What is The Writing Cycle?

And how can you ride it?

Hello there, my dear writerly friend,

I’ve been thinking recently about something I’ve decided to refer to as The Writing Cycle. Not the kind of cycle that will get you from here to there, but rather the cyclical, moonlike, seasonal kind of cycle that we go through again and again as writers. I think I have the phases of it sorted into categories (despite appearances, I do like things to be organised!).

Here’s what I’ve come up with - let me know if it resonates with you:

• The Daydream Phase. This probably won’t involve pen and paper at all. It might include lying on the sofa and staring out the window, or making a collage, or doing some crochet, or going on a train journey (not today though…the trains are all awry!), or wandering aimlessly from your house to the park. It’s the phase when ideas are likely to slip in sideways between thoughts about whether you should go on that hike in the hills (yes!) and what to buy your bestie for their birthday (matching tattoos, obvs!).
  

• The Sparks Phase. This is when we start scratching new ideas using actual words into our notebooks. Sometimes this involves using prompts and provocations (not unlike the ones that paid subscribers to this newsletter enjoy on a regular basis 😉). It’s a time for new notebooks. Mindmaps. Lists. Sketches and scribblings and letting words show up all scruffy and silly and wild.
  

• The Growth Phase. At this point your story has started to take shape. You have a clearer idea of what it is that you want to write. You’re getting words down in a way that will ultimately form some kind of narrative arc. You’re working through the wants and needs of your characters, figuring out the story world, getting to grips with the main conflicts and resolutions. This phase can be a bit rocky for the writer as they attempt to do justice to the idea that has come to them. It can be helpful to get support from coaches, mentors and courses to hone your craft and give you the courage to keep going.
  

• The Finishing Phase. Now the story/poem/essay is heading towards its final iteration. You’re sharpening your sentences, finding out where the saggy bits of your narrative might be and starting to tighten them up. In this phase it’s useful to have beta readers and editors and mentors who can point out your blindspots before the work finds its way into the world.

And then we cycle around again…back to the daydream. Back to the notebook. Back to honing our craft.

Personally I have two projects on the go at the moment. One forms part of my Arvon-Jerwood Writing Residency and is definitely in the Growth Phase of this cycle. I’m working closely with my mentor, the rather marvellous Michael Donkor, to bring this work into the best shape possible. We’re certainly working through a few knots in the process and he’s helping me see where I can make the whole manuscript shinier.

The other project is a phase of research and development that I’ve been awarded Arts Council funding for - hurrah! This one is firmly in the Sparks Phase. I’m working at the moment with the idea of a “triggering town” which will form the starting point for a collection of flash fiction. (It’s not my idea…I got it from my other mentor Sarah Freligh, who in turn got it from an essay by the poet Richard Hugo which you can read here (not yet though…finish this newsletter first!).

The triggering town (and mine is called Hells Magna) is an imaginary town that you map out in your notebook and then use as the basis for your stories, flash fiction and poems. You can write a guide to the town. Write about the mood of the town. Write about the characters - the mean ones, the soft ones, the sexy ones - that live there. Bring them together. Who is secretly in love? Who has murderous intentions? Who is lost and who will find them?

Having initially drawn my map in an A5 notebook I now need a bigger sheet of paper. Probably a few pieces of A4 stuck together. Or some wallpaper. My town has turned up places like Dirty Ed’s (the pub that has no regular opening times and a reputation for serving drinks laced with psychedelics), and Bella’s Baps (more than your average sandwich shop) and The Narrows (a long winding lane from which no one has ever returned). And I’ve discovered some very lively characters around the place too.

According to Hugo, the imaginary town allows the writer more creative freedom. Instead of thinking of what might ‘normally’ happen at the grocers on your high street, the invented town opens up the fields of possibility. Now the grocers can be a place for illegal puppy sales, or the home of an undiscovered violin prodigy, or a place where the fruit and veg deliver salvation along with nutrition. Whatever you like. Let your writing run wild.

As you might gather, I am having fun with this project. I will let you know in due course what writing emerges.

I’m curious to know which phase of The Writing Cycle you see yourself in at the moment. And what support you might want or need to polish up your words or to bring those ideas that are percolating in the background out onto the page.

If you’d like to chat more about your writing and how I can support you at WriteClub, feel free to book a 20 minute Zoom call with me - simply reply to this email and I’ll send you a link to my calendar.

You can tell me what you’re working on, what (if anything) is holding you back and we can discuss how the upcoming courses and workshops at WriteClub might help your writing to flourish.

Meanwhile, I’m off to spend some more time kicking cans down the cobbled streets of Hells Magna.

See you soon, writers!

love,

Alison x

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Coming up at WriteClub

📔 The Micro Retreat (1 day - in person, Bristol) Sun 16th August 10am-4pm
A full day to focus on your work. I’ll be offering prompts and provocations to stimulate creative conversations and there’ll be lots of time for you to write. Suitable for writers who want a little time out of everyday life to get focused. All welcome. £65 earlybird. Save your space →

📚Work in Progress (6 sessions over 12 weeks) starts Thurs 3rd Sept
If you’re ready for accountability, deadlines, feedback and regular deep dives into craft, this is the course for you. Ideal for those of you who have already experienced feedback sessions with WriteClub and are ready to commit to longer projects. Save your space →

📆 The Autumn Co-Writing Club (6 weeks) starts Mon 14th September.
Four x 60 minute co-writing sessions per week for six whole weeks, plus a weekly prompt to spark new writing. It works like magic for focus, momentum and actually getting words on the page. All for £35. Bargain. Save your space →

🔬 The Story Lab (5 weeks) starts Thurs 24th September
If you’re not quite sure which direction to take with your writing, this is the perfect course for you. It’s one of my favourites to run and writers always come out the other end feeling more motivated and creative. We’ll explore flash fiction, spoken word, personal essays and experimental fiction as ways for you to tell the stories you’ve always wanted (or maybe didn’t even know you wanted!) to share. Booking here →

📖 Write Your Novel (10 weeks) starts Tues 15th September
Get that book started! This course will take you from first ideas to first draft. Workshops on craft to support your writing along with deadlines to keep you on track. ***FULLY BOOKED*** Email to save your space on the April 2027 course