Week of 11/30-12/7
Week of 11/30-12/7
Hi Book Buddies! Apologies, I meant to get this out to you on Saturday but the holiday weekend got me all off kilter.
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 11/30 - Sunday 12/7).
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: Next Meeting is December 3 (Elizabeth has floor time and her pages are in); Dana has pages due on December 11 for December 18 meeting
Kool Kids Thursdays at 7pm - 8:30: Next meeting is December 3 (Morgan floor time and her pages are in); Susan and Hilary have pages due December 13 for December 18 meeting
OG Crew Thursdays at 7:30pm - 9: Malavika and Danae pages due December 4/Next Meeting December 7. Remember, we have a new BB - Tom! Be sure to include him when you send pages!
Saturday besties 12:30pm - 2: Helen and Ali pages due December 2/Next Meeting December 6 (Helen’s pages are in)
New Book Buddy! Welcome Tom!
Tom Herndon joined the Book Buddy cadre this week! He’s now a member of the OG Crew feedback group, TRs at 7:30, and will also be a frequent flyer in Gen Writing. Can’t wait for you all to meet each other, look out for him! Welcome, Tom!
Gen Writing Prompt
December 2 and 6, 2025
Say Again? Working with Retellings
The early winter holiday season, for me, is like a sometimes enjoyable and sometimes toxic injection of nostalgia. It has me thinking of old family rituals, of love and loss, and of childhood. It also has my scheming for the year ahead. Feeling unmoored like this always has me reaching for my favorite comfort stories, the ones I can read again and again that help me be a little more clearheaded, a little more myself.
I thought it would be fun, then, this week to work with retellings or re-interpretations. Try one of these:
POV Shift: Think of a narrative you love. Could be any medium - a TV show, a poem, a novel, a short story, even an essay. Begin a new piece using a different perspective for the same story.
New Ending: Think of a narrative you love. Could be any medium - a TV show, a poem, a novel, a short story, even an essay. Imagine a different ending, and reconstruct the story so that it serves the new ending
Sequel: Think of a narrative you love. Could be any medium - a TV show, a poem, a novel, a short story, even an essay. Write what comes after the ending.
Modernize: Think of an older story — a myth, a fairytale, a movie from the 80s, whatever — and write it it again with a modern spin OR reverse that - write a popular current story but set it way in the past.
Spinoff: Think of a narrative you love. Could be any medium - a TV show, a poem, a novel, a short story, even an essay. Choose a side character and give them their own main character opportunity.
Success Stories:
I need them! Send me you good news.
Let’s all get our writing on this week! Can’t wait to see you.
Need Gift Ideas?
A short term book buddy membership could be a great Christmas gift for the writer in your life who already has too many notebooks. I designed some giftable packages in case you wanna hop on that band wagon. Here they are:
Three Months of Book Buddies Standard (Gen writing +feedback group): $500
Three Months of Book Buddies Basic (Gen Writing only): $350
One month of Gen Writing: $125
You all are the best around. Thanks for doing all this with me.
Your bestie,
Kate
