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Writing is Joy

@writingisjoy.bsky.social
129 followers 346 following 43 posts

Spreading creative joy through writing workshops, live storytelling, and community meetups in Chapel Hill NC writingisjoy.substack.com writingisjoy.com

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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
HEARD! The new episode of Writing in the Dark is all about The Bear and what prose writers can learn from it. Had a lot of fun deep dishing with @ralphwalker.bsky.social on character, conflict, and Chicago. Thanks, as always, for listening-- open.substack.com/pub/writingi...
open.substack.com
Season 3, Episode 5: The Bear
Spicy characters rage and sweat in this fast-paced TV show set in a Chicago restaurant
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
School's pretty much out for the summer, which makes writing hard! Some thoughts on how to keep going amid the chaos: open.substack.com/pub/writingi...
open.substack.com
Chaos is coming
How to keep writing when summer demolishes routine
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
That sounds excellent! I hope you get down the words you want to 💜
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
I hope everybody CRUSHES #1000wordsofsummer and also I wrote about why I won't do it again. Keep writing friends 💜 writingisjoy.substack.com/p/against-wo...
writingisjoy.substack.com
Against Word Count
Why I'll never do the #1000wordsofsummer challenge again.
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Julia F. Green @juliafgreen.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
A student called me Master Splinter today which gave me way more joy than I was expecting on a Monday in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty-five
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Ralph Walker @ralphwalker.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
I'm so excited to share the newest episode of WRITING IN THE DARK with you. It was a joy to chat with @ejwenstrom.bsky.social and @juliafgreen.bsky.social about the Charles Yu story OPEN. Come check it out. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
podcasts.apple.com
Writing in the Dark
Fiction Podcast · Updated Monthly · Julia F. Green and Ralph Walker explore getting lost in the writing process, finding their way through rich storytelling, and the importance of creative community. ...
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Make some art this weekend!
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
What's in your revision toolbox? Ours has a machete writingisjoy.substack.com/p/mean-girls...
writingisjoy.substack.com
Mean girls meet the revision machete
My go-to scene revision strategy
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rchaels.bsky.social @rchaels.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
The way I SCREAMED A SCREAM upon reading scanned lines of prose. This made my poet-heart so happy, and is also proof that time heals all wounds (thousands of lines of AP Latin scansion homework.) I read this short story then listened to the podcast and then read the story out loud to myself again.
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
New podcast episode is out! If you've always wanted to better understand how rhythm, melody, and sound can play a pivotal role in making your writing sing, give this one a listen! writingisjoy.substack.com/p/season-3-e...
writingisjoy.substack.com
Season 3, Episode 3: Something Amazing
Searching for the poetry in Elizabeth McCracken's haunted short story
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Workshop last night: two people cried. The rest of talked about how often we cry. Normalize crying! Humans have feelings! Also we read and talked about some great writing. Life doesn't get much better than gathering around art 💜
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
You could make art today. Really, you could. Just give it a shot. See what happens. Allow yourself to be surprised.
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
It's a whole thing living in this world right now. Be kind to yourself, to others, as much as you are able. And make a little art if you can. A two minute doodle, a little haiku, some plunked piano keys--it all will make the world a brighter place 💜
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Are you ready to take your writing to the next level? The Journey to Jupiter Writing Retreat is for fiction and memoir writers who are hungry for the time, community, and craft they need to advance their projects to the next level. writingisjoy.substack.com/p/are-you-re...
writingisjoy.substack.com
Are you ready to take your writing to the next level?
The Journey to Jupiter Writing Retreat launches again with two new instructors
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Jay Heltzer @jayheltzer.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
And we've got guest faculty too! Wanna learn from the best? @ralphwalker.bsky.social @juliafgreen.bsky.social @pennyzang.bsky.social and Caroline Manring! Click back to the OP, fill out the form, block your calendar and LFG to Jupiter! #5amWritersClub #WritersRetreat
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Julia F. Green @juliafgreen.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Still a few spots left in FREE live storytelling class for underrepresented voices in #carrboro NC. All the info is here: writingisjoy.substack.com/p/a-free-sto...
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
It's Friday. You've got plans for the weekend, I know. Maybe you're planning to resist. Don't forget what Tricia Hersey told us: rest is resistance, too. Don't forget what Toi Derricote told us: joy is an act of resistance, too. Don't forget what I know in my heart: your voice matters.
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Monday thought: What a world it would be if we all walked around with t-shirts declaring our emotional state. I am tired. I am scared. I am sad. Would there be more hugging?
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Wisdom from Oliver Burkeman: "you should make sure your psychological centre of gravity is in your real & immediate world – the world of your family & friends & neighborhood, your work & your creative projects.... It will make you more meaningfully productive." ckarchive.com/b/4zuvhehpp2...
ckarchive.com
The Imperfectionist: Reality is right here
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Did you make art this weekend? Did you close your eyes and dream? Did you listen to a bird or stare at a plant? Keep writing, keep dreaming, keep breathing 💜
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
New podcast episode! This discussion's got everything--character, pacing, backstory--a craft-stravangza! Thanks, as always, for listening. open.substack.com/pub/writingi...
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Sundress Publications @sundresspub.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
The Sundress Academy for the Arts is thrilled to announce its 2025 Trans/Nonbinary Writers Retreat featuring workshop leaders Joy Ladin and SG Huerta, and keynote speaker Dani Putney! Scholarship applications are open now! www.sundresspublications.com/safta/uncate...
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
New episode of Writing in the Dark with @ralphwalker.bsky.social drops tomorrow! A very good convo about the absolutely triumphant short story Boys Go to Jupiter by Danielle Evans. Thanks, as always, for listening.
Season 3, Episode 2: Boys Go to Jupiter
Examining the craft in Danielle Evans' short story "Boys Go to Jupiter"
Available March 14 2025
Promotional graphic for podcast writing in the dark with Julia F. Green and Ralph Walker
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Feeling story-curious? We'll be hosting another #StoryJam at Peel Gallery in Carrboro, NC! It's low-stakes, low-pressure, and there's no pressure to perform. RSVP to get prompts ahead of time: www.writingisjoy.com/story #WritingWorkshop #WriterMeetup #StorytellingConnection
Graphic with image of a microphone surrounded by lights and a light blue color scheme
Image text: 
Come to Story Jam! 
Feeling story-curious?
Join us for a low-stakes storytelling meet-up where you have the option to perform and develop your story
Thursday, March 13th 
6-8 p.m. 
@ Peel Gallery 
Register now!
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Todd Dillard @toddedillard.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
here's an excerpt from my chapbook, which you should buy so I can afford childcare while I go into the fields and harvest fresh fruits and vegetables for my children to eat asterismbooks.com/product/ragn...
How to Live
by Todd Dillard

Depravity begins with thinking of love
as a radical act. I quit loving 
with difficulty. I love 
easy now. Two parakeets on my shoulders.
They'll fly away if I move. So I move.
I love flight. I love cages 
left wide open. I am not a window.
I could be a window. Open me,
you'll find a dense wood,
children wandering inside it.
Not lost children. They know the way.
They live the way horses run.
If they each had a bird in hand
they would open their hands.
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📚 Twisted Haus Reads @twistedhausreads.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
If you’re looking to find fellow book reviewers, booktokers or bloggers, I have two starter packs for that. Comment below if you’d like to be added! 👇 #booksky 📚💙
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Flyleaf Books @flyleafbooks.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Celebrate the hottest titles with our friends at Simon & Schuster!🧡 Your $5 ticket includes admission to the talk, drinks, snacks, AND the chance to win raffle prizes. Don’t miss out on this behind-the-scenes view of the publishing industry! Tickets are available now on our website! 🎟️
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
One of the best things about helping people connect with their creativity is suggesting a craft book they've never read and then getting an excited email about how inspired they feel after reading it, how ready they are to get writing. This week's game-changer was Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert 💜
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Tonight!! Geek out with me on dialogue!! 7PM ET, and if you can't make it live, you'll get the replay :)
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Need help with dialogue? Tomorrow, at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. PT, our own @juliafgreen.bsky.social will host a virtual #WritingWorkshop with @pipelineartists.bsky.social on crafting dialogue ✍️ Learn more here ➡️ buff.ly/41eq00w #WritingCommunity
buff.ly
Writing Great Dialogue
Writing believable, compelling dialogue is one of the hardest parts of constructing fictional narrative. Julia F. Green will guide you through how to create great dialogue, including hands-on exercise...
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Imagine your reader climbing a mountain. Whatever happens along the way, it’s a journey, just like the story you’re trying to tell. When you edit, you need to decide what is most important for the reader's backpack 🎒 Read on for #WritingAdvice on hiking through revision: buff.ly/42SMeXb
Quote with a blue background overlaying an image of hiker wearing a yellow backpack. 
Text: 
"Consider your reader is 
climbing a mountain, the 
mountain of your story. It's a 
big mountain, and the journey
will be long. 
They have a backpack that can
only fit so much... The writer's 
first big decision is what goes 
IN the backpack." 
- What's in Your Backpack
writingisjoy.substack.com
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Dr. Han VanderHart @hanvanderhart.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
POETS.
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Charlotte Lit @charlottelit.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Are you nervous to write love poetry because you think it’s going to sound cheesy and sentimental? In this class we’ll discuss and practice a range of approaches to the love poem—or the poem that talks about love. @chenchenwrites.bsky.social Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/455/the-c...
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Did you write today? Did you think about words? Did you take a walk and try to picture one of your characters? Rooting for you 💜
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Are you struggling to write compelling dialogue for your characters? On Tuesday, March 11th, at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. PT, our own @juliafgreen.bsky.social will host a virtual #WritingWorkshop with @pipelineartists.bsky.social on crafting dialogue ✍️ Register here ➡️ buff.ly/41eq00w #WritingCommunity
buff.ly
Writing Great Dialogue
Writing believable, compelling dialogue is one of the hardest parts of constructing fictional narrative. Julia F. Green will guide you through how to create great dialogue, including hands-on exercise...
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
We're biased, but IT IS ! 😁
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
We’re thrilled to announce that #JourneyToJupiter takes off again this Fall! At this five-day, four-night #WritingRetreat, explore the expanse of space and work through creative blocks alongside other committed writers 🚀 Want to join us? Apply to be part of the crew: buff.ly/4i57gGm
Image of Jupiter puzzle by the following text: 
Journey to Jupiter is Taking Off Again 
A five-day retreat for writers who:
- crave time away
- want to get a deeper understanding of their story
- seek the camaraderie and support of other writers 
When: September 17-21
Where: Camp Zeke in Lakewood, PA
APPLY NOW
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
On sharks, the unknown, deep fears and even deeper desires www.slowdownshow.org/episode/2025...
slowdownshow.org
1301: Jaws by Emma Hine
Today’s poem is Jaws by Emma Hine.
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
#WritingInTheDark is back for Season 3! This season, we’re focusing on craft through the lens of shorter works. In this episode, @juliafgreen.bsky.social and @ralphwalker.bsky.social discuss Kathryn Schultz's 2017 @newyorker.com piece “Losing Streak.” Listen to the full #Podcast 🎧 buff.ly/3CHMRZ0
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Julia F. Green @juliafgreen.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Rest is resistance. Joy is resistance. Art is resistance.
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Hope Henderson @hoperhenderson.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Tadeusz Ròżewicz
How Wonderful
How wonderful I can pick berries in the woods
I thought
there were no woods or berries.
How wonderful I can stretch out in the shadow of a tree
I thought trees no longer gave shade.
How wonderful I am with you my heart is beating fast I thought human beings had no heart.
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Writing is Joy @writingisjoy.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
You made it to Friday. Excellent. How about some rest and art and connection this weekend??
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