Want to make some Scene Magic together?

An invitation to paid subscribers--and a resource for all

Hi friends,

Even though it’s 56 degrees here in Northern Indiana, my semester is over and I’ve got summer on my mind. I’m thinking about my summer art + writing goals, and I’m hoping to connect with you and yours. This is an informational and invitational post!

1. Invitation to Paid Subscribers: Let’s make some SCENE MAGIC on Zoom!

I am so grateful to my paid subscribers who have supported me and my work over the last year, and I wanted to offer an invitation to hang out on Zoom next weekend and make some SCENE MAGIC. Is there a scene you’ve been wanting to write for a story? A memory that you need to transform into language? I’ll walk you through a 15-minute scene-writing exercise I’ve developed (see below for more info), and you can share what you write—or not! It’s just a chance to put some faces to the names I see in the comments, make some creative connections, and share stories. (It also happens to be the first day of the 14-day writing challenge #1000wordsofsummer—and this is a perfect way to get started!)

SCENE MAGIC with Kelcey Ervick on Zoom
Saturday, May 31, 2025 11am-12pm ET
Info and registration: https://lu.ma/ya1dkz9d

Sorry if this time doesn’t work for you. This is a last-minute trial round for me to kick off #1000words of summer and figure out how to host a virtual event. Like, does my event link work? Will the zoom link work? Did I list the wrong time? :)

2. But you don’t have to be a paid subscriber to make some Scene Magic.

Last year I participated in the aforementioned #1000wordsofsummer and it was great. The idea is to write 1000 words per day for 14 days, which seems like the perfect length of time! It’s hosted by the fabulous

Jami Attenberg

, who has tips on how to prepare and answers FAQs.

Last year I wrote two posts that apply to it or any creative challenge. I came up with a plan ahead of time that you might find useful:

Prepping for a two-week writing challenge

And I started strong! But of course midway through I started flailing. At that point I remembered that I am a literal creative writing professor who has developed a scene writing exercise that I call SCENE MAGIC.

Here is the original post where I shared it, along with an explanation of the color coding and how and why it works:

Scene Magic: A scene-writing exercise in 20 questions

3. Or maybe you’d like to take a workshop with me?

I’m also in the process of developing a couple of art/writing workshops to offer this summer! They will be individually priced per class and open to all. What would you love to make or learn more about? Stay tuned!

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Thanks for reading The Habit of Art by Kelcey Ervick, a Substack Featured Publication (twice!). I love writing and drawing these posts and am grateful to everyone who follows along. I’m the author of four award-winning books and a creative writing professor at Indiana University South Bend. I’ve taught workshops on writing and visual storytelling for places like the Indiana Writers Center, Midwest Writers Workshop, and Sequential Artists Workshop. And I’m excited to teach at Shakerag Workshops in Tennessee in two weeks! (That workshop is full!)

-Kelcey

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