Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop 2025

APPLICATIONS OPEN
Early Action Deadline 2/15

Have you ever wished that you could attend your own private writing workshop that would teach you exactly what you need to know, at the right pace for you, and respond to your questions, problems, and needs in extensive one-on-one sessions?

That’s what Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop is. It’s an online, one-on-one intensive workshop experience. Students taking Your Personal Odyssey receive the top-quality learning experience Odyssey is known for, but that experience is customized to be responsive to how each writer works and what each writer needs.

YPO allows students to take the lead in their education, working at their own speed and choosing which topics they want to study, in which order, so they can target their weaknesses, maximize their writing strengths, and more effectively write the stories and novels they want to write.

In our first three years of offering Your Personal Odyssey, all students who filled out evaluations rated the workshop “excellent.”

For the first three years of Your Personal Odyssey, I have been the sole instructor guiding each student on their unique journey. For Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop 2025, I’m excited to announce that we’re adding a second instructor, bestselling author E. C. Ambrose. Elaine attended the Odyssey Writing Workshop in 1997 and has gone on to build a successful writing career for herself in fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, and young adult. She’s also been an outstanding guest lecturer at Odyssey, a highly rated instructor at Odyssey Online, and a helpful, insightful critiquer in the Odyssey Critique Service. She’s made a major difference in the lives of many writers. Elaine will be taking on a few students this year, allowing us to help more writers.

Your Personal Odyssey is a one-on-one experience. You will not be part of a class or cohort. You will not meet with other students. You’ll receive in-depth, one-on-one mentoring from your instructor, and several one-on-one meetings with guest critiquers. You will be following the unique path that is most helpful for you, that teaches you the skills you need to improve the most.

The renowned Odyssey lectures are broken into modules on different topics. To complete a module, a student watches the lecture recordings; does readings, journal entries, and critiques; works with the instructor to create and complete an individualized assignment; and writes a story or novel excerpt. Penetrating, detailed feedback by the instructor and guest critiquers is provided, and the instructor interacts one-on-one with students in a deep mentoring experience averaging over 30 hours.

In its first three years, Your Personal Odyssey has succeeded beyond all expectations. The flexibility of the program makes it a possibility for a wider range of writers, so we are able to help a more diverse group of writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror across the globe.

YPO also allows the program to be shaped to meet each writer’s needs. For example, one student had problems bringing emotion into her stories. We identified several reasons for this—the protagonist and events were held at a distance due to POV, voice, or exposition; the protagonist wasn’t strongly struggling to achieve a goal; helpers kept things from getting too bad and thus flattened emotional changes; and only a couple techniques were used to convey emotion. We attacked these one at a time, and she made progress with each submission, getting closer to her protagonist and events; making that protagonist struggle more intensely toward a goal; taking away the help; and using a greater variety of techniques to convey emotion. In her final submission, she put all of this together in a powerful story that generated strong, complex emotions, a great testament to all her new skills. 

Here are a couple comments from graduates of Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop:

“Odyssey is one of the most well-organized, challenging, and supportive learning environments I’ve ever been in. The six-weeks of the program were eye-opening, exhilarating, and exhausting. I’m still digesting all the things I learned as part of my Odyssey work, but the biggest thing was a shift in the way that I approach my own work, to welcome challenges and be intentional about leveling up my craft.“

Chloe Smith

“My Personal Odyssey was a life-changing experience. I came into the workshop without any professional experience. I was just a person who enjoyed writing and had stories to tell but didn’t know what to do with them. Essentially, I was writing for myself, but what I wanted to do was write for others. Over the course of the 18-week mentorship, I learned not only how to do that, but so much more. My goals became clear, my fears went away, and I figured out who I am as a writer.
 
“The more work you put into Odyssey, the more you get out of it. It’s a workshop designed to enhance your individual strengths and iron out your weaknesses, or use them to your advantage. Jeanne is always available to answer questions, and the weekly 1:1 meetings with her are invaluable. She’s an incredibly kind, wise, and attentive mentor, and the material that she provides caters to your interests and goals. For example, I prefer fantasy but not so much sci-fi. Although I still studied some sci-fi, the predominant focus was on fantasy. The further along in the program, the more I learned about the sub genres of fantasy that I preferred and wanted to write in. How deep you go into any subject is up to you. Jeanne checks in with you every week and you constantly reevaluate your goals and mindset based on what you learn. By the end of the 18 weeks, I had learned so much that I now see writing and storytelling in an entirely new light.
 
“My biggest advice to anyone considering the program is just apply even if you’re afraid to. I was so afraid to apply because I had no prior professional training or experience in writing. Anyone can write, no matter your background or who you are.”

Amy Sharpe

Students can choose how long they want to complete Your Personal Odyssey. Those who want to fit their learning into six weeks can apply for the first session, starting June 2. Those who feel they could learn and improve more with an experience spread over more time can apply for the second session, starting August 11 and lasting twelve weeks; or the third session, starting November 24 and lasting eighteen weeks. Working at a sustainable pace should also help students continue their progress after they complete their Odyssey.

For Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop 2025, we’ll be accepting 12 writers total in the 3 sessions, 2-6 in each session, to ensure that each writer receives an intensive, personalized, one-on-one online workshop experience.

The early action deadline for all 3 sessions is February 15, and the regular application deadline for all 3 sessions is April 1.

Seven scholarships are available, so if you need financial aid, the chances are good!

Find out all the details here, including our awesome lineup of guest lecturers and guest critiquers: https://www.odysseyworkshop.org/about-the-workshop/.

PLEASE HELP ODYSSEY BUILD WRITERS’ SKILLS

Odyssey depends on the support of donors to continue each year. Please consider making a donation so Odyssey can continue to offer writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror programs that both challenge and support them, leading to exciting improvements in their writing. When students tell me that their experience has been “inspiring” and “transformative,” I know that Odyssey offers something special and needs to continue. But it can only continue with your help. Please contribute so Odyssey can help more writers build their skills and move closer to realizing their dreams.

You can donate online here: https://www.odysseyworkshop.org/support-us/.

Hope 2025 is a great writing year for you!

Jeanne Cavelos, Director
jcavelos@odysseyworkshop.org