INDEX (all posts for 2024)
A gardening photo, from the years I had a front yard of vegetables and fruit; writing should have moments of feeling like this. August figs grown from a sapling fig tree my father gave me; heritage potatoes; cherry tomatoes—pounds of them daily.
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Our 4th of annual Index! Browse through. The posts are organized by topic and form. You can create your own reading list to study.
Let me know if you’d like to see a post in response to a question you have, or if you need help finding some topic. (Leave a comment, or email: alison@alisonacheson.com)
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First-of-the-month potpourri post — for all readers, free and paid (note that prompts and responses to prompts are included WITH these)
January ’24 - “Hopeless in Hope”—book review; stepping into a project; “metaphor”
February ’24 - thoughts on “writer friends”; weather/snow prompt
March ’24 - focused time; pain vs discomfort
April ’24 - teaching/learning to write; children’s games prompt/thoughts
May ’24 - Mother’s Day prompt; magic and challenge of picturebooks
June ’24 - Vehicle stories prompt; further thoughts on book reviewing
July ’24 - Writing constraints (prompt); fears
August ’24 - Picturebook birth; article for “50 ideas”
September ’24 - Hiking Q&A with Heather Waugh; podcast with Arthur Meek
October ’24 - Celebrating the ordinary
November ’24 - Contemplative/nature writing, and 'clues to offer your reader'
December ’24 - What's the adventure?; thoughts on applying for residencies
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Writing Life
Reflections on my writing year of 2023 - Jan. ’24
How do we GROW as writers? (Tired of your own words??) - Jan. ’24
Sweaty Pliés - our practice work - March ’24
Self-soothing, self-care, letting go - April ’24
Preparing to Live With Success - May ’24
Writing and Ageing - projects and writers - June ’24
Happy Birthday to Me! - June ’24
Fear - what is it good for? - July ’24
Downsizing the Writer’s Journal - July ’24
Write as You Hike - Kinetic work - August ’24
Life-balance of writing & selling/promotion - August ’24
Writing Cairn by Cairn - forget Doctorow’s ‘headlights’ - September ’24
Canadian Thanksgiving - Libraries, books, and random displays - October ’24
Clean House or Finish Your Book - Nov. ’24
End-of-year mini-series - Writing Retreat
Approaches to Creating Your Own Retreat - Dec. ’24
What is Retreat? - Dec. ’24
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Fiction
Pets and Animals in our work - Jan. ’24
Editing and the Roles of Presence and Absence - March ’24
Further thoughts on Editing—returning to original dreams and old notes - March ’24
Transitions - working with in Fiction - May ’24
Using the Table of Contents for Structure & Pacing - June ’24
Read Aloud (not just for picturebooks!) - September ’24
Is Your Second Chapter a Flashback? a sign of first draft - October ’24
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The Business of Writing
Read Your Contract - Even the part about going out of print - August ’24
Writing (Novel) Questions for Book Club Readers - Nov. ’24
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Poetry
February Poetry discussion - the beat goes on… - Feb. ’24
The Sestina - the “box” of poetic form - Nov. ’24
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Close Reads
The Snow Child - by Eowyn Ivey - Feb. ’24
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Memoir & Nonfiction
When is the Right Time to Write a Memoir? - Feb. ’24
Memoir: Let Your Reader IN - October ’24
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Picturebook writing and Writing for Young People
Slow Writing - picturebook process - May ’24
Read Aloud! - September ’24
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On the Road Annual Q&A Series
Bring on your questions! - March ’24
Q&A #1 - How do I start to publish? - April ’24
Q&A #2 - How do I find tech for speech-to-text? - April ’24
Q&A #3 - How do I promote my first novel (or nonfiction!)? - April ’24
Q&A #4 - Thoughts on Writing Book Reviews - May ’24
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Markets
June markets - June ’24
Wow! I just bookmarked several posts in a separate folder on my laptop, to delve into throughout the next several weeks.
An index is such a good idea!