Write Raw
be brave & bleed ink.
Hope lives in the dark & your pen is the torch that lights the way home.
with Rocky Callen
Write Raw
be brave & bleed ink.
Hope lives in the dark & your pen is the torch that lights the way home.
with Rocky Callen
transform pain
into power through your stories?
Are you ready to
The course will be delivered to your inbox by late October.
Check out the pre-order bonus.
pre-order the course
Welcome to Write Raw, a groundbreaking writing course designed to help you tackle the hardest topics with honesty and courage.
Created by critically acclaimed author, former behavioral coach, and mental health advocate Rocky Callen, this course is not just about writing—it's about healing, empowerment, and change.
Whether you're writing about personal trauma, social injustice, or the deeply human journey of your characters, this course will guide you in crafting narratives that resonate with authenticity and emotional depth. With Rocky Callen as your guide, you'll learn to create a safe space for yourself and your readers to explore the raw truths of the human experience.
five star reviews
Rocky’s stories grapple with tough topics including domestic violence, suicide, mental health, and grief -
and she’s been a frequent panelist at conferences on the intersection of literature and pain. These stories have gotten starred reviews, ended up on Best Books of the Year lists, and have appeared in places like People Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, Mujerista, Booklist, and beyond. However, to Rocky, the most important accolades come from readers. Whether it is reviews or the personal messages she receives every week, she is most grateful when her writing makes a reader feel less alone, when it meets them in their pain and sheds light on the hope that exists in the dark.
learn more about Rocky
“I asked myself how I would hold my life and all of its imperfections and pain if I saw it all as art. The answer was with reverence and awe. We are the artists and we are the art.”
Rocky Callen
The course will be delivered to your inbox by late October.
If you want your writing to resonate deeply with readers and if you want your stories to make them feel less alone on their journey, this course is for you.
pre-order the course
This course is for...
Novelists, essayists, memoirists, social justice advocates, or anyone who wants to use writing for impact and personal healing. Novelists, essayists, memoirists, social justice advocates, or anyone who wants to use writing for impact and personal healing. Novelists, essayists, memoirists, social justice advocates, or anyone who wants to use writing for impact and personal healing. Novelists, essayists, memoirists, social justice advocates, or anyone who wants to use writing for impact and personal healing. Novelists, essayists, memoirists, social justice advocates, or anyone who wants to use writing for impact and personal healing.
This course isn’t about...
rigid structures
tokenized plot devices
quick fixes
cranking out word counts
This course is about...
exploration
discovery
crafting moments on the page that feel raw and real
The course will be delivered to your inbox by late October.
This is for the
pre-order the course
This is not for the faint-hearted.
brave ones.
"Rocky truly cared about my journey as a writer
and helped me feel more confident. She is a lighthouse in the sea for all aspiring authors!"
— Madeline Anthony
“Rocky helped me transform my wounds,
scars, and pain into strength. She provided a sacred space for me to deeply heal and have a bigger impact with my message.”
— Erica Stepteau
“Rocky is an intelligent, open-minded speaker
who freely speaks about sensitive topics eloquently.”
— Jordyn & Insha
“This lecture. So good. So raw. So honest.
So relevant to where we need to be as writers. You really do need to break yourself to write from the heart, and this is what this lecture is about-- crossing that bridge.”
— MFA student
“This lecture may have been the most enlightening -
that I've been to in my first semester. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was blown away.”
— MFA student
“This presentation hit me at my core.
This is so important to talk about, and she did it with grace, honor, and humility.”
— MFA student
“Working with Rocky has changed my life.
At every step of the journey, I felt so fully and wholeheartedly supported in my book dreams.”
— Celeste Frenette
what’s included
What does Write Raw include and how is it structured?
Writing about difficult topics requires a unique blend of honesty, grace, and potency. It demands that we navigate complex emotions, confront personal and societal issues, and create narratives that resonate deeply with readers. To support you in this endeavor, the Write Raw course offers an easy-to-digest, self-paced learning experience that includes downloadable workbooks and video lessons.
With a self-paced course, you have the freedom to tailor your learning journey to fit your unique schedule and personal needs. Life is busy, and writing about challenging subjects requires time for reflection. The Write Raw course allows you to:
Set Your Own Schedule:
Work through the course materials at a pace that suits you, whether you have an hour a day or only a few hours a week.
Revisit Lessons:
Re-watch video lessons and revisit workbook exercises whenever you need, ensuring that you fully grasp the concepts and techniques.
Balance Writing with Self-Care:
Take breaks and prioritize self-care without feeling rushed, making the learning experience more sustainable.
Here is what you will receive:
Five core video lessons
A workbook that includes prompts and worksheets
A meditation to settle into this writing and feel empowered on your creative path
A Sprint With Me pre-recorded video that has timed writing sessions and encouragement during each break.
These materials will give you…
Expert Guidance from Rocky Callen
Ways to Transform Pain into Power
Comprehensive Craft and Emotional Journey
A Safe Space for Vulnerability
Course Outline
Module 1: Mindset & Vision
Module 2: Personal Responsibility and Ethics in Storytelling
Module 3: The Emotional Hero's Journey
Module 4: First Drafts & Revisions
Module 5: Writing & Healing
"Write what should not be forgotten."
-Isabel Allende
"The act of writing is a powerful form of healing. Writing allows us to find order and meaning in our lives, even when we feel like everything is in chaos."
-Louise DeSalvo
- Establishing a Safe Writing Space: Learn practical strategies to protect your emotional well-being while writing about trauma.
- The Role of Self-Care in Writing: Discover self-care practices that support your mental health during the writing process.
- Overcoming Writer’s Block and Fear: Address the fears that often accompany writing about difficult subjects and find ways to move forward.
- Crafting a Vision: Create a goal that serves your readers and yourself.
Module 1: Mindset & Vision
- Understanding the Weight of Your Words: Explore the ethical considerations of writing about sensitive topics
- Navigating Personal Responsibility: Learn how to honor your story and the stories of others with integrity.
- The Power of Authenticity: Discover how to write with honesty while respecting the boundaries of your own experiences and those of others.
Module 2: Personal Responsibility and Ethics in Storytelling
- Crafting Emotional Arcs: Dive into the emotional journeys of your characters, ensuring they resonate with readers. For personal stories, lean into the parts of your story.
- Understanding Character Motivations: Learn how to develop complex characters whose emotional journeys reflect real-life struggles and triumphs.
- Building Empathy Through Story: Explore techniques to create empathetic connections between your characters and your audience.
- Harnessing the Power of Emotion: Explore techniques for writing with emotional depth and authenticity.
- Balancing Emotion and Craft: Learn how to weave emotional elements into your writing without sacrificing narrative structure.
- Writing with Impact: Discover how to create stories that leave a lasting impression on your readers.
- Showing Hope Through Writing: Learn how to incorporate themes of hope and resilience into your narratives.
Module 3: The Emotional Hero's Journey
- Crafting Emotional Arcs: Dive into the emotional journeys of your characters, ensuring they resonate with readers. For personal stories, lean into the parts of your story.
- Understanding Character Motivations: Learn how to develop complex characters whose emotional journeys reflect real-life struggles and triumphs.
- Building Empathy Through Story: Explore techniques to create empathetic connections between your characters and your audience.
- Harnessing the Power of Emotion: Explore techniques for writing with emotional depth and authenticity.
- Balancing Emotion and Craft: Learn how to weave emotional elements into your writing without sacrificing narrative structure.
- Writing with Impact: Discover how to create stories that leave a lasting impression on your readers.
- Showing Hope Through Writing: Learn how to incorporate themes of hope and resilience into your narratives.
- Be Brave and Tackle the Blank Page: Navigating first drafts, imperfection, and the bravery required to start.
- Dive into Revision: Learn to navigate what is for you and what is for the reader as well as how to revise with sensitivity and the reader’s journey in mind.
- Finish lines: A discussion on the behavioral tools and mindset required to see a story through to the end.
Module 4: First Drafts & Revisions
- Discover how to use Writing as a Modality of Self Discovery: Dig into exercises and prompts that hold space for your own hard moments with reverence and care.
- Finding Hope Through Writing: Rewrite your personal narrative, unearth and rewire personal beliefs, and claim the truth of yourself.
Module 5: Writing & Healing
The course will be delivered to your inbox by late October.
Enroll in Write Raw and start your journey toward writing with honesty, courage, and impact.
pre-order the course
Are you ready to hold your story with gentle hands?
Pre-order Bonus!
For all those who pre-order, you’ll receive a free 40-minute 1:1 call with Rocky Callen to discuss your writing that can be used within a year of purchase.
Dear writer,
I often write about hard moments, times that break us, hollow us out, and leave us on our knees.
A friend told me recently, “Rocky, you write these moments so honestly because you are not afraid to be intimate with the dark.”
That stuck with me.
Because intimacy requires bravery, it requires reverence, it requires us to listen.
It requires us to sit in the dark and welcome it in.
We need to learn to hold these hard moments in life and in our writing with gentle hands and our hearts open. I’ve often said that hope lives in the dark and that joy and pain often coexist.
I’ve learned from heartache and I heal with words.
I’ve created Write Raw to help others do the same.
Sometimes we have writing that breaks our heart and stitches it back together page by page.
This is the space for those stories and the writers courageous enough to create them.
And if that is you…
Be brave & write on.
Rocky
Rocky Callen
About
"Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life."
-Stephen King
Rocky Callen is a critically acclaimed author, speaker, and writing consultant.
She has hosted writing workshops and retreats from Washington, D.C. to Bali and has spoken on regional, national, and international stages on writing and books, mental health, and art and social impact.
She is the author of the YA novel A Breath Too Late (Macmillan), which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year and was featured in The Mujerista's 2020 list of the Ten Best Young Adult Books by Latinx Authors. She was a contributing co-editor for the mental health YA anthology Ab(solutely) Normal: Sixteen Stories that Smash Mental Health Stereotypes (Candlewick). Her latest YA novel, Crashing Into You, received two starred reviews. She recently sold her first two picture books that center hope in
difficult times to Simon & Schuster. She founded HoldOn2Hope, a project that unites creatives in suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
Her commitment to suicide prevention and mental health awareness has empowered countless writers to find hope and strength in their narratives. With Write Raw, Rocky continues her journey of inspiring and equipping writers to tackle the hardest topics with grace and power. Join her in this mission.
She is the author of the YA novel A Breath Too Late (Macmillan), which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year and was featured in The Mujerista's 2020 list of the Ten Best Young Adult Books by Latinx Authors. She was a contributing co-editor for the mental health YA anthology Ab(solutely) Normal: Sixteen Stories that Smash Mental Health Stereotypes (Candlewick). Her latest YA novel, Crashing Into You, received two starred reviews. She recently sold her first two picture books that center hope in difficult times to Simon & Schuster. She founded HoldOn2Hope, a project that unites creatives in suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
Her commitment to suicide prevention and mental health awareness has empowered countless writers to find hope and strength in their narratives. With Write Raw, Rocky continues her journey of inspiring and equipping writers to tackle the hardest topics with grace and power. Join her in this mission.