Write with me in '23?
Hi all,
Happy 2023. Right now, big feathery snowflakes are floating down past my window. I'm tempted to see them metaphorically, as a flurry of new possibilities arriving to grace this new year. But that's just me being an incorrigible writer! Even when I'm not being a very productive writer (and lately I'm not), even if I'm just staring out at the snow, I'm still a writer. And whether you're churning out the pages or going through a quiet spell, you are too.
So that's why I wanted to let you know about these two offerings. One is free. The other is not. Both are gifts you might consider giving to the most important writer in your life. (Yes, I mean you!!)
Above: Gene Davis, 1968
One-Day Writing Booster — free! — Sunday, Feb 12
I hosted a one-day writing booster last February, and I've decided to do it again, but this year I'm doing it free of charge, because everything seems so expensive these days, including my writing courses. Art and money are often tangled up in uncomfortable ways, but for this day, I want to take my inspiration from the immortal Joni and invite us all to "play real good for free."
So join me to get restarted, newly started, or just because it's fun! Refresh your creative practice with craft talk, deep-focus writing, and a celebratory virtual salon (sharing always optional). I'll be happy to address writing questions and do some quick one-on-one consultations as time allows. We'll meet on Zoom from 10 am to 2:30 pm ET (yes, sporting types, it's Super Sunday, but the game doesn't start til 6:30!). All levels welcome, fiction and memoir and whatever else you've got. Space is limited. Free registration is open now.
Fiction Kitchen 2023
After superb kick-off gathering here in Northampton in early November, and with the current group still sharing excellent work from around the country in our monthly virtual meetings, I've decided to host round two of Fiction Kitchen this fall. It's been too wonderful not to repeat it.
This year's in-person weekend will happen Oct. 27 to 29 at a lovely retreat property in the Western Mass hills (that's the place below). Accommodations and all meals will be included (yes, the slow-smoked brisket by my Texan expat mate is still the star of a Sat night bbq--and we love our vegetarians too!) You'll write and refocus on your work, enjoy autumn in New England, and settle into our circle of like-minded creative humans. It's a relaxed and relaxing experience, but you'll leave charged with momentum for your work in progress—and the group and I will be there for you in an ongoing way, to help you keep writing with devotion and inspiration.
After our weekend together, we will continue as a committed ongoing monthly writing group/workshop that meets on Zoom. You'll have multiple opportunities to share your writing, which will be handled with deep consideration by me and the group.
Fiction Kitchen is designed to be writing retreat that follows you home. And it works. And the 2023 version is going to be good. And it could fill fast. Learn more and request a spot here.
AND...
My winter course at the Center for Fiction sold out very quickly, I didn't have time to send out an announcement! I'm honored by that.
Know a high school student who loves to write? I'll be teaching at Smith College Creative Writing Workshop in July.
I had fun doing an interview with my pal Catherine Newman for LitHub, to celebrate her new novel We All Want Impossible Things.
A literary site called Writers Tell All invited me for a chat. I didn't tell all, but I told some.
What's new in your world? What do you want to write in 2023? Hit reply. I'd love to hear from you!
xo
Debra