How to collect from life, so that it becomes second nature. This week asks: which everyday observations are ripe, and what is allowed to be collected? How do we do it when life is already so full? We also explore stealing, and if it’s ever okay as writers to steal.

Discover how to find your self, voice and stories from the rich material of your life (even if it doesn’t yet feel ‘rich’!) Choose whether and how to write into personal lore, memory and attitudes.

Gather what’s been sitting quietly but is full of possibility: like phone notes, fragments, memories and drafts — and work with compost as a metaphor to turn it into new fertile written material.We’ll explore simple, invigorating and clever methods used by published writers to organise material into finished works. We’ll ready our unique toolkits that allow us to return to writing again and again.

Discover & appreciate how creative limits can actually let you focus, refine, and complete your writing — so that it takes form. Stockpile creative, sustainable & lively tools you can use over and over.

Learn to identify the narrative ideas you’re circling in your work, and how to shape them into something cohesive. We’ll work with exercises for noticing, and experimenting with what’s been emerging over the previous weeks – and exactly what you need to keep going.

Each 90 minute workshop combines writing time with close readings and learning different methods we can use to identify stories in our daily lives, and write them in our unique voice.

I’ll share exciting texts to fire you up creatively, and you’ll write from prompts designed specially to get you into the practice of writing vividly from what’s right in front of you (both physically and in your mind).

We’ll use the chat box to share our reflections, and there are brief moments to unmute and share your thoughts, only if you’d like.

There’s very little homework; occasionally I provide optional prompts to help you keep writing between sessions. We read the texts in the workshop.

That’s okay, it happens. All attendees get access to recordings of the workshops.

Yes, Living Material is for people who already have a connection to writing. You don’t need to identify as a ‘real writer’ or have a regular practice. But you know writing is something you have a deep yearning for and you’re ready to do more of it.

The workshops are hosted as a shared space (rather than a webinar format) to foster trust, safety and community.

I encourage attendees to have their camera on if they feel able, and you’re absolutely welcome to switch it off while writing to give yourself a break. It’s not obligatory to have your camera on, and I trust you to know what’s best for you.

Only if you’d like. There are opportunities to share small pieces of writing in the chat box, if you find this useful. Sharing is always optional and supported in a warm, gentle & generous space.

Living Material is a workshop for anyone yearning for time and space to write. In this age of individualism it’s all too easy to believe that we must do everything alone.

We reject that in these workshops; by gathering together for gentle support, momentum and growth as we write.

If you’re struggling with rhythm in your writing, I absolutely recommend you see what happens when you write with others. In Living Material we show up for ourselves and each other.