INDEX 2023

For The Unschool for Writers

photo: in the Chihuly Museum, Seattle

The Index for year three of The Unschool for Writers.

Here is the 2022 Index and the 2021 Index.

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First-of-the-month Newsletter - always a potpourri

January 2023 - “burrowing” prompt; updates on A Poet’s Craft, workshops, polls

February 2023 - prompt: craft & juxtaposition; poll on writing ritual

March 2023 - prompt: This Really Happened; poll on “authentic insight”; essay-writing thoughts

April 2023 - traveling prompt; texture in your work

May 2023 - telephone booth prompt; “stand up!”

June 2023 - delicious sentences! and 2nd anniversary cake

July 2023 - work stories; summer reading poll

August 2023 - hinterlands prompt; book review of Stephen Marche’s “Writing and Failure”

September 2023 - smoke and fire prompt; three day novel contest

October 2023 - anadiplosis, and “bittersweet” - a prompt

November 2023 - creating “time” and “peace” in writing

December 2023 - stuffing or dressing? what’s in a word? And a few thoughts on starting a Substack newsletter

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Monthly Prompt Threads - add to at any time

January - Burrowing, borrowed from Katharine Haake

February - craft & juxtaposition

March - This Really Happened

April - traveling stories

May - phonebooth

June - delicious sentences

July - 5 workplace setting details

August - interlands of workplace

September - smoke and fire prompt

October - bittersweet

November - red shoes and a bus stop

December - make a list and check it twice

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Foundational posts - watch for this visual for these posts…

Show, don’t Tell — Part I (showing) - Jan. ’23

Show, don’t Tell — Part II (telling) - Jan. ’23

Character Goals - conscious/unconscious and internal/external - Feb. ’23

Character Goals - Part II - Feb. ’23

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Poetry Discussion Threads - with Annie Finch’s A POET’S CRAFT

The kick-off thread from Dec. ’22

January Discussion Thread - chapter 1

February Discussion Thread - chapter 2

March Discussion Thread - chapter 3

April Discussion Thread - “words” as raw material - chapter 4

May Discussion Thread - three modes - chapter 5

June Discussion Thread - sense & sound - chapter 6

July Discussion Thread - tropes - chapter 7

August Discussion Thread - word music - chapter 8

September Discussion Thread - words in order - chapter 9

Last poetry discussion of the year - Chapters 10/11

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Writing Life

Rejection - Ritual and Celebration - January ’23

My father’s birthday, and thoughts on taking pleasure in one’s work - February ’23

Writing Grants - getting that notification - Feb. ’23

Editorial questions - before the ms. is taken to the acquisitions meeting - March ’23

In Praise of Dithering - March ’23

Digression, Distraction—Maybe more dithering… March ’23

Age as the New Muse - March ’23

The Spiritual in Our Work - June ’23

Dealing with Rejection - when the writing is personal - July ’23

What are Your Writing Boundaries - July ’23

Humans and Algorithms - writing for Medium - August ’23

Gratitude…and keeping it simple - October ’23

Insider Questions about MFA Programs - October ’23

Interview with The Recovering Academic (workshops as “safe” spaces) - November ’23

Sit with It - a Holiday Approach - December ’23

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Substack Info

How does this WORK?! - January ’23

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To Market…

January Markets

A few December markets - December ’23

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Fiction

The End Remembers the Beginning - March ’23

Character Interlands - develop characters - no more worksheets! - July ’23

The Challenges of Naming Your Characters - August ’23

In the Beginning: Three Elements for Opening Sentences - September ’23

Paragraph Breaks - September ’23

The Anger Short-Cut - anger as a go-to emotion in fiction - September ’23

Monster Mash - the monsters/antagonists - October ’23

The Re-Writing Brain - the reality of tough re-writes - October ’23

Working with the word “Today!” - General and Specific time - November ’23

Working with the Present Tense - November ’23

Knitting Together the Whole - working with drafts of bits and pieces - November ’23

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Mini-Course in “Work Stories” - short fiction based in places of employment

Introduction to Work Stories - June ’23

Why Write about Work? - July ’23

Slice-of-Life vs Short Fiction - August ’23

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Q&A series

The kick-off post for Questions - April ’23

Q&A 1 - Second draft and flow - April ’23

Q&A 2 - Ideas - April ’23

Q&A 3 - Finding an editor - April ’23

Q&A 4 - Agents and writers’ conferences - April ’23

Q&A 5 - Are you really “all over the place”? - April ’23

Q&A 6 - Bringing nonfiction technique to fiction - May ’23