Time for me to open the door

Join me inside The Writing Room!

I just went looking for a gif I had in mind, and found this one instead, but it made me LOL anyway because honestly right now I just feel like I really need Noah to yell at me and ask me what I want:

“I don’t know, Ryan Gosling, okay?!?! I just. don’t. know.”

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Okay anyway, that’s not why I’m writing today. Because even though I still feel like I don’t know what I want right now in the *gestures around her* great scheme of my life…I do know what I want today: I want to tell you about something new here at Porchlight!

Allow me to introduce you to The Writing Room - a kind of inner sanctum of Porchlight, if you will. If Porchlight is where we hang out on my front porch, imagine The Writing Room as the foyer. We step inside, you sit down on a beautifully upholstered vintage wooden bench that I can’t afford in real life but this is imaginary to take off your shoes, I ask you if you want a hot drink (I am half-British, after all) and we take the conversation a little deeper.

The Writing Room will open once a month, on Zoom - at different times and on different days of the week, so it’s accessible for people who do a variety of jobs across a variety of time zones. For instance, one month we might meet on a Sunday night (GMT), and the next month we’ll meet at lunchtime on a Tuesday (GMT). (For reference, I live in England and we’re 5 hours ahead of EST…except for twice a year when, for some reason, our clocks go back and forward two weeks apart from the US?!?)

ANYHOO.

Each time we meet in The Writing Room, we’ll cover a different topic. A few examples:

• Spiritual writing that doesn’t make you want to throw up

• How to write pitches (and how editors are human beings)

• Finding your writing voice

• Starting a newsletter (what to write about, how often, how to get people to read, etc)

• Building an audience without selling your soul

• Finding time to write around a busy life

• Writing better poetry than we wrote in high school

I also plan to have some of my writing friends - I’m awash with talented, generous, funny writers! - as guests to share their unique perspectives. And some months, we’ll have a talk about writing, I’ll offer you some time in silence or lead you in a guided meditation or a seemingly non-writing-related practice (one of my favourite things to do before I write), give you a prompt, and then we’ll write together in silence - because I personally know how valuable it can be to have a container to write in in seasons when I’m finding it difficult to make space.

Now, about cost. The Writing Room is FREE to attend each month if you’re a paid subscriber to Porchlight, which you can become - with a discount! - by clicking this button:

If you’re not a paid subscriber, you’ll be able to book into each session of The Writing Room individually via my website - I’ll send links out each month, so if you don’t want to commit to the whole year, you can pick and choose.

I already know what some of you are going to ask me, because you’ve asked me similar questions before:

You: I’m not a “real writer” - can I still come?

Me: 1. What’s a real writer? 2. Do you want to come? Then come. We become writers by doing things that writers do. The Writing Room is open to everyone.

Our first session of The Writing Room will take place later this month. I’ll send out an announcement in the next few days with date/time/topic/how to log in.

Now, can I get personal and a little gushy? While thinking about The Writing Room, I had a realisation that brought a real-life tear to my eye: I have, over time, built myself what Marion Roach Smith calls “a writing life.”

It’s a life filled with words, a life where I get to write (almost) every day, a life where writing anchors me (and also pays me money). This is something I’ve always wanted - something I think I actually had before, when I was younger, before I went off-piste looking for something else. I’m very, very fortunate to have followed my own heart back home, and The Writing Room is another touchpoint of a writing life for me, and a way to share what I’m so fortunate to have built - slowly, mostly intentionally, sometimes painfully - with you.

I can’t wait to hang out with you, go deeper into our writing practice, and get to know you better in The Writing Room!

*Got questions? As always, I’m here to answer them. If you get Porchlight via email, just hit reply and ask away. If you’re reading this on Substack, leave your question in the comments and I’ll answer for everyone to see.

xx

Faith