Writing with edge *and* ease. Also — PUSH Week is back! A note from Kim.
A top-down view of a colourful collection of words on a round table.
Hi everyone — Kim here!
First things first: This spring’s PUSH Week is open for registration! This is one of my favourite weeks of the year, and I’d love to see you there.
Community. Creativity. Joy. Productivity. Honesty. Camaraderie. Sliding scale, all are welcome.
Now… A couple weekends ago, I was running a program with Mari and we ended up talking to the group about the spectrum of edge and ease in our writing.
We wanted them to remember that we can choose where we want to write from. Personally, some days I just want everything to feel easy, and other days, I’m ready and even excited to do something harder, edgier.
I’m amazed at how often I forget that I have that choice, and also how much my environment can affect my decision.
I really notice this when I’m in a room with other writers.
There’s often someone in the room who says:
I was avoiding writing [insert hard writing piece] but because you were all in the room here with me, I felt like I could do it.
And, it’s also really common to hear someone say:
Ugh I just wasn’t feeling it today, so I decided to just journal/doodle [insert whatever feels easiest].
It’s so simple and yet also so easy to forget — every time we sit down to write, we get to choose if we want to be guided by ease or effort — to work from the edge of our comfort zone, or the very centre of it.
This is one of the reasons I love (and need) to write with other people.
When I’m in a room (including a Zoom room) with other writers I can literally see that I'm not alone. I can feel inspired by other’s creative energy and decide to finally tackle that scene I’d been avoiding, or, I can be inspired by their self-compassion and decide to take it easy and remember that not every writing day needs to be a hard one.
(I can also feel inspired by their cat showing its butt on the screen, and decide to write a poem about cat butts. The options are endless.)
If you’re looking to be immersed in all that creative energy, we’ve got one of my favourite Firefly programs coming up — Push Week.
It runs Monday to Friday, May 25th to 29th and you can join as many or as few sessions as you like… And decide the level of edge and ease you want during each experience.
We started this program early in the pandemic, and I’m so glad it’s still running. I’ll be joined this time by Britt, Sophia, and Mari. We love working together, and making something big for our writers to step into.
And while we’re here, here’s some more Firefly news…
Push Week is open for registration!
This is our 5-day carnival of inspiration, structure and creativity is coming back.
We’ll be running sessions throughout the five days, charging the spring air with community, flow, new ideas and space to write them.
It’s sliding scale, but if the minimum price is a barrier, just let us know.
Free Community Building event tonight!
“We’re All Experts Here” is a new experiment, where we’ll weave between writing time with 20-minute breakout rooms hosted by Firefly community members about writing-related topics they are “micro experts” in.
We’ve got a great line up and we’re excited to see what happens! Join us tonight, from your PJs if you want to. No fee.
Fireside opens up for new members in 7 days.
Our still-new membership program, Fireside, has been a warm and inspiring space all winter. Now it’s time to open it up to more writers.
We’re opening the doors May 5th-15th. We’re also giving 5 free spots for anyone who can’t afford it. Drop a line if you have any questions, and find out more here.
Summer Small Group Workshops
Our summer writing workshops are up on the website. We’re excited about this new line up, especially Returning to Our Archives, a brand new workshop dreamed up and offered by Britt. Registration will open on May 5th.
And, a poem.
I’ve been talking about ease, but how about “PLEASURE”? Check out this poem about it by Rick Barot.
Let’s do this together.
We would so love to see you at Push Week or any of these other programs — with our edges, our ease, our cat butts, our pens, our resistances, our jokes, our fears, our words, and everything else.
In all of it with you,
