Leave your cocoon on the beach
The Creativity Catalyst is coming, Sept 2 - Oct 12
Dear fellow writer,
For years, I’ve heard versions of the same frustrated lament from academic and professional writers:
I feel that my writing is boring to read and painful to write.
I want to transform my writing style from clear and concise to creative and compelling.
I need to rediscover my lost love of writing, but I don’t know how.
I developed the Creativity Catalyst for these writers — and for you! This transformational 6-week course will help you break free from the strictures of conventional prose and surf the waves of creativity instead.
Across six exhilarating weeks, you’ll explore six core elements of arts-based creative practice — story, poetry, drama, moving, making, and metaphor — and try out playful, pleasurable strategies for integrating each of them into your daily life, your writing life, and your writing style.
Here’s what some of last year’s participants had to say about the Creativity Catalyst:
The Creativity Catalyst brought me a sense of joy, playfulness, humanity and a warm connection to other writers around the world. Now I have a renewed sense of purpose in my writing that is helping me distribute my energy in better proportions amongst my projects.(Anita Campbell, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, South Africa)
The Creativity Catalyst was one of my highlights this summer [2022]. I got so much inspiration through experimenting with new techniques. Constructive feedback from the moderators and the supportive writing community helped me leave my comfort zone, integrate new elements in my writing, and get my writing out. (Eva Bulgrin, Lecturer in Educational Science, Germany)
This year, we’ve added two Live Writing Studio sessions each week so that you can meet with the course facilitators and other writers from around the world to share ideas, give and receive feedback, and support each other’s creative risk-taking. These live Zoom sessions are themed to coordinate with the weekly modules and are free to all Catalyst participants.
Or, if you prefer, you can stay in the background and make your way through the course quietly, in your own time and at your own pace. You’ll get lifetime access to all the course materials, so you can catch up later on any modules you missed.
WriteSPACE members qualify for a 10% discount off the regular price of the Creativity Catalyst, and WS Studio members get a 20% discount. (You can find your discount code in the Lounge in your membership area).
Not a member? You’ll save more with the WriteSPACE discount than you’ll spend on your monthly membership during the 6 weeks of the course — so why not sign up now and get the benefit of all our other great WriteSPACE resources? (Please note that this discount is for paying members only and cannot be used in conjunction with the free trial).
The Creativity Catalyst runs from September 2 to October 12, 2023. Don’t miss this opportunity to kickstart your creativity and find new joy in writing.
I’d love to see you there!
In the WriteSPACE
Weekly Wayfinder for August 14-20
WriteSPACE and WS Studio members: Every week in the WriteSPACE Maproom, you’ll find a featured writing resource to expand your horizons, a playful pomodoro timer to help you keep your writing on track, and a writing-related challenge to sharpen your skills.
This week’s resource: Stay-Home Writing Retreat
This week’s timer: Purple Penguin
This week’s challenge: Take your writing on retreat
Not a member? Sign up for a free 30-day trial and check out all our great writing resources for yourself.
On the website
Stay-Home Writing Retreat — August 14-18, 2023
My FREE 5-Day Stay-Home Writing Retreat has begun, but it’s not too late to sign up! Register below to receive twice-daily email prompts starting on the day you join. Your automated welcome letter will provide you with a link for catching on the videos you’ve missed, so you can jump right into the flow.
If you’re a WriteSPACE or WS Studio member, I’d love to see you at my live drop-in Zoom sessions throughout the week. In addition, WriteSPACE stalwart Stephanie in Australia is running daily co-writing sessions so you can write for an hour each day in the company of other writers from around the world. (Thanks for organizing these, Stephanie!) Check the Calendar in your membership area to find the dates, times, and Zoom links for these live meetings. (Not a WriteSPACE member? Sign up here for a free 30-day trial).
Coming soon
Stylish Writing Intensive — October 19-22, 2023
Enrollment opens soon for the Stylish Writing Intensive, my flagship 3-day online retreat for academic and professional writers who want to transform their writing from stodgy to stylish — or from adequate to amazing — over the course of a single weekend. Join me in late October for three action-packed days of advanced writing and editing workshops, personal coaching, dedicated writing time, and hands-on feedback guaranteed to take your writing to the next level.
Now in its third year, the Stylish Writing Intensive has received glowing reviews from past participants, who have called it “illuminating,” “impactful,” “adventurous yet exhilarating,” and “a game-changer.” This year’s cohort will be limited to just 12 participants (4 people per coaching group) to ensure personal attention for everyone enrolled.
Have a question? Want to get your name in early? Contact me to request a free Zoom consultation or to add your name to the waiting list.
Other writing news
Blade Runner 2049
Who’da thunk it? My 20-something-year-old nephew emailed me from Oregon last week to let me know that my name is mentioned, alongside the title of my 2002 book Ghostwriting Modernism, in a YouTube video about the 2017 movie Blade Runner 2049. The name-check occurs around 55 minutes into this 75-minute exegesis of the film by Ladyknightthebrave, who has chalked up 160,000 followers on YouTube for her explanatory videos on “Film Studies and Feelings.” But — spoiler alert! — don’t watch the video expecting to learn anything whatsoever about me, my book, or my critical analysis of “hauntological” themes (to borrow Jacques Derrida’s term) in Vladimir Nabokov’s modernist novel Pale Fire, which is obliquely mentioned in Blade Runner 2049. Like so much else on the Internet (all the more so now in the era of generative AI), the reference is slick and seemingly smart but utterly devoid of substance. And yet — wouldn’t you say it’s kinda cool for a nerdy modernist Sword to get mentioned in the same breath as a futuristic Blade Runner?
Do you have writing-related news, events, or resources to share? Contact me with a brief description (50 words max), a hyperlink, and a high-quality image.
Spread the joy! Please encourage your friends, colleagues, and students to join me in the WriteSPACE, a vibrant, low-cost writing community with members in 30+ countries. As a WriteSPACE member, you’ll enjoy free access to Helen’s Word and other premium resources including live workshops, exclusive videos, and weekly prompts.
Kia pai tō koutou rā (have a great day) – and keep on writing!
Helen