Real Talk: The Everyday Creep of Emotional Labor

The (exciting) future of Scribente Maternum

Every few months there seems to be a viral story about motherhood and emotional labor. This was never truer than during the peak of COVID-19 when women’s participation in the labor force dropped precipitously and our emotional labor was laid bare to the world. During that time, the New York Times published a series called “The Primal Scream”, and I can’t tell you how much the stories circulated among our mom-friends.

During that time, we also launched Scribente Maternum. We needed to give writer-moms a place to share in that primal scream, to convene in a space that honored our whole selves as writers and mothers. Scribente Maternum was a balm for so many of us during a time of isolation and desperation. And it’s clear from where this work has gone that this community continues to be a necessary resource for writers who mother. We’ve grown up from an online retreat where we crossed our fingers and hoped our friends would attend to in-person retreats, regional chapters, virtual masterclasses, networking opportunities, and more.

Images from our last three Write Like a Mother Retreats

Four years in, however, we founders have reached an emotional labor tipping point. We’ve realized our desire to carve out a place for mothers who write like ourselves has also led us to an unsustainable place financially. For the past four years, we’ve invested our time, energy, and savings into this space. We knew we wanted to create experiences that were affordable and inclusive. We made an early decision to volunteer our time to find a way to make this community grow until that was not sustainable anymore.

And, dear friends, we have reached that time.

This past December, the three of us were able to gather in person for some difficult and honest conversations about the future of Scribente Maternum. We acknowledged to ourselves—and each other—that we cannot continue this work as volunteers. As we urge our community to do, we also must invest in our labor. This will allow us to expand what we already offer, including more Write Like a Mother retreats and local retreats at a lower cost. We know there is a need for Scribente Maternum, and we are committed to maintaining this space. We are also committed to our mission to support writer-moms who might not typically have access to these types of events.

Here is what you can expect from Scribente in the future:

• We will increase base costs to fully cover expenses. In the past, we’ve only charged enough to cover retreat costs, not the labor. To keep Scribente Maternum sustainable–both now and in the future–retreat costs for our upcoming Fall retreat will increase. Prices for the Fall 2025 retreat will range from $897 to $1097.

• We are capping each retreat at 20 attendees. We’ve realized that part of the magic of the Scribente retreat is the intimacy. And while we want to make these events available to whoever can join, there’s a loss of that connection among the entire group the larger it gets. This also means we have to charge slightly more for each attendee.

• We will offer more payment options. To help defray the cost increase, we are now offering more flexible payment options for all our in-person retreats, as well as savings to pay in full.

• We remain committed to the “You Deserve to Be Here” fund. Outside funding secured by our non-profit partner CityLit Project will ensure that we can offer discounts for BIPOC writers and partial or full discounts to a number of attendees. In the case we’re able to receive larger amounts of funding, we will factor that into lowering the base cost as well.

• We will offer more than one in-person retreat each year. Given that we’re capping attendance, we will offer multiple retreats per year starting in 2026; two domestic U.S. and one international (see more information below and stay tuned for more details!)

• We will continue to offer online and smaller-scale events on a sliding scale. These events will also still start at just $10. As always, we appreciate anyone who can pay the actual value, but we’re committed to maintain Scribente Maternum as a space that is as widely accessible as possible. If you would like to propose a session, please do so here.

• We hope to plan even more regional events. Our regional chapters have been instrumental in our ability to offer more in-person events and to keep you all connected. These free and/or low-cost events will allow for more connections to the Scribente Maternum community. For example, the Portland chapter is holding an inaugural mini-retreat in March. Find your chapter here. And if you’d like to start your own chapter, email us hello@scribentematernum.com or reach out to Elizabeth directly at elizabeth@scribentematernum.com.

There are so many exciting things happening around here! We are so thankful for each of you, and we recognize that we could not do any of this work without your support. So we’re excited to share a few updates!

Mark your calendars…

Write Like a Mother - Sedona, Arizona

October 23-26, 2025: Registration opens February 1 for our paid Substack subscribers and past retreat participants. General registration opens February 14.

Write Like a Mother - International Edition

Bordeaux, France, February, 2026

Write Like a Mother - Spring

Northern California (within 1-2 hours of the Bay Area), April, 2026

Write Like a Mother - Fall

Baltimore, MD, October, 2026

Stay tuned for more details as well we firm up dates!

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We are so excited for what Scribente Maternum is becoming. We are also honored that you have trusted us with the convergence of two such powerful parts of your life: your writing and your motherhood. We see you. We have heard you! And we are excited to keep writing with you for years to come.

With love and support,

Elizabeth, Carla, and Rachel

Scribente founders during our site visit to Sedona in December (L-R: Elizabeth, Carla, and Rachel)