Letters from us
This is where we talk to you directly.
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The strange and complicated pull of New Year’s Resolutions.
I have Covid. I’m writing to you from my sofa at 3:14am, surrounded in Kleenex. I look like a 100-year-old snapping turtle.
My brain hurts.
Lately my brain feels like an abandoned car, quietly rusting in a field off the side of a highway.
Small tasks feel epic. Afternoons fill with thick mental fogs…
Who Am I To Do This? — a note from Sophia
This fall I ran the first ever “Fat Joy” writing workshop.
How to say goodbye — a note from Ailsa
Dear Fireflies,
I’m here to say goodbye. And it’s so hard to do.
This is like one of those surreal…
Writing While the World is on Fire
I used to run a workshop called “Writing While the World is on Fire.”
The idea was to bring together people who were working for a better world…
I’m a shitty writer, and other things I learned in school.
Growing up, I hated writing.
I couldn’t spell. I didn’t have ideas. I didn’t believe that anything interesting might happen on the page.
Open Mic Night and all the feels — a note from Mari, Kim, and Asifa
Hello Bright Hearts!
Asifa, Kim, and Mari here...
Kim on turning 50, and actually getting some writing done.
Hi hi! Kim here, one of the writing coaches at Firefly.
There is this thing that happens to me every September.
We are expanding our sweet little team.
Fall is in the air, and we’re taking a big breath and stepping into a change.
Structure vs Self-Trust — what do you *actually* need?
Here’s something we hear a lot at Firefly — “My writing needs structure.”
Let’s be awkward together.
Sometimes I think I’ve forgotten how to belong.
By “belong," I mean — to walk into a room of people and feel basically okay, without performing, or hiding, or trying to be perfect.
There is no such thing as artificial empathy.
I remember the first time I saw Facebook.
I was in my sister’s little apartment in Montreal, looking over her shoulder at that cheeky blue font.
You are not a one-hit wonder.
There’s a deep misconception I hear all the time about being a writer.
Boob monkeys, small delights, and things that stay still.
Hello big heart.
At the end of Grade 11, my very sweet boyfriend wrote in the back of my yearbook, in tiny script, as if no one could read it but me…
Just because it’s beautiful, doesn’t mean it belongs.
On our staff website, where we keep class plans and training notes and resources, we have a big doc called, “Just Because It’s Beautiful Doesn’t Mean It Belongs.”
No bonfire tonight! A rainy day writing project instead.
We were so excited for our Community Bonfire tonight. We’ve been watching the weather like a bunch of bandits since Kim first noticed yesterday that it wasn’t looking good. Now here we are, turning this train around.
The word “welcome.”
Lately I’ve been thinking about the word “welcome.”
It comes from two Old English root words: “Wil” which means pleasure, and “Cuman” which means to arrive.
Writing + rhythm + parking lot dance parties: Push Week is back!
Coach Kim here, to talk to you about rhythm.
Sometimes I hear writing compared to exercise, especially a marathon…