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Achieve your writing dreams in 2015

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Do you have a secret dream to write a book? Or publish a blog? Or pitch to write for a magazine? Or do you simply want to get into regular writing in your journal, or create poetry, for fun? Then join our FREE Winter Writing Workshop with seven days of prompts and inspiration to help you to discover your inner writer!

Here in England the time between Christmas and New Year is often quiet, after the hustle and bustle of preparations and the chaos of the festivities. It is also cold and dark, so we thought this would be the perfect time to get cosy next to a roaring fire, journal in hand, to write. We invite you to join us, whether you are a seasoned writer or just starting out. (And if you live somewhere hot then of course you are still welcome – perhaps you will sit out in the sun writing?)

We have teamed up with Frances Booth, author of The Distraction Trap, to bring you seven days’ worth of writing exercises, so by the end of the week you will have made real progress on whatever piece of writing you choose to commit to.

Each day you will be emailed a short note from professional writer Frances, along with those daily writing prompts, writer development exercises and some special tips from well known writers like Angela Clarke, author of the hilarious fashion memoir Confessions of a Fashionista, Amazon’s Fashion Chart’s number one bestseller.

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Angela says…

“Story should be at the heart of all writing. Whether you call it you story, or your premise, or your concept, it doesn’t matter: it should be strong and clear. Can you sum up your plot in a paragraph? How about two sentences? How about one line? Do this and you’ll have a clear idea of what you’re writing about and also what makes it intriguing.

Should you find yourself in a lift with your dream editor, would that one line description peak their interest? If not: go back and think about what would. An excellent story can be distilled into one line, and that one line will have people wanting to know more. Make sure you know what is at the heart of what you’re writing.”

At the end of the 7-day series you will also receive a PDF of 100 writing prompts to keep you writing all year long.

Our Winter Writing Workshop runs over the New Year period, from December 29 (TOMORROW!) – Jan 4 and is the perfect way to kick start your writing for 2015. It is completely free, and is our special gift to you!

See https://dev.dowhatyouloveforlife.com/www for more details and to book your place. Please tell all your friends too!

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About Angela

Angela has written for numerous publications including The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan, Writing Magazine, LifetimeTV, and You Magazine. Angela has performed on stage at Camp Bestival, appeared on air on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, given talks and workshops at bookshops, and appeared on a number of local, national, and international radio stations. A short film based on her script Drift has been shot and is due for release in 2015. Her debut play The Legacy was staged at the Tristan Bates Theatre December 2014. She easily eats a whole packet of dark chocolate digestives in one sitting and is almost always late. When she’s not working, and even when she should be, she can be found on Twitter @TheAngelaClarke. For more information visit her website.

Angela studyAngela’s study. She says: “I work surrounded by barely contained chaos. I like it that way.” 

 

 

Introducing our Winter Writing Workshop experts…

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Just seven sleeps to go… our FREE Winter Writing Workshop starts in six days and we’d love you to join us!

If you have a secret dream to write a book, publish a blog, pitch to write for a magazine, or you just want to get into regular writing in your journal, or create poetry for fun, then this course is for you. We have teamed up with Frances Booth, author of The Distraction Trap, to bring you seven days’ worth of exercises to help you discover your inner writer and make real progress on your chosen project.

As part of your daily dose of writing inspiration we’ll be sharing practical tips from the experts – successful authors, journalists and bloggers who know all about freeing creativity, getting started and sticking with it – and we’re excited to announce them here…

Kari

 

Kari Chapin is the author of four books, most notably, The Handmade Marketplace. She produces a weekly podcast focused on productivity and mindset called AIM with Kari Chapin. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.You can learn more about her and her books, listen to her podcast or see if she’s speaking or traveling near you soon by checking out her website.

Mary

 

Mary J. Dinan joined a radio station in her early teens and by the age of 17 she’d become a TV presenter with RTE and won a Jacobs Television Award. Now, in addition to her day job in a special needs school, Mary writes features for her local newspaper and does radio interviews for Garden County Radio Wicklow. In 2013, Mary signed a book deal with an international publisher and her travel book, The Global Suitcase became an Irish Times top 10 best seller. To find out more, visit her website, or find her on Facebook or Twitter.

Christina

 

Christina Rosalie is a writer, strategist and mixed media artist. She author of A Field Guide To Now: Notes On Mindfulness and Life In The Present Tense. Her work has also appeared in Artful Blogging, Kinfolk, The Sun, Mothering, and the Los Angeles Review. Christina lives in Portland, Oregon, and is currently working on her second book. To find out more, visit her website,or find her on Twitter or  Instagram.

M. Sharon

 

M. Sharon Baker is a moderator in the Freelance Writers Den, a journalist and a B2B Content Writer living north of Seattle, WA. She writes for magazines, newspapers, corporate clients and for her family, and is waiting for the right book idea to present itself. For more information visit The Freelance Writer’s Den or Sharon’s own website.

Elizabeth

 

Elizabeth Craig writes the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin/NAL, the Memphis Barbeque mysteries for Penguin/Berkley, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently.  She blogs at ElizabethSpannCraig.com/blog, which was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. For more information visit her website or find her on Twitter.

Susannah

Susannah Conway is the author of This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart (SKIRT! Books). A photographer, writer and teacher, her classes have been enjoyed by thousands of people from over 50 countries around the world. Co-author of Instant Love: How to Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids (Chronicle Books), Susannah helps others reconnect to their true selves, using creativity as the key to open the door. For more information visit her website or find her on TwitterFacebookPinterest and Instagram.

Rebecca

 

Rebecca Davies is a journalist and author who writes about children’s books for The Independent. She is currently working on her own Young Adult novel and is a regular writing mentor at the Ministry of Stories. Find more information about Rebecca on her blog.

 

Angela

And don’t miss our blog post on the 27th December which features a special teaser tip from the amazing Angela Clarke, author of the Amazon Fashion Chart’s number one bestseller: the hilarious fashion memoir Confessions of a Fashionista. Angela has written for numerous publications including The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan, Writing Magazine, LifetimeTV, and You Magazine. Angela performed at Camp Bestival, appeared on air on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, has given talks at bookshops, and has been interviewed on local, national, and international radio stations. A short film based on her script Drift is due for release in 2015. Her debut play The Legacy was staged at the Tristan Bates Theatre December 2014. When she’s not working, and even when she should be, she can be found on Twitter. For more information please visit her website.

The Winter Writing Workshop runs from December 29 to Jan 4 and it’s the perfect way to kick start your writing dream in 2015.

Click here for more details and to book your place. Please tell all your friends too!

Our festive gift to you

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What a year it has been for so many of us. We have loved hearing your stories and sharing your journeys as we forged our own new path in 2014. It has been a huge year, an exciting year, a year of really hard work and some amazing new experiences. And we have a whole lot more adventures and opportunities in store for 2015 (with a lot more rest planned in too!)

We want to take a moment to thank you for being part of our lives. Every retweet, every email, every blog comment, every course testimonial, every letter and card we receive, all make us sure that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing – and make us want to offer even more to you. We have a lot of new resources, some awesome new courses and some live events planned for 2015, and we hope you will be part of that too.

Whether you have made baby steps or big leaps towards a life doing what you love, we are so proud of you and are always cheering you on. It seems that more and more people are starting to really understand that they hold the key – every choice is yours to make, every opportunity is yours to take. Our hope for you in 2015 is that you listen to yourself, build your support network and keep moving forward in the direction of your dreams. It is possible – so many of you have shown us that.

Over the holidays we hope you will carve out an hour, or a day, to sit quietly and really think about how you want 2015 to pan out. You can leave it to chance or you can construct your own path. We have included some free resources and free online workshops to help you do this, and hope they will be valuable as you make those choices.

So thank you again for your courage, your spirit and your growing belief in what is possible, and thank you for being part of our community. You make it all worthwhile.

Wishing you a very happy festive season and a fantastic 2015.

Beth, Paul and the Do What You Love team

PS Don’t miss our special Christmas Do What You Love interview with Santa Claus!

Free goodness

 

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For the writers/aspiring writers among you – starts Dec 29!

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For the designers/aspiring designers among you – from our sister site Make It In Design – starts Jan 3!

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Annie Sloan giveaway – winner announced!

Thank you to everyone who entered our giveaway to win two sample pots of Annie Sloan decorative Chalk Paint™, a small Annie Sloan pure bristle brush and an Annie Sloan Workbook. We loved all your comments and hope Annie inspires you to see your projects through.

We’re delighted to announce that our winner is: Lucia Para.

Lucia couldn’t wait to use Chalk Paint to give her stairs a new lease of life.

Congratulations Lucia – your prize is on it’s way. Happy painting and happy Christmas!

If you missed our interview with the inspirational Annie Sloan you can read it here.

Jo Klima giveaway – winner announced!

Thank you to everyone who entered our giveaway to win an extra large wall print featuring Jo Klima’s ‘A Place Yet To Explore’ artwork. We loved all your comments.

We’re delighted to announce that the winner is: Nicole Ortega.

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Congratulations Nicole! Your prize is on it’s way.

And in case you missed our interview with the lovely Jo, you can read it here!

Do What You Love Interview  – Alison Qualter Berna

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Every week in our Big Interview we celebrate people who have dreams, drive and passion. And one lady who has all three in abundance is the amazing Alison Qualter Berna. Alison is a mum, a businesswoman and an adventurer who thrives on helping to bring out the best in others. She loves a challenge and recently guided the first blind runner across the Grand Canyon. She can also do a headstand on a paddle board and we think that’s pretty awesome! If ever you needed inspiration to get out there, do what you love and live life to the max, this is it…  – Rachel

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Do What You Love Interview – Annie Sloan

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Everyone is talking about Annie Sloan… the paint lady. I first discovered her gorgeous range of Chalk Paint™ in a little interiors shop in Baslow, Derbyshire, and I just had to buy a pot. After watching a couple of her online tutorials I got stuck in, transforming a tired old wardrobe into a beautiful new piece of furniture. I  couldn’t believe how easy it was! I loved the no-prep formulation and completely understood why Chalk Paint™ has become an interiors phenomenon. 

As well as being a paint designer, Annie is an entrepreneur with an ever-expanding empire which covers a mail order business, a website, a shop in her home town of Oxford and over 1,000 stockists throughout the UK, Europe and worldwide. She’s also a teacher and an author of 24 books, which have sold over one and a half million copies.
 We’re delighted to catch up with her and talk paint, passion and projects. And in the spirit of sharing this month, don’t miss her lovely Christmas giveaway at the end of this interview… 

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