It’s time to whack a firecracker up your writerly-butt and yeet procrastination out the door
The famous WHQ Couch to 5k Words is 28 days of writing workouts, habit-forming exercises, inspirational bollocks and literary swearing, all delivered direct to your face.
Throughout the month, we’ll help you create your own writing practice that fits into your life and goals.
Delivered via email and our online learning platform, you’ll also have access to our writing forums for support, feedback and writerly love from your fellow WHQers.
Writers’ HQ has spent more than a decade helping writers dust off their notebooks and make the words come out of their brains. Now it’s your turn.
Join Sarah and Team WHQ for the Couch to 5k Words writerly training programme, designed to help you shake off the literary ennui and find your writing happy place.
You could see out the month with a writing habit to make Barbara Cartland weep and productivity to make Stephen King fall on his knees in adulation.
“This course got me writing again after a break of nearly 20 years. Writers’ HQ is amazing! A motivating, practical, friendly course with exercises to do and a nice positive forum to discuss how it’s all going.”
CATHERINE A LEIMER
Here’s what you’ll learn
How to develop a dedicated creative practice
Ways of using adaptable techniques for every writing session
To love your writing practice and keep on going
Here’s what you get when you join Couch to 5k Words 2025
28 lessons showing you how to:
⏰ Create time when it feels like there is no time
👩💻 Sit down and write regularly
🔁 Find a repeatable process that works for you
🌎 Write your stories and get them out into the world
Bonus: when you sign up you can also access all other Writers’ HQ courses, including the famous Plotstormers: How To Plot A Novel, the entire publishing series, all workshops and masterclasses, and access to the Writers’ HQ community.
Great course – from confronting the inner critic, through the basics of plotting and characterisation, this course has given me the confidence to ‘just keep writing’. The encouragement to keep going, and the support from the lovely WHQ community has helped me develop and maintain a solid writing habit, that fits in with a pretty busy life. Highly recommended.”
SUSY CHURCHILL
Here’s how it works
1
You sign up for Couch to 5k Words below (or click here)
2
We send you a welcome email. Then on Monday 6 January, you get the first email of a 28 day writerly training programme, and an orientation webinar, to take your writing practice from ‘eh’ to ‘yay!’
3
You write all the cool stuff you’ve been wanting to write for ages
What does Writers’ HQ bring to the party?
Experience!
Over a decade of experience supporting writers through their challenges, getting them moving and getting them to love their writing
Magic!
Home to the most special, most magical, most kickass and supportive community of writers this side of the internet!
Writers!
Run by award-winning writers for writers at every stage of their work. We understand the process and we understand that what you need is complex and mutable
Guidance!
Years of know-how in guiding writers through their arghs and blarghs and blocks, and getting them to sit down and write
Track record!
A proven track record of guiding writers through their novels to create something wonderful
Joy!
We focus on the joy. Writing shouldn’t be a chore. We bring the fun, and the rest follows easily (ish)
“This course helped me find the joy in my writing again and got me back on track to writing every day. I produced well over 15k of words and, more importantly, was reminded exactly why I started writing all those years ago. I started the 28 days having to sternly tell myself to get on and do the daily exercise, I finished by waking up desperate to get back to my WIP.
It can help you do that too, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who needs to reset their writing habits.
KIZZIA
You want a schedule? We’ve got a schedule!
Course start
Monday 6 January 2024
Course end
Tuesday 4 February 2024
You will receive daily emails with links to the lessons, and you’ll need between 10 – 40 minutes a day to complete them.
All times are in GMT
Monday 6 Jan, 12.30pm -1.15pm: Welcome, orientation and goal setting webinar
Monday 13 Jan, 10am – 11am: Write-along webinar
Monday 20 Jan, 10am – 11am: Write-along webinar
Tuesday 21 Jan, 7pm – 8pm: Couch to 5k Words Support Group webinar
Monday 27 Jan, 10am – 11am: Write-along webinar
Monday 3 Feb, 10am – 11am: Write-along webinar
Tuesday 4 7pm – 8pm: Debrief and what to do next webinar
You ready? Let’s gooooooo!
Any questions? Here’s what fellow writers asked before they enrolled
Is this course right for me?
Couch to 5k Words has been created over ten years to work for writers at any stage of the process.
This course is for you if:
- You are struggling to get started at all
- You’re feeling burned out with your current process
- You used to write and then fell out of the habit
- You dream of writing but just can’t get start
What skill level is this course for?
This course is for all writers regardless of whether they’re just starting out or old hands.
If you want a roadmap to get you from the flopping on the coach to a regular writing routine, this is for you.
How long will the course take?
The course is designed to be done over 28 days and you’ll need about 20 minutes to half an hour every day to complete the tasks.
You don’t have to show up every day, but it helps. If you miss a day, don’t worry, just pick up where you left off.
We’ll send you an email every day of the 28 days to remind you to get off your butt and do the thing. This might sound annoying, and it is, but also holy wow it works.
What tools do I need to do this course?
Laptop, notebook, pen, pencil, brain (optional).
How is Writers’ HQ so goddamn awesome?
The spice melange innit
