As you are sitting in a small dinner, sipping the steaming coffee, a person walks by maybe a little too close for comfort. The air flow floods your nose with a scent, maybe the smell of roses, or your grandmother’s purfume or something unpleasant. With it comes a memory. What is this memory? How old were you when… Read more ]]>
I’m really missing the writing sprints. Anyone else?
I was thinking of setting up some times for writing together on Zoom. Would anyone be interested? A combination of weekday mornings, weekday evenings, and maybe weekends? Just until the Fall Writing Challenge starts. I am away from…
]]>thanks, Debra
]]>Now thst ive 2 months off to write & train, i eant to sell my business so i can retire and do more of the dane 😃
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]]>I just posted an update on the general feed, but then thought to post this question here as well.
I have discovered over the course of the summer that having the progress markers on this website hasn’t played the role I thought it would for me. I am working on a poetry chapbook manuscript, and I thought that I would give myself a brick for…
But I’ve also realized that my plan for the summer’s progress didn’t work out the way…
]]>Thanks in advance. ]]>
I just wrote the blog below and will share it on social media sometime this week. Even though I’ve been talking about neurodivergence in my workshops and with the writers I work with, putting it out there in this blog is a little unnerving. Like many neurodivergent people, I’ve masked my traits, or tried to, for most of my life as I tried to…
Thinking about goals as we (sadly) near the end of the summer challenge… do you set goals for word count, time spent writing, or something different? Do you celebrate or reward yourself when you reach a goal, and how?
‘Surprise!’ Warm Up
There’s a knock at the door.
Your protagonist is home alone and washing dishes.
They put down the sponge and set a still-dirty dish in the sink.
They walk to the door, open it, and see a refrigerator-size box on their front stoop.
Suddenly, the box falls open to reveal a person from their past.
Who…
]]>Writing the Mind Alive: The Proprioceptive Method for Finding your Authentic Voice by Linda Trichter Metcalf and Tobin Simon
Any recommendations for writing books? What is your favourite or go to book on writing!?
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I’m delighted to let you know that the recording of ‘The Ultimate 12-Step Self-Help Guide for Writers and Authors’ with Andrew Buckley is now available.
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Please find it in the ‘Recordings’ thread under the ‘SWC Announcements and Updates’ forum.
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Happy viewing! ]]>
30-Minute ‘Sequel’ Freewrite
An ending isn’t the end of the world.
Imagine that your current project (novel, poem, grocery list) is a prequel, all done and published and out in the world.
Now imagine this: What is the sequel?
Where does it begin? Which characters return? Where are they now? Who are they now?
What is the…
]]>Here’s a list of onomatopoeic words:
Pick a few. Write!
argh / achoo / ahem / bang / bash / bam / bark / bawl / beep / belch / blab / blare / blurt / boing / boink / bonk / bong / boo / boo-hoo / boom / bow-wow / brring / bubble / bump / burp /…
]]>Prompt #1 (10 minutes)
You (or a character) open a book and a recipe falls out. What is the recipe for? Who wrote it?
Prompt #2 (30 minutes)
You (or a character) receive a message–cryptic or casual, gentle or urgent–beginning with the words: “There’s one thing we forgot to tell you…”
What follows changes everything.
Prompt #1 (10 minutes)
Write about someone either following or being followed by someone else.
Inspiration words: erratic, replete, recluse, incentive.
Prompt #2 (30 minutes)
A ringing phone, a sealed envelope, an unidentifiable sound, two men in orange sneakers, a rare bird, a broken clock.
Add one of these to the…
]]>(List as many things as you can, including objects, ideas, verbs and adjectives; 5 minutes)
Something happened the moment I (she/he/they) put on those shoes …
(15 minutes)
They say a journey begins with a single step, but for me it began with a decision …
(15 minutes)
There is a place I go…
]]>‘Blissful’ Freewrite
“You can only have bliss if you don’t chase it.”
What bliss is your protagonist chasing? What do they need to give up in order for bliss to arrive? What is the burden that they are carrying that they must release in order to finally, by the end of your story, be free?
]]>Stop, Drop, and Roll: A Prompt in Three Parts
Part One: Begin at the End (15 minutes)
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Open your current work in progress or complete manuscript.
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Go to the last page if it is a long-form piece, to the last paragraph if it is a short form piece, to the last line if it is a poem.
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In a separate…
Prompt #1 (10 minutes): Write about a sound–or a silence–that won’t go away.
Prompt #2 (30 minutes): A character (or you) walks into the kitchen at the end of the day. On the kitchen table, they find something that is not supposed to be there.
Bonus words for inclusion or inspiration: sagacious,…
]]>I loved the onomatopoeic prompt from last week. I wrote a 7-minute pantoum and then found a doodle in my sketchbook to go with it. THEN, last night, I got inspired and animated one…
Happy long weekend (and Vancouver Pride) everyone! ✍💜
]]>This came up briefly in our discussion this week: are you a cat or dog person? I’m guessing most writers are cat people, but then I’m biased. My dad was a sheep rancher, and I grew up with dogs, so I love ’em. But me and my pet cats have always had an understanding. 🙂 How about you?