Lit!Commons: Catalyst S1

This pathway, led by Art Coulson, is focused on honing your creativity, habit-building, and discipline toward a more productive writing practice. Live sessions will include shared support and habit-building to help overcome writer's block.

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Your Teaching Artist

Lit!Commons Subscribers Gain Access to All 10 Teaching Artists. The Catalyst path is led by Art Coulson.

The Inner Child Art Coulson

Art Coulson is a writer of Cherokee, English, and Dutch descent and comes from a family of storytellers in all three traditions.

A Navy brat, Art traveled the world, attending 14 schools on three continents before graduating high school. Art served as the first executive director of the Wilma Mankiller Foundation in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma after an award-winning 25-year career in journalism.

Art, the 2023 McKnight Fellow in Children’s Literature, is the author of more than a dozen books, graphic novels and plays, including the middle grade novel, Chasing Bigfoot (2022), The Reluctant Storyteller (2020), and Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! (2021). The Reluctant Storyteller was named a best book of 2020 by Bank Street. Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! was named a best STEM children’s book by the National Science Teaching Association in 2022 and featured on the inaugural broadcast of Reading Rainbow Live!

Art is represented by Jacqui Lipton at The Tobias Literary Agency.
Website: artcoulson.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ShufflingTowardTheNightland/
Instagram: @UpWithTheMooses

The Catalyst Path

This curriculum will build over time. You get access to it all!

1. Welcome from Art Coulson
2. What to Expect from The Catalyst
3. Shared Values and Rules
4. Catalyst Survey
1. Perfect is the Enemy of GSD — Getting Stuff Done
2. Transcript from Presentation
3. Class Reading
1. 11 Tips for Creating Your Ideal Writing Space
2. Class Reading
1. My Writing Routine
2. In Conversation: Writer Nicholas DeShaw, Part 1
3. Class Reading
1. 10 Tips for Carving Out Time to Write
2. Audio transcript: 10 Tips for Carving Out Time to Write
3. Class Reading
1. Igniting our Creativity
2. Class Reading
1. In Conversation: Writer Nicholas DeShaw, Part 2
2. Class Reading
1. Breaking Bad (Habits) for Authors
2. Bad Habits to Drop
3. Class Reading
1. In Conversation: Writer Nicholas DeShaw, Part 3
2. Class Reading
1. The Unseen Muse
2. Class Reading
1. The Writer's Well
2. Creative Clarity: A guided meditation for writers
1. Writer's Block?
2. Try This
1. Change in My Schedule
2. Class Reading
1. Getting Your Writing Groove on
2. Audio transcript: Getting Your Groove On
3. Music to Spark Creativity
1. A Change of Place
2. Class Reading
1. Propel Your Story Forward
2. Stuck? Let Kurt Vonnegut Help You Find Your Story's Shape
1. Being Receptive to Creativity
2. Class Reading
3. Catalyst Survey
1. Finding Creative Ideas for Stories
2. Class Reading
3. Catalyst Survey
1. We'll Get Started Promptly
2. Class Reading
1. How to Stay Motivated
2. Class Reading
1. How I Stay Motivated
2. Class Reading
1. How It's Going
2. Class Reading
1. Patience
2. Class Reading
1. Re-establishing a Writing Habit
1. Season 2 Preview
2. Catalyst Season 2 Survey (for those who can't make the live session)
1. Ty Chapman on Restarting Your Writing Habit

About this path

Weekly On-Demand Lessons
Live Follow-up Sessions
Shared Community