The Week Ahead
Monday, April 14 to Sunday, April 20. Your weekly line-up of events, activities, and deadlines for writers who crave a creative practice -- as well as those who already have one.
Highlights:
Join us for The Monday Write In at Signal Coffee in Alameda. If you can’t make the mid-afternoon session and you’re a paid member, join us for the early evening Top Secret Write In. Time and location are on the other side of the paywall at the very bottom of this newsletter.
Response for the in-person Tiny Retreat is so strong, I’m adding another table to our reservation. Do I ask for a 2-top, 4-top, or 6-top? Help me decide! If you’ve been on the fence, climb on down and let me know right away that you want to join us for some good, solid, writing time and I’ll know which size table to reserve. Email your RSVP or:
Due to a family situation, The Storytellers Club workshop has been moved back two weeks. New dates: May 7-June 25. In person with an online option.
The Alameda Shorts theme for May is Ginger. Take a chance on your storytelling skills and write a piece for us that you would be willing to read to a live audience next month. The event takes place in a cozy bookstore in downtown Alameda, where friends and fam gather to enjoy a story time for grown-ups.
Theme: Ginger
Genre: Any except poetry, rants, opinion pieces, etc.
Length: 5-minutes when read out loud (800-1000 words, depending on the density of your writing and your reading speed).
Deadline: Submit for consideration by midnight, April 30 (PST)
Event: 6:30pm Thursday, May 8 (PST) at Books, Inc. Alameda.
Scroll down for the full schedule of FREE events & activities for writers. Scroll even further for a list of upcoming workshops & labs PLUS this week’s picture of Mowgli. You have to see it; he’s such a vibe.
Looking for the next in-person retreat?
Write with us at the Tiny Retreat in Alameda, CA!
The main table is full, but there are two seats left at the second table
Saturday, April 26
10:00am to 2:00pm
Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden
$75 includes
Tiny Retreat
one beverage
one menu item
one baked good
Featuring
Four hours of structured writing time and guided focus
Inspiration, motivation, and accountability tailored specifically to you and your needs on this day
Optional 1:1 private session with the coach (hey! that’s me)
Feedback on your work
Workshopping on request
Help moving through writers block
Invitation to an exclusive Sunday night Proof of Write.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE:
Scroll through for FREE in-person & online events & activities for writers.
IN PERSON & Free for Writers:
1. The Monday Write In
Join us as we test-run a number of venues around town. Write Ins are in-person writing sessions where we gather to write quietly in each other's company.
Mondays: 2:00-4:00pm PST
This week:
Signal Coffee
1536 Webster Street, Alameda CA
Free - you buy your own food and drink
Next week: Signal Coffee
Can’t make it mid-afternoon? Contact me for an invite to the NEW! Top Secret Write In that happens later (paid subscriber perk). It’s just like the Top Secret Write Along, only it’s in-person rather than online.
2. Elevenses
Join our weekly in-person gathering to discuss writing, the writing life, and your WIP with people who know what you’re talking about, feel your pain, and delight in your success.
Tuesdays: 11:00am-1:00pm PST. Members only (membership is free)
Free - you buy your own food and drink (I’m addicted to the baked eggs and the spicy chai au lait)
3. The Wednesday Write In
Start your day off with a hot cup of coffee and put some strong writing energy back into the middle of your week. Write Ins are in-person writing sessions where we gather to write quietly in each other's company.
Wednesdays: 10:00am-Noon PST. Host: Erica Peck
Free - You buy your own food and drink (my fave: the spicy scrambled egg croissant and a cappuccino (my one coffee of the week))
ONLINE & Free for Writers:
1. The Write Alongs
Write Alongs are online writing sessions where we gather to write quietly in each other’s company without having to leave the house. To receive Zoom ID information, RSVP in the comments or contact me directly.
Mondays: 7:00-8:30pm PST. Members only (membership is free)
hosted by Linda: Email by 1:00pm PST (day of) for Zoom ID
Tuesdays: 7:00-10:00pm PST. Open to all writers. RSVP by 1:00pm PST (day of).
hosted by Bronwyn: Zoom ID 510 205 6986
Fridays: Private Paid Subscriber Perk!*
hosted by Bronwyn: Zoom ID 510 205 6986
*Paid subscribers receive exclusive invitations to Top Secret Write Alongs and their in-person counterparts, the Top Secret Write Ins.
2. Proof of Write ~ on hiatus for reset
We are adapting the Proof of Write schedule to accommodate writers who can’t make it Friday nights and/or have requested different sub-groups.
In the near future, look for a woman’s group, a men’s group, a co-ed group, and different days and times during the week.
This online gathering is a safe place for writers to share up to 5 minutes of raw, rough, or polished work written the previous week. Every participant must give - and then sit still to receive - positive feedback. Free to join.
Free for members. (Membership is free)
Subject to core member availability; minimum 4 writers*
hosted by Bronwyn or the next available core member
To receive Zoom ID information, RSVP in the comments or contact me directly. RSVP by noon on Friday (PST) at the latest.
3. Lend Me Your Voice ~ returning this spring
Paid subscriber perk! This is your chance to listen to how your words land in a reader’s mind and mouth, where the text flows, where it stumbles, whether your voice and tone hit the way you wanted, and more.
You and a handful of other writers show up, each with 800 words of a book, a blog, or a short story that has already been edited (original work only). You throw your work in the pile. We go around the room taking turns picking up what someone else has thrown down and reading it out loud for everyone to enjoy.
Why do we do it? It’s one thing to read your own work in your head. It’s another thing to read it out loud, when you know what’s coming and you can control emphasis, nuance, and flow. It’s quite another thing to hear someone else read it out loud when they have no idea what’s coming up on the page.
This exercise is 75%* learning about how your words land with your readers and 25%* learning how to get comfortable reading out loud to a live audience.
*These percentages are 100% arbitrary.
RETREATS & WORKSHOPS for Writers:
1. Mini Retreats
In-person with a live online option.
This powerhouse of a writing retreat will change your life — or at least the way you feel about writing in the company of other writers, if you haven’t done it before. Inspiration. Motivation. Accountability. Productivity. And a whole group of writers knowing what you did all day is hella cool.
Quarterly in 2025.
Next date: Saturday, May 17
900am-900pm PST. Includes two 2-hour breaks (I’m not a monster) and an exclusive Proof of Write session at the end of the day.
Bring your lunch: $99
Order food with us: $125
Zoom ID provided with payment
2. Online Tiny Retreats
If you can’t come in person, join us on Zoom. I’ll have my own private wifi up and running and a Zoom room open so you can write with us from wherever you are.
The Tiny Retreat is just what you need to get some serious Me Time with your muse in the morning, then head out to spend the rest of the weekend getting some serious you-and-them time with the fam and your besties. Or just run errands.
This half-day online writing retreat stands on its own merit but coincides with the Mini Retreat morning session once a quarter. It features all the benefits of the full-day retreat, but on a smaller scale and in four hours instead of twelve.
Saturday, April 12 or 26:
10:00am-2:00pm PST
Optional Proof of Write
$59
Zoom ID provided with payment
3. Online Tidy Retreats
Because we could all use a game changer right now.
The Tidy Retreat is a fantastic opportunity to roll up your sleeves and take care of a few small tasks around the house (or one medium chore that you’ve been putting off), like clearing off your desk. You know the tasks I’m talking about — the ones that, if left undone, become procrastination traps when you need to be writing.
We do the tidying and sorting and folding and whatnot online, as a group, to inspire, motivate, and hold each other accountable to what we say we want to accomplish. Every other month.
Sunday, May 18:
900am-1000am PST. Begin with Daily Pages together, to set intentions and get ready to tidy or spruce (optional).
1000am-100pm PST. Share your goal, show us where you’re starting, and get going. Timed focus blocks and regular check-ins will help keep you on track.
$29
WARNING: The long-last effects of just one clean space can include peace of mind, a sense of achievement, the desire to clean and organize a second space, and a general feeling of happiness.
4. Workshops & Labs
Current workshops and labs are full. Next up:
Look for Love Letters: A Workshop for Self-Reflection and Appreciation and her sister lab, Thank You Notes for Self-Reflection, coming in late April/early May, after the pandemonium of Spring Break.
The Storytellers Club workshop also returns next month, just in time to get you ready for a summer of Game Night labs and the daytime version, Sunday Picnic.
NEW! The Storytellers Toolkit for hands-on self-editing is the ideal workshop for writers who want to learn to improve their skills as they’re writing and working on revisions so that when it’s time to submit to a professional editor, an agent, or a publication, it’s as clean and compelling as possible. Early summer.
Late summer brings back the Live & Thrive workshop and her companion lab, The Art of Live/Write Journaling.
Do you need to Unstick Ur Stack before summer? At the moment, this workshop, which focuses on figuring out what to do with your Substack (or blog), is on the calendar for the fall. If you want it sooner, let me know. It just takes a few people to make it happen.
Do you need fodder for your ’stack? I’m elbows deep in the design of a new workshop: The Writer’s Path: Using Journal Reflections to Craft Compelling Stories. It might need a snappier title, but I’m excited about this one — and its sister lab, Ink to Inspiration. Pilots coming soon!
What’s the difference between a lab & a workshop?
I’m so glad you asked!
Labs are for showing up, sitting down, and writing to a specific theme with guidelines and guidance. They are containers of time and place where inspiration, motivation, momentum, and accountability thrive. In other words, we do a lot of writing in these labs. They are designed to hone your skills through practice, experimentation, and play.
Labs are generally offered in 90-minute sessions, but some may take 3 hours or even 6 hours across a weekend. They tend to be about generative writing. They’re for testing the boundaries of established comfort zones in your writing and bringing fun back into writing and storytelling.
Workshops run for several weeks — four, six, twelve, or fourteen, depending on the nature of the work. While labs are about playfully expanding your style as a writer, workshops are more about taking your creative identity seriously and proving to yourself that you are the writer you have always suspected yourself to be.
Workshops have been designed to introduce concepts of the craft and focus on producing work towards a tangible goal. They are predominantly online, with a few in-person exceptions. Workshops take into account lifestyle, mindset, motivation, and what it takes to sustain engagement in a long-term project, like writing a book or setting the foundation for a thriving blog or Substack.
Labs are great for practicing what you’ve learned in a workshop, keeping your hand in, and mastering the art of diving right in to make storytelling magic when you don’t have much time.
Inspiration, Motivation, & Accountability!
For writing tips and habit hacks from your friendly neighborhood writing + creativity coach (hey! that’s me!), sneak peeks at what’s going on in my workshops, examples of my own writing, and exclusive invitations to secret writing situations, consider a paid subscription.
Membership is free!
Join To Live & Write today for inspiration, motivation, and accountability from a strong community of writers who meet and connect on Facebook but gather on Zoom and in the real world whenever we can.
There is room for you, and you are welcome.
Don’t like Facebook but still want community? Check back for chats. I need help getting them going, so please don’t be shy if you see something that piques your interest.
Gratuitous Kitty Shot!
Mowgli waiting patiently, but also not patiently, for you to finish your story. Your book. Your blog.
One scene?
Sometimes, wrapping up a scene can be extraordinarily challenging. You sit down to write and you’re pretty sure you know the ending and then all the things flow and the story grows and grows and the ending gets further away the more you write.
Mowgli wants to know: What’s it going to take to get you from point A to point B without making up an entirely new alphabet in between? Better plotting? A more detailed outline? Confidence in your story?
How about confidence in yourself and your ability to tell your story without over telling your story?
If you want help with any of that, Mowgli says to hire me — I’ll help you figure out what’s going on in your story and in yourself. He’s a pretty smart cat.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Live/Write Balance to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.