A Creative Writing Club for People Who Love to Garden
So you want to write about your garden more, but you’re stuck for ideas. You’ve got a garden blog, but find that coming up with something new to write about week after week has become a bit of a drag. What to write? What to write? You’re scared to write, and you need some community support. You love to write, but find life gets in the way. You could really use a nudge now and again to keep up the momentum.
The Grow Write Guild is a writing prompt series (created by Gayla Trail) to help those of us who want to write about our gardens and our gardening experiences, but are looking for a little help or a community of likeminded friends to provide support and a gentle kick in the pants.
Anyone can join! The Grow Write Guild is not a professional garden writing club. The prompts will not be geared towards How-to garden writing. Instead, this is for anyone who wants to write more about their personal experiences and explore Why they garden. It is geared towards helping gardeners better appreciate and connect to their gardens, write with more frequency, and perhaps, over time, improve writing skills.
How It Works:
Every 2 weeks I will post a garden writing prompt. Some prompts will be short and simple. Others will be written to encourage a longer essay form response. I’m mixing it up to keep things interesting and the workload manageable.
All of the prompts so far can be seen here.
Write your response. You can do this on pieces of paper, in a notebook journal, on your computer, a typewriter, or wherever you prefer to write. You can post it publicly to your own blog or keep it private if you prefer. Heck, you can even try turning your responses into poetry or artwork rather than writing full sentences. It’s up to you. The point is to get you creating more often.
Please include a link back to the original prompt. I have also provided a few graphic badges that you can place on your website if you’d like.
Come back to this website within the next two weeks and post a link to your response on the original prompt post. If you prefer to keep it private, I’d still love it if you came back to tell us how that particular prompt worked out for you. This feedback really helps me in tailoring the direction I take when planning future prompts.
Subscribe to the newsletter for Grow Write Guild updates.
Grow Write Site Badges
Grab one of these Grow Write Guild badges to add to your site’s sidebar. Just copy the link code beside the badge you like.
<a href="https://www.yougrowgirl.com/grow-write-guild/"><img src="https://www.yougrowgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/growwriteguild_150_light.png" alt="Grow Write Guild" width="150" height="120"></a>
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The Grow Write Guild FAQ:
What qualifies as a garden? A backyard, a rooftop, a community garden or allotment plot, a balcony or terrace, a container next to the back door, a windowsill box, a houseplant… There are no limits.
Do I have to have a blog to become a member? No, you can write your responses on any sort of website, or elect to go totally private and never show them publicly. It’s up to you.
Is there a membership fee? No, it is free of charge. However, I would greatly appreciate support in the following forms: 1. Your participation 2. Linking back to individual prompts or this page 3. Feedback regarding how these have worked or not worked for you so far 4. Placing a graphic on your website or blog 5. Social media mentions [Please use the hashtag #GrowWriteGuild] 6. Buy a club t-shirt.
Can I be a member if I don’t have a garden? Sure, although it may make some of the prompts difficult to respond to. You can always try writing about a garden you once had or one you would like to have. It can even be an imaginary garden if you want. We’re easy.
Do I have to write a response to every prompt? No, it’s completely your call whether you want to follow along with all of the prompts or just a few of them.
Can I write responses to expired prompts? Absolutely! However, please note that comment enabling expires over time, so if you write about a prompt that is several months old, you might not be able to leave a link to your work on the original post.
Do I have to WRITE a response? With words? I think you should be allowed to respond to the prompts in any way you see fit. The point is to foster creativity, so whatever way that needs to come out is fine. You could draw an illustration or comic, paint a picture, sew a quilt, heck you could even perform it into an interpretive dance piece. Although, if you go with the last one, please invite me to the performance!
Will you be writing responses to the prompts as well? Yes! However, after some time I decided to stop posting my direct responses here because I felt they were a distraction from the series itself.
Is this is a writing competition? NO! The primary goal here is to be inspired to write/make something. I urge you not to hold your work up against those of other members. We’re in this together.