Find Your Flow: A Drop-In Creative Writing Workshop

In this 90 minute online session, you'll enter a facilitated space where you're invited to write with the support of prompts, techniques and strategies to dive deeper into your stories, your ideas and your voice. There will be opportunities to share your work, but never any obligations. If you're looking to exercise your creativity, great! If you don’t identify as a creative person, this is still the right place for you! All are welcome, but there are only 10 spots per session (and workshops often sell out), so the sooner you sign up, the better!

Upcoming dates: September 7, September 22, October 5, October 20, November 4, December 14.*

What Happens During the Workshop?

Workshops integrate grounding and mindfulness techniques alongside writing. We begin with introductions and agreements, move into freewriting, and then ground ourselves before diving into a structured writing exercise with specific prompts. As a facilitator, Preeti strives to centre your agency (i.e. you are never required to follow the prompt, perform the exercise or share your work, but will always be invited to listen to your body and make a decision that’s best for you).

What Happens After?

Some participants use these workshops as a way to develop pieces for publication, while others use them as a space for creative self-care, community-care, emotional reflection, and/or breaking through creative blocks. Whether you’re here to commit to a regular practice or simply want to express what’s circling inside, Preeti would love for you to join!

Details

• Cost: Choose what you pay on a sliding scale of $19-$39 (fair price: $30).
• Materials: Pen and paper, a device to type on, or tools to draw with.
• Platform: Zoom (link provided after registration).
• Multiple Dates: If you want to commit to a regular writing practice in 2025, you can sign up for multiple sessions from now through to March! You’ll need to register for each date individually. If the session you want to attend is full, please sign up for the waiting list! *

* Sign up in advance if possible. All sessions since December 2024 have sold out! (Jan. 19, Feb. 4, Feb. 23, March 4, March 23, April 8, April 20, May 6, May 25, June 9, June 26, July 15, Aug. 17--> all SOLD OUT)

The annual New Year's Reflection workshops will happen between December 17 and 31. Preeti will post specific dates and a link for those workshops in early December. An additional drop-in may be also be posted for November.

About the Facilitator

Preeti Kaur Dhaliwal (she/her) is a Punjabi critical race feminist, writer, former lawyer, educator and facilitator who grew up on the traditional, present and future territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen, Qayqayt, Tsawwassen and Musqueam First Nations. With over 20 years of facilitation and teaching experience, Preeti is committed to arts-based methodologies as a source of personal and collective empowerment, transformation and community-building. She has led arts-based workshops across Canada and the US, and firmly believes that stories change the world by altering our ways of seeing, feeling and being with one another and the planet.

Before leaving her legal career, Preeti articled at a boutique litigation firm and clerked at the Federal Court of Canada. She then pursued a Master of Laws at UVic where she used theatre and performance art to investigate how law lives in the body, with a focus on race. While pursuing her MFA at the University of Guelph, Preeti taught creative writing and social justice at the college level. Her creative work tends to examines themes of touch, grief, power, diasporic Punjabi life and sexuality, and has been published in PRISM International, The New Quarterly, The Fiddlehead, Canadian Notes & Queries, The Humber Literary Review, Looseleaf, alt theatre and Held Magazine, amongst numerous other publications. Preeti has received over two dozen awards for community service and academic excellence, as well as artistic support from Canada Council for the Arts and BC Arts Council. She is grateful to be a two-time writer in residence at Voices of Our Nation (VONA), a Deer Lake alumna and a Banff alumna, and continues to holds deep gratitude for organizations and individuals who support the arts.

If you’re unable to sign up for workshops and want to support Write with Preeti scholarships, you can make a donation here. If you want to learn more about Preeti, you can find her on IG @write.with.preeti or at https://linktr.ee/Jadooberry.

[Photo taken by Ella Cooper]

Testimonials from Previous Workshop Participants

“What a gift to spend my Sunday morning with Preeti, to be seen, heard and affirmed in the words I'm putting on the page. I can't express how much I needed this today. Thank you so much, Preeti.”

~ “Preeti concisely provided the set-up, jumped into the heart of the workshop, and created many opportunities for all voices to be heard. The exercises were meaningful and accessible.” ~

“I couldn't think of a better way to kick-start my day than writing with Preeti. She brings care and love to everything she touches. I left the workshop feeling energized and grateful for the opportunity to connect with my writing practice (and other writers!) in such a supportive space.” - Kai Fig Taddei, Writer and Workshop Participant

~ "My writing has been limited to academic and expository formats for decades. I don't offer myself the time or permission to express emotions, be vulnerable, share lived and felt experiences or be creative in my writing. Preeti skillfully and thoughtfully creates a safe, respectful and inclusive space that honours my hesitant, cautious and self-edited voice and provides opportunities for deep reflection, exploration, curiosity and forgiveness. Preeti holds space gently and generously through meaningful community agreements, nourishing breathing exercises, melodious music and reflective and impactful writing prompts. I leave the sessions feeling uplifted, valued, seen and heard and with a strong desire to share my unedited voice. These sessions have been a profound part of my self-care and soul care." Angela Ma Brown, Anti-racist Educator ~

"Preeti has a way of creating such an inclusive and warm environment. The writing workshops are interesting, creative, and always stimulate my mind and decrease my stress levels. I have attended 3 sessions now, and Preeti always has new and innovative writing prompts to respond to. These workshops are incredibly important and help bring a sense of community and creativity to McGill Law." - McGill Law Student

~ "I felt my creativity start to bubble again and I'm excited to take what I experienced and let it guide my writing." ~

"This morning was a breath of fresh air. Preeti welcomes us all in with a generosity that feels like home. So much gratitude."

~ “I truly enjoyed connecting with others and the positive space that you created. I had a renewed interest I'm writing and will continue exploring this creative side of me. I hope to be able to attend a future workshop!” McGill Law Student ~

“These workshops are such a gift to me. They lessen the loneliness and isolation I experience. I feel part of a community for which I’m so grateful. I honestly couldn’t recommend them more.”

~ “Being able to enter a flow state while writing. That feeling was special.” ~

“I appreciate the calmness it brought me, and the legitimacy of a scheduled activity helps justify spending time on myself.” - Law Student

~ "I reconnected with my purpose, which is the journey. I'll spend time thinking about which destinations are more important to me now and how to take the first steps toward them." ~

"I appreciated the prompts, the accompanying music, the opportunity to hear the poem in multiple voices, and the gentle strength with which you, Preeti, created and held our container."

~ "Equal parts structure and flow, and the drop-in option always draws me in out of curiosity. Even when I have nothing to contribute, I feel the offering of my gratitude for such a magic and respectful space is honored." ~