Making Messes

A workshop for folks who want to roll up their sleeves and make the messiest first drafts imaginable.

Let’s get messy!

Conventional writing wisdom talks about the value of a “messy first draft,” but what does that actually mean? Or maybe more importantly… What could it mean? 

It’s hard to imagine all the options for first drafts because we only see final, edited, published drafts. We don’t have models or maps for how the writers got there. In this workshop, we’ll ask:

• How can we imagine and approach a messy first draft differently, with even more joy and liberation?

• What does it mean to truly embrace freedom as we let our ideas start to take shape?

• What kind of messy first draft would work for me?

Truth is, a first draft can be bullet points, sticky notes, songs, or tarot cards. You might want to create a draft that looks like a map, a cartoon or a whole bunch of dialogue. There are infinite options.

We’ll challenge our beliefs about what a first draft needs to be, lean into some good old fashioned experimentation, and pay close attention to what feels good to us, and what lets our ideas sing.

Here’s how it works:

We’ll start the day talking about mess. We’ll explore how other writers approach first drafts, brainstorm ways that we might, and then do a series of tiny experiments where to try out some new techniques, weaving discussion throughout and honouring that each person’s experience will be different.

After lunch, we’ll sink into a larger chunk of time to make messes, each person committing to one or two experiments to see where it goes when it gets focused time and attention..

At the end of the afternoon, we’ll share what we learned and show off the wonderful messes we’ve made, cheering for all of it of course.

As with all Firefly workshops, we’ll laugh lots, listen close, lean in, and support each other along the way. Our workshops are deliberately kept small (this one is capped at 8 participants) to make sure everyone’s voice gets room.