The Writer's Studio at SFU
@twssfu.bsky.social
We offer creative writing courses, programs and events that centre mentorship, community and connection. Join our monthly chats and sprints!
https://sfu.ca/write
https://sfu.ca/write
Reposted by The Writer's Studio at SFU
Reposted by The Writer's Studio at SFU
A7 Letter writing is delving into self, emotions & depth while texting has an urgency of don't leave me hanging—an increased vulnerability for a response & acceptance even over substance, or just a difference between succinct & sharp versus discovery, regret, remorse, reaching out... #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:36 PM
A7 Letter writing is delving into self, emotions & depth while texting has an urgency of don't leave me hanging—an increased vulnerability for a response & acceptance even over substance, or just a difference between succinct & sharp versus discovery, regret, remorse, reaching out... #TWSOchat
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A2 A sense of care and revision, a slower time, a revelation, often without facing reality or real physical constraints like distance and circumstances. Texts are in the real world and vulnerable to public sharing. Letters are a conversation with the inner self as much as the recipient. #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:41 PM
A2 A sense of care and revision, a slower time, a revelation, often without facing reality or real physical constraints like distance and circumstances. Texts are in the real world and vulnerable to public sharing. Letters are a conversation with the inner self as much as the recipient. #TWSOchat
The next in person #TWSsprints session is coming up, so save the date for Sunday, September 27th at Waves Coffee on Howe Street. Come out to say hi to other #TWS folx, enjoy some writing and social time in a fun and relaxed environment.
September 13, 2026 at 6:45 PM
The next in person #TWSsprints session is coming up, so save the date for Sunday, September 27th at Waves Coffee on Howe Street. Come out to say hi to other #TWS folx, enjoy some writing and social time in a fun and relaxed environment.
Save the date for the next #TWSOchat on Sunday, November 12th at 10:30am (PDT). We will discuss FanFiction Join in with TWS alumni + mentors to ask q's and share your knowledge. #writerschat #WritingCommnunity
September 13, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Save the date for the next #TWSOchat on Sunday, November 12th at 10:30am (PDT). We will discuss FanFiction Join in with TWS alumni + mentors to ask q's and share your knowledge. #writerschat #WritingCommnunity
Writers! Give us a follow too/mark in your calendars, so that you will know about the upcoming #TWSsprints and #TWSOchat sessions. Bluesky Sessions: 2nd Sunday of each month -- TWS Bluesky Chats #TWSOchat 4th Sunday of each month -- TWS Writing Sprints #TWSsprints
September 13, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Writers! Give us a follow too/mark in your calendars, so that you will know about the upcoming #TWSsprints and #TWSOchat sessions. Bluesky Sessions: 2nd Sunday of each month -- TWS Bluesky Chats #TWSOchat 4th Sunday of each month -- TWS Writing Sprints #TWSsprints
Big love to the writers participating in today's #TWSOchat on Letter Writing: @cmchristieauthor.bsky.social @robmclennan.bsky.social @emath.bsky.social @jessicaleemcmillan.com @shanmonster.bsky.social @candietanaka.bsky.social
September 13, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Big love to the writers participating in today's #TWSOchat on Letter Writing: @cmchristieauthor.bsky.social @robmclennan.bsky.social @emath.bsky.social @jessicaleemcmillan.com @shanmonster.bsky.social @candietanaka.bsky.social
Thanks writing friends for joining in on another interesting discussion. As always, thank you for sharing! At TWS we love to hear how your writing is going and what you are finding interesting in the literary world. #TWSOchat #writers #writingcommunity
September 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Thanks writing friends for joining in on another interesting discussion. As always, thank you for sharing! At TWS we love to hear how your writing is going and what you are finding interesting in the literary world. #TWSOchat #writers #writingcommunity
Please follow the #writers participating in #TWSOchat, this community grows by sharing info + resources. Today we discussed “Letter Writing" ~ I will tweet the writers' handles asap! ^ct #writing #writerschat
September 13, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Please follow the #writers participating in #TWSOchat, this community grows by sharing info + resources. Today we discussed “Letter Writing" ~ I will tweet the writers' handles asap! ^ct #writing #writerschat
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Very interesting about "difficult things" and night writing... I'm really looking forward to reading some of that material you compose in that way... #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Very interesting about "difficult things" and night writing... I'm really looking forward to reading some of that material you compose in that way... #TWSOchat
Q9. What about the voyeuristic habit of reading other people's letters, why does it fascinate us so much. Is that part of what makes epistolary writing so intriguing at times to read? #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Q9. What about the voyeuristic habit of reading other people's letters, why does it fascinate us so much. Is that part of what makes epistolary writing so intriguing at times to read? #TWSOchat
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Me too and my characters and I are more idealistic in letters in general for better or worse. I was so hopeful in my young twenties in midnight letters I'm often thankful I didn't send lol. There's a freedom & loneliness all in one when all our other responsibilities have melted away. #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Me too and my characters and I are more idealistic in letters in general for better or worse. I was so hopeful in my young twenties in midnight letters I'm often thankful I didn't send lol. There's a freedom & loneliness all in one when all our other responsibilities have melted away. #TWSOchat
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A7. Emails where time and distance separates the writers and there is no communication outside the written word (eg. video chat) can take the form of letters as they are less conversational. My emails to family and friends abroad are identical to letters, although not physical. #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:10 PM
A7. Emails where time and distance separates the writers and there is no communication outside the written word (eg. video chat) can take the form of letters as they are less conversational. My emails to family and friends abroad are identical to letters, although not physical. #TWSOchat
Q8. What do you think that letter writing can reveal about a character and it is a good option for sensitive or discrete topics as a device? Have you ever used it in a poem or other genre? #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Q8. What do you think that letter writing can reveal about a character and it is a good option for sensitive or discrete topics as a device? Have you ever used it in a poem or other genre? #TWSOchat
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uninhibited emotions I meant to say...they can most be themselves at night, alone, heartbroken, speaking all the feelings they were too shy to say in the light of day when jobs & schedules & fear of rejection are more rampant. Social constructions are less constraining at midnight #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:03 PM
uninhibited emotions I meant to say...they can most be themselves at night, alone, heartbroken, speaking all the feelings they were too shy to say in the light of day when jobs & schedules & fear of rejection are more rampant. Social constructions are less constraining at midnight #TWSOchat
Q7. Email or text messages are used in some novel writing as well but in what ways do you think they differ from letter writing? In good ways and in ways that might not be as effective? There is more of a sense of immediacy in expecting a reply back but does it affect the characters? #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Q7. Email or text messages are used in some novel writing as well but in what ways do you think they differ from letter writing? In good ways and in ways that might not be as effective? There is more of a sense of immediacy in expecting a reply back but does it affect the characters? #TWSOchat
Reposted by The Writer's Studio at SFU
Reposted by The Writer's Studio at SFU
I send my newsletters to family & some friends who are far away. Even for a wider audience, I try to keep it real and warm. I wrote an essay about my newsletters that was published in the 2025 Conditional Release Newsletter (for Edmonton Institution for Women). #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 6:03 PM
I send my newsletters to family & some friends who are far away. Even for a wider audience, I try to keep it real and warm. I wrote an essay about my newsletters that was published in the 2025 Conditional Release Newsletter (for Edmonton Institution for Women). #TWSOchat
Reposted by The Writer's Studio at SFU
in “Let Us Hear About Your Progress”: Letters Between Lucia Berlin, Edward Dorn, & Jennifer Dunbar Dorn (2024), short story writer Lucia Berlin (1936-2004) refers to Richard Brautigan as “Asshole Brautigan.” clearly there's a story there; robmclennan.substack.com/p/the-green-...
the green notebook,
, reading Renee Gladman + Orhan Pamuk, & letters by Amiri Baraka, Edward Dorn + Lucia Berlin,
robmclennan.substack.com
September 13, 2026 at 5:57 PM
in “Let Us Hear About Your Progress”: Letters Between Lucia Berlin, Edward Dorn, & Jennifer Dunbar Dorn (2024), short story writer Lucia Berlin (1936-2004) refers to Richard Brautigan as “Asshole Brautigan.” clearly there's a story there; robmclennan.substack.com/p/the-green-...
Reposted by The Writer's Studio at SFU
#TWSOchat That's exactly the dilemma between typing and handwriting...lost notes all over that I can't decipher versus so easy to say too much and have to edit it down. Editing is a job though, just not as exciting as first drafting for me. So true that "handwriting has an internal built-in editor"
September 13, 2026 at 5:56 PM
#TWSOchat That's exactly the dilemma between typing and handwriting...lost notes all over that I can't decipher versus so easy to say too much and have to edit it down. Editing is a job though, just not as exciting as first drafting for me. So true that "handwriting has an internal built-in editor"
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Dracula, Bram Stoker; that's the first one i caught, at least that i can recall; somewhere during my teens, (back when novels were often writ, as i understand it, in that epistolary fashion,
September 13, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Dracula, Bram Stoker; that's the first one i caught, at least that i can recall; somewhere during my teens, (back when novels were often writ, as i understand it, in that epistolary fashion,
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I've written an epistolary short story in the form of letters, but so far, no one has wanted to publish it.
September 13, 2026 at 5:54 PM
I've written an epistolary short story in the form of letters, but so far, no one has wanted to publish it.
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#TWSO That's one of my favourite things too—the relationships between writers through letters like Hemingway & Fitzgerald. I love diaries and letters, often more than novels and short stories. Like Timothy Findley's journals as a writer.
September 13, 2026 at 5:53 PM
#TWSO That's one of my favourite things too—the relationships between writers through letters like Hemingway & Fitzgerald. I love diaries and letters, often more than novels and short stories. Like Timothy Findley's journals as a writer.
Reposted by The Writer's Studio at SFU
A5. I have always found letters in a novel pull me in because the form instantly triggers a sense of intimacy and curiosity. It can be a much more interesting form of exposition and is also frequently used in story-rich video games. #TWSOchat
September 13, 2026 at 5:52 PM
A5. I have always found letters in a novel pull me in because the form instantly triggers a sense of intimacy and curiosity. It can be a much more interesting form of exposition and is also frequently used in story-rich video games. #TWSOchat