The Cell Method: Early Bird Ends TODAY ❤️
and if this isn't meant for you, please feel free to skip!
Last month at the Dairy Hollow writing residency in Arkansas, I spent most of my time horizontal on the bed, laptop closed beside me, flattened by chronic fatigue. (Likely the result of low Vitamin D, but we're still figuring it out.)
I'd gone there to write. Private space, dedicated time, no responsibilities except to create. The dream scenario, right?
Instead, by 10 AM each day, exhaustion would hit like a freight train. My brain felt wrapped in wet wool. And lying there, I kept thinking the same poisonous thought: Real writers don't do this. Real writers power through.
But here's what I discovered in those frustrating days: I was trying to build a memoir using the wrong blueprint entirely.
Every memoir guide tells you the same thing:
Start at the beginning
Write chronologically
Maintain momentum
Write every day or lose your thread
This advice assumes you have consistent energy, uninterrupted time, and a brain that works the same way every day. If you're living with chronic illness, disability, or caregiving responsibilities, you know that's a fantasy.
So I developed something different. The Cell Method.
Think of a honeycomb. Each hexagonal cell is complete on its own—it holds honey, has six perfect walls. But when cells connect, they create something larger, stronger, architectural.
Your memoir can work the same way. Each 15-minute writing session creates one complete "cell." That cell stands alone, but it's designed to connect with others when you're ready.
Here's why this changes everything:
You never lose your place
Each session has a complete beginning, middle, and end
Missing days (or weeks) doesn't destroy your momentum
Your book grows even when you can't see the whole
At that residency, exhausted and frustrated, I wrote exactly three cells in five days. Three fifteen-minute sessions. That's it.
Those three cells just became the opening of an essay accepted for publication.
In my upcoming class, The Cell Method: Building Your Memoir in 15-Minute Sessions, I'll teach you:
✨ The five types of cells (and which to write on low-energy days)
✨ My exact 15-minute framework that assumes interruption
✨ How 50 cells become a first draft without you ever outlining
✨ The "Fragment Protocol" for days when even 15 minutes is too much ✨ Why stopping mid-sentence is a feature, not a bug
You'll leave with two completed cells from our live writing sessions & much more.
(I've also received some emails asking whether this method would work for poetry or fiction. I've experimented with fiction, and I think the answer is yes for both; however, this is a class primarily meant for memoir writing. Give it a go if it's calling to you.)
Because here's what I know: Your limitations aren't preventing your memoir. Traditional methods are preventing your memoir.
September 20, 2025
11 AM PT/2 PM EST
Recording available
Your memoir isn't waiting for you to get better, have more energy, or find perfect writing conditions.
Your memoir is waiting for you to write the next cell. Fifteen minutes.
That's it.
See you in class?
all the love,
Looking forward to being in your classroom again. 😊