Practice of Writing registration closes January 7!

Happy holidays! My word, I've been having too much fun to be online. I hope you have, as well.

The Practice of Writing course begins in a couple of weeks, and I need to send encouraging notes to the class and start offering personal makeout sessions to each student (that's a hidden benefit of the class). I know many of you have been focusing on the holiday season, however, so I'm giving you a little extra time to realize that you deserve something as well.

Before I close registration, here are some answers to your questions. (I'm also adding this FAQ to the course description page.) Let me know if you have more!

Q. So how exactly does this class work?

A. Every weekday, you'll receive a lesson in your inbox. This lesson will also be posted on a password-protected part of my site, where you can comment and chat with your fellow students. The lesson will contain instruction (and, I hope, inspiration!) as well as an assignment or prompt for the day.

After reading the day's lesson, you would (in an ideal world) complete the prompt/assignment by writing for fifteen minutes each day. This is the time limit I recommend for writers who are starting out. Keep it short, but write every day. That's how you create a habit.

Q. So what are the lessons about?

A. There are twenty-five separate lessons, so there's a lot of material covered. The main thrust of the class is overcoming procrastination and anxiety and creating a routine, but I also cover dealing with rejection, improving your craft, writing about sticky subjects, why "talent" is overrated…I could go on, but then I'd give away the entire course. There's a lot.

Q. Do you critique each day's writing?

A. I do not. I strongly believe that no one should be critiquing your first-draft, stream-of-consciousness work. In the last session of the course, I read people's daily work, but this ended up being counterproductive to the purpose of the class. I also found that many students chose to write longhand and not share their work, and they ended up being extremely happy with the course. This is why I'm recommending that all my students write longhand for their daily practice. (This isn't a requirement, of course--I realize that some people hate writing longhand.)

Although I can't read the daily prompts,  I will check in with students and see what they're up to. If you want me to read a piece that might be further along, or just want reassurance that you don't suck, I'm here to assist and guide as needed.

Q. Do I have to share my work with the class?

A. Nope. Your work is your own. Again, for your daily practice, I think it's best that you consider that private. There's no better way to allow yourself to take risks.

Q. What if I have questions?

A. I'll be available every evening to answer questions on the course site, as well as via email!

Q. I want to take the course but my schedule doesn't allow me to write every day. Can I still take the class?

A. While I hope you make it your goal to write for fifteen minutes a day, you can absolutely complete this course at your own pace. Once you sign up, you have the material in your inbox for as long as you need it. (I'll also provide a complete PDF of the class material at the end of the five weeks.)

Q. I'm not a blogger or fiction writer. Is this course for me?

A. This course is for you if you're feeling blocked creatively and want to deepen your writing practice. It doesn't really matter what writing you've done up until now.  It doesn't matter if you've never written before but are curious about trying, or if you've been writing for decades.

Q. Will you tell me how to make money blogging?

A. Nope--there is nothing in this course that has anything to do with making money as a blogger. Or as a writer, for that matter! Although of course I hope we all end up making money doing the things we love. This is my dream.

Practice of Writing: new session begins January 14th

The Practice of Writing was so successful last time, I'm doing it again. Please join me!

This is a five-week course that will help you jumpstart a daily writing habit, increase your confidence as a writer, and get a lot of work done. I'm putting together  a detailed FAQ for the course description page, but I wanted to get the registration information up ASAP, as I know many of you wanted to give the course as a Christmas gift.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll answer them here and on the FAQ. The fee for this session is $95 USD, and fair warning--it will likely increase for the next time.

p.s. once you've paid through PayPal, you are automatically registered in the course. I will send out confirmations, but do not fret! If you've paid, you're on the list.

And now for some good stuff: granting wishes

Just in time for the holidays, I got to give away some holiday cheer. With the help of Camp Mighty, I and ten other lucky people were hooked up with AT&T, who, along with the Make a Wish foundation, awarded us each $3500 worth of gift cards to spend on a charity organization in our communities.

My donations went to the All Stars Project, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting human development through education and performing arts activities.

They wanted to reward some of their kids for their efforts, and asked for portable speakers and headphones--fun stuff to give kids who don't often get stuff just because it's fun. It was an easy (and, well, fun) wish to grant. Do you know how many speakers and headphones you can buy with $3500? I brought Scott and Henry along for the trip, for their muscle as well as cab-wrangling abilities.

I told Henry he had to carry all of these. He didn't buy it.

AT&T gave me 35 $100 gift cards, which took a while to process in the store. In the time it took I became friends with Julio at the AT&T store in Union Square. We're quite close now. If you head over there, tell him Alice sent you. Alice BRADLEY. Then mime using many, many gift cards.

I am not chewing tobacco in this picture. I have no idea what I'm doing. I was out of my mind from all that swiping!

When we arrived at All Stars, Antoine Joyce (Development Officer, aka "Diddy of Development") was kind enough to give us a tour and introduce us around to the hardworking staff and volunteers.

He was quite busy with fundraising work, not to mention attempting to eat lunch while we hurled questions at him.

Here he is, after he finished his sandwich, explaining to us that the kids were not, in reality, posing with German avant garde dramatist Heiner Müller. I'm all, "What's a 'Photoshop'?"

All Stars is an amazing organization. In addition to helping kids and adults through performance, they run the Development School for Youth, a leadership training program for older kids, and work with the NYPD on Operation Conversation: Cops and Kids, bringing together the police and inner-city kids in positive interactions. In 2011, the NYPD incorporated Operation Conversation into their training. 

They also let my kid stand on the stage and perform some German avant garde for us. Or, okay, just stand on the stage. (This was one of many stages. They have quite a set-up at the All Stars Project.)

We were supposed to return to see the kids getting their gifts, but we were all under the weather. Bummer. Antoine sent over some pictures, and maybe they made me cry a little, whatever, I don't know, shut up.

Maybe more than a little. It's been that kind of week.

According to Antoine, the gifts were awarded to the youth and young adult teams. In his words: "these are the people who volunteer every week to guarantee our programs are a success. Some of them are on the load out team that heads to storage at 7 am to load equipment and then work the entire event and return at 9 pm at night."

I think they're hamming it up just a touch. Oh, theater folk!

YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE AND YOU KNOW IT.

I am so grateful to the All Stars Project and Antoine for showing us all of the excellent work they do, and to AT&T, for making this whole thing possible. This was a gift for us, truly. Thanks, guys!

Look for the helpers

My mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers—so many caring people in this world.

— Fred Rogers

Henry's home from school, here with his best friend. They're in his room playing with Legos and discussing girls they like (sorry, guys, but I can totally hear you). This is another day to them. As it should be. As it should have been for everyone.

My heart is sick for all the families whose family members are not coming home today. Words fail in times like these. All we can do is cry, and pray, and fight for change. I am trying to figure out what I'm going to tell Henry later, after his friend goes home. Here's some helpful advice, if you're wondering the same thing.

If you're feeling overwhelmed with grief or panic, there is help. The Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24-hour support to anyone who needs it. It's free and confidential. 1-800-985-5990. You are not alone.

Also:

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Gun Control. Now.

If anyone else has any helpful resources to share in the comments, please do. (No pro-gun comments, please--you're just going to get deleted and probably blocked.)