This workshop, which we offered twice, was an opportunity for participants to explore perspective and introspection through several conceptualizations of the self portrait. Attendees explored the self through stick figure, auto-writing and meditation, as well as drawing. It was really amazing to see so many folks swing by and take two hours away from their devices and other obligations to make art in a supportive space. Shayna and I loved hearing from participants how the workshop environment allowed them to play, explore, and to approach themselves and old wounds in a way that isn’t always available in their day-to-day lives.

Shayna and I will be giving another edition of this workshop, this time oriented towards queer identity, at Amsterdam’s Queer Hub on July 14 from 19:30-21:30. Thanks to the generosity of the Queer Hub, this workshop will be free of charge! Information can be found on the Pink Nieuw West website.

Finding Your Creative Spark

Additionally, I’ll be giving a creative writing workshop on July 9 at Supermercator called Finding Your Creative Spark.

Finding Your Creative Spark is about learning methods and creative habits that get words on the page. This is a class that embraces what inspiration has to offer, but also offers methodologies for creating when inspiration is being elusive.

Nobody needs to seek a fancy degree to create, or spend tons of hours in a classroom to be able to write. Classes can help you get better once you have really embraced the creative process, but they do not provide permission to write. The permission to create is already yours to begin with.

This class is for anyone who wants to write, regardless of their ability or experience, but feels blocked from the creative process. This is a safe space to try things out, discard what doesn’t work for you, fail a bit (in a good way), and find pathways for creation.

I’ll be offering prompts and out of the box ways to get the creative juices flowing, and methods participants can take home to keep words flowing on the page.

Again, I’m offering this workshop on the cheap—just €20 for a two-hour session. Tickets can be purchased here at Ticket Tailor.

I just wanted to drop a quick note about a new workshop I’ll be giving in collaboration with visual artist and educator Shayna Schapp at the Supermercator art space. Here’s the info.

Self Portraiture as Soul Revival

How do we create a portrait of ourselves that expresses our inner life? How can we connect with an honest image of ourselves while we’re oversaturated with presentations of perfection and soulless AI slop? Visual artists and writers often dabble in each other’s practice, but there’s power in bringing the two together. In this one-day workshop, we’ll play with drawing and writing to discover a fuller portrait of who we are.

In this workshop, expect to:

• Get in touch with yourself in a device-free environment.

• Express interiority through writing and visual tools and discover the power and limits of each form.

• Tap into your imagination and inner life without the use of digital technology.

Walk away with:

• A visual and written self portrait or expression of yourself.

• New connections with local artists and writers.

• A better understanding of how to use writing and images together for more dynamic creative output.

Whether or not you have visual art or writing experience, this workshop is for any level: join us and have some fun!

Tickets are just €20, which helps support the space and future workshops. You can purchase a ticket here. Please share! All the support we can get truly helps.

Also, a quick reminder that I’ll be holding a pay-what you can prompt session online this Thursday from 19:00-21:00 CEST. If you’re interested in joining, send an email to:

daniel [at] honinghouse.com

Thanks again for your support!

The reason I’m keeping this one short is because Honing House is …

Launching our first on-demand learning modules

We’ve just launched the first two modules of the Finding Your Creative Spark and Short Story Fundamentals courses.

Here are the intro videos for each:

You can try the introduction module to each course for free.

Want to see what on-demand classes at Honing House have to offer? You can try out the introduction module of either class, which includes an overview of the materials, what you will learn and a few challenging exercises to get your creativity flowing. Access the introduction module by going to the course links above, scrolling down, and clicking on the materials.

Presale pricing continues.

While we roll out the full course materials over the coming weeks, we will continue to offer the fantastic presale discount. As an early adopter, you’ll have the opportunity to offer feedback, receive extra course additions/improvements based on your suggestions, and, as a faithful newsletter subscriber, receive a free 1:1.

As an added bonus (and a bit of a reminder) paid subscribers of this newsletter receive 10% off all course enrollments, while Founding Members receive 25% off! I’m also adding an additional bonus for all present and future founding members of this newsletter—subscribe today to receive free access to a course of your choice.

Monthly write-in.

In addition to all the other bonuses, if you sign up for a class or move to a paid subscription, you will also have the opportunity to participate in Honing House's monthly write-ins. These online writing sessions offer a quiet time to work, where you can use one of our supplied prompts or do some free writing with an expert on hand to answer any of your questions.

Thanks again for supporting the newsletter. I hope many of you will drop by the Honing House website and try out the free introductions. I would love to hear from you—your feedback is absolutely crucial.

Paid subscribers can expect a second newsletter on October 20th. Chat to you soon.

This fall season is all about getting started, refreshing your enthusiasm for writing, and improving on the basics. Each class is designed to encourage you, whether you’re a beginner or seasoned writer, to engage with core writing skills, discover your voice, and find inspiration and discover the stories you want to tell.

The fall season is just the beginning of a holistic, year-long program that a writer can follow to create a solid foundation for their writing aspirations. Writers that start from the beginning of the fall season and follow throughout the year will end up learning how to build stories from the initial seed of an idea to a polished and ready-to-submit piece. Alternatively, writers can drop in and out as their mood (and schedule) permits.

Writers with a bit more experience are also encouraged to join in whenever they see something interesting. Classes will offer creative challenges for anyone attending.

In addition, all classes are hybrid, meaning they will take place both in-person at our Amsterdam location and online. I’ve also scheduled classes at a time easy that’s fairly time-zone friendly. Instructions on how to attend both physical and digital workshops will be emailed out after registration.

So, onto the classes.

Know the rules so you can break them: the basic tenants of fiction

Thursday, September 22 and 29, 7:00 PM CET

We all know what a basic story is. But for the fiction writer just getting started, knowing what elements of basic craft are involved in creating a story can be a bit overwhelming. If you’re just getting started writing fiction and want to get up to speed on the basics of story shape, perspective, characters, and more, this is the class for you. (Online and in-person.)

This is a two-week class. You can learn more here.

Finding your voice by writing what you know

Thursday, October 6, 13, 20, and 27 at 7:00PM CET

Writing what you know is one of those writing truisms we’ve all heard at some point or another. Some people take is as an ultimatum—that you can only about things that you’ve experienced yourself. Really, writing what you know is about listening to that voice inside yourself called belief, and letting that voice spill out on the page. In this class, we’ll focus on how to write what we know, and how writing what we know will allow us to find our true voice.

This is a four-week class. You can learn more here.

Finding the right perspective

Thursday, November 10, 17, and 24

Telling a story well is all about finding the right perspective to tell it from. In this class we’ll look at various ways perspective is used in fiction, how different techniques create drastically different effects, and how you can use perspective in your work to create impactful stories.

This is a three-week class. You can learn more here.

From 2d-3d: Making Characters Real

Thursday, December 8 and 15

How do you move from the 2-D characters of a first draft into something quirkier, more interesting and alive? In this class we’ll look at the various ways you can flesh out the characters in your work to make them feel real, unpredictable, and interesting.

This is a two-week class. You can learn more here.

Generative workshops

Weekly, starting September

In addition to our in-depth classes, Honing House will also run a weekly generative workshop. This workshop is open to fiction writers and poets who need a little creative boost for their work. Each session begins with an open Q&A where we can discuss problems faced when approaching new work. Then, the class leader will offer writing prompts that will inspire short experiments, and perhaps the seeds for a new story. Each one-hour generative class is just €10 a person!

As always, Honing House also offers 1:1 coaching.

I hop you see something of interest in the upcoming fall schedule. If you have questions, or suggestions for classes you’d like to see, feel free to reach out. Also, Honing House is still in its early stages, so if you know anyone who might be interested in taking a class, feel free to share!