Happy Writing Hour - a Gift to Yourself - IWA Immigrant Writers Association

IWA’s Happy Writing Hour is a project that started a couple of months ago when our introvert-in-charge, Gabriela Casineanu, shared a link about a similar activity somewhere south of the Canadian borders. I “stole like an artist” guided by the famous book of Austin Kleon and moulded the idea into IWA’s needs and goals. The purpose is to bring together the members of our newly formed team, to encourage them to keep practicing what makes their hearts jump for joy and their eyes sparkle with excitement – writing!

The Happy Writing Hour is a gift to yourself, designed for early mornings to help you start the day doing what you love, to give you a sense of accomplishment and set the tone for a successful day ahead.
I know that not all of us are early birds and that is ok. Find an hour that suits you and schedule a date with Your Muse. Know that every Wednesday there are other writers from the IWA family doing the same, wondering about what to write, facing the fear of failure, feeling lonely.

Dear writer, remember that you are not alone in this endeavour!

In case you think the inspiration is not going to hit you, try to trick it to show up. Among my tested and proven efficient tricks are Liz’s and Chirs’. Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic) advises to treat your writing time as a real date and dress up for it, even put on perfume. Another alternative is to use props, as Chris Baty (No Plot, No Problem) recommends for his NaNoWriMo campers – fancy hats, a monocle, a flamboyant scarf. I choose a magic pair of red shoes to kick my heels three times and teleport into the land of All-It’s-Possible.

The location of the Happy Writing Hour is completely up to you: the comfort of your home with a mug of tea or the café down the street, in a crowded food court or a peaceful parc around the town. Choose a place that inspires you and just show up!

Margaret Atwood is teaching us how to become writers – by writing. “Do it! Do it more! Do it better! Fail! Fail better!”

Several IWA members are doing it and are participating in our Wednesday’s Happy Writing Hour at different hours of the day, from different corners of GTA (Greater Tronto Area) and even from the faraway Vancouver, sometimes writing a story or a poem, other times organizing their creative space or learning a new skill they need to have for their work to be published. Each little step you take in your journey as a writer is a step in the right direction. Keep at it and trust the process!

“As you start to walk on the way…the way appears” – Rumi.

Happy Writing Hour is your time to shine. Own it! Know that you are not the only ‘crazy’ out there. You have IWA team alongside.
Hereby, I’m extending an invitation to all of you, readers of this blog, to leave a comment about your Happy Writing Hour, about what drives your writing, how you feel when you are writing, your best accomplishment or your biggest failure, your current struggle related to your craft. You could also follow IWA on social media and join the discussions there. Help us learn from your experience!
We are in this together!