Greetings from the rainy Pacific Northwest! I’m Noony, and I’ll be your host this month for the A to Z Blog Challenge here at the Writer Zen Garden.

First, though, I want to share something of critical importance. Now, more than ever, it’s critical for creatives to stand together and support each other. To that end, those of you here in the States, we are rallying this coming Saturday, April 5th. On this single day, four groups have come together: 50501, Indivisible, Hands Off, and Women’s March. They are organizing on two websites: Hands Off and See you in the Streets.

NOTE: As of Saturday night, 885 protests have been logged. Protests are being added daily. These are *non-violent* protests. Hope to see you there! If you can’t come in person, please help spread the word, either on social media or with your local press. Let’s show these billionaire oligarchs that America is not for sale.

Second, on to our theme, which is,

Growing!

The invitation to our writers is to interpret that however they want to:

• Gardening
• Spring
• Personal Growth
• Professional Growth
• Life Cycles
• Puppies and Kittens

We thought this would be a fun way to merge the ideas of Spring, creativity, and personal growth that we all like to focus on here at Writer Zen Garden.

If this is your first time, we have three aims:

1. Get on the Page
2. Find a Home for Your Work
3. Give Back

Get on the Page

We are big believers in the idea that what makes someone a writer is the simple act of writing. We don’t need fancy diplomas, expensive certifications, or masters programs. What’s needed is to simply WRITE!

Find a Home for Your Work

So you’ve done it – you’ve written a piece, and you’re stinkin’ proud of it. Now what?

Well, what do you want to do with it? Leave it in a drawer or on your device? Publish online to a blog or newsletter? Release it as a book? Land an agent or publisher? We work together to help each other learn the ropes of the business of publishing and how to figure out what the next right step is for our career.

Give Back

One of my favorite parts of the writing community is how generous we are! Writers love to share their knowledge, expertise, and information. We like to create places for them to do that, either in our twice-yearly writing retreats or in special workshops.

We also believe in creating space to create, and host weekly online write-ins on Mondays and craft circles on Saturdays. Interested? We’d love to have you join us!

The A to Z Challenge

Throughout the month of April, we’ll be sharing posts from several of our regular members, and I hope you’ll come back and join the fun! And please, feel welcome to leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

-Noony