Tag Archives: work session

Weekly Writing Prompt — January 8, 2014 Edition

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Happy New Year Writers!

I hope the holidays treated you well and the rest from the normal routine has you ready to take on 2014!
First up is that we’ll be meeting on January 14, 2014 at the library for our bi-monthly work session. We will continue with our Poor Man’s MFA series.
In light of that, today’s prompt is to get you ready for that work session because we’ll be tackling your 2014 Writing Challenges/Goals. We’ll be looking at where you’re going and where you’ve been. Take 30 minutes over the next few days before the 14th and figure the following out:
1) Year in Reveiw:  What writing benchmark did you make in 2013? What new skills, knowledge, and abilities do you have in your writing tool kit? Make a list. Be sure to include your biggest “win” in your writing life in 2013.
2) Looking Ahead:  Where do you want to go with your writing in 2014? What is your main writing goal for 2014? Do you want to publish a short story? Do you want to have a manuscript submission ready? Attend a conference? Secure an agent? What is the next stop on your writing journey?
3) Go backwards to go forward:  Start at your end-goal and plot out the rest-stops in your journey along the way. Figure out the mini-goals within the big goals to keep yourself accountable. (e.g. You need to write or edit every day in order to have a manuscript submission ready by, say, August.)
4. Baby’s First step:  What is the the most immediate thing you can do to head towards your goal right now? Write that down.
5) Make a writing Calendar:  After you’ve figured out steps 1 to 4, be sure to write goals, milestones, stops along the journeys on the calendar. Be as detailed as you can possibly be.
6) Ask for Help:  What can SnoValley Writes! do to help you with your goals?
Bring the above, including your calendar, with you to the January 14th Work Session and we’ll get you more inspired, give you tips & tactics, as well as get some writing in. Please RSVP to let me know that you’ll be attending.
And now your moment of Writing Zen:
“Writing: you come to the field hoping to be an artist, and wind up an entrepreneur.” ~Myke Cole, author

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What did you Write today?
~Casz

Casondra Brewster
Moderator/Founder
Sno Valley Writes!
Helping Writers Reach New Literary Peaks Since 2008
http://www.snovalleywrites.org
Check us out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/SnoValleyWrites

“But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling, like dew upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.” ~ Lord Byron

Weekly Writing Prompt — March 6, 2013 Edition

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Writers:

Greetings to you. The frogs serenaded me last night; the birds awoke me with their songs.

Spring is here. It will fight an epic battle for the next few weeks with Old Man Winter. But she is here. There is a sense of newness in the air (I moved my winter greens to their Spring-time beds), and I saw a doe and fawn early this morning. It’s all right here in front of us. But, sometimes I think we let the world and all its troubles detract us from the goodness and beauty right in front of us. I hope you have a chance to pause and reflect and allow the goodness and beauty to seep into you.

Enjoying life doesn’t mean there isn’t work, however. But, when it’s writing work, creative work, it doesn’t feel like work, right?

Today we continue making our way through the very last of The Artist’s Way.

Today’s task is this:

Build yourself a special creativity notebook. Number pages one through seven. Give one page each to the following categories:  health, possessions, leisure, relationships, creativity, career, and spirituality. With no thought as to practicality, list ten wishes in each area. All right, it’s a lot. Let yourself dream a little here.

That’s it. No other task this week from us. Just do that one. But you do have an opportunity tonight at the Writer’s Café at Sawdust Coffee in North Bend, beginning at 6 p.m. to complete this task/prompt/creative nudge.

If you don’t have an artist’s date planned this week, please consider supporting one of our fellow writers and artists in the valley by attending a book launch/signing in North Bend.

Agatha Hattie – Queen of the Night, written by our own Jacquelyn Fedyk and illustrated by local favorite artist, Leslie Nan Moon are being hosted by Selah Gifts on Saturday, March 9th, at Noon until 2 p.m. There will be a reading, signing, and definitely a chance for you to acquire as many copies of this great children’s book. Please consider setting aside some time to support them. For more information, please visit http://agathahattie.wordpress.com/

Next work session for the group is March 12 at the North Bend Library at 6 p.m. Hope to see you all there.

And now your moment of Writing Zen:

“To keep the body in good health is a duty…Otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” ~Buddha

Weekly Writing Prompt — May 23, 2012 Edition

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Greetings! Hope the rain and cloud cover has you inspired and not mired in “where is the sun?” complaints.

Once again, we continue with our work through The Artist’s Way together. We are still working through the tasks and exercises in Chapter 4 — for those keeping track via their own copy of the book.
But, first, it’s check-in time!
1. Morning Pages?
2. Artist’s Date?
3. No reading this past week? What did you do instead?
4. Doing the tasks and exercises?
Today’s Tasks include the environment and time travel.
1.  Environment:  Describe your ideal environment. Town? Country? Sank? Cozy? One paragraph. One image, drawn or clipped, that conveys this. (For those with Tumblr Accounts, feel free to do this there). What’s your favorite season? Why? Go through some magazines and find an image of this. Or draw it. Place it near your working area.
2.  Time Travel:  Describe yourself at eighty. What did you do after fifty that you enjoyed? Be very specific. Now, write a letter from you at eighty to you at your current age. What would you tell yourself? What interests would you urge yourself to pursue? What dreams w2ould you encourage?
3.  Time Travel:  Remember yourself at eight. What did you like to do? What were your favorite things? Now, write a letter from you at eight to you at your current age. What would you tell yourself?
4.  Environment:  Look at your house. Is there any room that you could make into a secret, private space for yourself? Convert the TV room? Buy a screen or hand a sheet and cordon off a section of some other room? This is your dream area. It should be decorated for fun and not as an office. All you really need is a chair or pillow, something to write on, some kind of little alter area for flowers and candles. This is to help you center on the fact that creativity is a spiritual, not an ego, issue.
Reminders:
DayTrippers on Friday at the Black Dog at 9:30 a.m. until about Noon-ish.
Monday Midday Muse at Pioneer Cafe at 11 a.m. until about 1 p.m. ish
Writer’s Cafe @ Carriage Insurance at 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Next Writer’s WorkShop Session:  June 10th.
Steve Matlock kindly shared this link and information. Might be of interest to some of you:
Direct submissions to Arthur Levine (@Scholastic)
And now your moment of Writing Zen:
“The primary imagination I hold to be the Living Power.” ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge.