Operation No C.U.N.T.

Write with us. Separately. 

Hey there cool cats and kittens, how’s the writing going? Bet it’s going GREAT. Bet you are able to FOCUS. Bet everything that is going on in the world is not affecting your creativity AT ALL! If you have agreed with all of those previous statements, then there is no reason to read on any further. 

Great. Now that those assholes are gone, let’s talk and let's be honest. It’s hard to imagine that we as writers and artists are going to come up against a more difficult time in our creative careers than we are going through right now. If you’re feeling this whole pandemic hard and have decided to take a break and concentrate on getting through your days one pyjama-filled, snacking, eating, quarantine-cocktail-making day at a time then we salute you. 

But if, like us, you’re beginning to feel an urge tug at you somewhere around your left leg that tells you maybe, just MAYBE, it’s time to write again but you’re having trouble getting yourself to the computer or notebook, we would like to invite you to what we at Silver Apples Magazine like to call our No C.U.N.T. sessions. 

The WHAT now?!

What is this you ask? No C.U.N.T. is a tried and tested philosophy that has been created and perfected by the Silver Apples Team. It stands for No Corrections Until Next Time (what? Did you think it meant something else? Get your mind out of the gutter people!). It means no edits, no revisions, no second guessing. You sit and you write and you do not stop. You do not read over what you have written. You do not discuss it with your writing group. You write and you move on. Until next time.

Now that we’re all living most of our lives online, we thought it was time to bring No C.U.N.T to the masses. To build a sense of community and excitement around writing again. To give you a kick up the backside if needed. Because let’s face it, there’s nothing more motivating than knowing you’re sitting in a room (or a digital space) with a bunch of other writers furiously tapping away at their own manuscripts.

So what will our sessions entail?

Not much to be honest. It will be the kind of high-quality content you should always expect from a free event. Basically, when you sign up (using the form below) you just sit back and relax. Closer to the day we will send you a Zoom link that you will dial into at the agreed upon time. At that point you will be greeted by probably all, but definitely at least one of us. 

The sessions will be held on Sundays (starting Sunday, 6 Sep) from 3pm-5pm Irish time (adjust your calendar accordingly depending on where you’re located). We will briefly explain what way the day will look like, but it will mainly be 20 minute writing bursts that will be timed. We will all be together on the Zoom (we like to turn off our cameras so others cant see the stupid faces we are making but that is up to you). Then we will take a break of 5 or 10 minutes to grab a coffee, a drink of water, scream into the abyss, whatever you need. After that, we’ll come back and chat for 10 minutes about what we are working on and how we are doing, and then dive back in for another writing sesh (and this is the most important part) WITHOUT READING OVER WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN.

Those words, those bad boys, are a problem for future-you to deal with. We will continue in this way for two hours, at which point we would like to think everyone will have managed to write something. Don’t want to stay the whole two hours? No problem, log off and enjoy your day. Want to take a longer break? No issue, you come back when you’re ready. 

This is draft zero. This is quick. This is dirty. This has no grammar. What you write may come to nothing or it may be the foundation of the next great novel—either way the point is to sit down, get out of your own way, and write something. 

The world is terrible right now. In the words of the glorious queen that was Carrie Fisher, let’s take our pain and make it art. No. C.U.N.T. is not a writing technique. It’s a way of life. Let us share it with you. 

The sessions are free, all you have to do is sign up below.