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Aurora Bonner

@aurorabonner.bsky.social
252 followers 556 following 98 posts

writer, reader, professor, nature lover, yoga enthusiast

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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Artists need art, too. Making time to enjoy art might be just as important as making your art. New essay: Cross-Training Your Creative Brain 💫 open.substack.com/pub/abonner/...
open.substack.com
Cross-Training Your Creative Brain
How Other Artists Can Improve Your Writing
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
What surprised me after teaching at four writing conferences this spring: Yes, people wanted to talk about writing. But what they seemed to want even more was a space to slow down, pay attention, and connect with other writers. Read about it here ⬇️ open.substack.com/pub/abonner/...
open.substack.com
What We Really Need as Writers
Why attention, connection, and writing together matter more than ever.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
You don’t just need more detail in your writing. You need to trust less of it. Clarity comes from choosing what actually belongs—and leaving the other stuff out. Wrote more about this today: open.substack.com/pub/abonner/...
open.substack.com
Not Everything Belongs on the Page
How to Write Place Without Overwriting
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Most writing problems are actually attention problems. We know what we want to write before we even see what’s there. I wrote about a simple visualization practice for returning to attention at the start of writing. Includes a 5-minute guided audio exercise: open.substack.com/pub/abonner/...
open.substack.com
You Can’t Think Your Way Into Writing
Why attention is the real starting point and a simple 5-minute practice to help you begin
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Jake Varn @jakevarn.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Snagged books by @housleydave.bsky.social , @ericarstern.bsky.social @aaronburch.bsky.social & more from @autofocusbooks.bsky.social. S/o to great craft sessions from @aurorabonner.bsky.social and a Primetime Writers Wrestling Match between @samuelashworth.bsky.social & @writesloud.bsky.social
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Jennifer L. Blanck @jlblanck.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
And we're off! A fantastic first #CCDC26 workshop by @aurorabonner.bsky.social on #writing place as a lived experience. @barrelhouse.bsky.social
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Submitted to a dream pub’s annual contest that I’ve been watching for years. Didn’t get it, but received a generous rejection from them that praised my work and disclosed that I came close to the finals. It made my day! A reminder to take risks and put yourself out there.💫
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Excited to be heading to the Barrelhouse Writers’ Conference, Conversations & Connections, if you want to geek out on writing and craft this weekend in DC. Also, joining the Ithaca Spring Writes Festival offering an online workshop in May. Would love to see some familiar faces there! 🥰
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
I spent 3 years writing my first draft thinking I had a craft problem. I didn’t. I had a control problem. wrote more about this here ↓ substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
Lies I Told Myself While Writing My First Draft
What drafting a novel taught me about control, story, and getting out of my own way
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Getting ready for a move and everything is scattered—including my focus. Trying to remind myself that small steps still count!
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
“You write your first draft with your heart, and you rewrite with your head.” James Ellison
Pictures of spring flowers
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Amazing what an impact these little finds have on my mental health
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Part of what I love about teaching is getting to see the talent, drive, and passion coming from young people. This weekend I went to the showings of a high school musical, and watching a group of teenagers tell a story with their whole hearts just blew me away. ❤️
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
If you want to feel better about the world, watch theatre, look at art, read books, dance.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Canva is wild. There is literally any template imaginable (including lots of really bad ones!). I’m presenting on writing place next week and thought I’d add illustrations… and damn. Want an illustration of mountains? Hundreds. Rivers? Dozens. Wild geese? Done. A specific type of grass? Got it.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Yay! I wrote a novel. And was immediately reminded that getting to the end of the first draft is only the beginning. substack.com/@aurorabonne...
substack.com
The End is the Beginning
Shitty first drafts, revision, and going deeper in our writing
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Stripes at the Met!
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Community doesn’t just appear—it’s something we build, and sometimes building it means taking risks and getting out of our comfort zone. This week, I wrote about the work of building community in the creative world and how small gestures can develop into meaningful and lasting relationships.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Last week I lost ten days of work on my novel-in-progress. It sucked. But it reminded me that creativity is about curiosity, not control. It’s all about embracing play: how curiosity keeps the work alive, some techniques for sparking creativity, and how to find joy in the process of discovery.
“curiosity, play, and the creative life: how play fields creativity (even for adults)” on the Substack Root Down to Write Up with Aurora Bonner
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Friendly reminder: back up your writing! Just lost ten days of progress on my work-in-progress because of a rookie move.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
If you are a writer, artist, or maker, you know that every day is a little different—some days ideas flow and are some days not. But what if you could create a routine to get them flowing more regularly? This week on Substack I’m exploring how to structure and schedule your days and weeks.
From Aurora Bonner’s Substack Root Down to Write Up: 
Flow, Don’t Force: Creating a Routine That Works. Build a Schedule that works with yourself, not against yourself From Aurora Bonner’s Substack Root Down to Write Up: “When I first left my 9–5 job to pursue a more creative life, I was ecstatic. Of course, I was also nervous and anxious about what I was giving up—but mostly, I felt free. That freedom became daunting, however, when I realized that it wasn’t as simple as writing from 9-5 every day—I needed a routine, a clear set of rules… “From Aurora Bonner’s Substack Root Down to Write Up: “I also noticed that I did my best writing in the morning, and that the writing I did late at night—those loopy, daydreamy pre-sleep sessions—often wandered a little too far from my project. In other words, I seemed to work best when I was honoring the natural rhythm of me. 
When you begin to understand your own rhythms, and stop judging the way your process unfolds, you can begin to work with yourself, not against yourself.
Sometimes, that meant going against well-meaning advice that gets tossed around in the writing world. For instance, I had heard Don’t revise, just get to the end…”
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
So pleased to see Rivers, Ridges, and Valleys: Essays on Rural Pennsylvania — the anthology that includes my essay “Fractures” — has been longlisted for the Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia’s Book of the Year. Grateful to be part of this collection!
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
The creative life isn’t just about making art — it’s about managing everything underneath it. I’m starting a series about Living the Creative Life on Substack about how to organize a life devoted to writing and the arts. If you’re a writer, artist, or maker trying to find your rhythm, join me!
open.substack.com
Goal-Setting for the Creative Life
How I Learned to Plan My Way Into Creativity
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Kicking off spooky season with this poetry collection! Loving the eerie, enchanted world Mary Simmons creates. Folklore, myth, and womanhood seem to blur into something wild and otherworldly. ✨🌒
Booklay of Mary Simmons poetry collection “Mother, Daughter, Augur” by June Roads Press
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Cozying up to fall
Picture of someone laying in hammock reading a cozy mystery with fall foliage in the background
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
A moment of magic on the trail! 💛🍂
A trail leading through an aspen grove
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
So glad to be spending time with Level Watch by Mary Ardery, by June Road Press, a woman-owned boutique press publishing some gorgeous books. In this chapbook, she weaves recovery and nature, threads that resonate deeply with my own writing interests, together with such clarity and depth.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
I’ve been talking about how to write about the places we live (and imagine) lately, and just posted the first post in a new Substack series on the craft of writing place as a lived experience. Stay tuned if you are a writer or are interested in the intersections of mindfulness and creativity.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
A lot of my college students don’t read for fun but they CAN enjoy reading, and that is fun to see.
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Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Linda-Marie Barrett thinks that you (yes, you!) need to join a book club.
buff.ly
Why Everyone—Yes, Everyone—Should Join a Book Club
“Books are something social—a writer speaking to a reader—so I think making the reading of a book the center of a social event, the meeting of a book club, is a brilliant idea.” –Yann Martel * Our …
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Hippocampus Magazine & Books @hippocampusmag.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Reviews are so important to indie authors and small presses. Have you read one of ours? We'd appreciate your honest review on Amazon or Goodreads. More details: www.booksbyhippocampus.com/reviews
booksbyhippocampus.com
Review our Creative Nonfiction — Books by Hippocampus Magazine
Support indie authors by leaving an honest review.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Have you ever left a writing retreat or writing event buzzing with ideas—only to watch that excitement fade once you got home? I’ve been there (am literally there right now!). Read how to keep your momentum here: open.substack.com/pub/abonner/...
open.substack.com
How to Keep Your Post-Event Writing Spark Alive
Practical steps to carry inspiration from workshops and retreats into your daily writing life.
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Brevity / Dinty W. Moore @dintywmoore.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
"The best writing comes not when you want to say something but when you want to find something." ~ Andre Dubus III
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
Came home to a pub acceptance on a piece I had almost given up on. Note to self: don’t quit on yourself before you even take the chance.
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Brevity / Dinty W. Moore @dintywmoore.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
"The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe." ~ Gustave Flaubert
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Left with a list of awesome reads thanks to the editor panel at #Hippocamp2025 Elisa Gabbert “30 Ideas About Writing Nonfiction” Vivian Gormick “The Situation & the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative” Phillip Lopate “Reflection and Retrospection” Joseph Hurka “On the Invisible Palm of God”
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
So much fun getting to talk about using place to evoke emotion, reveal identity, and anchor us in our CNF writing at #Hippocamp2025
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Kelly Caldwell @kkc212.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
"When we tie setting to emotion, it becomes part of the story's emotional terrain." — @aurorabonner.bsky.social at @hippocampusmag.bsky.social online today! Her first tip for effective sense of place in a story? "Really anchor into the body." Not what you expected, eh? #WritingCommunity
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Justin Ancheta’s session on “How to Give Sensitive and Effective Feedback” should be required for anyone going into workshop! #hippocamp2025 @hippocampusmag.bsky.social
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Wow! What a way to kick-off #hippocamp2025 Some really great insight into really important craft topics. #cnf @hippocampusmag.bsky.social
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Brandon Arvesen @brandonarvesen.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Loving my morning with @hippocampusmag.bsky.social filling my house with fresh bread smell while @aurorabonner.bsky.social gives rad tips on writing place in CNF.
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Nora Demleitner @norademleitner.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
What a wonderful discussion of place as a reflection of emotion. Don't we all experience places differently based on mood? And how difficult to shake that connection. Thank you @aurorabonner.bsky.social for such a thoughtful presentation.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Once again floored after a week of writing, readings, and creative inspiration in Vermont, reuniting with friends and being dazzled by some of my writing heroes.
Books by Bianca Stone, Andre Dubus III, Steve Almond, Lee Martin, Sue William Silverman, Sonja Livingston
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
One of my favorite places to blow an hour or two on a rainy day (or a really freaking hot day). Not pictured: early edition Peanuts comics
Woman in bookstore holding a basket of booksFlatlay of books by Atwood, Dillard, Dubus, Crichton, King, and others.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Wild Women NEPA Festival here I come! 🌿🙌 This event’s been on my radar for a while, and I can’t wait to join the amazing line-up this August.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
I was late to discover Elizabeth Strout, but am so glad I did. One of my favorite authors of small-town stories, and one of my favorites to discuss with other readers, I’ve found her work seems to elicit vehement responses. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Where to start with: Elizabeth Strout
A guide to the Pulitzer-winning novelist’s tales of small-town life, family secrets, and fraught relationships
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
HippoCamp: A Conference for Creative Nonfiction Writers, one of my favorite literary events, is going virtual this year and I'm so excited to be a part of it! Join us August 16th and 17th, for creative insights and inspiration.
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Southern PA feels heavy right now—a slow, stickiness that’s asking us to pause. So this week’s essay is all about leaning into that slowness and trusting that sometimes doing nothing is part of the process. Whether you’re resting, road-tripping, or just watching tomatoes ripen, I hope you enjoy!
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
My latest essay is vulnerable— about the kind of tender grief that catches you off guard, and how writing has helped me find a pathway into those feelings. If you’ve ever felt something old resurface — a memory, a version of yourself — I hope this resonates. abonner.substack.com/p/the-storie...
abonner.substack.com
The Stories That Shape Us
Writing as a Way to Grow and Transform
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Aurora Bonner @aurorabonner.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
So many wonderful things happening at Looking Glass Writing Conference, and I’m feeling incredibly grateful to have been a part of it. From late-night poetry readings to inspiring conversations with new friends, this conference was a new favorite. I left feeling full and inspired! 🥰
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