Ad Astra Writing Solidarity Month
November 2024

Goals & Overview

To help provide writing community for those who usually do the big writing months (or were planning to) that most will not participate in this year, the Ad Astra Institute will host our first annual Writing Solidarity Month in November! Team Ad Astra will host daily write-ins both on social media (for those who prefer to work independently but want to participate with others), and on our Discord (for live, immerse-in-community writing solidarity). We'll also offer lots of online writing info and encouragement.

In addition to interactive write-ins, we'll ramp up our usual writing-tips posts on social media, and begin a new YouTube writing workshop series. No need to feel like you're losing a writing community just because the old one feels tainted by corporate "AI" and such. Stay tuned - we'll post more details here and on our social media as November grows nearer.

And for a more involved writing experience, our annual fall AdAstranaut writing workshop begins in October. We're taking applications now! Also coming soon is Kij Johnson and Barbara Webb's F&SF Master Class.

In the mean time, write on!

We encourage participants to remain in regular contact, continue participating in our Discord channel and larger group mailing list, in future workshops and write-ins, and to support one another's writing careers, even offering to critique one another's work. Attendees have many opportunities to socialize with one another live and online, and many build life-long relationships enhanced by our social connectivity. The Ad Astra Writing Solidarity Month experience is more than an online adventure - it's a community!

McKitterick's 2018 Spec-Fic Workshop cohort.
Sitting: Pat Cadigan, Julian Richardson. Standing, left to right: Achilles Seastrom, Jean Asselin, Mary Fluker, Kathy Kitts, Theodore Nollert, Sarah Worrel, Patricia Crumpler, Sanna Breytberg, Ian Martinez-Cassmeyer, Chris McKitterick.

Hosts

Christopher McKitterick
Ad Astra Director

Award-winning author, editor, educator, and Ad Astra director Chris McKitterick will participate all the way through Writing Solidarity Month, including via Discord, our Tumblr blog, and our YouTube channel.

Read more about Chris here (formal bio), or here (less formal), or hang out with him online: Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Xitter | YouTube | Christopher-McKitterick.com

Kij Johnson
Ad Astra Associate Director

Multiple award-winning author Kij Johnson will also participate in Writing Solidarity Month.

Read more about Kij on her bio | Facebook | LinkedIn | Patreon | kijjohnson.com

Schedule

Registration opens soon

What we'll be doing during our Fall 2024 Writing Solidarity Month, at a glance:

• First get-together to prep for developmental workshop: Friday, November 1.
• Daily write-ins via the Ad Astra Discord server's "writing-solidarity" channel for those who want to be part of a live community of writers!
• New writing-related blog posts on our social media every day for everyone, including those who want to work more independently but still want to feel part of the community.
• New writing-related YouTube videos throughout the month, based on audience prompts, for everyone.
• Sign up for the Writing Solidarity Mailing List for links to all this good stuff, plus extra encouragement.

We'll gather every day on Discord to write together, and we'll check in at the end of our scheduled time (stay tuned) to see how everyone's doing.

Make your own goals! NaNoWriMo writers aimed for 50,000 words in a month, which is quite a goal (and beyond reach of most humans who have jobs, kids, and so on), so here are some recommended daily writing goals we recommend:

• 400 words / day (or just over one page/day) - just like one of our mentors, Frederik Pohl, used to do. He wrote a novel every year, plus short stories and lots of other stuff, so it's a great, achievable goal for a sustained writing career.
• The "666 Challenge" - based on Stephen King's goal of writing six pages / day (and because 90% of drafted words bedevil the author and require deep revision).
• The "Fibonacci Challenge" - try to write as many words / day as needed to match the Fibonacci sequence: 100 on day one, 200 on day two, 300 on day three, and so on until it becomes overwhelming; in which case, start back at 100 and continue the sequence. Half-way through the month, you'll be writing at the rate that nano-writers used to do every single day, so you might consider ramping up to your max and then ramping back down for the second half of the month.
•  1,666 words / day - just like the wacky nano-writers used to do for a month every year. Not very realistic or good for the wrists, but if you're looking for a real challenge, go for it!

Inspirational & Educational Materials

These recommended works help you take a deep-dive into a whole lot of aspects of writing, plus we'll also share a great deal of inspirational materials, as well.

Have more recommended reading, listening, and viewing suggestions to add? Let me know and I'll try to add them!

More Recommended Reading & Viewing

Here's a whole lot more great reads and media to enrich your understanding of great spec-fic. You'll find additional items in the weekly syllabus in the Bonus! sections. Lots of creative-writing materials available from the Ad Astra Speculative Fiction Writing Resources page.

Articles

• tba

Short fiction

• Robin Wayne Bailey's, "Keepers of Earth."
• Bunker's "They Have All One Breath."
• Greg Egan's, "The Discrete Charm of the Turing Machine."
• Lisa Goldstein's, "Paradise is a Walled Garden."
• C.L. Moore's story, "No Woman Born."
• Alastair Reynolds', "Weather."
• Richards' "Operators."
• "Maneki Neko," by Bruce Sterling (ref in "Cat Pictures Please").

Multimedia

• Search the TED Talk website for a huge assortment of relevant short talks.
• Check out the curated playlists of short SF films listed on our YouTube channel.

Relevant tags on McKitterick's curated Tumblr blog:

• Lots to come!
• Some to get you started:

 Discord Channel

Starting November 1, we'll host daily write-ins on the Ad Astra Discord server's "writing-solidarity" channel, and wrap up each day with sharing how everyone is doing. Y'all are free to hang out as long as you like, or browse our other Discord channels.

Be civil: This is a support group, with discussions about technique and ideas, not arguments! Civility and respect for the opinions of others are vital for a free exchange of ideas. You might not agree with everything others say in our sessions, but we expect respectful behavior and interaction all times. When you disagree with someone, make a distinction between criticizing an idea and criticizing the person. Expressions or actions that disparage a person's age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, nationality, race, religion, or sexual orientation - or their marital, parental, or veteran status - are contrary to the mission of this event and will not be tolerated. And of course please try not to dominate the conversation while encouraging more-shy participants to join in. If we all strive to be decent human beings, we'll get the most out of these write-ins and chats!

How to Register

Registration coming soon!

Diversity, Inclusivity, and Commitment to Equity

Everyone enjoys equal access to our offerings, and we actively encourage students and scholars from diverse backgrounds to study. We especially encourage people from historically under-represented groups to apply for our courses and scholarships. Many of our other courses are available to be taken in hybrid format (if space is available) to help enable those who might not be able to attend in person to participate, and we happily make accommodations to enable everyone to enjoy the fullest experience. We also make accomodations for those who cannot attend in person.

At Ad Astra, we also believe that earning a creative education should not depend on financial privilege, so we offer several scholarships to enable everyone to participate. If you wish to help support others to enroll, please consider donating to our scholarship fund (the Ad Astra Institute is a not-for-profit organization). Many of the most promising writers don't enjoy the same privilege as those who do, so we strive to level the playing field so everyone regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, income, nationality or immigrant status, physical ability status, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or marital, parental, and veteran status has equal opportunity to participate in our educational programs, and equal access to our activities. We want everyone to enjoy the same opportunity to become a professional speculative-fiction writer! We work to be a safe space for those who come to our events and educational programs. 

Click here to read our thoughts on diversity and inclusivity and our commitment to equity.

The Academic Achievement and Access Center (AAAC) coordinates accommodations and services for eligible KU students. If you have a disability for which you wish to request accommodation and have not contacted the AAAC, please do so as soon as possible. Their office is located in 22 Strong Hall; their phone number is (785)864-4064 (V/TTY). Also please contact us privately about your needs when working with us. 

Related SF-Writing Workshops & Resources

"Science into Fiction" Spec-Fic Writing Workshops:
  Series 1: "The Higgs Boson in This Particular Universe"
  Series 2: "Creativity and the Brain"
  Series 3: "Writing in (and about) the Age of Artificial Intelligence"
  Fall 2024 Series 4: "Six great stories and what makes them work: The science of SF writing"

Chris McKitterick's Spec-Fic Writing Workshop & Repeat Offenders Workshop

Kij Johnson & Barbara Webb's SF&F Novel Writing Workshops and Masterclasses

Speculative-fiction writing resources

Scholarships

Connect with Ad Astra