Writing in the Dark with Jeannine Ouellette

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Writing Lab + Prompts

Absolute Attention is Prayer
Marie Howe says, "This might be the most difficult task ... in postmodern life …to look long enough so that we can look through it—like a window." A…
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Jeannine Ouellette
37
Writing that Sings and Sears
They say you should use the "reflective voice" ... but is it true? And what does it really mean?
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Jeannine Ouellette
132
The Singing of Unstable Places
From the Archive: Exploring how an "unstable ‘almost but not quite’ situation transcends fascination, and leads to beauty and deep significance"
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Jeannine Ouellette
5
Eleven Urgent & Possibly Helpful Things I Have Learned About Writing From Reading Thousands of Manuscripts
An oldie but goodie as Writing in the Dark turns two next month 🎉.
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Jeannine Ouellette
26
Is It True Anyone Can Write?
The accessibility of writing as art + System 1 and System 2 of the brain & how the former works against us as artists; plus five exercises to get around…
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Jeannine Ouellette
211
We have an inner window through which we see the world... it's our job to wipe it clean and see things as they really are. ~Sebastian Koch
Windows as agents of narrative significance, symbolism & even theme + writing exercises to explore window framing + Janet Burroway on her method of…
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Jeannine Ouellette
92
All Flesh is Proud of Its Wounds
How to complicate the narrative of scar tissue + kiss the scar + uncover inherent desire for pain + illuminate the holiness of wounding + acknowledge…
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Jeannine Ouellette
51
Unknowing the Known World
A meditation on letting go of what we know + a potent recipe for a micro-story
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Jeannine Ouellette
117
Your Fierce Original Voice
It's here! The Letter Reimagined, Week One! Write With Us!
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Jeannine Ouellette
448
"Did Moths Make These Star-Shaped Holes In My Blanket?"
FREE Dirty Messy Alive Embodied Memoir Writing workshop + One cool techno tool & one retro, old-school method for finding questions & harnessing their…
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Jeannine Ouellette
111
Not Everything Looks Perfect From Far Away
The best craft essay I've ever written on the power of place ... and a kick-ass 7-step exercise to you help find it.
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Jeannine Ouellette
123
My Father Is Not A Swan
Lit Salon on what a "narrative turn" really is, why it matters, and how you can include them in your writing to make it more compelling, surprising…
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Jeannine Ouellette
132
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