Planning Writing Projects: Workshop Handouts and Resources

Welcome to this page of handouts and resources for the upcoming workshop: “Planning Writing Projects.”

This workshop is offered through the Fayetteville Public Library and sponsored by the Brown Chair in English Literacy at the University of Arkansas. Much gratitude to Professor Eric Darnell Pritchard (the Brown Chair) for initiating and sponsoring this collaboration!

I’m really looking forward to this virtual, public workshop coming up on Thursday, July 29th. I’m sure to learn a lot from writers working on a wide range of projects. And I’m eager to share some ways of feeling, thinking, and doing that can support the work we’re called to as writers.

Here is the workshop description:

• What writing feels especially urgent at this time—personally and collectively?
• What writing are you longing to bring forth or to devote time and energy toward?
• How can you make writing a priority without falling into self-doubt, writer’s block, overwhelm, productivity pressures or other things that derail writing?

These questions will drive this interactive 90-minute workshop that involves identifying and using “the strong yes” to prioritize writing projects. Together, we’ll use contemplative, body-based practices for grounding and guiding the planning process. After practicing methods for finding the strong yes, we’ll apply those methods through writing time. We’ll also consider our relationships to writing and what derails us as writers—making plans for how to regain our focus and energy whenever we struggle (as all writers do).

In total, we’ll spend this time feeling and thinking about what writing we’re called to do—and why. And we’ll respond to various pressures that weigh on our writing and ourselves as writers. 

This program is sponsored by the Brown Chair in English Literacy at the University of Arkansas. 

Registration is required.

Here are materials for the workshop:

1. Visualization:

We’ll make use of this visualization for cultivating an “ecology of readers.” You might want to print this handout to take notes on it or have paper on hand for drawing and note-taking.

2. Exercise:

During the workshop, we’ll talk about how commitments guide priorities, implicitly or explicitly. In this past blog post, I discuss the process of writing a commitment statement, and I link to my own.

Before or after the workshop, consider writing your own commitment statement. To support this process, here is a handout of questions about your commitments and what these may be asking of you.

3. Reading:

If you’d like to know more about practices for identifying your strong yes, here’s an article where I share five strategies: “Using Your ‘Strong Yes’ to Guide Career Decisions.”

4. Blog Posts:

If you’d like to read more of my writing about writing, here are some past blog posts that share journal questions, reflections, and calls to action.

• “Reflections on Silence, Fear, Courage, and Writing: Always Come Back to Writing”
• “Questions for Honoring Creative Energy and Play”
• “On Choosing a Writer’s Life”
• “7 Lessons from My First Year Blogging”
• “Answering the Call for Artistic Activism: Yes, I’m an Artist!”

May one of these spark creative flow or provide inspiration for writing, writing, writing.

5. Inspirations:

Who inspires you to write? Who teaches you about writing? Who do want to honor and hold in gratitude while writing? These questions feel as important as handouts, readings, and resources.

Among the many, many people I continue to learn from, my writing inspirations include BIPOC feminist and womanist activists and educators. Some of my favorite pieces to teach about writing include bell hooks’s “Talking Back”; Elaine Richardson’s “The Cleveland State University Years”; and Alice Walker’s Living by the Word. Recently, I’ve been reading and learning from Alexis Pauline Gumbs (Dub and Undrowned); Luvvie Ajayi Jones (Professional Troublemaker); and Lama Rod Owens (Love and Rage)—who are inspiring me to write with resilience and courage!

There are many sources of writing wisdom. Consider which you’d like to connect with beyond this workshop.

Here are some ways to stay connected beyond this workshop:

1. Join my mailing list to receive regular updates.

2. Join an upcoming writing retreat. There are currently dates into mid-August, and I’ll be adding more dates over time.

3. Reach out with questions, concerns, or suggestions about this workshop. I appreciate feedback, so please share anything you’d like me to know about your experience.

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This post is written by Beth Godbee, Ph.D. for Heart-Head-Hands.com. If you’d like to connect around writing, check out upcoming writing retreat days, and subscribe to my email newsletter. Thanks!