At the start of the program, you can pick one of four pathways. Each pathway is designed for a different stage of the process: idea generation, plot planning, pushing on through to the end, and revising. The first four pathways you hand in, I will send back private, individual feedback via video or audio or by writing. Finish one pathway? Move on to the next! Can’t finish them all? Take the pdf workbook with you when the program ends and use them to guide you through any number of novels.
- In addition, every Tuesday, you’ll be able to post craft and plot questions for me. Each week, I’ll record a private podcast episode for the group responding to everyone’s questions / requests for advice. You can get as particular and focused and specific as you like in these questions.
Meet Daniel
I'm Daniel David Wallace, an award-winning writer and teacher. I spent four years of a PhD researching new ways to help writers like you tell a great story.
My stories, reviews, and essays have been published in great magazines like Tampa Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Air Schooner, and my writing won me awards like the Toni Brown scholarship and the Hodges prizes.
But when I sent my first novel to the big publishing houses, it was rejected. This was a tough experience! And so I designed a way of teaching storytelling that the younger me would have wanted to find, the "character-first" approach.
I'm grateful that this approach has resonated with so many people: 12,000 writers read my newsletter each week and every year I host three conferences on the craft of writing.
three Comments on Daniel's teaching
Elizabeth R. Alix
Author of Maple Hill Chronicles
Tannis Laidlaw
Mystery Writer
