Posts Tagged ‘writing exercises’
My 3 Words to Guide 2021! An Alternative to Making New Year’s Resolutions
Posted January 1, 2021
on:Happy New Year!
I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions. But I do like to have a set of guiding intentions for the year which are different than resolutions or even goals. Intentions feel less rigid than resolutions. This year to support my intentions, I am trying something new—Chris Brogan’s 3 Word Process. Chris Brogan is a consultant and bestselling writer and he has been sharing his 3 Word Process for over a decade. I had never heard of his process though it is quite popular.
You decide on three words and they guide “your choices and actions day to day”. They represent one’s commitments for the year and as Brogan says act as “lighthouses”. From his practice over the years choosing three words is better and more powerful than four words or two words.
I like the simplicity of narrowing one’s focus to encompass three meaningful words. Also, I believe 2021 will be a transitional year (especially the first half) due to the pandemic. Last year, my well-groomed goals quickly flew out the window as was true for many. Adaptability and flexibility were key lessons for me in 2020, so there’s no reason now to get locked into rigid goal-setting given so many variables out of my control.
My words for 2021 are Systems, Replenish and Solo
Systems: I want to undertake systems level change and integration with my technology (i.e. multiple computers, phones, etc.), but also between my career, writing life and coaching business. I’m looking for efficiency and ease.
Replenish: Despite the pandemic, 2020 was the most successful year I ever had as a creative writer and coach across all metrics (e.g. publications, relationship-building, craft up leveling, revenue generated, and fun had). It was also an incredibly successful year in my academic career. I, however, burned the candle at both ends and have been doing so for a long time. I need fill the creative well.
Solo: I love collaborations and am good at them, but 2021 will be the year for discernment. Some of my academic collaborations are naturally coming to an end because our projects are nearing completion. Others, I will need to consciously change or end. As a writer and coach, I will use this word to remind me to weigh the pros and cons of a potential collaboration.
If you are looking for a guiding rubric in 2021 besides the standard New Year’s resolutions, you may enjoy the 3 Word Process. Find out more here. And, if you decide to use his process, please share your 3 words—we can hold each other accountable!
Does Your Writing Life Need a Reset? MY NEW ONLINE Fall Writing Retreats Are HERE!
Posted September 20, 2020
on:Hi Writers,
Over the past several months, I’ve heard from so many writers that their old ways of doing things just aren’t working.
Many of us aren’t writing and if we are writing, we’re not having a lot of joy doing it. Many of us are finding it hard to get ourselves to the page and to stay focused when we arrive. We’re often afraid, discouraged, and tired. Very tired. Our inner critics have been very loud during the past few months.
We haven’t danced with, wrangled with or been charmed by our muse(s) in quite a while.
I HEAR you and I’ve designed something for you that you will LOVE.
It’s time to RESET. I’ve found that if I don’t reset every 5-6 weeks regarding my mindset, exercise routine, and writing habits, I hit a wall.
A reset is in order. And FALL is a perfect time for one.
I’ve designed a NEW online monthly writing retreat series: Reset, Refresh and Reclaim
I call these themed retreats reset, refresh and reclaim for a reason—we need these qualities now more than ever to deal with the changing pace of life!
These well-paced structured retreats are designed to inspire you and connect you to other writers. You’ll get some serious writing done and have FUN while doing it!
Give me the next four months and I will take you from creatively blocked to creatively sparked!
My reset approach has kept me productive, writing and getting published throughout the last six months.
Space for these online retreats is limited. I’m offering this to YOU at these rates, before I advertise broadly, because you are part of my community as an engaged reader of this blog.
Want to see how excited I am to tell you about these retreats and what we will do in them? Here’s a brief video:
If you don’t want to watch the video, it’s fine. All the details are below.
Here’s what people have said recently about my expertise as a coach and writing facilitator:
“Michele’s calm voice and emphasis on mindfulness practices has been a boon to my writing.” Amy T.
“I’ve written more with Michele in two hours during her Write-INs than I have during the last four months.” Francesca P.
“Michele encourages one to do their deepest work in a supportive environment.” Mark J.
“I thoroughly enjoyed September’s writing retreat! You have a wonderful teaching style, and as someone who struggles with ADHD, you kept me fully engaged the entire time.” Rachelle H.
ONLINE WRITING RETREATS
Reset, Refresh and Reclaim
If you’ve found yourself isolated, alone, and struggling with your writing, imagine how much different writing might feel if you had some dedicated and structured time, plus awesome community and coaching support.
Here’s a way to write THROUGH the fear, sludge and anxiety!
You can sign up for ONE retreat or ALL of them.
They all will include writing time (come with work or start something new), a brief writing craft discussion, fun writing exercises and games, mindfulness exercises for focus, and group coaching. We’ll have the option for a short lunch break and/or additional writing time.
Each retreat is curated to the needs and interests of the group. Once you register, I’ll send a brief survey to find out more about you. A few days prior to the workshop, you will receive additional information and any suggested readings or exercises.
Fall Retreat Dates:
*Saturday, Sept 26-The Harvest of 2020
Saturday, Oct 24-Characters
Saturday, Nov 21-Beginnings, Middles and Endings
Saturday, Dec 12–Author Mindset/Goals for 2021
(11am-2pm EST via ZOOM)
(Dec’s retreat will go 11-3, BONUS hour!)
(*tentative topics; each workshop is tailored to registered participants)
That’s 16+ hours of writing, community and support for you over the next 4 months!
Want to feel GREAT at the end of the year knowing that you MADE time for and NOURISHED your writing life? I know you do!
Ready to sign up? Ready to Reset?
Each online writing retreat is $69.00
Sign up for the remaining 3 for $197(discounted!)
I can accept payment in a few ways:
-via PayPal:
(The link above takes you to my Creative Tickle business link. In the comment box for PayPal, let me know which month(s) you are registering for.)
-I’m also on Zelle as Michele Berger (State Employees’ Credit Union)
Questions? Email me at mtb@creativetickle.com
Look forward to seeing you soon!
***
BTW: Your invitation still stands, click here to get your free guide: ‘Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19’.
In late April, I started a YouTube channel. I have been populating it with short excerpts of me reading from recently published fiction. It’s been fun!
Reminder: Last Write-IN happening tomorrow: Thursday, May 28 (3-5 pm and 8-9 pm EST).
How it works:
You log on through a Zoom link, see me on Zoom (everyone one is muted, and video off) and I lead you through a 5 minute writing prompt, mindfulness exercise or gentle stretch.
After that, I turn on an online timer for 45 minutes. You write. At the end of 45 minutes, I come on and encourage you to take a break before the next session (i.e. stretch, drink some water, etc.). We do the same thing during the second hour.
To get the Zoom links for tomorrow’s Write-IN, go here.
- In: creative writing | creativity | writing
- 2 Comments
Hi Writers,
Right now many writers I know are struggling with focus, accountability and staying inspired. Like other aspects of our lives, our precious writing routines have been (and continue to be) disrupted.
What many of us crave is connection, both to other writers and our inner writing rhythms.
A few weeks ago, I hosted several FREE Write-INS to gather together virtually and write.
I called it ‘Write, Connect and Share’: Virtual Write-INs’
Here’s how it works:
You log on through a Zoom link, see me on Zoom (everyone one is muted, and video off) and I lead you through a 5 minute writing prompt, mindfulness exercise or gentle stretch.
After that, I turn on an online timer for 45 minutes. You write. At the end of 45 minutes, I come on and encourage you to take a break before the next session (i.e. stretch, drink some water, etc.). We do the same thing during the second hour.
Why this structure? It’s been proven one of the most effective ones for helping writers minimize external and internal distractions. And doing shorter sessions prevents binge writing. This is the structure that I have used consistently and successfully for both my scholarly and creative work for the past five years. This format encourages a mindful approach and helps me write smack-dab in the middle of my busy life.
So, many folks showed up at the Write-INs. Some people came to all of the sessions, others to just one session. Some stayed for the full two hour block and others came for one hour. Many people said it was the first time they had written in weeks. Others noted how calm they felt before and after their writing session.
Here’s the best part—I’m doing it again for FREE on Monday, May 25 (7:30-9:30 am EST) and Thursday, May 28 (3-5 pm and 8-9 pm EST).
I’m only offering this support to folks who are readers of this blog and/or subscribers to my newsletter .
I’d love for you to join me.
Writing together, in community, in a focused way can boost the writing routine you have or get you back on track if you haven’t been writing much during the past few weeks.
To get the Zoom links for the upcoming Write-INs, go here.
Need Some New Ways to Connect to Your Writing Self During COVID-19? I Got You Covered
Posted April 26, 2020
on:Hi writing peeps,
Most writers I know are having a difficult time staying connected to their writing life. In the past six weeks, you’ve probably had your schedule upended in completely dramatic ways. Your writing routine is now very different than it once was. Me, too.

This was the #truth
Some of us aren’t writing and really want to. Many of us still have deadlines and projects.
How can you move forward on the writing that matters most?
You know my mission is to serve creative people. I’ve recently written a short guide ‘Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19’. In it are some powerful ways to get and stay inspired. These are techniques I’ve culled from years of working with clients through my coaching practice. You’ll love this information and find it valuable. [And, the guide includes some cool bonuses, too]. It’s my FREE offering to you.
I’m only offering this to people in my community. You won’t find this information elsewhere.
Click here to get your ‘Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19’.
*Also, if you are reading this and work in a creative area besides writing, I believe you’d find the guide useful, too.
Class is in Session: Learning from Teaching MFA Students + Writing Exercise
Posted January 19, 2020
on:The beginning of the year has been a whirlwind, in a good way. I was invited to lead a craft workshop for the students attending Carlow University’s low-residency Creative Writing MFA program, taking place in early Jan, in Pittsburgh, PA.
I was very excited, honored and nervous. I am an educator by training and routinely teach undergraduate and graduate students in my areas of my research expertise (e.g. women’s and gender studies, sociology, and political science). Although I have given craft talks, I have never designed and solely led a workshop for MFA students. Even though I have taught writing workshops alone and with others, I have never taught in an actual MFA program.
I received the invitation in September. Once I accepted, an annoying inner critic voice popped up and said, “Who does she think she is to teach MFA students, especially when she doesn’t have an MFA?”
I had to repeatedly say to myself, “This is not about your ego or degrees. You are here to serve the students and offer up what you think will be useful to them.” One of the reasons why I was invited was because they have had students express an interest in writing speculative fiction. The administrators gave me complete freedom to design the workshop in any way that I wished.
Once I reminded myself that I had something unique to offer and that it was OK not to be perfect on the first round, I totally got into designing the workshop.
The MFA students sign up for the classes they want to take about a month before, so I sent some preliminary questions about their goals, challenges, interests, etc. I used their answers to guide me as I developed the workshop.
I taught about speculative fiction and my path as a winding path as a writer (i.e. why I went to get a PhD in political science instead of an MFA). I integrated mindfulness and contemplative practices as resources for sustaining their writing. I also had them generate lots of material through prompts and free writing. We looked at some ways that writers can play with premise, setting and character as part of speculative work. I drew on a wide variety of authors and my own work as demonstrations of particular approaches.
Boy, does two and half hours fly by!
The students were amazing and generous to me and each other.
I so enjoyed watching students dive deep in the exercises and claim some of their buried interests, including horror and dark fiction.

The fantastic MFA students I worked with at Carlow.
I absolutely loved teaching the workshop.
I’m glad I didn’t let my fear get the best of me. I’m also glad that without acting like a know-it-all, I could share with them some lessons I’ve learned as well as hear what their writing lives are like. As in all adult learning communities, you know some things and they know some things. Learning happens in the middle.
The only thing I would do differently would be to send some of the short readings ahead of time, so we would have more time for in class writing and reading our work.

I was honored to read alongside Patrice Gobo (center) and Lynn Emmanuel. We read poetry, memoir and fiction and our selections all complimented each other.
The faculty and staff were welcoming and it was a joy to be with them. I loved reading with the other faculty, too.
Creatives, don’t we just light up when we are with other creatives?
Below are two of the exercises that I used as warm-up material. I absolutely adore Dena Metzer’s Writing for Your Life: Discovering the Story of Your Life’s Journey (a more spiritual approach to creativity, but some of the deepest writing advice I’ve ever seen and great prompts throughout the book)
The Dream Police
We are what matters to us. Our identity materializes through images, memories, events and through things.
Suddenly there is a knock on your door. A trusted friend enters to warm you that the Dream Police will arrive in twenty minutes. Everything, everything in your life that you have not written down will evaporate upon their arrival. You have a short time—twenty minutes-to preserve what is most previous in your life, what has formed you, what sustains you. Whatever you forget, whatever you have no time to record, will disappear. Everything you want must be acknowledged in its particularity. Everything to be saved, must be named. Not trees, but oak. Not people, but Alicia. As in reality, what has no name, no specificity, vanishes.
*set the timer for 20 minutes and GO. This is great prompt to help us dig deep and go from the abstract to the concrete. Every time I do this exercise, my list looks different.
The Dream Police #2 (also from Writing for Your Life)
Imagine you are an anthropologist who has unearthed this list of “possessions” that once belonged to some unknown person. Write a brief portrait of fleshing that person out, speculating on his or her character and life.
-The anthropologist writes about this subject in the 3rd person, (i.e. he, she, they)
My addition: circle 3-5 items, images, memories from this list that interest you. How might you approach what you have created as the basis for a new character? What kind of trouble or setting might be interesting to explore with this character sketch?
Photo credit
- In: creative writing | creativity | writing
- 1 Comment
My 90 day fast draft novel challenge is done! I finished up last week. I ended up with a little under 55,000 words. Not bad for a first draft. I had a few setbacks though, including losing 6,000 words (!) due to a computer glitch in a recent Microsoft Word update for the Mac. Losing that much material really sucked, but overall, I feel inspired about the progress I’ve made on my nascent horror novel.
Why This Challenge Worked for Me:
-I love a good writing challenge! Doing a fast draft appeals to me for the same reason that doing NaNoWriMo appeals to me. Both challenges provide structure and encourages and rewards daily effort. I love stretching past what I think I can do. With NaNoWriMo, you also get community through numerous online support via their website. Since I was posting my word counts on my author Facebook page, many folks cheered me on there.
-I also love the first drafting process. The first draft, as Jane Smiley has said, “only needs to exist.” In first drafts, I can put all my crazy ideas, flights of fancy, strange characters, and meandering subplots in. Although I was thinking some about the reader experience while writing, I was mostly writing to discover what I thought about the setting, the characters, my themes, etc.
-It gives me something to revise later. In Neil Gaiman’s MasterClass he said that when revising, you should look at a first draft and figure out the themes and ideas you were interested in exploring and then in the next draft to consciously write toward them.
-Writing 800-1,000 words five days a week was demanding, but also doable. I took Mondays and Tuesdays off which gave me some time to mull over what I was writing. NaNoWriMo’s daily word count of 1,667 words is not for the faint-hearted. This lower word count was just enough of a challenge to keep me focused, but it wasn’t so demanding that I had to keep the breakneck pace that NaNoWriMo requires.
-This challenge requires writing all the way to the end of the story. It forces you to construct some type of ending, no matter how provisional.
The only thing that I didn’t like about this challenge was that the research, writing and reading in the field was so all-consuming I couldn’t work on much of anything else during the 90 days. My submission rate plummeted. So, if I do this again, I will be more intentional about using one of my off days to stay on top of my submissions.
What’s next?
This big messy draft exists somewhere between an extended outline and fully fleshed out scenes and chapters. I’ll sit down in the middle of October, read it, make a new outline and write the next draft.
Want to know more about 90 day fast drafting? Check out Racheal Herron’s inspiring video.