Introducing: Alchemy Daily

I'm excited to tell you about the newest offering here in The Word Cellar: Alchemy Daily, a 30-day frolic of writing prompts, inspiration, and magic. I've had so many people tell me that they need help getting started with writing. Sometimes we let our fears and self-doubt get in the way, and we end up not even knowing what to write about. If you're feeling stuck, it's prompts and inspiration to the rescue!

I created this fun, no-pressure experience to help you start writing, to quiet the negative voices in your head, and to remind you how fun it can be to play with words.

Here's what you get for just $35:

• one juicy writing prompt each day for 30 days, delivered to your email inbox;
• nuggets of inspiration to encourage you as you play with words, find your stories, and fall in love with language; and
• access to a private community (on Facebook) to swap stories and cheer on your fellow Alchemists.

**All of the prompts & nuggets of inspiration will also be posted in the private community. Please note that participation in the private community, which will be hosted on Facebook, is optional.

Alchemy Daily is your invitation to have fun, be free with words, and create your own writing magic.

Up here in the northern hemisphere, many of us are soaked to the bone with the winter cold, snow, rain, and grey. Think of Alchemy Daily as a cheerful little spark of warmth and creativity. (And for those of you in the sun-soaked summer days of the southern hemisphere, what better time to loosen up and play with words?)

Each prompt will be a jumping off point, an invitation to write a few words, a few sentences, or even a few pages. No rules, just pure writing magic. Alchemy Daily is your permission to write as much or as little as you want. Write fast, write slow. Let the words linger in your soul, or dash them off on the page with no time for self-doubt. This is all about giving yourself the freedom and permission to write.

Alchemy Daily will get your creative juices flowing and help you to overcome the fears that hold you back in your writing life.

Sometimes I think wistfully: Wouldn't it be lovely if writing were all twinkle lights and dancing faeries? If only our muses whispered sweet somethings in our ears every night, and we woke to write pages of prose and poetry every morning, the creativity flowing like the warm, gooey center of a chocolate molten lava cake. Mmmm....

Wouldn't it be lovely if creativity were all play and no work?

And I thought: Even better, wouldn't it be lovely if we could transform our creative work into play?

Let's do it!

Join me for Alchemy Daily, starting February 22. Registration and full details are here.

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Oh, and p.s.: The next session of Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing is scheduled for April 4 - May 11, 2011. This six-week writing course for creatives was a hit this past fall, with 40 students from six countries! I'm looking forward to opening registration for this next session soon. Stay tuned....

What I'm Working On....

a slice of my studio

I continue to be swamped in creative projects over here. It's glorious and terrifying.

Here's what I've been working on lately:

• My collection of sea stories
• Staying off of Facebook and Twitter (it's not working)
• Transforming a ragtag collection of essays into a book (a large part of the glorious and terrifying)
• Remembering to eat and stretch and look away from the computer screen every so often
• Coaching other creative souls along their writing path (love this!)
• The next session of Alchemy (it's coming soon!)
• Reading about the nature of language and how it uses us (for a lecture I'm giving this summer)
• Getting ready to attend AWP
  
• Preparing my first packet of work for my this (my last!) semester of my MFA
• Getting ready to be a mentor at Pen & Paper (will I see you there?)
• Learning how to use my new camera, my first DSLR, which I like to call my Big Girl Camera
• Eating all of those cupcakes I baked last week (it's not hard)
• Drinking enough water (not hard, either)
• Being kind to myself in the midst of edits that bring me fact-to-face with an earlier, less mature incarnation of my writing self (significantly harder than the cupcakes and water)
• Writing the truth, even when it's difficult or ugly, and even when I'm not sure what the truth is (definitely not easy)

What are you working on?

Winter Time

Nine days since my last post. Really?

And those leftover French fries have been in the fridge for a week plus one day, eh? (Who keeps leftover French fries anyway?)

How long has that chicken been in there? And dear goodness, that jar of tomato sauce, way at the back, that's from before I went to Vermont, isn't it? That makes it at least three weeks old. We may skip the rinse and recycle on that one and just chuck the whole thing in the bin.

I haven't updated Twitter in over 24 hours. This is longer than it sounds in the world of social networking. You know how it is.

And I haven't talked to you, my friend, in a month. And to you for maybe two. And you, and you. I miss you(s).

How long has it been since I dusted this ledge that holds my favorite things?

I remembered to change my toothbrush recently, but only because I'd had that nasty cold. I'm still not convinced that matters, but it seemed like a good idea.

I made a home cooked meal yesterday for the first time this year. Today we had leftovers and declared it good. This afternoon I cooked bacon. The house still holds its smell.

Tomorrow I'll venture out and buy a bottle of red wine, Côtes du Rhône, to be specific. It will go in the stew. And maybe into a small glass or two. 

Tomorrow, I'll keep reading and writing. Oh, I hope I'll keep writing. (I have no worries about the reading. I'm swallowing other people's words like cupfuls of hot tea during these short days and long nights.)

I promised myself this was the winter I'd learn to knit and to make bread. Must check pantry for yeast. And dig out that yarn and those needles I bought long ago.

I can hear the icy rain tinking against the window glass. It's late and morning is early. Stay warm and dry while you can.

Full & Weary

tea for one

I'm home from ten days in Vermont for my MFA residency. I'm full and weary. Full of words, ideas, and friendship. Weary from travel challenges and seven days of a head cold, sore throat, and cough. Part of me wants to sleep for the next week. Another wants to dive deep into the creative work waiting for me. For now, I sit on the couch as the cats take turns cuddling up to me. I ask my husband to make me soup and tea, and he sweetly obliges. I cozy into my favorite sweater, the soft brown one that feels more like a blanket than a garment. I look at the front yard, white snow piled high and smooth. I accept that this is a transitional time, the slightly off-kilter and lost moments between one world (school) and another (home).

I'm traveling again next month, first to the AWP Conference in Washington, DC, and then to the Oregon coast for the Sea Studio: Pen & Paper writing retreat. (I think there are still a few spots left for the latter. I'd love to see you there. We'll have plenty of time to rest and write on our own terms, as well as time to learn and share in creative community.)

But after that, I think I'll settle into home for a few months. Between now and June I need to finish my creative thesis manuscript and prepare a 45-minute lecture for my graduating residency. I'm also working on the next session of Alchemy: The Art & Craft of Writing, so stay tuned for that. Lots of exciting creative stuff in the works, to be sure. But for now, I rest.

A Writing Wish Giveaway

(at dozen bake shop; samsung fascinate phone, retro camera app)

UPDATED: Thanks to everyone who shared their writing wish. Congratulations to Heidi, who is the winner of the Writing Wish Coaching Session (chosen via random.org, which picked #2). Anyone else  (whether you commented or not) can sign-up for a half-price session with me. (That's just $30 for a full hour.) Email me by January 8 to scoop up the discounted rate. Happy New Year!

Well, the aforementioned sabbatical hasn't started yet. I should have been winging my way to Vermont right now, but instead I'm sitting on my couch, bleary-eyed from spending half the night and all day trying to right my capsized travel plans. I've finally sorted it out, and now I just need to stay awake so I can go to bed early and then get up early for tomorrow's rejiggered flight plans.

So, in an effort to avoid napping, I've decided to create a little bit of excitement. Plus, the sky has turned blue after a long stretch of washed out grey, and that's cause for a little celebration. So here's an impromptu giveaway and a sweet deal....

Tell me your writing wish for 2011 and be entered to win a one-hour Writing Wish Coaching Session with me via phone or Skype.

What's a Writing Wish Coaching Session? We'll work together on your unique writing wish. Maybe you need to brainstorm ideas about what to write or where to submit your work. Maybe you'd like a few prompts or resources to get you started. Or perhaps you have a particular project in mind that you want to flesh out. Is your wish to learn some nitty-gritty grammar basics? We can cover that, too. Bring it on. Whatever you need. In a Writing Wish Coaching Session, you set the wish and I'll help you figure out how to work toward it. These sessions work for beginners and advanced writers alike.

So leave your writing wish for 2011 in the comments, and I'll choose the winner randomly on New Year's Day.

And to sweeten the deal, if you sign up for a coaching session with me before I get back from school (on January 8), I'll cut the normal price in half. That means you get a whole hour of wish-full coachy magic for $30. Just send me an email (jennifer{at}thewordcellar{dot}com), mention this blog post, and we'll blow those dandelions seeds together.

Whee! I'm feeling jaunty at the thought of it!

(If you'd like to know more about my professional coaching, writing, and editing services, please check out the about, services, and portfolio pages.)

Okay. Writing wishes. Yours. Go!