Greetings from the road, Lab Coats, where I’ve found myself happily ensconced in the world of a three-year-old, which is rich and wild and funny and completely captivating. In New England, no less, and in October. Bring on the pumpkin patches, the apple orchards, the brisk cool mornings and the firelighted evenings. And lots and lots of questions. “Why, Gigi?” Those are my favorites.

If you haven’t introduced yourself in the Lab yet, please feel free to do so here, in Chat, where all Lab Coats can get to know one another and admire each other’s work. Start threads if you like — there’s a post for each Exercise. Join in however it works for you; I’ll be right there with you.

If you are a free subscriber (thank you, thank you) and want to participate in the Lab, you can upgrade your subscription here, which will cost you a few dollars a month. You can stop whenever you like. As a Lab Coat you will have access to all previous Assignments and Exhortations and all manner of ways to write and revise your story, memoir, poem, even grocery list. A toolbox for everyday life and writing — plus a stellar, crackerjack community of Lab Coats to welcome you.

You’ll also have access to this past summer’s foundational writing where each of us wrote Mission and Vision Statements and Core Values, offering us clarity and purpose as we write forward.

Last month we held four September Sunday Writers Lab LIVES! On our last Sunday, our guest was Jane Kurtz, who walked us through incorporating extraordinary details in our writing, and how to get started (among other wonderful gifts). Lab Coats can watch the recording of that session anytime — I’ll put the link below in The Assignment section of this Writers Lab post.

We’ve been having fun this week writing 5-minute poems every day and sharing them in Chat — another perk of the Writers Lab. Most importantly, we are creating together a writing community that is helping us feel like the storytellers we are, using all tools at our disposal, including song, poetry, film, mentor texts, and so much more.

Remember: All history is biography, and every person’s story is important. We tell our stories so they aren’t lost, and so that others can find them, whenever they need them. We write them so we can say we were here, so we can be seen, and heard, and celebrated. All voices are welcome. Come join us.

Let’s get right to it, with this week’s Lab post.

Read more