What if the sight of a blank page...
was as warm and welcoming as a cup of tea?
Here's the thing. You want to write. You can feel the poetry swirling in your mind. You love reading fairy tales and want to bring your own to life on the page.
But you don’t.
Maybe the cursor blinking on the blank page is your version of Medusa’s eyeballs on you.
Maybe you just haven’t sat down to write in weeks or months or even years, despite telling yourself that, today, it will be different.
Maybe you do sit down and write, but you delete everything you type because you can’t stand how it sounds, and you’ll never write as well as Catherynne Valente anyway so why bother? (Ahem. Not that we’ve done this ourselves…)
Maybe the last year has sucked every bit of inspiration from your bones, and you want to want to write, so much, but instead you binge watch Netflix again because that’s all your brain can deal with.
To make matters worse, a lot of the resources out there are geared towards what we call “Sad Men Fishing in Boats” stories.
In other words, towards realism, melancholy, and a male perspective. None of these things are bad in of themselves...but this does make finding writing tools for the fantastic, the joyful, or a more feminine voice challenging!
So even if you do manage to burst through exhaustion and overwhelm and pick up a book about writing… a lot of the advice and exercises just aren’t for you.
We have been there and felt that sting.
We’ll never forget this one particular (endless) afternoon we spent in a workshop.
After the third Hemingway-esque tale of Man Fishing, the conversation devolved into slamming “genre” writing.
Anything fantasy, science fiction, romance, fairy tale, or horror was summarily labeled as derivative, pulpy, and hokey. Definitely not worth the notice of serious writers.
After about fifteen minutes of listening silently, we politely pointed out that, actually, we both wrote almost exclusively fairy-tale inspired work, that exceptional work that incorporates folklore has been around forever (um, Milton? Toni Morrison? SHAKESPEARE?), and that, perhaps, endless permutations of ‘Man Fishing’ tales were not inherently more original, serious, or “good” than a fairy tale by Margaret Atwood or Charles de Lint.
(Btw, we actually really like Hemmingway. But there’s more than one way to tell a good story!)
We know we’re not the only writers who have found ourselves in this position.
It’s a lonely and exasperating place to be.
And this is a huge part of why we’ve put together
our digital workbook,
Spellcraft: Write Like a Witch.
Because writing is hard enough without pretending it’s just for melancholy bros. Because there are tools and prompts and inspiration galore for writers who love fairy tales and folklore and who steep themselves in magic.
If you want to write with confidence and to feel like writing is fun again, this is for you!
Imagine going to a crumbling old library, sneaking past the librarian on duty, and wandering until you find a small, unassuming book in the stacks that seems to whisper your name. You blow the dust off the cover and - as you page through - you realize: this is it. This is the book you've been waiting for, the one overflowing with insight, magic, and fun, a book that really GETS what kind of writer you long to be.
Imagine then opening up your computer to write, seeing that blank screen and, instead of dread, feeling a sense of adventure. Imagine starting to write and feeling like you finally have a place to start - a place to start that gives you inspiration, determination, confidence, and JOY in writing again.
You *can* have this!
$27
It's time for you to be let in on some big secrets.
Welcome to Spellcraft: Write Like A Witch!
Check out this flip through (featuring a special guest star!)
& click the image below to grab your FREE sample pages!
WHAT'S INCLUDED...
PLUS... SIX BONUSES!?
Why Should You Trust Us?
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We don't just teach this stuff; we actually do it. We’ve published dozens of poems and short stories, written two streaming series, and our first book, Fairylore, is forthcoming in 2025! We’ve been nominated for (and won!!) some pretty sweet awards too. And, despite our crazy output, we’re still writing daily... AND still feeling that thrill you get when you love what you’re making and how you’re making it.
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We really know this stuff. We both earned our PhDs in English and Folklore from The Ohio State University in 2018 and our MAs from George Mason University in 2012, two of the best folklore programs in the US. We wrote theses on fairy-tale retellings and dissertations on folkloric retellings, and we've published about a billion academic articles, blog posts, and magazine articles on folklore, fairy tales, teaching, and creative writing.
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We’re professional teachers. We taught on the university level for a combined 10 years and then founded our own business... just so we could keep teaching the stuff we love to people who want to learn it. Seriously, we LOVE teaching. We’ve literally published on pedagogy (i.e. how to teach awesomely), and in 2019, we won the Dorothy Howard Prize from the American Folklore Society, for “us[ing] folklore in educational settings in rich and meaningful ways […] both within and outside the classroom.” When we won, they praised us as “a folk school for the digital age”! Teaching, it is our passion.
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We help our students meet their goals. Many of our students have gone on to publish their work in awesome venues like Enchanted Living, The Fairy Tale Magazine, and Uncanny Magazine. We know a lot about what works and what doesn't in folkloric writing, and we've seen our students shine as a result.
Check out some of the things people said about the earlier version of this digital workbook... you're getting everything they got and SO MUCH MORE!
And check out the praise the expanded edition is getting!!
Hi! We're Sara and Brittany!
We, Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman, are award-winning folklorists, teachers, and writers with a combined 26 years in higher education and over 150 publications. Together, we founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, teaching creative souls how to re-enchant their lives through folklore and fairy tales. In 2019, Carterhaugh won the Dorothy Howard Award from the American Folklore Society.
When we aren’t teaching at Carterhaugh, we're scholars, writers and best friends who have published peer-reviewed articles, appeared on podcasts, sold stories and poems, written book introductions and encyclopedia entries, and written for magazines and blogs. We also have a streaming series on Dracula for The Great Courses (and another one on urban legends in the works), and a book called Fairylore coming out in 2025! (We’ve also been known to crush “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at karaoke.) We're regular writers for Enchanted Living Magazine, and we also deliver sold-out lectures at venues like the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, the Profs & Pints series, the Maryland Renaissance Festival, the Contemporary American Theater Festival, and FaerieCon.
We write compulsively and have since we were kids. The number of terrible manuscripts written in our teens are many, and they will never see the light of day. But we gleefully bullied each other into publishing our poetry and prose when we met over fifteen years ago, and we’ve never looked back. We've been published by Uncanny Magazine, The Orange and the Bee, The Fairy Tale Magazine, Crow Cross Keys, Mythic Delirium, Goblin Fruit, Apex Magazine, Corvid Queen, Sycorax Journal, Mirror Dance, Jabberwocky, Cabinet des Fees, and many more.
Our first book, Fairylore, is forthcoming from Sterling Ethos!
We have been nominated for (and won!) numerous awards, and we also taught writing and composition for a combined 10 years at The Ohio State University.
We’re ridiculously excited to bring the
"Spellcraft: Write Like a Witch"
digital workbook to our community!
“Carterhaugh classes have changed my life in such a positive way. I've been reminded of so many interests and influences that had fallen by the wayside for me in recent years.
The courses are approachable, thought-provoking, and earthy (in the sense of putting you in touch with your roots) and the topics and discussions always spark ideas and creativity for me. It's nice to have a class setting that's go-at-your-own-pace and low pressure.
Sara and Brittany are wonderful teachers and you can really feel their passion for the material come through in every aspect of the course. I'm excited what Carterhaugh will offer next! Even when work and life are difficult, being part of this community makes my life feel a little bit more magical, and that is an amazing gift!”
- CLAIRE THOMAS
A few people you might know are saying some pretty nice things about us too...
Looking for more testimonials? Click here!
SPELLCRAFT: WRITE LIKE A WITCH IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF….
You're PASSIONATE about writing FAIRY-TALE AND FOLKLORE-INFUSED work.
You've been struggling with overwhelm and/or burnout and you're READY FOR A NEW APPROACH.
You're sick of writing books not targeting YOU - and wants one that gets YOUR goals.
You're ready to feel inspired and put the MAGIC back in your writing.
SPELLCRAFT: WRITE LIKE A WITCH IS NOT FOR YOU IF...
You're not really that into folklore and fairy tales and such.
You're not sure you're ready to commit to taking your writing seriously.
You're not willing to play.
Still not quite sure? Click here to grab some FREE sample pages!
GET STARTED WRITING THE WORK YOU DREAM ABOUT TODAY!
When you click the "Yes, I want this!" button below, you’ll be brought to a checkout page where you can enter in your payment information directly.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What kind of writing will benefit from this workbook? Do I have to write fantasy?
No! If you write anything that draws on folklore, our digital workbook will help you! Fairy-tale retellings, selkie poems, memoirs that intertwine with Hades and Persephone, creative non-fiction shaped by urban legends or family folklore, and so many more possibilities are all fair game. If you’re not sure if this is a a good fit for you, email us and we can answer your questions!
When will I get the workbook?
You'll get access to the digital workbook via our Teachable website immediately after you check out!
How do I engage with the workbook?
The digital workbook PDF is fillable, which means that you'll be able to type in all the blank spots that ask you to answer questions or complete exercises! You can also, of course, read the PDF on your screen and write in your own notebook/computer document or print a copy to hand write on (one of our bonuses is a fun PDF telling you exactly how we printed our own bound physical copy of the workbook at Staples!)
Do you have any sample pages?
Sure! Click here to grab them!
Um, what exactly is "Carterhaugh"?
The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic is an award-winning online school dedicated to classes on fairy tales, folklore, and all things fantastic. It was created by Sara and Brittany in 2016 as a place for those who dreamed of elven battles while studying economics, those who have always sworn they could see ghosts, and those who longed for a school of magic to send them an unexpected acceptance letter. We aim to use our knowledge and passion for these subjects to share their wonder, solidify their importance in society, and spread a bit of magic into the world.
Do you do live writing workshops?
We do! The first, much smaller, version of this workbook appeared as part of an all-day writing workshop we did of the same name (Spellcraft), and we'd love to do more workshops like it in the future. In the meantime though, this workbook is the best way to get access to all our best folklore-y writing lessons.
What about private consultations?
Absolutely! If you're interested in a private writing consultation, shoot us an e-mail.
Is this really just $27?
Yep! You get the whole digital workbook - over 100 PDF pages of densely packed info - for just $27. We're going to offer you a few more things you might be interested on the checkout pages, but you're under no obligation to buy anything else whatsoever.
YOU ARE A WORD WITCH.
YOU CAN MAKE MAGIC.
WE KNOW IT.
