A gardening photo, from the years I had a front yard of vegetables and fruit; writing should have moments of feeling like this. August figs grown from a sapling fig tree my father gave me; heritage potatoes; cherry tomatoes—pounds of them daily.

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Our 4th of annual Index! Browse through. The posts are organized by topic and form. You can create your own reading list to study.

Let me know if you’d like to see a post in response to a question you have, or if you need help finding some topic. (Leave a comment, or email: alison@alisonacheson.com)

Index 2021

Index 2022

Index 2023

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First-of-the-month potpourri post — for all readers, free and paid (note that prompts and responses to prompts are included WITH these)

January ’24 - “Hopeless in Hope”—book review; stepping into a project; “metaphor”

February ’24 - thoughts on “writer friends”; weather/snow prompt

March ’24 - focused time; pain vs discomfort

April ’24 - teaching/learning to write; children’s games prompt/thoughts

May ’24 - Mother’s Day prompt; magic and challenge of picturebooks

June ’24 - Vehicle stories prompt; further thoughts on book reviewing

July ’24 - Writing constraints (prompt); fears

August ’24 - Picturebook birth; article for “50 ideas”

September ’24 - Hiking Q&A with Heather Waugh; podcast with Arthur Meek

October ’24 - Celebrating the ordinary

November ’24 - Contemplative/nature writing, and 'clues to offer your reader'

December ’24 - What's the adventure?; thoughts on applying for residencies

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Writing Life

Reflections on my writing year of 2023 - Jan. ’24

How do we GROW as writers? (Tired of your own words??) - Jan. ’24

Sweaty Pliés - our practice work - March ’24

Self-soothing, self-care, letting go - April ’24

Preparing to Live With Success - May ’24

Writing and Ageing - projects and writers - June ’24

Happy Birthday to Me! - June ’24

Fear - what is it good for? - July ’24

Downsizing the Writer’s Journal - July ’24

Write as You Hike - Kinetic work - August ’24

Life-balance of writing & selling/promotion - August ’24

Writing Cairn by Cairn - forget Doctorow’s ‘headlights’ - September ’24

Canadian Thanksgiving - Libraries, books, and random displays - October ’24

Clean House or Finish Your Book - Nov. ’24

End-of-year mini-series - Writing Retreat

Approaches to Creating Your Own Retreat - Dec. ’24

What is Retreat? Part 2 - Dec. ’24

Retreat Part 3 - Reading and Research - Dec. ’24

Seasonal Retreat Part 4 - Dec ’24

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Fiction

Pets and Animals in our work - Jan. ’24

Editing and the Roles of Presence and Absence - March ’24

Further thoughts on Editing—returning to original dreams and old notes - March ’24

Transitions - working with in Fiction - May ’24

Using the Table of Contents for Structure & Pacing - June ’24

Read Aloud (not just for picturebooks!) - September ’24

Is Your Second Chapter a Flashback? a sign of first draft - October ’24

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The Business of Writing

Read Your Contract - Even the part about going out of print - August ’24

Writing (Novel) Questions for Book Club Readers - Nov. ’24

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Poetry

February Poetry discussion - the beat goes on… - Feb. ’24

The Sestina - the “box” of poetic form - Nov. ’24

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Close Reads

The Snow Child - by Eowyn Ivey - Feb. ’24

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Memoir & Nonfiction

When is the Right Time to Write a Memoir? - Feb. ’24

Memoir: Let Your Reader IN - October ’24

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Picturebook writing and Writing for Young People

Slow Writing - picturebook process - May ’24

Read Aloud! - September ’24

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On the Road Annual Q&A Series

Bring on your questions! - March ’24

Q&A #1 - How do I start to publish? - April ’24

Q&A #2 - How do I find tech for speech-to-text? - April ’24

Q&A #3 - How do I promote my first novel (or nonfiction!)? - April ’24

Q&A #4 - Thoughts on Writing Book Reviews - May ’24

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Markets

June markets - June ’24

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