Ignite insight, transform your truth, and write new stories into being.

You've lived the beauty and darkness of our sometimes messy lives and still you're in awe of how we evolve.

You're committed to giving voice to the untold stories that help us see ourselves, each other, and the world in a new light.

But when you sit down to write do you find that your wisdom seems to slip through your fingers mid-sentence?

Or when you try to settle your mind to do find yourself caught in a tangle of noisy voices in your head instead?

At the heart of every story lies the gold of discovery—a nugget of truth, beauty and transformation that changes both writer and reader forever.

  • What's not always clear is how to translate your wisdom to the page.

    Join a small cohort of other writers and write your books together. Gain insights into the structure of narrative, learn craft tools to commit your story to the page, work with meditation and mindful awareness to explore your role as narrator and get boots-on-the-ground know-how to get you from outline to a strong first draft and exercises. You will receive guidance and encouragement every step of the way.

Classes, 1:1 sessions, community and accountability to help you to write your memoir or work of literary-nonfiction

6-month Book Writing Intensive on Zoom

  • Craft Classes and Reading Workshop:
    We will meet twice a month for 6 months of Craft Classes and Reading Workshops where you share your pages and get feedback from fellow Alchemists.

  • Everything You Need to Write a Book:
    Classes guide you on everything from outlining, information organization and research, honing your vision, finding your voice, scene study, character development, the role of awareness in writing and more.

  • 1-on-1 Sessions:
    Each month you will submit up to 15 pages for review. We meet for a 30-minute, 1-on-1 session to discuss your work and writing process in depth.

  • Create a Writing Practice:
    You will learn to create a regular writing practice with the goal of writing 180-200 pages to complete a very strong first draft of your work. The course is structured to support memoirists and writers of literary non-fiction. There are exceptions for general non-fiction depending on the project.

Enrollment for our spring cohort opens in January 2025

More information including dates and course curriculum coming soon.

In order to give each participant the attention they deserve, we limit each cohort to 15 people.

To ensure that Literary Alchemy is the right fit for you and your project, we ask that you submit an inquiry and we’ll be in touch to learn more about it. We can’t wait to hear from you!
A person writes in a notebook while on a video call.

There are three essential elements of my writing process that will help you to find your truth so you can share it with the world:

  • Narrative Mapping

    We live in a time of unprecedented change when the stories we’ve assumed to be true about identity, whose story counts, and what has value are undergoing radical revision. It’s important to parse personal and cultural narratives and challenge our assumptions. Your story often lives just beyond familiar terrain and you will be called to venture to unexpected places. I offer tools and practices to discover your truth and the narrative building blocks of your work.

  • Mindful Awareness + Mythic Insight

    The writing process is much more than committing words to the page in the order in which events occur. Meditation, mindful awareness, and creativity exercises help us move beyond the limits of our ordinary experience. We can heal old patterns. We can see old stories with new eyes. We can move into the realm of mythic imagination. We can discover new possibilities and write–and live!–our way toward that truth.

  • The Craft of Writing

    The tools of writing are so satisfying to use when you understand what they are and how to use them. When you learn how to set a scene, for example, or distill and convey complex ideas, or capture the idiosyncrasies of dialogue you can forge a voice as unique as your own DNA. Knowing your craft allows you to commit your story to the page and finally write the essay, story or book that’s inside you.

Whether you consider yourself a writer or simply someone with gems to share, there is one thing for certain: the world needs your stories—now.

Register here to stay informed about enrollment for Literary Alchemy

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alchemy: ˈal-kə-mē

noun. the process of transmutation by which to fuse or reunite with the divine or original form.

You will come to confidently call yourself a writer and emerge stronger, wiser and profoundly changed by the process.

My two+ decades as an award-winning author, ghostwriter and book coach have given me intimate access to the beauty and darkness of our sometimes messy lives. I have crafted a process for mining our experience for that flash of insight or the slow burn that one day becomes revelation. This is the work of Crucible and Advanced Alchemy: to dig and sift and work with both obstacles and elements to reach beyond the story you think you’re writing to unearth the story that is only yours to tell. And when you're done, you will not only hold a finished manuscript in your hands, but you will confidently call yourself a writer and emerge stronger, wiser and profoundly changed by the process.
Kristin Kaye reading Tree Dreams