Next Writing Workshop Round kicks off April 3rd, 2025! All details and sign up here. Early bird open til March 20th mightnight!

What I learnt from my first 10 week programme with Carolyn!

"Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed."
Ray Bradbury

YES RAY - Let’s output SOOOOO MUCH

Read on for more details of our upcoming Ordinary Magic course - Constellations!

You’re a star! And this is your time to shine!

The Ordinary Magic Spaceship is ready for take-off and looking for intrepid writers to join the CONSTELLATION voyage.

With poet Carolyn Hashimoto and creative coach Sarah Furuya as your intergalactic guides this is a journey you don’t want to miss. Let Carolyn and Sarah be your creative ignition, the catalyst to bring your writing to life.

"Magical! And professional! They let one another shine and shared the mic with grace and skill. The dynamic was respectful, collaborative, iterative, and fun."

Through a series of curated writing exercises, prompts and writing salons Ordinary Magic will help you discover new ways into writing and finding inspiration. We’ll show you how there is magic to be found in the most mundane of objects or routines, and we’ll help you navigate your inner critics and unhelpful advice from the past to clear a space for writing that really matters.

"I wrote a lot in the workshop sessions that was prompted by the exercises. Some things were fun, some were introspective, and some helped me with my big story. All of it was interesting. In the pomodoro writing sessions I wrote scenes and got to a point where those scenes were consistently for the same story, which was a new phase for me! I also made a solid start on a zine of the beats of my story, which is both delightful and helpful!"

These workshops and writing sessions are a slice of magic. Think of them as mining expeditions for deep creating in the everyday, a space to take your mind into places and spaces that are so easy to access, yet so easy to miss. As limits are removed, and edges explored so new creative wellsprings will emerge. We’ll take the mundane and make it magic. Make fairytales from the ordinary. This is the space where portals will be found from right under your nose. You may never look in the mirror the same way as before, and walks will become a source of endless inspiration.

"It is good to have the company of other writers when writing. There is inspiration everywhere."

Magic, like everything takes practice. The practical, disciplined, straightforward sitting down and making words and art. And so we’ll open the salon, every other week, to sit and write together. Two hours dedicated to pure production. We’ll manage the cadence and the rhythm of this and guide you with some prompts if you’re feeling stuck that day. This is where you bring your writing to life. This is the part where you get things done. This is a significant part of Ordinary Magic – creating the conditions for your writing to thrive.

"If I'm given the space, time, and support, I CAN write"

You might complete your book or at least have a breakthrough with the outline. This could be where you jump that last hurdle you just couldn't get over. This could just be where you sit down and play and take time every week to be with yourself, your precious creativity, and the soul of your pen or keyboard. You know we all have plenty of reasons (excuses in high heels) for not writing or making or creating; good news, Ordinary Magic is where we open this space up for that part of you that really really wants this. The part that wants you to invest in the time to think, exist and produce creatively. It's everything.

You may also simply want 2 months of outstanding creation with an acclaimed poet and a first-class coach.

This is where you successfully get over yourself and your limits and If you're going to be a writer, you're going to need to write. To sit, lie or stand and write.

We will not be giving critiques, feedback or correcting spelling. This is a different kind of space. A space where magic unfolds from the mundane. There's no policing production. The most important thing is to get writing. To thrive in creating. To feel the burn of resistance and write anyway. To feel the flow of creation, and the joy of starting or completion.

Schedule

Ordinary Magic Constellations Schedule

Thursdays 7-9PM JST / 11-1PM GMT

Week 1, April 3rd Workshop 1: HOUSEHOLD MAGIC

Week 2, April 10th WRITING SALON 1

Week 3, April 17th Workshop 2: MAGIC WALKS

Week 4, April 24th WRITING SALON 2

Week 5, May 1st Workshop 3: MAGIC CUP

Week 6, May 8th WRITING SALON 3

Week 7, May 15th Workshop 4: MAGIC MIRRORS

Week 8, May 22nd WRITING SALON 4

Week 9, May 29th CEILIDH – let’s share our work, and celebrate all our accomplishments

Investment

FULL PRICE: 63000 JPY (£333)

EARLY BIRD: 57000 JPY (£300) Open until midnight 20th March, BST
ALUMNI: 53500 JPY (£280)

Minimum of 8 to run the programme. Introduce a new person and get a one-to-one with Carolyn or Sarah to discuss your work.

All sessions, including the workshops and writing sessions, will be recorded and the slide shows will also be available.