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…
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
First of all, love the index and will be putting aside some time to dig through it for treasures!
Secondly, the photo of Chihuly glass - I keep meaning to go to Seattle and visit this garden. Have seen his stunning work in Jerusalem and Phoenix (just by chance)...thanks for the prompt 😃