Forest and trees (Utah) - trying to see it all here…Posts are listed under subject headings. Watch for the “Foundational” posts, with an image of an old ruin—solid foundations last—as well as the “business” posts, with an image of Canadian toonies and loonies ($1 and $2 coins we have up here—in heavy pockets!)
Check out the 2021 Index, with even earlier archived posts, if you are new here, and subscribe
Foundational series… continued from 2021
In Canterbury ruins with my boys
Chapter One checklist (Part 6) - March ’22
Knowing and Knowing About - April ’22
The Power of Three in Story-Telling - December ’22
Grammar & Punctuation
When to spell numbers - April ’22
Fiction Writing
World-building series: Speculative/Sci Fi/Fantasy - Jan. ’22
Historical world-building - Jan. ’22
Contemporary Realism world-building - Jan. ’22
“Coincidence” in fiction - Jan. ’22
Checklist for opening chapters - Jan. ’22
What makes a good story - Feb. ’22
Experimental Fiction - March ’22
“Repetition” in fiction - March ’22
A Need For Forgiveness - an alternative to Freytag’s pyramid - March ’22
How to deal with “groups” (of people) in story and setting - April ’22
Going in fear of abstraction - April ’22
Working with character traits - May ’22
Novel-writing and knowing if and when to walk away - May ’22
What to do with those vague words - June ’22
Ways to approach draft two of the novel - June ’22
The role of mystery/negative capability in our work - July ’22
POV - big piece of story - August ’22
Voice - Part I - Sept. ’22
Voice - Part II - Sept. ’22
Loop trail? or back-and-forth? Structure - Oct. ’22
Dialogue tags - Oct. ’22
Finding and Creating Titles - Nov. ’22
Power of Three in Story-Telling - Dec. ’22
Writing for children and teens
What to do with those adults - April ’22
Humour in writing for children - Oct. ’22
To Swear or Not to Swear - writing for young people - Nov. ’22
Power of Three in Story-Telling - Dec. ’22
Business of Writing
“Pointing” in a cover letter - Feb. ’22
Putting Together Presentations/Readings for the Adult Audience - May ’22
Putting Together Presentations for Children and Young People - May ’22
Do you need an author’s site? - June ’22
Writing and publishing with Chicken Soup for the Soul - August ’22
Ways to promote your work - traditionally published or self - Oct. ’22
Markets and Contests
August markets
September markets
Poetry
Book Review - The Triggering Town - by poet/teacher Richard Hugo
Book Review - A Poet’s Craft - by Annie Finch
Close Reads
Robert Hillman - The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted - Feb. ’22
Anne Tyler - French Braid - August ’22
Nathan Harris - The Sweetness of Water - Sept. ’22
Books About Writing
The Triggering Town - poetry
Fiction Writer’s Workshop - Josip Novakovich - August ’22
A Poet’s Craft, by Annie Finch - Dec. ’22
Workshopping
How to workshop - April ’22
Accessing the workshop space & more - April ’22
Questions to consider for offering feedback - April ’22
Colour-code approach to offering feedback - May ’22
Writing Life
Writing Competitions - Jan. ’22
Gossip - does it have a role? - Jan. ’22
Children and writing - Feb. ’22
Self-love - Valentine’s Day - Feb. ’22
Celebrating Our Favourite Reads - Feb. ’22
When to begin your next project - May ’22
Collaboration for writers—in its many forms - May ’22
Getting something on the page! with an exercise to make it happen - June ’22
Getting a picturebook workshop group off and running - collected PB pieces - June ’22
Connecting with other art forms for inspiration - June ’22
John Keats’ Negative Capability - July ’22
Summer Doldrums - writing/not writing - August ’22
Salman Rushdie - August ’22
Canadian Thanksgiving wish - Oct. ’22
Eulogy for the Magazine Rack - Nov. ’22
American Thanksgiving - Nov. ’22
December Unschool notes - Dec. ’22
Alison’s Process Journal pieces - notes on dedicated writing times
Monday - July ’22
Tuesday - July ’22
Wednesday - July ’22
Thursday - July ’22
Friday - July ’22
Summary of the week - July ’22
And sending out the manuscript - how do we know it’s Time? - July ’22
On Serious Cutting - a week at the DelCoronado - Nov. ’22
Days 2 & 3 of Cutting - Nov. ’22
Days 4 & 5 of Cutting - Nov. ’22 (conclusion to rad cutting is in the Dec. 1 monthly potpourri newsletter)
First of the Month Newsletters
January ’22 (“fences” in writing)
February ’22 (Q&A with Danielle Daniel, writing MG—middle-grade—fiction)
March ’22 (Q&A with Cara DiGirolamo; Gail Nyoka WIR at Joy Kogawa house)
April ’22 (Workshopping space update; Hugo’s Triggering Town prompt)
May ’22 (Celebrating one year since starting out mid-April ’21)
June ’22 (prompt with “elements”; one year of going paid; ideas; creating your own “course” here)
July ’22 (hiking metaphor; workshop update; back-to-the-world-of-people prompt)
August ’22 (cooking/working your day around your writing; POV/tense prompt; archives…)
September ’22 (voice prompt; terrifying moments)
October ’22 (assonance and consonance; spooky prompt; writers responding in workshop)
November ’22 (NaNoWriMo; humour prompt; change or rest poll results)
December ’22 (conclusion to radical cutting at the Del, and more)
Monthly “prompts”
January - fences
February - image as inspiration
March - word dice
April - three words you own and sentence length
May - story starter: The morning after…
June - inspired by basic elements around us
July - people around us
August - POV and tense
September - Voice
October - spooky
November - humour - find 3 things…
December - holiday writing