Welcome to The Scriptorium
Hot Take: All the details about the HOTTEST writing group on Substack 🔥🔥🔥
Hello Readers of the Realm! I am SO incredibly excited to present to you the syllabus for the 2026-2027 Session of the Scriptorium. Please note the rest of this is written in my teacher voice rather than my “I’m writing about Shadow Daddies” voice, so it is a bit dry as it contains terms and conditions.
However, since this all part of the perks of becoming a paid subscriber, it is important to me be upfront about the fact that this is a serious endeavor meant for romantasy writers that want to improve their skills and enchant future readers.
Feel free to message me here in Substack with additional questions. I try and respond within 48 hours.
The Syllabus
The SCRIPTORIUM is a writing group offered to paid supporters of the Romantasy Realms Substack with an exclusive focus on romantasy. Members will be introduced to key concepts of genre conventions, the underlying structure of fiction, worldbuilding, crafting characters, romantic tension, creating powerful villains, and, most importantly, giving constructive feedback to your peers. Romantasy writers at all levels are welcome.
This writing group is intended to develop an understanding of the writing process primarily through attending a group write-along at least once per week, posing questions in our Discord forum, and giving feedback to pages written and submitted to you from a member of your specific writing “realm” once per month.
What you gain from The Scriptorium will depend on how much time you spend watching the videos, reading books on writing and in the romantasy genre, and finding a partner with whom to work. By the end of our year together, members will:
Recognize and utilize writing concepts such as inciting incidents, internal character arcs, and various plot beats.
Make significant progress on their own manuscript by developing a weekly writing habit.
Receive early feedback from peers about what is working in your manuscript and what is not coming across clearly on the page.
Learn how to give constructive feedback related to the monthly topics of discussion.
Develop an ability to read romantasy with a critical eye
Members will be sorted into different houses—errr—realms according to their current writing abilities. This is done in an effort to encourage writers to find an accountability partner that you can help and that can help you at the same level in turn. Those realms are:
The Dragon’s Lair: This is the realm for writers at the beginning of their journey. Folks in the dragon’s lair are not afraid of feeling the flames as they burn through their fears and find their writing voice. Those in the lair are seeking treasure in the form of inspiration and education as they start their writing journey from the beginning.
The Fae Forest: This is the realm for writers that have started a draft or have an outline but are stuck in the deep, dark wilds with no path out of the woods. This group is ready and willing to band together to find their way out of the murky middle of their story and finally have a finished draft ready for a developmental editor by May 2027.
The Bard’s Tavern: If you have taken writing classes and workshops, or perhaps have even published previously, you are welcome to take a seat and sip on some mead with your newfound fellowship inside this realm. The video lectures will likely be more review for you, but here inside The Scriptorium, we believe repetition is the mother of all learning. You will find the biggest boon in the form of the weekly write-in accountability sessions. Trusted beta readers are hard to find, so the Tavern is grateful to have you as a regular patron.
Since this is primarily a writing group, there is no assigned reading or homework. However, I will be referring to the following books in the video lessons as well as in your personalized feedback (for members that opted to pay one year in advance). If anything I say is of interest to you, here are the books I have helped me hone my craft. In order to keep your costs down, you can find many of these at your local library.
Writing Books:
Ackerman, Angela and Puglisi, Becca. The Emotion Thesaurus: A writer’s guide to character emotion, 2nd ed. Writers Helping Writers, 2019.
Chester, Deborah. The Fantasy Fiction Formula. Manchester University Press, 2016.
Cron, Lisa. Wired For Story. Ten Speed Press, 2012.
Hays, Gwen. Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
Moreci, Jenna. How to Write Romantasy. Ten Speed Press, 2025.
Romantasy Novels*** Expect Spoilers***
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightly
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
Workshop Policies:
In addition to posting video lessons once per month, you will need to create an account on Discord. If you are unfamiliar with the platform, you can learn more at
Attendance: Writers are expected to attend at least one 50 minute write-in per week for writing three times per month and one 50-minute write-in per month for critiquing a partner’s work. Sessions, which are held on Discord, are held at multiple times throughout the week to accommodate different schedules and time zones. If the schedule does work for you and you have already paid the annual fee, please email me.
Feedback: You are expected to find at least one other writer to partner up with to give and receive written feedback about the monthly topic at a minimum. This will likely take an extra hour of your time. Please plan accordingly. It is not fair for you to get comments on your work and for the person who put in the work to not get anything in return for their effort. Should an emergency arise and you cannot help your fellow author out, please email me.
Members that abuse this policy will be asked to leave the feedback portion of the workshop.
Integrity Statement: The Scriptorium believes that all members of this community have a responsibility to participate in learning with honesty and integrity. Fundamentally, this principle asserts that all of us must fulfill the commitments we make as we enter this endeavor, and we must respect the learning process. This respect includes but is not limited to the following:
a commitment to working hard at learning to be the best writer we can be
a sense that all members of the group bring value to our discussions
an honest undertaking of all writing tasks without the use of generative AI for outlining or the production of text.
In order to be placed in the proper realm, as well as to give Ivy an idea of what skill level everyone is currently asked, all members participating in the group should fill out this google form and submit it by Septemeber 1, 2026.
https://forms.gle/bL6VqttmgRwGWF2g8
Privacy Policy: At The Scriptorium, we respect your privacy and the confidentiality of your work. Any writing you submit will be treated as private and confidential. Your submissions will not be shared with any third parties, nor will they be uploaded to or used by any AI platforms or services.
Your work is used solely for the purpose of providing the requested feedback, editing, or consultation. We are committed to safeguarding your intellectual property and maintaining the trust you place in us.
By participating in The Scriptorium, you are agreeing to abide by these terms.
Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Policy: Romantasy Realms and The Scriptorium have a zero tolerance policy towards harassment or discrimination of any kind. By participating in The Scriptorium, you are agreeing to conduct yourself in a manner that conveys respect towards all individuals. While we will be discussing materials that pertain to adult interactions among our characters, you are expected to maintain professional discourse.
Trigger Warnings Policy: Please inform everyone in the group of any trigger warnings in the work you share. Any materials submitted containing adult situations should also be evaluated beforehand according to the scale in this Substack article so no one is shocked by any content they are asked to review. If at any time you feel that you cannot read the pages of someone you have partnered up with for feedback for any reason, please reach out to Ivy immediately.
Ivy’s email is romantasyrealms@gmail.com
Ivy reserves the right to adjust the schedule as needed. Revisions to this schedule will be communicated via Discord.
Monthly Topics for The Scriptorium Video Lessons
September 2026: Giving Helpful Feedback with Kindness
October 2026: Creating Unforgettable Characters and Couples
November 2026: Worldbuilding: How to Bring Your Romanasty Realm to Life
December 2026: The Marriage of Your External Plot with your MCs Inner Arcs
January 2027: Three and Five Act Structures
February 2027: When to Show, When to Tell, and Why You Need to Do Both
March 2027: Romantic Chemistry that Pays Off
April 2027: Nail the Landing: Fulling the Promise of the Premise
May 2027: Tips for Revision and Hiring an Editor
Writing Workshop Schedule
Monday Session One: 8:00 - 8:50 am CST
Monday Session Two: 10:00 -10:50 am CST
Wednesday: 7:00 - 7:50 pm CST
Thursday Session One: 10:00-10:50 am CST
Thursday: Session Two 3:00 - 3:50 pm CST
Saturdays: TBD depending on my library schedule
This is very cool! I can’t swing it right now (and I’m more in a fantasy with some romance genre), but I’ll share this to help find people that can!