Book Buddy Happenings 2/2 - 2/8
Book Buds:
Hello! I am coping with feeling like we’re stuck in the Tundra forever by imagining that very first flower that pops out in the spring and trying to emulate that ferocity, per the picture attached to this post on the website. We have a sweet week of Book Buddy stuff ahead of us, so hopefully that is a mood booster for us all.
Here’s the haps:
Book Club :
Like I said last week, I’ve finished the Book Club schedule through to September. You can view it in this google doc, or in past posts! The next one is Tuesday, February 17 from 6:30 - 8:30 and we’re talking about Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Feedback Group Submission Schedules!
IRL Group Wednesdays @ beautyland 6:30-8:30: Next meeting is February 4 and Chris and Rich. Pages are due ASAP. We meet again in beautyland on February 18 and floor time will be Aimee and Genna or Johanna so we can discuss that when we’re together this week.
Noon Crew Thursdays 12pm - 1:30: The meeting after is set for February 5 and Jill has the floor. Pages are in our inboxes already! Ezra will have floor time the following meeting, February 19.
Weirdlings Wednesdays 12pm - 1:30: The schedule shift gives us a little pause. We don’t meet again until February 18 and Erika will have the floor. Pages are due on February 11.
Kool Kids Thursdays at 7pm - 8:30: Our next meeting is February 12 and Hilary and Morgan have the floor. Pages are due on February 5th.
OG Crew Thursdays at 7:30pm - 9: The next meeting is meeting is February 5 and Malavika and Tom will have the floor. Pages are already in from both buddies. The following meeting is February 19 and Danae can snag one of those slots, Maia, the other is yours if you want it! We’ll suss that out when meet this week.
Saturday besties 12:30pm - 2: The next meeting is February 14 (Valentines day!) and Helen and Ali have the floor.
Gen Writing Prompts for February 3 and 7, 2026
Planting Seeds
This one is an oldy I found in 2022 in a book called “Write Now!” Here’s how it works:
First, jot down three “seed ideas” - things you’ve overheard, seen, been told, have happened to you, whatever - which you feel could be the starting point for a character or a conflict in a story, poem, or essay. These should be brief - a phrase or a sentence is often enough - and specific and concrete - not vague or abstract. Not, “a man in a moral quandary,” or “a woman pines for lost love.” It’s hard to get imaginatively involved in either of those. For today, focus on what you can pull from over the last few weeks, or even today. They can be fictional, fantastic, or observational and true to your life. Some examples:
- A person on a cell phone says, “There’s nothing anyone can do now. It’s over..”
- A person in quarantine angrily begins a garden as a way of coping with isolation.
- A person overcomes their fear of getting stung to let a wasp out of her window.
- A child goes to war with the chipmunks in their yard.
- A couple wakes up to find all the water in their pond gone overnight.
I’ll give you a chance to put some of these in the chat before we get rolling with the writing hour.
Now, choose the one you like the most out of these seed ideas, and spend 10 minutes developing it, writing in whatever direction feels right. If writing fiction at the very least, try to indicate who the main character or characters are, where and when it’s taking place, what the conflict(s) might be, and maybe a bit of what happens. If writing poetry, try doing a free association/stream of consciousness exercise where you just say yes to whatever thought comes in response to the seed idea and write it til you tap out. If writing nonfiction, think about what interested you about the seed idea and use that as a jumping off point.
Send me your announcements! I wanna hype you up!
Stay warm and cozy and safe.
ILYSM you are the best crew of writers that ever existed.
XO
