A Hidden Gem in the Honors College
Michael Gills’ Novel Writing Workshop is a hidden gem of the Honors College. Gills crafts his year-long course into a period of personal and professional growth for his pupils, each of whom he hand-selects to cultivate a diverse cohort. By the end of the workshop, each student has not only authored an original manuscript but also battled—and eventually embraced—their own psyche to do it.
A Demanding but Rewarding Routine
Gills’ workshop is not for the faint of heart. An accomplished writer himself, Professor Gills subjects his students to the same tried-and-true regimen he practices. Each member of the cohort signs a contract at the beginning of the course binding them to wake at 4:30 a.m. and begin two hours of writing no later than 5:30 a.m.
Gills explains, “All my mentors espoused rising early and writing close to your unconscious dream state… Perfection paralyzes, and novels get written by embracing rough drafting—easy enough at such an ungodly hour of the morning.”
To ensure steady progress, students write two pages a day, five days a week, and accumulate about 150 pages by the end of each semester. Gills comments, “Two hours and two pages of writing a day, ten a week—the work accrues. Rather than thinking in terms of the whole, one begins to think in small increments. Like driving at night with headlights, you can’t see very far, but if you keep driving, you can go a long way.”
Growth Through Struggle
Students often note the extreme difficulty of maintaining the daily writing regimen and the mental battle that comes with producing an original manuscript. But they also commend the course for instilling discipline and sharpening their scholarly abilities, regardless of whether they continue writing long-term.
Recent Honors graduate and published Novel Writing Workshop alumna Katie Sanyal reflects on her own discouragement: “I think one of the biggest lessons I learned was just perseverance… Writing through it and going forward was what was going to see the project to completion.”
A Community of Writers
Through the intensity of the course, the cohort evolves into a tight-knit support system that weathers both personal and academic adversity together. Professor Gills uses interviews during the admissions process to intentionally build a diverse community, which he credits as a key to the course’s consistent success.
Alumna Ali Woodward says, “In this course, we became a community very quickly because we were able to share the intimate details of our lives.”
The Role of Feedback
To enrich cohort bonds and create a steady cycle of feedback, Gills facilitates Friday workshops. He explains, “Each writer is assigned a peer to read and comment on weekly, and two novel chapters are critiqued each week by the whole class during our Friday workshop, which meets from 2 to 5 p.m. This keeps the feedback loop rolling and also keeps us up to speed with all the novel projects in class—seeing them develop and hit that moment—usually around week ten—when the work takes a breath of its own and comes to life.”
Students frequently credit these workshops for preparing them to work with editors and publishers. After writing her novel Lady of the House, Sanyal described the impact of peer feedback: “It was so helpful for my writing process to have my peers doing the same thing… and then having workshop.” She continues, “It was definitely such an amazing and unique experience that the Honors College has this class, and that it’s designed this way, I think, to build community and collaboration.”
Beyond the Workshop
Beyond the monumental achievement of writing a full manuscript, many students find success in the literary world. Gills proudly notes, “Several have been published. We’ve won the Marriott Honors Thesis Award a handful of times, and students have published many chapters in literary journals and Scribendi, a national honors literary publication, where my students’ work has appeared for years. Two current novelists have accepted chapters for the 2025 edition. USA Today has covered our class, and a story appeared in University of Utah’s [Magazine].”
Endurance and Accomplishment
Students in the Honors College’s Novel Writing Workshop overcome both small frustrations and major obstacles to complete approximately 300-page manuscripts by the end of the spring semester. In doing so, they learn how to thrive under pressure, collaborate meaningfully with peers and professionals, and build both mental and physical stamina. The results are extraordinary—on the page and beyond.
Looking Ahead
The Novel Writing Workshop will next be offered in Fall 2026. Applications and interviews for the course will take place in Spring 2026, just before spring break.
McKenna Hall | Journalism Intern, University of Utah Honors College