The Community of Writing

Finding the magic that grows out of workshop groups

Picture this: You’ve been wanting to get in better shape for a while, and you keep promising yourself you’ll find time to get out for a power walk, or a swim, or you’ll finally make it to the gym this week, but somehow there’s always too much laundry to tackle, and you’re tired after work, and now the grocery shopping needs to be done, and really it would just be better to start fresh next week when you can get into a routine…

Now imagine that you have someone who wants to go for a walk with you. A partner, a friend, a family member—it doesn’t matter who—and even though you both might be dragging your behinds to get out and do it, it’s easier to make that leap when you have someone by your side. Then one of you points out a neat bird, the other pauses to appreciate a beautiful view, and you both have someone to chat or laugh or commiserate with. And suddenly what was a chore to do by yourself is now a wonderful shared experience.

Creative pursuits can be just as difficult to get started, especially if it’s been a while. Because writing is so often a solitary practice—just you and your brain alone in a room conjuring worlds—it feels very easy to become isolated. It’s part of the reason I began offering writing workshops three years ago. I’d hoped to help expand the writing community by creating welcoming and encouraging spaces, and I’ve been so lucky to have just the most amazing writers come through and share their stories and ideas.

And while the workshops have been a wonderful place for a lot of people to either get back to writing after a long hiatus, or finally start writing after years of wanting to, what I love most about them is the collaboration that naturally emerges. Because every exercise is read aloud, all these different perspectives end up swirling between us, feeding the creative beast at the centre of the group and spawning new ideas. Often I see participants exchanging contact info afterwards, and I know for a fact at least some of them have gone on to form independent writing groups.

This summer I’ve changed up my usual workshop format, and I’m offering a weekly series of short, no-pressure evening workshops, starting June 25th and running every Tuesday to the end of August. They’re only 1.5 hours, with a guarantee of at least two guided exercises per session and plenty of positive group feedback. All experience levels are welcome, and you don’t need to bring anything except a notebook and pen (or other writing equivalent). I’m going out of the box with this series, and using lines of poetry, musical selections, the senses and colours as jumping off points, as well as offering three sessions of Writing in the Round, one of my favourite group exercises. (It’s the most fun game of writerly telephone you’ll ever play!)

Detailed info and registration is here. Each workshop is limited to ten spots, but at the time of writing this, there’s lots of spaces left. Come for one or come for many; come alone or bring a friend, it’s all up to you! But if you’ve been wanting to get your pen to paper and haven’t quite gotten there on your own, I’d love to see you there.