Dear fellow writer,
What happens when we write not to show off what we know, but to find out what we don’t know?
If this question sparks your curiosity, I warmly invite you to join me for this FREE WriteSPACE Special Event with Jeannine Ouellette, author and creator of the extraordinary Substack newsletter Writing in the Dark.
For Jeannine, writing in the dark means “embracing the fundamental truth of uncertainty through a consistent practice of attention, curiosity, playfulness, surprise, and vulnerability” — a lesson with profound resonances not only for novelists, memoirists, and poets but for scholarly and professional writers as well.
In the first hour of this live two-hour event, Jeannine and I will engage in a wide-ranging conversation about writing, wordcraft, and our shared desire (in Jeannine’s words):
to wake language up and make it capable of telling the truth again, make it capable of holding beauty again, make it capable of being surprising, real, and free, so that we can be, too.
In the second hour, we’ll jointly facilitate a hands-on workshop for paid subscribers to our respective newsletters, exploring how creative writing techniques with intriguing names such as “Shimmers and Shards” and “Strange Containers” (two of my favorites from among Jeannine’s extensive repertoire!) can enrich and enliven the work of any writer.
This live Zoom event will take place from 3-5 pm Central Daylight Time on Wednesday 19 March. That translates to:
1-3 pm Wed 19 Mar in San Francisco
4-6 pm Wed 19 Mar in New York
8-10 pm Wed 19 Mar in London
7-9 am Thu 20 Mar in Sydney
9-11 am Thu 20 Mar in Auckland
To find the time in your own time zone, check our guest calendar or use this handy time zone converter.
The first hour of this event is free to all who register. The hands-on workshop in the second hour is reserved for paid subscribers to Jeannine’s newsletter Writing in the Dark or my newsletter Helen’s Word (including WriteSPACE members).
Register below to receive the Zoom link a few hours before the event. Can’t attend live? All registered participants will be sent a link to a video recording of the first hour, and the full 2-hour workshop video will later be made available to WriteSPACE members in their online video Library.
I’d love to see you there!
Other writing news
Now open for enrollment (March 29 - May 8). Master the art of meticulous wordcraft in this 6-week course for academic, professional, and creative writers who want to write more clearly, confidently, concisely, and correctly. Join me and fellow writers from around the world as we delve into the delights of gracious grammar, slinky syntax, punctilious punctuation, and the neuropsychology of style. Learn more and register here.
Now available on video. In celebration of the fourth birthday of the WriteSPACE, fifty unique notebooks — each with a different cover image and title — will soon be winging their way from Aotearoa New Zealand to their new owners around the world! But even if you missed my grand notebook giveaway on Valentine’s Day, you can still watch the 30-minute video that I filmed for the occasion: an account of how I make my colorful handcrafted notebooks — and why. Register for the free video here.
If you appreciate hearing about events and resources like these — or just want to make my day — please take a moment to drop me a heart, leave a comment, and/or click Restack at the bottom of this message. Your enthusiasm and support mean so much to me. 💖
Kia pai tō koutou rā (have a great day) – and keep on writing!
Helen
Write with delight! For exclusive access to live workshops, craft-focused coaching, and premium writing and editing tools, join me and writers from 30+ countries in the WriteSPACE, a vibrant international writing community and resource treasury. To try free for 30 days, click below and enter the discount code SNEAKPEEK at checkout.
Books by WriteSPACE founder Helen Sword
