Keep Your Pen Moving
One-Day Writing Workshop

A workshop for anyone who wants bulgy hand muscles

So you want to write…

For the first time, we’re offering this one-day version of one of our most popular workshops. This is a high-energy day for anyone who wants to get their heart pumping and their hand dancing across the page or keyboard. We’ll write quickly and slowly, seriously and playfully, letters, poems, tributes, rants, memories, tiny stories, and passionate diatribes. Come splash your feet in the beautiful waters of your own creative voice.

Here’s how it works:

We’ll gather in the morning at an historic lawn bowling club on the edge of Riverdale Park. We'll start the day with short, easy writing exercises to unclog our creativity and produce lots of new ideas. In the afternoon, we'll move into longer, more reflective writes, asking the question — what is my material right now? What do I want or even need to write about?

Then we'll spread out for 30 minutes of silent writing time before we come out for a big share and closure.

This day will be a mix of autobiographical writing, reflection, lists, laughter and poetry. (This isn't English class — we'll make it fun.) We’ll share work as we create it for supportive feedback.

This workshop aims to be encouraging, joyful and productive at every step.

    • Feel a creative pulse, but haven’t listened to it in a while.

    • Struggle to make time for their creative projects, or even to dream up creative projects.

    • Love the idea of a whole day to create with a small group of others.

    • Feel ready (though maybe a little scared) to share their writing.

    • Are interested in exploring their own lives as writing material and sharing some of what comes up. (We tend to get a little personal.)

    • Thrive in small, cozy groups.

    • Feel aligned with our fundamental beliefs.

    • Lots of new writing.

    • A renewed sense of your writing voice and your unique gifts as a writer.

    • Writing peers whose work you are invested in.

    • A feeling of creative playfulness and possibility.

    • Creative courage.

    • Critique or competition. We’re all about the love.

    • Strict rules on “how to write”. We’ll work on developing your writing skills but we don’t subscribe to the idea that there’s one way to create powerful work.

    • Pressure to write things you don’t want to write. We go where the joy is.

Details for Fall 2025:

Fall registration opens July 29th!

In-Person with Mari (she/her) at St. Matthew’s Clubhouse (Toronto)

Saturday, October 18, 2025
10am–5pm ET

Read the Healthcare Harm Reduction Policy for the in-person version of this workshop.

Read about accessibility features of the in-person workshop space.

Cost:

The fee for this one-day, in-person workshop is $275. If you prefer, you can pay in 4 monthly installments of $68.75. Tax will be added for Canadians, in your local provincial rate. See our financial policies.

Four times a year, we give out bursaries for our programs to people with financial barriers. Check out our upcoming dates.

If you don’t have a credit card, let us know and we’ll gladly find a way to make it work.

Sign up here:

Join our early bird mailing list for early access to future registrations or sign up for our newsletter.

What clients are saying…

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