Lemon Soul by Emma Simpson: Accountability Book Club

WABC Book Three: BIRD BY BIRD

Sun, 10 May 2026 06:01:34 GMT

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”

~ Bird by Bird

Welcome to Book Three:

Oh I am so excited to be starting on this book - it’s the one I’ve been looking forward to the most, and I think it’s because when I have dipped in and out of it, it has instantly captivated me. It is humorous, highly relatable and I’m sure packed full of invaluable advice. I can’t wait to see how it builds upon everything we have already learned with our first two Writers’ Accountability Book Club (WABC) books: Stephen King’s On Writing and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones.

I’ve started listening to it on audio already, and as I walked the dog this morning, listening to this made me catch my breath:

“E.L. Doctorow once said that:

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice about writing, or life, I have ever heard.”’

For me, this is a ‘You had me at ‘Hello’’ moment.

If you’ve started reading Bird by Bird already, I’d love to know how you’re finding it and how you feel it compares to our first two books. If you’re new to the book club, we have two live calls per book so that we can read over the course of two months, giving us time and space to read, absorb and reflect. Full details of the Writers’ Accountability Book Club, and how we will be learning together throughout the year can be found here.

Introduction to BOOK 3: Anne Lamott ~ Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life.

So why this book and why now?

This book centres on emotional resilience and the writer’s inner life - her honesty and relatability regarding the ‘messiness’ of writing life really struck me. Having begun our book club with tools, rules, form and structure with On Writing before moving onto the much more philosophical perspective presented in Writing Down the Bones, this book feels like a good sit down with a well informed and reassuringly sweary friend. A friend who takes no nonsense, laughs a lot, and makes you feel like this writing malarkey might actually be possible. Having experienced two very differing approaches to the craft of writing, this allows us to take stock and look at our own writing lives. The key elements include:

Taking writing step by step
Shitty first drafts
Perfectionism
Managing comparison & envy
The writer’s ego & vulnerability
Subscribe now

Anne Lamott is both a novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as a political activist and creative writing teacher. This book is described as:

“Superb writing advice... Hilarious, helpful and provocative.”

“A treasure trove of insight both practical and profound, timelessly revisitable and yielding deeper resonance each time.”

With its wry style and earthy humour, it promises to be funny, humane, highly informative and deeply reassuring. With much of the writing advice wrapped in stories, this book teaches the craft of writing through personal anecdotes, family stories and hard-won lessons. AND…it is this book that coined the now infamous concept of the ‘shitty first draft.’ I think we can all relate to that! Her advice on technical aspects such as character, plot, dialogue and overcoming writer’s block is grounded in compassion. With Anne’s warmth and guidance presiding over rigidity and rules I think this will be an absolute treat.

For our first meeting in May, the aim is to try and read Parts One and Two: WRITING and THE WRITING FRAME OF MIND. For the month of June we will continue with Part Three, Four and Five: HELP ALONG THE WAY, PUBLICATION - AND OTHER REASONS TO WRITE and THE LAST CLASS.

Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash

Bird by Bird WABC Journal and Zoom Link

Attached is the third WABC Creative Journal for you to download and print out. At the end of the year I will amalgamate all of these into one ‘takeaway’ but please do use this to prompt thoughts and make notes and scribbles as we go along.

I can’t wait to discuss this book with you! There are some reflective questions to ponder prior to our call and some discussion prompts to spark our imagination when we meet. We will also have plenty of time for ‘free’ discussion on the learnings we have found most meaningful. I have included a few optional activities that we can work on as we read through.

[I will also be sending something out later today about our first Lemon Soul Story Circle this Wednesday 13th May at 1900 BST - watch this space 🥰]

WABC Journal 3: BIRD BY BIRD

WABC 'Writing Down the Bones': Second Zoom Call

Mon, 04 May 2026 06:00:49 GMT

‘Writing is the act of burning through the fog in your mind’

Natalie Goldberg ~ Writing Down the Bones

Our second WABC call - reflections and learnings

This week we had our second WABC live Zoom call together for the Natalie Goldberg book: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within.

There is so much that came through in reading this book, and we started our call this time considering ‘WHY’ we write? Natalie gives some great examples!

We went into breakout rooms and came up with our own reasons why we write - it’s all on the recording and downloadable PDF below - it was such an interesting exercise to really consider what brings us to the page. This book also focuses on clarity, detail, specificity and trusting in our own voice - hence the prompt to ‘answer with clear, assertive statements’!

This is the second book in our Book Club series, and the focus here is very different from Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ which we looked at previously. Natalie’s focus is very much on feeling the experience of writing rather than the technical aspects of writing such as form, plot, structure. She encourages us to find the freedom in our writing, to trust in our own voice, and to consciously develop our own practice of writing.

At the end of each session I encourage everyone to consider what would feel like a meaningful creative shift through the learnings we are gaining, and to notice ‘what is shifting for you’ at each stage. In this call, I was so happy to hear book club members describe their creative shift as:

changing how I view and notice the world around me and to bring that into my writing
really learning how to hone my craft
starting to think of myself as a writer’ and feeling it’s becoming ‘what I do’
embracing the possibility of being ‘more of a writer’, and to think that ‘perhaps I could…possibly…write something more’
that ‘I’m reading like a writer’

YESSS!!!! I could not be more delighted than to hear all of these responses!!

Reading, writing, and sharing our experiences together is proving SO significant.

Think you could benefit from this? Join us - it’s never too late and you will be so very welcome. All the previous recordings, notes and downloadable PDFs are available to my paid subs, and we are only 1/3 of the way through so there is much more to come.

Our thoughts on the book

Overall this book has impacted the way that we THINK about our writing, rather than our craft of writing. It has caused us to perhaps notice things in a different way, and to test our own ways and methods of writing practice in order to release limitations. It is in many ways antithetical to traditional ‘advice’ on how to practice writing: showing up regularly, setting writing targets, finding a writing space… but it is based in Zen Buddhist philosophies and so approaches how we embrace a writing life from a very different perspective.

It is not about guidance or tools per se, it is about turning up to the page in a way that will bring creative freedom and help you to find your own way to the page. There are some great nuggets of guidance which we discuss on the calls, but largely it is about freedom, writing without aim, and more than anything - trusting in our own voice.

One really gorgeous and unexpected thing that came out of this was learning about Natalie’s ‘Story Circles’, where people come together, light a candle, and just tell stories on a particular theme or idea. We chatted about this on the call and I am going to hold some bonus ‘Lemon Soul Story Circle’ sessions where we can do exactly that: just show up, share stories, and practice one of the most ancient and enduring ways in which we connect as humans.

The first ‘Lemon Soul Story Circle’ date options along with the full recording of this chat and the downloadable PDFs are below the paywall for my paid subs.

So what’s next?

From May until the end of June we will be focusing on the third book in this Book Club series: BIRD BY BIRD - Instructions on Writing and Life by . I am very excited about this one having had a sneaky peak previously - it’s going to be brilliant.

We will begin with parts One and Two: WRITING and THE WRITING FRAME OF MIND - from ‘Getting Started’ to ‘Jealousy’. The remainder of the book will be our focus for the month of June.

The first Zoom discussion for BIRD BY BIRD will be on Tuesday 26 May, with the second call on Tuesday 30 June.

The Zoom details for BIRD BY BIRD are below alongside the recording for our WRITING DOWN THE BONES discussion, the PDF summarising the key learnings from that book, and the poll to choose the best date for our forthcoming Story Circle!

Come along - you are so very welcome 💕

WABC Writing Down the Bones Recording 2

WABC 'Writing Down the Bones': First Zoom Call

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 06:02:41 GMT

Our first Writers’ Accountability Book Club (WABC) call on Writing Down the Bones - reflections and learnings

On Thursday we had our first WABC live Zoom call together for the Natalie Goldberg book: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. I think it’s safe to say it’s pretty different from our first book club book - Stephen King’s On Writing!

It’s a gorgeous book, and largely we found this one much more accessible and open to different ways of approaching the craft of writing. The way the book is structured is a series of ‘vignettes’ rather than chapters, each conveying a message. Her philosophies are rooted in Zen buddhism and it almost feels like a book of mini fables. All of us found different pieces that really resonated, and we had such a wonderful discussion about these points.

Think you could benefit from this? Join us - it’s not too late and you will be so very welcome.

From now until the end of April we will be reading the second half of WRITING DOWN THE BONES. The aim is to read from the chapter ‘Make Statements and Answer Questions’ to the end of the book and our April Live Zoom Discussion will be on Tuesday 28 Apr UK time (BST post UK clock change!). The link is below the paywall for my paid subs.

If you missed this call where we discussed the first half of the book from the beginning up to ‘Being an Animal’ or haven’t joined up yet, fear not! Below is the full recording of our discussion as well as a downloadable PDF covering:

Quotes and that stood out for us
What resonated
What concepts were challenging
What we are prepared to commit to trying out this month
A list of helpful resources

WABC Writing Down the Bones Recording 1

WABC Book Two: WRITING DOWN THE BONES

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:09:48 GMT

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.”

Natalie Goldberg ~ Writing Down the Bones

Welcome to Book Two:

I’m delighted to introduce a very different approach to writing for our second WABC book. Whereas Stephen King’s On Writing has guidance along the lines of a ‘how to’ guide, Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones is described as a meditation on the practice of writing. It is a foundational text that merges Zen practice with writing, and in her words:

“I’ve written fourteen books, and it’s the practice here in Bones that is the foundation, sustaining and building my writing voice, that keeps me honest, teaches me how to endure the hard times and how to drop below discursive thinking, to taste the real meat of our minds and the life around us.”

I have the thirtieth anniversary edition which includes new forwards by Julia Cameron and Bill Addison, along with Natalie Goldberg’s own reflections on the enduring qualities of what she teaches in this book.

If you’ve started reading it already, I’d love to know how you’re finding it and how you feel it compares to our first book. We have two live calls per book so that we can read it over the course of two months, giving us time and space to read, absorb and reflect. Full details of the Writers’ Accountability Book Club, and how we will be learning together throughout the year can be found here.

Introduction to BOOK 2: Natalie Goldberg ~ Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within.

But back to the book itself - why did I choose this as part of our book club and why is it our second?

Well, first was a focus on ‘craft’, and now comes ‘flow’. This book helps us to consider freedom in our writing, and loosening our grip on perfectionism. The key elements include:

Philosophy over technique
Writing as a life-long practice
Letting go of the inner critic
Showing up and writing freely
Moving away from self-censoring
Voice and authenticity
An encouraging and gentle tone

Natalie is a prolific author, painter and teacher of zen meditation and writing practice. Writing Down the Bones has sold over one million copies and has been translated into 14 languages. In the thirtieth anniversary edition, Julia Cameron writes in the forward:

“Our lives are filled with details, like the ripe red tomato plucked from the vine. Natalie’s writing is filled with food, and her appetite for life gives us food for thought.”

This book brings together philosophy and writing and is described as a ‘magical manual’. It encourages us to approach the page with curiosity and openness, to trust in the process and to know that writing belongs to everyone. In helping us to free the writing mind, I sense that this will bring something very special indeed.

With chapter titles like ‘Fighting Tofu’, ‘We are Not the Poem’, ‘Don’t Marry the Fly’ and ‘Blue Lipstick and a Cigarette Hanging Out Your Mouth’, this book is broken down into a series of digestible vignettes, each rich with imagery and insight.

For our first meeting in March, the aim is to try and read up to the end of the chapter titled: ‘Be an Animal’. For the month of April we will continue from the chapter ‘Make Statements and Answer Questions’ through to the end. But for now, just try and canter along from the introduction to the ‘Be an Animal’ chapter halfway through and jot down in your creative journal (attached below) the chapters that resonate, and what really stands out for you.

I am already finding her approach both mesmerising and thought-provoking. Her philosophy encourages us to breakthrough our creative blocks and to embed ‘freewriting’ as a discipline. With echoes of Julia Cameron’s ‘Morning Pages’ she encourages us to keep our hand moving on the paper, with repeated prompts where we get stuck. Like Stephen King she is also a huge advocate of reading in order to improve our writing, yet rather than analysing what we read she encourages us not to stand back from it with a critical eye, but to be in it, to feel it. In her teaching, we are not trying to control our writing, but step out of the way of it.

On Writing WABC Journal and Zoom Link

Attached is the second WABC Creative Journal for you to download and print out. At the end of the year I will amalgamate all of these into one ‘takeaway’ but please do use this to prompt thoughts and make notes and scribbles as we go along.

WABC Journal 2: WRITING DOWN THE BONES

WABC 'On Writing': Second Zoom Call

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 07:03:08 GMT

“Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.”

Stephen King ~ On Writing

Our second WABC call - reflections and learnings

Last week we held our second Writers’ Accountability Book Club (WABC) live Zoom call for the Stephen King book; On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Building on what we spoke about last time, here we discussed the second half of the book which contains the sections On Writing and in my edition On Living: A Postscript.

[My edition also contains: And Furthermore - Parts 1,2,3 & 4 - post post post scripts! These include an excerpt of writing before and after ‘edit’, a plethora of book recommendations and the transcript of a conversation between Stephen King and his Son, Joe Hill. This is all in the Twentieth Anniversary Edition pictured below.]

It was another fabulously inspiring discussion with much to take away, and Lisa testifies in the recording below that you don’t need to have read the books in our Writers’ Accountability Book Club to get the benefit! Although I would definitely say that reading the books maximises what you get out of this. We are learning so much from each other along the way, and it’s not too late to join us. You are welcome any time and we have five more brilliant books to read together this year:

Writing Down the Bones ~ Natalie Goldberg (March/April)
Bird by Bird ~ Anne Lamott (May/June)
Writing, Creativity and Soul ~ Sue Monk Kidd (July/August)
Into Being ~ Lily Dunn (September/October)
Big Magic ~ Elizabeth Gilbert (November December)
Lemon Soul is a place to feel less alone. I’m the friend you want in your inbox every week. Paid subscribers get all of it.

This discussion took us to the end of the book and the opportunity to really get into the ‘meat’ on the bones of what he sets up in the first half. The second half covers his take on:

Finding truths in our writing, especially in fiction.
The key components of stories.
The perils of relying on plot.
The power of description and when it becomes too much.
The delicate dance between the writer and the material, and who takes the lead.
How clever use of dialogue tells a story… and much more.

Below the paywall is the full recording of our discussion and a downloadable PDF containing:

Quotes that stood out for us.
Things that surprised us.
Concepts that the book introduced and our views on this.
What resonated that we can (or can’t!) relate to our own writing lives.
What we are prepared to commit to trying out over the next month.
A list of helpful resources.

If you missed the call where we discussed the first half of the book: CV and Toolbox, you can find that recording and downloadable PDF here.

The whole series can be followed from the beginning here.

From the beginning of March through until the end of April we will be moving on to our second Writers’ Accountability Book Club book: Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. I’ll send out a follow-on post separately about that with Zoom details and timings.

WABC Recording 2

WABC 'On Writing': First Zoom Call

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 21:48:34 GMT

Our first WABC call - reflections and learnings

On Tuesday this week we had our first WABC live Zoom call together for the Stephen King book; On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, and what a treat it was. One of the best things for me was seeing us start to gel as a group of people with collective intentions. What was it that brought us here? Well here’s a selection of our reasons:

For the craic!
Keen to learn more about writers’ methods and approaches in order to learn and improve.
For accountability and the ‘push’ to write.
To help overcome procrastination.
For the dynamics of the group.
The joy of learning together.
For confessions of grammar ignorance!
To elevate our writing and hone our craft.

I think it’s safe to say that ALL of those things happened, and it led to a really fruitful and engaging discussion, as we all learned from each other, as well as from the book.

Think you could benefit from this? Join us - it’s not too late and you will be so very welcome.

From now until the end of Feb we will be reading the second half of Stephen King’s ON WRITING. This time the focus will be on the sections: On Writing, and On Living, and our February Live Zoom Discussion will be on Tuesday 24 Feb 1800-1900 UK time (UTC). The link is below the paywall for my paid subs.

If you missed the call where we discussed the first half of the book: CV and Toolbox, or haven’t joined up yet, fear not! Below is the full recording of our discussion as well as a downloadable PDF covering:

Quotes and ‘tools’ that stood out for us
Things that surprised us
Concepts that the book introduced and our views on this
How we have found the book so far
What resonated that we can relate to our own writing lives
What we are prepared to commit to trying out this month
A list of helpful resources

WABC Recording 1

WABC Book One: ON WRITING

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:27:42 GMT

“We are talking about tools and carpentry, about words and style…but as we move along you’d do well to remember that we are also talking about magic".”

Stephen King - On Writing

Welcome to Book One:

I’ve finally started reading it! I don’t know how many years ‘On Writing’ has been sitting on my shelf, but I am so glad that this Book Club has made me actually dive in. I think I always found the cover quite off-putting which is interesting in itself…

I hope you’re enjoying it if you’re reading it already, and not to worry if you’re not. During our first WABC call next Tuesday 27th Jan at 1800 UTC we will chat through what resonates, any surprises or lightbulb moments, and things that just don’t quite chime.

If you’re not able to make the call please do put any comments and thoughts on our subscriber chat, and the live session will be recorded and available for you all. If you don’t manage to read the book I will be sending out regular journals to prompt thought, and reflective summaries at the end of each book incorporating all the best nuggets we have discovered.

Here is the link to the subscriber chat, do join us:

Introduction to BOOK 1: Stephen King - On Writing: The Craft of Memoir

But back to the book itself - why this one and why first?

Well… whether you’ve read his work or not, there is no denying his prolific success in the world of publishing with over 350 million books sold. On Writing itself has sold over a million and I’ve chosen it first as it grounds us on the basics - the writer’s toolkit, advice on writing habits, gaining clarity, the importance of revisions and the writer’s mindset.

For our first meeting, the aim is to try and read the first two sections: C.V. and Toolbox. I have just finished these, and some of it is fascinating. In the C.V. part I loved reading about how his childhood experiences informed his approach to storytelling, and how his first full length novel ‘Carrie’ came into being: from the set of circumstances that led to the idea, to the first scribbles, to it being retrieved from the bin and ultimately leading to a life-changing publishing deal. The self-doubt was real!!

[And he was in a band with Barbara Kingsolver and Amy Tan - how mad is that?!]

In Toolbox there are some aspects that I wholeheartedly agree with and some that made me wince a bit - I’m not sure if that’s because I know I’m ‘guilty’ of those certain elements of style or because I disagree with his take on it…there is much to discuss.

On Writing WABC Journal and Zoom Link

Attached is the first WABC journal for you to download and print out. At the end of the year I will amalgamate all of these into one ‘takeaway’ but please do use this to prompt thoughts and make notes and scribbles as we go along.

I’m so looking forward to our first meeting on Tuesday. There are some reflective questions in this journal to ponder prior to that, some discussion prompts which we will go through together over the course of both On Writing calls, and we will have plenty of time for ‘free’ discussion on the learnings we have found most meaningful. Don’t worry about the optional activities for now - these will make sense as we read the second half of the book!

WABC Journal 1: ON WRITING

WABC Welcome Pack

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 17:47:47 GMT

Welcome to the Writers’ Accountability Book Club

I’m so delighted to have you here!

I’ve had such a wonderful response to the post earlier this week introducing the idea of the Writers’ Accountability Book Club (which I will abbreviate to WABC). It seems that there are a LOT of us out there who would love to explore more about the craft of writing, and are excited to work through this together in a supportive and encouraging cohort. 💕

Over the year we will experience a beautifully balanced line-up of books with a focus that covers the whole ecosystem of a writer’s life as it moves through:

Craft & technique
Practice & discipline
Emotional resilience
Soul & inner voice
Memoir and truth-telling
Creative courage

Incorporating the outer ‘mechanics’ of writing along with reflections on the inner life of a writer, this will help us to find a richer sense of voice, clarity of process and creative identity. I’m so excited!!

The details for our first Zoom gathering on Tuesday 27 Jan at 1800 UK time are below, and I have also attached the introductory PDF Welcome Pack for you at the bottom of this post to save and print out so you can scribble away as we learn together.

The WABC is for my Substack paid subscribers, who will receive a series of workbooks/journals to match the Book Club books throughout the year, as well as invitations to monthly LIVE (and recorded) Zoom sessions and access to my Subscriber chat. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like to know more about the WABC and how it all works, see my previous post here:

Let’s get started!

If you’re not already on the chat thread, do join it and please post your own thoughts and questions. I won’t send an email every time something is posted in the chat as that may be too much, but do dip in and out and see what’s going on! It’s our own safe and contained discussion space and you can find it easily in both the app or on the desktop.

Introductory Welcome Pack

I’m delighted to attach your introductory WABC Welcome Pack/journal here for you to start your creative thinking, and to set out how we will be exploring this creative space together.

Next week I will send out the first the of six ‘book specific’ journals for our first WABC Book: Stephen King: On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft so do make sure you have access to a copy. Each book will be explored over 2 months in order that the pace is manageable.

For January, the focus will be on the first ‘half’ of On Writing: ‘CV’ and ‘Toolbox’; and then in February we’ll move onto the second half: ‘On Writing’ and ‘On Living’.

But for now, here’s the welcome pack and Zoom details 🍋💕✍️

Subscribe now

The Writers' Accountability Book Club (WABC).

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 17:07:06 GMT

The alternative TBR pile

Happy New Year lovely people! I hope the festive season was kind to you as much as is possible… it can be a mixed bag indeed.

Now that the dust is settling, I am turning my attention to things that light me up for the New Year, and I want to invite you to join me in something I am VERY excited about.

We all have a ‘To Be Read’ pile, right? I have a huge one, I mean it’s basically an entire branch of Waterstones in itself, but that is quite delicious, like having an actual library at home. In my writing cabin though, I have a whole other TBR pile. An entire shelf full of books from brilliant writers, all about the craft of writing itself. These are books that have either been recommended to me, or that are just so well known as the absolute ‘go-to’ books for writers wanting to begin, improve, reframe, or reshape the way that we write, or indeed how we approach writing life itself.

I have MANY of these, and I have to admit I haven’t read any of them, not even Big Magic by Liz Gilbert, or Stephen King’s On Writing. Having debated for a long time as to whether to undertake a formal course of study in creative writing, I thought - well how about I start with what I have right here in front of me.

I invite you to join me.

The Writers’ Accountability Book Club

The idea is simple. I have selected six books from a variety of brilliant authors, each of which approaches the writing craft in a different way - from the practical to the philosophical. Over the next 12 months, we will explore these together and I will host monthly recorded live discussions for my paid subs so that even if you haven’t managed to read the book(s) there will be SO much to learn between us. How ‘accountable’ you would like to be is up to you.

I am going to hold myself accountable to read each book within a two month period in order that I can share my learnings, thoughts and insight with you. If you don’t manage to finish a book (or even start it!) don’t worry, come along to the live sessions and join the discussions or listen to the recordings in your own time to hear what myself and others have been inspired by. If you’ve already read the book, share your experience of it! However you show up, this could be the very impetus you’ve been waiting for to really get going with a writing project, knowing you have like-minded others to encourage you along the way.

Here is what I will offer you:

Monthly live Zoom discussion sessions with recordings available afterwards (Two sessions per book).
A lively subscriber chat thread with prompts and questions as we go along.
Downloadable PDFs incorporating some of the gems that this learning inspires.
Optional creative writing activities to practice your craft in between the monthly live sessions.
The sharing of my own learnings, hints and tips from the experience of writing and publishing 5-star rated narrative non-fiction book Breaking Waves within the last year.

By the end of the year you can expect to feel:

More confident in your writing craft and sustainable writing habits
More connected to your creative voice
More courageous in your writing
More grounded in your process
More supported by a community of writers

This is a space to grow, experiment and rediscover the joy of writing, and will all be available to my Lemon Soul paid community.

As we go through we will reflect upon how this is influencing our approach to writing, and at the end of the year have a review on what we have learned and gained, and see how far we have come together.

So, which books will we work through? Here’s a glimpse - I’ll explain below why each one has been chosen:

The Writers’ Accountability Book Club - 2025 Book Selection:

Stephen King - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft [JAN-FEB 2026]

Well if you want to learn from the best, I can’t think of a much better place to start. Not only has Stephen King sold over 350 millions books throughout his various genres including novels, novellas, screen plays and short stories, On Writing in itself is million-copy bestseller. It is combines memoir with practical writing guidance delivered in an honest and compelling way.

It is described as:

“Part memoir, part masterclass by one of the bestselling authors of all time…a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have.

Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it.”

When I was at University I must have read thirty Stephen King books in a year, and whether it’s your bag or not, one thing is for sure, he knows how to write. But also, there is a distinct formula to his work, and a familiarity as a reader, so I am intrigued to learn what he has to say.

2. Natalie Goldberg - Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within [MAR-APR 2026]

In a gentle contrast to the practicality of On Writing; Writing Down the Bones is described as a meditation on the practice of writing rather than a ‘how to’ guide. Natalie is a prolific author, painter and teacher of zen meditation and writing practice. Writing Down the Bones has sold over one million copies and has been translated into 14 languages. In the thirtieth anniversary edition, Julia Cameron writes in the forward:

“Our lives are filled with details, like the ripe red tomato plucked from the vine. Natalie’s writing is filled with food, and her appetite for life gives us food for thought.”

She had me at ‘food’.

- Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life [MAY-JUNE 2026]

I have dipped into this book a few times, and each time has been an absolute delight. Anne Lamott is a New York Times best-selling author and essayist who is described as ‘laugh out loud funny’ and ‘ruthlessly honest’. Bird by Bird is story-driven, funny and humane, with a tone that is so relatable it feels like a chat with a great friend. Famous for containing the idea of the ‘shitty first draft’ it is described as:

“A warm, generous and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps”

“Superb writing advice…Hilarious, helpful and provocative.”

“The bible of writing guides…beautifully written, wise and immensely helpful, this is the book for all serious writers and writers-to-be.”

This is a book that feels warm, witty and kind, that talks about the messiness of writing, that helps us not feel alone in the self-doubt or loneliness of writing. A huge hug of a book - I cannot wait to make friends with it!

Sue Monk Kidd - Writing Creativity and Soul [JULY-AUGUST 2026]

I will admit that I don’t know a lot about this book as it’s quite new, but I bought it because the writing in Sue Monk Kidd’s multi-million bestselling book The Secret Life of Bees is beyond sublime. Anyone who can tell a story that beautifully is someone I most definitely want to learn from. And with her debut book spending over one hundred weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Writing Creativity and Soul is described as:

“A beautiful ode to creativity and the inner world of the writer.”

“Part memoir, part philosophical investigation, part advice to aspiring writers, this is a guide to awakening the soul. Everything that readers loved about The Secret Life of Bees is to be found in the pages of Writing Creativity and Soul - the warmth, the fierce intelligence, the wit, the spiritual hunger, the search for beauty and meaning and, perhaps above all, the rebel heart.”

I do love a bit of quiet rebellion.

This book honours the creative cycles, dreams and myths. An invitation to slowness and attentiveness within the writing process is blended beautifully with advice on narrative, dialogue, creating a scene, plot structure and so much more. And as for the cover…oh my…

- Into Being: The radical craft of memoir and its power to transform [SEP - OCT 2026]

I am a huge fan of Lily Dunn’s work having read her extraordinary memoir Sins of My Father: A Daughter, A Cult, A Wild Unravelling. She also writes her Substack - And a Dog with such wisdom and compassion. I wanted to include a memoir specific book in here because whether you write fiction or non-fiction, it is all about the power of story. As a memoir/narrative non-fiction writer myself I am excited to reflect upon the importance of memoir in our lives and the process of transforming personal experience into art.

Into Being is described as:

“A revelatory and vibrant exploration of the transformative power of memoir.”

“An essential guide to writing memoir in a radical and empowering way…helping readers to find meaning in raw experience and elevate the personal to the universal.”

I love how Lily considers meaningful questions within her writing, giving us the opportunity as readers to reflect and consider our creative work in a more fundamental way. Examining how we find significance in memory and encompassing the ethics of memoir, this promises to be a truly fulfilling exploration on the craft of writing as well as on a personal level.

- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear [NOV-DEC 2026]

Ok I have a huge confession to make. I have never subscribed to the cult of Liz (Liz I am so sorry!!), but that is possibly because I haven’t actually read any of her books. Did I just admit that in a public writerly forum?!?! I adored the film Eat, Pray, Love and have read several articles and interviews with her, but I think the ‘scientist’ in me has always been a tiny bit reticent to read further. That said, there are so many friends, writers and readers that I respect enormously who have told me this book is wonderful, life- changing and inspirational, so I figure it’s about time I took my head out of my backside and dived in. I suspect many will have read this already so it will probably be for one Zoom discussion in November with the final Zoom in December being a round-up of the whole year, but let’s see how this unfolds.

If you don’t know about Big Magic (or Liz Gilbert), she is the multi-million selling author of the aforementioned Eat, Pray, Love and several other memoirs, novels and story collections. She writes Letters from Love here on Substack with over 200 000 subscribers. Big Magic explores the psychological and mindset aspects of creativity, and is described as:

“Unpretentious, intelligent and highly articulate…Brimming with positive ways in which to think about creative living.”

“With profound empathy, wit and generosity, [the author] offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration... Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.”

Every word I have read of hers in articles and here on Substack brims with generosity and kindness. She is a woman who appears to bleed love from her pores, so I can’t think of a more soulful way to round up a year of learning - and hey, it might just be life-changing!

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Over the next couple of days I’ll repost the intro of our FIRST book in the series - Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, along with details of the Zoom link and anything else you might need to get started. So grab yourself a copy - beg, borrow, steal (or preferably buy) and we can get cracking!

Suggested timings for calls:

I plan to host the calls on an evening in the last week of each month - I’ve put some suggested timings below and let me know what works best for you. I’ll record the calls though so don’t worry if you miss one, you can still listen in to the conversation.

Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do this, it will be a creative learning process among friends.

I can’t wait to begin. Let me know if you’re going to join me? I’m so looking forward to learning and discovering together.