The Week Ahead
Monday, May 5 to Sunday, May 11. 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:
To RSVP to anything in The Week Ahead, text me if you know me, email me if you don’t: bronwyn.coach@gmail.com
Alameda Shorts: Cancelled. It’s a busy month for members of To Live & Write, which translates in not enough submissions to go ahead with the event. I look forward to hosting our next Alameda Shorts on Thursday, June 12. Theme: Impossible
Book your seat on the next retreat! Sign up for Write on Track while you think of it because I keep my boutique retreats small for quality control and they fill up fairly fast. Write on board Amtrak’s California Zephyr as you journey across Northern California and over the Sierras into Nevada. Spend the weekend writing in a private suite or poolside at The Peppermill Reno. Wrap up your writing adventure on the train home Monday.
Base price: $459 - includes your share of the writing suite and my services. Does not include meals, train fare, ride shares, accommodations, insurance, incidentals, or associated fees.
Join us for The Monday Write In at Signal Coffee in Alameda. 2:00-4:00pm. 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.
I’m accepting new clients in June. If you’re ready to explore the facets of your creative identity this summer, I’m here to help you navigate the journey. Together, let’s discover what you’re here to write, what you need to have in place for your creativity to flourish, how you’re going to find the time, and how you’re going to make the most of that time. But first, let’s chat (the consultation is free).
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 more on Write on Track?
This retreat begins aboard Amtrak’s California Zephyr on Friday, June 20. Write your way across Northern California and the Sierras into Nevada, arriving at The Peppermill Reno Friday afternoon. Spend the weekend writing upstairs in a fancy, comfortable suite or downstairs by the pool (up to you). On Monday, board the train again to enjoy the seventh and final writing session of the retreat on our way back to the Emeryville station.
Do it all with the support and encouragement of a coach with your best interests at heart and a basket full of executive function tools to keep you on track on hand.
When you get home, marvel at the progress you made on your WIP, the connections you made with other writers, and the memories you brought back with you.
Write on Track
Friday, June 20 to Monday, June 23
7 x writing sessions (20+ hours across the retreat)
3 x dinner table discussions
3 x Proof of Writes
2 x 1:1 private coaching sessions (one before + one on site)
1 x writing coach who specializes in inspiration, motivation, accountability, and celebration
Base Price: $459. Includes your share of the writing suite and my services. Does not include train fare, ride shares, meals, accommodations, insurance, incidentals, or associated fees.
Almost All-Inclusive Price: $1600. Includes your share of the writing suite, my services, train fare, ride shares, all three dinners, snacks, accommodations, and insurance. Does not include breakfasts, lunches, alcohol, incidentals, or associated fees.
How about a Saturday morning Tiny Retreat?
If you’re bummed about missing the April Tiny Retreat, make sure you claim a seat for the one in May. It’s so refreshing to spend time writing at a table with a whole bunch of other writers, surrounded by pleasant sounds and easy things to rest your eyes upon between words.
Tiny Retreat
Saturday, May 17
10:00am to 2:00pm
Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden
$75 includes: Tiny Retreat, one beverage, one menu item
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
1. The Monday Write In
We’ve found a home for The Monday Write In! It’s a cute coffee shop on the west end with a quiet back patio and plenty of room to write. 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: (I won’t be there, but that means there’s more room for you!)
Signal Coffee
1536 Webster Street, Alameda CA
Free - you buy your own food and drink
Can’t make it mid-afternoon? Contact me for an invite to the 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 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.
4. Workshops & Labs
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.
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 beans! Does anything else need to be said?
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