This Book Had Me Sobbing In The Shower + Free (and ChEaP) Writing Resources + 9 July Reads

Anybody who's been in a workshop or writing group with me knows I'm obsessive about registering for writing classes and online writing hours/sprints.

Why, you ask?

I would love to tell you, but I'm afraid I don't know. Maybe I'll ask my therapist next week.

In the meantime, I want to share the fruits of my crazy research.

Side Note: If you're too excited to find out what book led to the shower sobbing, scroll to the bottom for book reviews! If you love suspense like I do, enjoy this useful sojourn before the big reveal 🙃.

Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, memoir; or even if you just want to journal more, or write the occasional poem, or you just want to dip your toe into doing any of these things without spending very much (or any) money: all of the options below will provide you with judgment- and pressure-free time to explore something.

I've taken advantage of each, and while I may not be a very good writer yet, I can say without a doubt that I'm quite prolific. I write thousands of words during a regular day, which also involves taking care of my two little kids and hitting a 40+-hour work week.

My point here is: one reason I'm able to focus and be so prolific in drafting is because I sign up for the sessions I'm describing below. I take my lunch break around them, or even schedule PTO, or just plan to stay at my office longer for the day. And they're fun!

The Absolute Best Option (imho)

Where: Lighthouse Writers (Denver, CO)
Facilitator: Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Medium: Zoom Live
What: "96 Hours to Getting-It-Done" (or, "Getting-Sh*t-Done" as loyalists call it)
When: Mon, Wed, Fri (9 a.m. - 1 p.m. MST)
Cost: $250 for members; $310 for non-members

Details:

• This low cost option provides you with a total of 96 hours to park yourself in front of your project; yet it also allows you to come and go as you please.
• At the beginning, the incredibly effective instructor/facilitator (Sarah) gives a prompt and explains how one might incorporate said prompt into that day's writing.
• A volunteer classmate keeps time in the Pomodoro style: 50 minute sprints with 10 minute breaks.
• The last 15 minutes are reserved for check-ins, except on Friday, when the last 45 minutes are reserved for folks to share 500ish words out loud if they want.
• Sarah provides a written weekly wrap-up, which includes the week's class chat, as well as prompts and other useful craft notes and stories/articles.

Why tho?

• First, Sarah is one of the best writing teachers in the United States of America. So you're getting access to her at a very cut rate and she always goes way above and beyond for her students.
• Best part: you don't have to be there the whole time. Nobody will notice or care. It's very introvert-friendly. A lot of people get on camera, a lot of people don't.
• I work full time, so I'm obviously not actually writing for 12 hours a week in the middle of the day (God, don't I wish) but I do try to pop on at 9 AM MST to get the prompt, then jump on and off when I can, trying to also reserve time so I can participate in the end-of-session check-in.
• I've gotten so much by way of community out of "Getting-It-Done." There are many repeat players (I'm one of them!) and I've found writing partners, groups, and people to switch pages with.
• BTW: get on the waitlist if it's full. Sarah often adds spaces, or people drop out. She usually does 4-6 of these a year, ranging from 4 weeks to 8 weeks. Next one starts on August 18.

Great Options, That Happen to Be (Pretty Much) Free

FIRST PLACE
Where: Corporeal Writing (Portland, OR)
Facilitator: Various Incredible, Incredible Teachers and Writers
Medium: Zoom Live
What: "Virtual Hours"
When: Mon (2-4 p.m. PST); Tues (12-2 p.m. PST); Wed (4-6 p.m. PST*); Thu (8-10 a.m. PST); Fri (2-4 p.m. PST)
Cost: $0
Note*: Wednesday's space is reserved for LGBTQ+ persons.

Details:

• Hours are now hosted by Domi Shoemaker, Carol Fischbach, Yashasvani Vacchani, and M.D. Leto. All are rockstars.
• "Virtual Hours" vary in format, but typically involve a little bit of catch-up/introduction, a prompt, and unstructured writing time, with some folks volunteering to share at the end, but no pressure.
• Very introvert-friendly. You don't have to be on camera OR talk, but can participate in the chat as much as you'd like.
• As you can see, the times each day vary, so even if one day doesn't work for you, another might.

Why tho?

• Corporeal Writing is the workshop created by Lidia Yuknavitch and Domi Shoemaker, and it is a very unique and special place. Some of my most creative work, poems, and story ideas have come from their portals (their word for 'prompts') and courses.
• Their class offerings are also AWESOME; but do expect a more non-traditional format, including some meditation and lots of sharing about the feelings in your body and what not. I'll put it this way: Corporeal Writing is VERY Portland-coded.

SECOND PLACE
Where: London Writers' Salon (London, UK)
Facilitator: Various
Medium: Zoom Live
What: "Writers' Hour"
When: Mon - Fri (8 a.m. BST; 8 a.m. EST; 8 a.m. PST; 8 a.m. NZST); Sat (8-9 p.m. BST)
Cost: $9 suggested donation a month OR $0, no questions asked, if you can't afford it right now + various additional levels if you want more help and accountability

Details:

• This one is new to me, but I'm VERY MUCH enjoying it. Something like 800+ people join during daily sprint hours from around the globe.
• Times vary, so even though I can't log in as early as 8 a.m. EST, I could log in for the PST one, or even for the NZST session!

Why tho?

• A lot of people can create a writing habit if they spend an hour a day doing it. I need more than an hour a day, because I have specific output goals for my novel work-in-progress, but when I'm not taking "Getting-It-Done," I'm logging into this platform (during the PST time, which I schedule as my lunch break).

THIRD PLACE
Where: Gotham Writers' (New York, NY)
Facilitator: Various (I like Angela and Divya best)
Medium: Zoom Live
What: "Write-In"
When: Fri (2:15 PM EST; 6:30 PM EST)
Cost: $0

Details:

• Join, hear a prompt, write for 17 minutes; a few people read; write for 17 more minutes; a few people read.
• Introvert-friendly--no need to get on camera or even introduce yourself, though feel free to use chat function.
• People are supposed to read what they put together during that workshop (which would constrain the word count), but a fair number of people don't. A lot of the attendees have East Coaster "I do what I want" vibes, I won't lie.

Why tho?

• These sessions are always really productive for me. I like the short timeframe, and I'll incorporate the earlier session as a late lunch break when I'm not enrolled in "Getting-It-Done." I can usually pound out 300-500 words.
• I'm ranking this third bc of the inconsistency in facilitators and also some of the regular attendees are crackpots and cranks; which can be its own source of lesson-learning, if you think about it.
• I've had some ruthless instructors in prose workshops at Gotham, some are even straight up MRPN (Side Note: This is an acronym my husband and I use to describe someone who is particularly 'mean, rude, petty, nasty', and we pronounce it like "mirpin".) I've met writers who had a similar experience; some who almost gave up on writing because of it. So I avoid their prose offerings and refer people to the far superior Lighthouse Writing for great, practical workshops. As to Gotham, I have, however, found their poetry and publishing courses to be really great and productive.

What about Discord Writing Communities, Charlotte?

I don't know, they don't work for me. The only one I've managed to stay kind of checked into is the MISSED DEADLINES GROUP. It seems to have the most by way of consistency; others I'd initially joined (#FOMO) burned out soon after starting.

I also think I'm just not a Discord girly. I feel peppered by the persistent notifications, and overwhelmed when I turn those off and login and feel like I have hours of catching up to do. Maybe I'm too old?

Anyway, the good news for me is the live remote options work very well! I hope you check them out and I see you on one!

JULY BOOK REVIEWS!

I read a lot in July (and this entry is already 1,300 words long) so I'm going to shorten my reviews to: providing basic info + starring each read PLUS including a GIF based only on vibes. 🫶🏻

Bury Our Bones in Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Rating: 2.5/5 (DNF @ 28%)
Genre & Vibes: Romantasy; Sapphic vampires
Super Short Synopsis: Three women in different historical eras encounter the usual bullshit. They're not going quietly into the night. Shenanigans ensue.

Super Short Review: This is a vampire romance; this isn't a spoiler, but it still takes to the quarter mark for anybody to start vampiring. 686 pages is too long. The writing and everything is great, though! My TBR is just so enormous, and I can't dilly-dally with excessive backstory right now.

Model Home by Rivers Solomon
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre & Vibes: Horror/Thriller; *shudder*
Squick Factor: 1/5
Super Short Synopsis: Three siblings were haunted by a faceless woman as they grew up (the oldest more so than the younger two). Now they're adults and must return to their childhood home. Shenanigans ensue.

Super Short Review: Solomon's writing is incredible–it's a little funky, a little streamy sometimes, and so, so powerful. I was so freaked out at different points in this story, and Solomon does this without any real gore.

Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham
Rating: 4/5
Genre & Vibes: Memoir; Quirky
Super Short Synopsis: Lauren Graham tells you about her life and a lot about Gilmore Girls, my favorite and ultimate comfort show.

Super Short Review: I will like anything that contains Gilmore Girls inside information, but also Lauren Graham is a very good and funny writer.

Oathbound (The Legendborn Cycle, # 3) by Tracy Deonn
Rating: 5/5
Genre & Vibes: YA Fantasy; Romantasy, 'cept unique
Super Short Synopsis: The powers of Merlin and King Arthur are passed down through generations, and then this bad ass Black girl shows up (Briana Matthews). Shenanigans ensue.

Super Short Review: I really quit reading YA fantasy a while ago; I just couldn't relate anymore. But this story is so unique, smart, and layered, and so I fell in love with it. It is a literal PLEASURE to read.

Foe by Iain Reid
Rating: 5/5
Genre & Vibes: Horror/Thriller; Dystopian !WTF!
Squick Factor: 0/5
Super Short Synopsis: A weird dude pulls up to a couple's country home and tells the husband he might be going to space, whether he wants to or not. Weird dude is like, "bb in 2 years bye." Then he comes back in two years. Shenanigans ensue.

Super Short Review: Iain Reid is a master of tension (read here for my review of the absolutely incredible I'm Thinking of Ending Things). There is not an ounce of gore in this. It's not even scary, it's creepy. But it's GOOD. And WEIRD. Much by way of audible gasping occurred.

Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours
Rating: 4/5
Genre & Vibes: YA Mystery; Thriller
Super Short Synopsis: A Black teenager has the unique ability to intuit what people really need. Her best friend went missing a few years before the story opens, and this ties in as we go. Shenanigans ensue.

Super Short Review: Look, I have no idea how this even ended up on my Libby loans (remember my note about the YA cooldown?), but it was there as an audiobook when I needed it, and boy was it a ROMP. Great mystery, fun time, solid writing.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Rating: 3/5
Genre & Vibes: Literary Fiction; Surrealism
Super Short Synopsis: A woman has a dream that drives her to quit meat, and then men in her life are complete as*hats about it.

Super Short Review: Han Kang is a genius, but this was brutal to read (so was Human Acts, but somehow the larger political climate and historical nature of it made the discomfort more tolerable). You will not feel good about the human condition after reading The Vegetarian, I can promise you that. The prose is amazing, though, and so is the translation.

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
Rating: 5/5
Genre & Vibes: Literary Historical Fiction; Heartrending
Super Short Synopsis: A Malayan family endures British colonization, and then Japanese colonization, before and during WWII. Awful things happen because when is anything good happening to colonized people fr? (But also wonderful things happen, no thx to said colonizers, of course). Bring tissues.

Super Short Review: First of all, Vanessa Chan was my teacher for a week (and read the first 15 pages of What The Body Wants, which I still sit in complete wonder about) and my appreciation for her abilities grew ten-fold after reading this masterpiece. Gorgeous. Perfect. Painful. Beautiful. I cried on and off for like 4 hours. In a good way, though--READ THIS BOOK.

We Have Always Lived In A Castle by Shirley Jackson
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Horror/Thriller; Gothic
Squick Factor: 0/5
Super Short Synopsis: Two very weird girls and their weird uncle live in a big, weird house, and nobody in town likes them. Shenanigans ensue.

Super Short Review: I've never read a thing by Jackson I didn't like, but this one has climbed to the top of the list. What a lesson in surreal tension-building and just like...overall CREEPINESS. Must read.

Thanks for sticking with me, and I sure hope to see you on a virtual writing sprint!

Real quick tho. Do you agree with my reviews? Please write and tell me, especially if you disagree. I need to know how crazy or dumb I sound.

As for what I'm reading in August: I've been on a squicky Horror kick (I guess the squickless July led me here). Excited to share in next month's wrap-up, but I'll say, so far, I'm impressed.

Have a great week, and read banned books.

ILYSM,

Charlotte