There are a lot of people walking around with stories they want to tell.
Some have been writing for years. Others have a story but aren’t entirely comfortable calling themselves writers yet. Some have half a manuscript tucked away on a computer somewhere. Some have finished the thing and are wondering what in the world they’re supposed to do with it now.
And some simply want to become better writers.
Over the past several months, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I might help more of them.
Writing has been my profession for the last 13 years. I’ve written books, ghostwritten and collaboratively developed books with others, edited manuscripts, written hundreds of devotional reflections and created more articles, website pages, marketing pieces and assorted collections of words than I could begin to count.
And I’m still learning.
That’s one of the things I love most about writing. There is always something else to notice. Something to try. Another way to tell the story.
That thinking has gradually grown into something I’m calling Storysmithing: Helping Stories Find Their Voice. And there are now several ways to pull up a chair.
From the Storysmith’s Notebook
Let’s start with the easiest one. It’s free.
From the Storysmith’s Notebook will be an ongoing collection of things I’ve learned—and continue to learn—about putting better words on the page.
These won’t be numbered lessons you have to follow in order. Think of them more like entries in a working writer’s notebook: writing tips, exercises, examples, quotations worth considering, before-and-after edits, things I notice in good writing, and occasional observations from my own work.
Read one. Skip three. Try an exercise. Steal an idea. Come back when something catches your attention.
No registration. No fee. Just one working writer sharing some things that might help another.
You’ll find the Notebook and other free Storysmithing resources on my Storysmithing page.
Find Your Circle
Sometimes we need more than something to read. We need other writers around us.
That’s the idea behind Storysmithing Circles.
Circles are small, focused online workshops—typically three to eight people—built around a particular kind of writing or a particular skill writers want to develop.
The first Circles taking shape include a Memoir Circle, a Daily Devotional Circle, and Getting Your Book Published. Others may explore fiction, narrative nonfiction, historical fiction, copywriting, ghostwriting, research and whatever else writers tell me they’d like to learn.
The format may change somewhat with the subject, but the idea is simple: read, notice, learn, write and share.
We’ll look at good writing. Ask what makes it work. Learn some things. Try some things. And do it with a handful of other writers gathered around the virtual Circle.
You can learn more—and tell me what kind of Circle you’d be interested in joining—on the Storysmithing Circles page.
Bring Your Story to the Table
Then there’s The Storysmithing Table.
The Table is different.
Rather than gathering around a particular genre or writing skill, we gather around the projects the writers bring with them.
Maybe you’re writing a memoir. A novel. A family story. A devotional. Something you’ve started and stalled on—or something that doesn’t fit neatly into any category.
The Table is a more focused, project-oriented experience designed to help you figure out what you’re really trying to say, who you’re writing for, what’s working, what isn’t yet, and how to keep moving toward a finished manuscript.
It’s small by design because I want room to spend time with the writers and their actual work.You can learn more about that experience on The Storysmithing Table.