For a long while now, I have been writing newsletters, but if we are all being honest, this place has been lacking an identity. I recently sat down with some friends who will tell you the truth above all things, and they told me this. This place has no identity. After many discussions with many people following that meeting, I came up with the craziest idea ever. There is ambition, and then there is the plan I have concocted. I discussed the potential of postcards with paid subscribers, which was the starting point of something huge. I am combining everything I love to form an identity and create something people can be a part of.
Along with the usual perks of extra newsletters, Instagram close friends and the full archive, every subscriber will get a letter with either a sticker or a badge and physical mail every few months. I have been looking at how to make this feasible, and I believe I have cracked it. I leant away from naming it something to do with poetry because I am not only looking for poets. I want to discuss the craft of poetry but also the craft of writing. I will be setting challenges that allow subscribers to earn badges, and for the time being, you can print these out and put them in your notebook. On that note, I suggest you grab a fresh notebook and make it your official Woofenberry notebook, where you write challenges and keep your badges.
If you are reading this thinking, ‘I am not a writer,’ do not fret. There will still be lots of write-ups and readable content, with the addition of notes where I will share some of my favourite poems and my original work. I will also encourage everybody to pick up a pen and remove the fear of writing. I will show you how you are all capable and able despite what you may think about yourself. I have been thorough in my execution of this. I have ensured that there is content for everybody, and I have balanced the challenges so writers at every level can achieve them. Some challenges aren’t about the writing but the expression and execution. I might ask you to create a mantra, and you can earn yourself a mantra badge, or I might ask for haiku, and you can earn a haiku badge. I will also collaborate with some people and create badges based on them.
Whatever you feel you are, the Woofenberry Writers Club welcomes you. It officially launches in 2025. Until then, here is your first badge and the printout of the pledge if you would like it. The pledge all Woofenberrys must take goes as follows:
On my honour, I promise that I will:
- Be respectful to everybody around me.
- Be gentle to myself and others
- Do my best not to judge myself or my work too harshly
- Not write, speak or spread hatred of any kind.
- Follow the Woofenberry motto: 'Keep kind and stay true.'
Download your I am a Woofenberry badge and pledge printouts from here, and I will see you in the new year. Merry Christmas; I hope you are ready for an extraordinary adventure. Subscribe now to become a fully-fledged member and join the pack. For those already subscribed, another email will follow to send you your first batch of extras.