Week of 11/23-11/29
Hi Book Buddies!
Reminders!
Beautyland Salon is December 7 (Sunday) from 11-5: My studio mate, Candace, and I are hosting a little art salon during open studios at Cottage Street Studios in Easthampton. Rachel, Elizabeth, Chris, and Aimee are reading and there will be music! Stop by if you’re local! It’ll be a blast.
Book Club is Monday December 8 from 7pmEST - 8:30: We’re reading Emily Everett’s All That Life Can Afford and she is coming to hang with us.
11/25 Tuesday and 11/29 Saturday Gen Writings will happen as usual, no holiday disruption!
Got a success story? (publication, residency admittance, did you finish a draft of something that took half your lifetime to do?) Email me to tell me about it (include links where applicable) and I’ll post it here and on Substack.
Here’s what’s on the docket this week (Sunday 11/23 - Saturday 11/29).
Feedback Group Submission Schedules!
IRL Group Wednesdays @ beautyland 6:30-8:30: Chris and Johanna pages due December 3/Next Meeting December 10
Noon Crew Thursdays 12pm - 1:30: Ezra pages due December 3/Next Meeting December 10
Weirdlings Thursdays 12pm - 1:30: Elizabeth pages due November 30/Next Meeting December 10
Kool Kids Thursdays at 7pm - 8:30: Morgan pages due November 30/Next Meeting December 3
OG Crew Thursdays at 7:30pm - 9: Malavika and Danae pages due December 4/Next Meeting December 7
Saturday besties 12:30pm - 2: Helen and Ali pages due December 2/Next Meeting December 6
Gen Writing Prompt
November 25 and 29, 2025
TURKEY DAY (Throwback prompt from 2023!)
One of the things I struggle the most with in my writing is keeping my plot contained to a manageable timeline. Every idea I have starts tight but then slowly starts to contain a character’s entire life before I know it (ha!). A solution I have for that is to have a story take place over the duration of a meal, and one my favorites is a meal with A LOT of people organized around a holiday. Since this week we’re all in the throes of Thanksgiving stuff, let’s roll deep with that vibe and see where it takes us.
Generate Something New
Begin a story at the start of Thanksgiving dinner. Show the reader who is there, and what tension exists between everyone through the stilted conversation that kicks off the meal. By the end of the meal a few of the following things should have happened:
One relationship implodes
One relationship is repaired
A kitchen disaster occurs
A pet misbehaves to hilarious or disastrous results
Someone drinks too much to hilarious and disastrous results
An unexpected guest arrives
Someone leaves in the middle of dinner
A political conversation goes south
Amazing food trumps a fundamental disagreement
Someone is unexpectedly generous
Someone is unexpectedly cruel
