An ambitious writing experiment was conducted within the framework of an upper-level undergraduate scientific writing class. The goal was to create a manuscript of high enough quality to be submitted to a professional journal for review. The class of 12 students was given access to a large meteorological dataset and tasked to develop familiarity with the data, analyze it, put the results into context of the bigger picture, and communicate their findings both orally and in writing. Working in teams of 3 or 4, students conducted literature reviews, created writing outlines, performed peer review sessions, and ultimately composed nearly all of the sections necessary to publish the results in a peer review journal article. This paper will describe the participants, challenges, and outcome of this unique experiment.