It’s All About Urgency!

Just a few thoughts on something I talk a lot about in our Art of Writing creative writing workshops. EMOTIONAL URGENCY! (You’ll know what I mean if you’ve done the Art of Writing). 

Urgency is enormously important. A manuscript comes alive when you know why this moment in your character’s life is important. Something has shifted. A truth can no longer be ignored. A choice must be made. A facade is cracking. Can you pinpoint the turning points in your story?

It’s the same with your own writing life. There’s always the temptation to wait. Maybe for more time, more confidence, more clarity. Or as I’ve heard this quite a bit, wait for time away in France or Italy (nothing wrong with that but get going now!). The truth is, waiting dilutes urgency. The longer you postpone writing, the quieter your story becomes. The moment that feels uncomfortable, alive, or demanding right now is the moment to capture on the screen. Or on paper. That’s your story asking to be written.

Don’t wait until the house is clean, the inbox is empty, or your doubts disappear. Writing doesn’t need perfect conditions. It just needs YOU!In other news: 

Our October masterclass, Dialogue That Does More Than Talk, has officially sold out. Thank you to everyone who booked! If you missed out this time, don’t worry. We’ll be running four new Craft Clinics in early 2026.

Make a note of these dates in your diaries so that next year you really focus on your writing. Each of the following Zooms is designed to deepen your storytelling craft:

• Feb 17, The Art of Scene: how to craft vivid, emotionally charged scenes that move a story forward.
• March 17, Memory into Memoir: shaping real experience into compelling narrative.
• April 14, The Major Dramatic Question: identifying and sustaining the central tension that keeps readers turning pages.
• May 12, Character and Conflict: understanding what your characters want, and what stands in their way.

Details and booking links will be announced soon. Keep an eye on these Newsletters!

In more news:

If you’ve been hesitating to send something in for us to read, don’t. We’d love to read your work. Whether it’s a short reflection, an insight from your creative process, or a piece that’s still finding its shape, your words matter here. The Art of Writing community thrives on real voices. Be brave and share! Your story might be exactly what another writer needs to read this week.

Take this as your nudge. Revisit a paragraph that still sparks something in you, polish it, and send it through. We can’t wait to see what you’re creating. And celebrate the courage it takes to put words into the world.

In super exciting news:

I can finally share that I’ve been awarded a Fellowship at the State Library of New South Wales for my new book POISED, a memoir about my mother, June Dally-Watkins, and me. It is such an honour to work in this magnificent library with the most generous librarians who will help me explore the world of deportment and charm schools.

Through this Fellowship, I will have access to archives that document the remarkable women of my mother’s era, the models, pageant winners, beauty queens, and teachers who helped shape a generation’s ideas of grace and confidence. POISED will be a joy to research and write, blending history and personal story into a mother and daughter memoir.

If you get the chance, apply for a fellowship that supports your writing goals. It’s such a gift to have time and space devoted entirely to your work. A fellowship can take you somewhere new, open doors to unexpected research, and surround you with people who love ideas as much as you do. Give it a go! If you don’t apply, you’ll never get it. So apply!

Warmly

Lisa Clifford

The Art of Writing