Nearly November Newsletter
Updated: 7 days ago
Dear fellow writers-at-heart
Welcome to NNN - the Nearly November Newsletter, with a giveaway to support your writing life, information about my upcoming annual planning workshop and a shout-out to community member, Bonnie Grubman.
Something Useful: Habit Tracker Giveaway
Writing ten minutes a day and an hour a week transforms dreamers into writers.
This is the foundation of my approach to writing.
To help kickstart or embed this habit, I've created a one-month writing and reading tracker. Log your writing days, and your number of pages read, or books completed. Marvel as as your habit grows and you reap the rewards.
To request a free copy of the full month tracker, contact me and write 'November tracker' in the comments box.
Something Fun: Mix Up Words and Pictures
Years ago, I overcame an extended spell of writer's block by drawing cartoons. With zero artistic training, I learned as I went along. The low-pressure fun of drawing lured me back to the page, and gradually, my facility with words returned.
So if your words aren't flowing, or you fancy a recharge, grab some felt tips, coloured pencils, or a pen, and say it with pictures.
For inspiration, here is a cartoon I developed on the fly during my recent workshop, The Page is Your Playground. The creative burst took me by surprise, and made me very happy.
If you try these exercises, get in touch and let me know how it went. I want to cheer you on, and your feedback helps me serve you better.
Coming Up
Online workshop: Plan Your 2027 Writing Year
Tu, Dec 15, 2026 or Tu, Dec. 29, 2026, OR Sun, Jan 3, 2027
2-3:30 p.m. NY time / 7-8:30 p.m. UK time
Are you finally ready to write that book or other dream project?
Join me for a guided process to:
✏️ Articulate your vision for your 2027 writing life.
✏️ Set audaciously attainable goals -- exciting and just a bit scary.
✏️ Map out a plan to make it happen.
Deceptively simple. but oh, so helpful!
— Oliver McMechan, middle grade author and playwright
Community shout out: Congrats to author, Bonnie Grubman
Congratulations to Bonnie on the release of your latest picture book, Harriet Hubbard and the Sold-Out Hannukah, Kar-Ben Publishing.
Resourceful, roller-skating Harriet Hubbard is a whole-hearted Hanukkah heroine, on a mission to gather the fixings for a feast. Her mounting despair at the bare shop shelves. and the miracle ending, cleverly echo the holiday story.
I encourage authors to establish a "project" they can develop across multiple pieces of writing -- be it a group of characters, setting, theme or core question that unifies a series of works, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Bonnie Grubman epitomizes this approach with her zany shelf of picture book that blend traditional folk tales and rhymes with Jewish themes.
*****
Do you have writing news you wish to share? Tell me about it, so we can celebrate as a community! We evolve by acknowledging our progress and inspiring one another.
Would you like to talk about getting your ideas out of your head, onto the page and into the world? Reach out for a free discovery call.
Thanks for reading and here's wishing you a glorious November.
Hugs and scribbles,
Jo
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