DAY 2
WRITING SESSION
GUIDELINES
YOUR PAPER IS YOUR SECRET SPACE.
PROMPTS ARE JUST ENTRYPOINTS.
REPHRASE THE PROMPT IF NEEDED.
1. MORNING PAGES (15 min)
Think about something you’ve encountered recently.
It could be:
a conversation
a film
a book
a podcast
a song
a dream
something you’ve observed
something you’ve heard someone say
Ask yourself:
What surprised me?
What did I find thought-provoking?
What did I find strange?
Start there. Follow whatever catches your attention. If something else becomes more interesting while writing, follow that instead. No editing. No deleting. No paragraph breaks.
2. RANDOM QUESTION #1 (7 min)
Write down a number between 1 and 15.
Find the question that belongs to that number.
Answer it in writing.
If your writing drifts away from the question, let it drift.
No editing. No deleting. No paragraph breaks.
3. RANDOM QUESTION #2 (7 min)
Write down a number between 16 and 30.
Find the question that belongs to that number.
Answer it in writing.
If a memory, image, story, person, object, feeling, or tangent appears, follow it.
No editing. No deleting.
4. RANDOM QUESTION #3 (7 min)
Write down a number between 31 and 46.
Find the question that belongs to that number.
Answer it in writing.
Stay with whatever appears.
Allow yourself to surprise yourself.
No editing. No deleting. No paragraph breaks.
5. FOLLOW THE FASCINATION (7 min)
Take a moment to let the previous writing settle.
Check in with yourself.
What are you curious about right now?
What is pulling at your attention?
What would you like to spend a little more time with?
What do you feel drawn to write about?
Don’t overthink it.
Trust your first instinct.
Simply follow whatever is calling for your attention right now.
No editing. No deleting. No paragraph breaks.
6. CHOSEN QUESTION (9 min)
Scroll through the full list of questions.
Now choose the question that pulls you most strongly right now.
Answer it. Let yourself drift on paper. Let yourself be surprised.
7. LOOKING BACK (5 min)
Reflect on what you have written today.
Thinking about what you discovered about yourself, your character, or something in between:
What touched you?
What moved something in you?
What made you laugh or smile?
Write about that.
No editing. No deleting. No paragraph breaks.
8. FOR YOUR FUTURE SELF (3 min)
What would you like to remember from this writing session?
What would you like to be your next creative step?
Make a few notes for your future self.
CHANGE & SURPRISE QUESTIONS
CHOOSE A PERIOD OF CHANGE (3 min)
Before you begin, choose a period, event, journey, project, relationship, experience, or chapter of life.
It can be:
something from your own life
something from the life of a documentary subject
something from the life of a fictional character
Choose something that matters.
It can be a major turning point or a seemingly small experience.
You don’t need to know yet whether it changed everything or almost nothing.
Simply choose a period that feels interesting to explore.
Once you’ve chosen it, answer the change & surprise questions for that period.
Conversation Tool from Solution-Focused Coaching & Therapy
DAY 1
WORKSHOP GUIDELINES
Share only as much as feels right for you.
Your needs, wishes, questions, and confusions are always welcome.
Feel free to ask at any time — even if something has already been explained.
THE MAGIC OF GREAT QUESTIONS
Follow the other person’s interest, not your own.
Use open-ended questions.
Invite quirky, unique, specific details.
CHECK-IN
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
What has been more fun lately than you expected it to be?
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
DEEPER CHECK-IN
What are you currently working on that this workshop could be useful for?
Imagine you leave this weekend thinking, “That was really useful.” What would be different?
Is there anything you’d particularly like to take away from this weekend?
WHAT DO YOU NEED IN ORDER TO FEEL CREATIVE OR COMFORTABLE HERE?
EXERCISE: BRINGING A PLACE TO LIFE
Interview your partner about a place from their life.
The place could be:
a place from childhood
a place they travelled to
a place they lived
a place they keep returning to
Ideally, find a place you have never visited yourself.
Your goal is not to gather factual information.
Your goal is to be able to imagine the place as vividly as possible by the end of the conversation.
PHASE 1: BRINGING A PLACE TO LIFE
15-20 minutes per person
Questions:
What thought, feeling, or mood comes up when you think of this place?
What sounds do you associate with it?
What visual details stand out to you?
What colours, lights, shapes, or images belong to this place?
What smells do you associate with it?
WHAT FLAVOURS COME UP IN YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU THINK OF THAT PLACE?
What textures, temperatures, or bodily sensations belong to this place?
What else would help me experience this place more vividly?
Let the questions and answers breathe.
After each interview debrief -- 5 minutes
The interviewee shares:
what helped you open up?
what would help you even more?
which moments in this interview were pleasant for you?
if you continue talkiking to your interviewer what would help you or make it even more pleasant?
which questions worked well for you?
PHASE 2: FOLLOWING WHAT FEELS ALIVE IN THEM
STEP 1: REFLECT (3 minutes)
Take a few minutes to make notes about your interviewee.
What do you appreciate, admire, or enjoy about them?
Where does their energy go?
What seems to interest them?
What do they enjoy talking about?
What details do they keep returning to?
Draw not only on the place interview, but also on anything else you’ve noticed or heard from them today.
STEP 2: THE INTERVIEW (15-20 minutes)
Choose a topic, period of life, interest, passion, project, or experience that seems particularly alive for your partner.
If several possibilities come to mind, choose the one that feels most unfamiliar to you.
There is no question guide for this part.
Simply follow your partner’s interest.
A few suggestions:
Use open-ended questions rather than closed questions.
Try not to prepare your next question while your partner is speaking. Just listen. You can react, be present, and actively listen, but try to let the next question emerge from what you hear.
If you sense that your partner is holding back because they assume a detail seems too small, too obvious, too nerdy, or not important enough, invite them to tell you more. Invite them to share details, examples, and specifics.
STEP 3: DEBRIEF (5 minutes)
The interviewee shares:
What was enjoyable, pleasant, or meaningful about being interviewed in this way?
Where did you feel hesitation or reluctance inside you to go into specifics, examples, or details?
What would help you open up more in those moments?