Writer Unboxed

Barbara Samuel is one of my favorite authors–and not just for her RITA-award winning novels. From what I’ve come to know about her via her blog, she strikes me as an Oprahctualized person–but with more hiking and cooking and general positivity. So you know that any class or seminar she’s involved in is going to be gold, right? Well, she’s gearing up to teach an online series of classes called The Girls in the Basement right now. Since I wanted to know more about it, I figured you might too. I’m happy to say that Barbara agreed to a Take Five Interview to satisfy our hungry minds.

Q: What sets the Girls in the Basement course apart from other courses, and what does the phrase “Girls in the Basement” mean?

A: The Girls In the Basement is meant to bring back the joy of writing, and brings the focus of the writer from all the stuff outside of us, to the stuff inside.

The course grew out of a column I wrote for Novelist’s Ink for two years. It was aimed at writers who’d been commercially publishing novels for at least a few years, sometimes for decades, and it was meant to help them remember to take care of their inner artist. While I was writing for NINK, I also began to be aware of the challenges facing aspiring writers, including the agonizing wait times for submissions and the sometimes helpful, but sometimes poisonous, critique group and contest culture.

It seemed to me that everyone could use a little bit of positive thinking and some techniques to foster the joyous part of us that wants to create–thus “The Girls In the Basement,” which comes from a Stephen King phrase about the “guys in the basement” who take care of all the creativity and then send up the completed pages to be typed. Our job is to take care of them, give them what they need, so they can get the job done.

Q: What topics are covered in the course, and what’s the primary goal?

A: The primary goal of the course is to help writers get back in synch with their own creativity. Using material from Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, as well as exercises and wisdom drawn from many sources, we work through the basics of taking care of your body and your mind, figuring out what blocks might be holding you back, and delve into the sword of abundance/fear.

Each week includes a lesson, readings, and exercises, and we meet for a chat every few weeks.

Q: Who do you think will benefit from the course? (What stage of the publishing journey is ideal for stepping in, etc…?)

A: The course works very well for published and unpublished writers, and I have had people from all parts of the path take it with success. Since published writers are sometimes worried about disillusioning aspiring writers, I have divided the course into published and unpublished segments, and I’m taking that one step further this year. The Girls in the Basement course is for aspiring writers and those published writers who are early in the publishing process–maybe a year or two into the game. CIRCLES OF QUIET is an anonymous course for published authors, 9-weeks, utilizing some of the same aspects of Girls in the Basement, but more particular to the needs of long-time writers who might have lost their way, or simply want to connect with others in a safe and supportive environment. (Email me at if you are interested in more details.)

Q: Tell us some of the course specifics –how long is the course, what’s expected for homework, etc…

A: The class takes place over twelve weeks. And as I stated above, each week includes a lesson, readings from one of the texts, and exercises I’ve derived from many sources (including journaling classes I taught to women in transition). The exercises begin with simple processes, like exercises in staying in the present (which is where everything happens, therefore the place we can collect details for the work), and creating sacred space, even if it is something as simple as a laptop back with your own sacred things in a box, and some timed writings. Week by week, we build on the cornerstones. Since the work is done privately, the amount the writer wishes to do is up to her, but of course the more you do, the more you’ll get out of it.

Q: What’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about the course after participating?

A: It is the pleasure of seeing how writers feel about themselves after working with this material that keeps me coming back to it. One deadline choked-writer faced an enormous life crisis during the class, but still discovered that she was writing faster in a more relaxed way, and even reading for pleasure again. Another student completed a novel for the first time in a dozen years. Another student sold her first book.

Thanks so much, Barbara, for this in-depth look at The Girls in the Basement!

Want to know more or sign up for the class? Email Barbara at and visit her website HERE. Write on, all!

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