Pinned
Dec '25 •
How the Courses Work
This space is set up as a workshop, not a content dump. Two courses—Let Us Begin and Trivium et Quadrivium—are open to everyone. They lay the groundwork and give us shared language so we’re not talking past each other. Other courses unlock as you level up. The First Edits course opens at Level 3, and more courses will unlock at higher levels over time. That pacing is intentional. The work here builds on itself, and it only works if people move through it in order. Take your time. There’s no rush to “get through” anything. Engagement, Levels, and Feedback You level up by showing up. That means reading other people’s work, reacting when something actually lands, and leaving comments that help someone see their writing more clearly. Liking posts counts. Thoughtful comments count more. Please skip low-effort replies like “I like this” or “This was good.” They don’t help the writer and they don’t help you. If something worked, say why. If something didn’t land, say where. You don’t need to be harsh, but you do need to be specific. This isn’t a place for spam or drive-by encouragement. It’s a place for careful reading and honest response. If giving feedback feels a little uncomfortable, that’s normal. Learning to name what you’re seeing—clearly and kindly—is part of the work.
Pinned
Dec '25 •
Welcome to The Wordsmiths’ Guild
If you’re a writer, you probably sense—or are already part of—the tsunami of AI-generated writing coming our way. If you’re like me, you’ve probably asked, “How can I stand out in this massive crowd of books?” The answer is simple: quality. People will always want well-written books that are clearly thought out and deliver a clear message. Yes, AI can do that—mostly. But it will always lack the human touch. This is what we do in The Wordsmiths’ Guild. We practice the craft of writing well. Whether that means essays, short stories, novels, how-to books, poems, songs, or something else entirely, our aim is to help you rise above the wave. Welcome. Thank you for joining us. Please introduce yourself. Tell us where you’re from, what you write, where you are on your writing journey, and what you’d like to bring to—or receive from—the group.
2d •
Productive Procrastination
One of the hardest lessons I've learned as a writer is that not all inactivity is procrastination. There are three distinct states in the creative process: - Working: You're actively writing, editing, outlining, recording, or otherwise moving the project forward. - Fermenting: You've reached a point where more effort won't improve the work. The manuscript needs distance. It needs time to settle. Your subconscious is still processing it even though you're not touching it. - Avoiding: The project is ready for your attention, but you're finding reasons not to engage with it. Suddenly, every other project seems more interesting. New ideas appear. Side quests multiply. The challenge is that fermenting and avoiding can look identical from the outside. In both cases, you're not working on the project. The difference is how the project feels. When a manuscript is still fermenting, returning to it feels muddy. You can't quite see what needs to change. When fermentation is complete, something shifts. The project starts quietly asking for your attention. You begin to sense what needs to be done, but the work itself may feel difficult, tedious, or uncomfortable. That's often the moment writers mistake avoidance for inspiration and run off to a shiny new project. I've also learned that productive procrastination has value. While one project is fermenting, I might write an essay, critique another author's work, record an audiobook chapter, or work on a lesson for the Guild. Those activities keep me engaged with the craft without forcing a manuscript before it's ready. The key is making sure productive procrastination remains productive and doesn't become a permanent refuge from finishing. Sometimes the most important question isn't: "What do I feel like working on?" It's: "Which project is actually asking for me right now?"
9d •
Claude Prompt
When I work with Claude to help me write, I've developed a voice instruction so there's less line editing to do later: "Master Sergreant Reverend E.B. White with a slightly dark sense of humor, writing a paper for my high school English teacher, Mrs. Cox who is strict about punctuation and founding member of PETOP (People for the Ethical Treatment Of Participles) and she is HIGHLY allergic to "AI-isms" and doesn't carry and epi-pen." It took a lot of practice to find this as a description of my natural writing voice. What might yours be?
15d •
I Done Did It!
I've officially finished production on my first audiobook! It's available on YouTube. It's a short book, but packs a lot in. My marketing strategy with this one is to release it for free on YouTube, and Substack, and soon I'll release the chapters separately, too. I figure that way I can catch readers and listeners who like short-form and/or long-form audio, and maybe entice them to get a copy on Amazon or Audible. Mostly, I'm hoping this will get me booked on more podcasts and that will lead to speaking engagement. That's the vision. https://youtu.be/CxG9cv8I-ig
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