IMAGE: Cody Weaver /unsplash

It takes 40 days to break a habit; 90 days to create a new habit; 120 days to master a habit. –Yogi Bhajan

The Writer’s Oasis: 120 Days of Creating is an intentional journey that supports you to develop and master the habit of a consistent daily writing practice.

this course is about the sacred act of showing up each day: showing up for yourself. showing up for your writing. showing up for the stories you long to write.

with care and intention, we commit to just 30 minutes each day for 120 days. simple, slow, gentle and consistent.
🌱 by Day 40, we clear the habit of not showing up /putting our writing last
🌿 by Day 90, we create a new habit and a new neural pathway that says: “I write daily” and “I keep my commitments to myself.”
🌳 by Day 120, we deepen that neural pathway and master the habit, so it is effortless to maintain.

my hope and intention is that by the end of the journey, every single writer who completes the process is able to maintain a daily writing practice with ease, no matter what may be happening in their lives.

we work with, and move as, water

the ease of water
the gentle persistence of water
the softness of water
the fierceness of water
the surrender of water
the commitment of water to being itself

IMAGE: Mateus Guimaraes /unsplash

this course builds on the traditional The Writer’s Oasis, (which has been going since Feb 2023) where we write together online, 30 mins per day for 30 days. while the 120 Day journey takes a slightly different format, it still has the same intention, deep holding, and practical guidance of the original journey.

The Writer’s Oasis is the place within each of us, where our writing lives. through learning how to rest into this place, and write from here, our writing practice becomes a source of nourishment that can feed all areas and aspects of our lives. I offer a practice that marries the yin & yang of writing: soul & craft; being & doing; body/heart & mind.

in this 120-day online course, you receive creative prompts, exercises, and meditations to connect with your Writer's Oasis. you learn how to write from there, in harmony with your logical/technical/critical mind. you also work with and through your body, in simple & gentle ways.

this process is for people writing in any format or genre: journalists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, authors, non-fiction writers, memoirists, bloggers, researchers, academic writers, those writing Masters or Phd theses, or anyone exploring writing for the first time.

IMAGE: Alexander Schimmeck /unsplash

how the course works

whereas the traditional 30-day course was delivered via daily live sessions, this one is conducted via email. the intention is to make the course accessible across a range of time zones, and also, allow you to fit it into your day at a time that suits your schedule and various life & work commitments. each day’s activity will take 30 minutes. emails are sent at daily, at 6am SAST | 4am UTC

there are also three live sessions, via Zoom, each month
🖌 2 x 60-minute sessions , where I will share a short creative prompt or exercise and the remainder of the time is for you to write.
📖 1 x 90-minute session by a guest facilitator. all the guest facilitators are renowned published authors, and experienced creative writing teachers, mentors & coaches.

the intention of the live sessions is to create a supportive writing community: a certain kind of magic happens when a group of people gather to write. the collective energy allows a deeper focus and surrender to the words and process of writing.

there is also a Telegram group for ongoing support from me, and, where we will encourage and support each other through the process.

our guest facilitators

vangile gantsho

if my writing practice was a kind of water, it would be river. there is wild there and there is a searching for the ocean. and the river bed and the rocks… this water can hold it and carry it as far as is necessary for a current.

WORKSHOP: January 26th

—vangile brings her writing workshop, ithemba luthando, to The Writer's Oasis.

expect thought-provoking & heart stirring prompts that ask you to dive deep into yourself to write and write and write.

vangile is a poet, healer, teaching artist, and co-founder of impepho press. she is the current editor of New Coin Poetry Journal and the author of poetry collections red cotton (2018) and Undressing in Front of the Window (2015). she holds an MA in creative writing from the University Currently Known as Rhodes and has taught at several tertiary institutions in South Africa and the USA. her work appears in various publications including New Daughters of Africa (2019). gantsho has performed her work on three continents and curated literary events across the globe, both in-person and online. she is dedicated to initiatives that encourage black feminine visibility and healing, such as Ukuthula, a creative writing resistance to gender-based violence, and smallgirl rising connecting the Divine Black Feminine, an international poetry healing initiative.

www.impephopress.co.za
impepho press on IG

vangile on IG

IMAGE: Seth Avusuglo

Malika Ndlovu

If my writing practice was a kind of water, it would be the resonant call to be at the riverside or at the shore, to surrender to or dance with the waves, an invitation to whale-deep listening and echolocation, to cleansing and childlike delight. The permission and freedom to be, to breathe and to flow in integrity.

WORKSHOP: February 23rd

–writing as alchemy: transformation and healing through writing

Malika's words and performances have featured on pages and stages in South Africa and globally for over 25 years. She has published two plays: A Coloured Place and Sister Breyani. She is the author of five poetry collections: Born in Africa But (1999); Womb to World: A Labour of Love (2002); Truth is Both Spirit and Flesh (2008); Invisible Earthquake : A woman’s journey through stillbirth (2009); and CLOSE (2017). She co-founded and curated numerous multimedia poetry events for various festivals and platforms, including the groundbreaking Badilisha Poetry X-Change podcast by the Africa Centre; and the women writers’ collectives, WEAVE and the And The Word Was Woman Ensemble. As an applied arts practitioner she consistently promotes healing through creative expression, and is a member of Sp(i)eel Art Therapies Collective networked to the broader SA Arts in Psychosocial Support community of practice. She is the chair of the Fiction category for the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences Awards. Her latest book, Griefseed, was published by Karavan Press in February 2025.

Malika on IG

Karin Schimke

If my writing practice was a kind of water, it would be the entire water course from spring and brook, through waterfall, lake, river, floodplain and sea.

WORKSHOP: March 23rd

***—“finish your sh*t”: a kind, human & grounded look at the importance of completing our writing projects and sending our work out into the world.***

Karin worked as a journalist during the Nineties when South Africa was transitioning to democracy, covering mostly political beats at The Argus, The Star and The Cape Times. Motherhood led her to the calmer waters of freelancing as a features writer and columnist. Her life of obsessive, scattered reading gained recognisable shape when she was appointed the Cape Times books editor and launched a blog called "Not now, darling. I’m reading," which evolved into @readingdarling on Instagram. As a freelancer, she has applied her various language and writing skills as an editor, translator, proofreader, moderator, voice artist, author, poet, facilitator and mentor. She has written a popular weekly Love Letter on Substack for the past four years, and has won multiple awards for journalism, poetry and translation.

Karin is a private writing and book coach, and does manuscript assessments for authors and poets in the development phase of their books.

Her website

Love Letter on Substack

Karin on IG

April Guest Facilitator

our final guest facilitator is still being confirmed. we will share their details and workshop topic as soon as everything has been finalised

WORKSHOP: April 23rd

IMAGE: Ezgi Kimball /unsplash

price

At the Vlei –the full package

the cost of this course is R 3,600 per month. you receive:

🌱 a daily exercise/creative practice/writing prompt for 120 days to develop and grow a consistent daily writing practice
🌿 2 x 60-min facilitated co-writing sessions each month
🪴1 x 90-min writing session by a guest facilitator each month
🌳 ongoing support from me via a dedicated Telegram group

payments are made monthly, in advance, by the 27th of each month {26th for international payments]. i.e.: payment for February is made by January 27th [26th}.

Along the River –the lite option

if you feel drawn to the course, but are unable to make the financial commitment and time commitment of the full package, I have created a "lite" version that allows you to make the full 120-day journey, at a reduced rate. for R880 per month, you receive:

🌱 a daily exercise/creative practice/writing prompt for 120 days to develop and grow a consistent daily writing practice
🌳 ongoing support from me via a dedicated Telegram group

Under the Waterfall –the writing intensive

alternatively, if you are wanting more focused individual support, alongside your 120-day process, I have created an option which offers this. for R 4,800 per month, you receive:

🌱 a daily exercise/creative practice/writing prompt for 120 days to develop and grow a consistent daily writing practice
🌿 2 x 60-min sessions each month
🪴1 x 90-min guest session each month
🌳 ongoing support from me via a Telegram group (dedicated to writers only in this tier)

and 💫 1 x 60 min 1:1 mentoring session with me every month. this includes support to work through any emotional blocks or fears and/or feedback on your work as and when needed.

to help you decide which journey is right for you, here is how the three options compare:

Along the River

[THE LITE TOUCH]

🌱 a daily exercise/creative practice/writing prompt, for 120 days, to develop and grow a consistent daily writing practice

🌳 ongoing support from me via a Telegram group (dedicated to writers only in this tier)

R 880 per month

IMAGE: Sander Dechering/unsplash

At the Vlei

[THE FULL COURSE]

🌱 a daily exercise /creative practice/writing prompt, for 120 days, to develop and grow a consistent daily writing practice

🌿 2 x 60-min facilitate writing sessions each month

🪴1 x 90-min session by a guest faciliator, who is a renowned published author & experienced writing teacher, each month

🌳 ongoing support from me via a Telegram group (dedicated to writers only in this tier)

R 3, 600 per month

IMAGE: Valentin Salja/unsplash

Under the Waterfall

[THE WRITING INTENSIVE]

🌱 a daily exercise /creative practice/writing prompt, for 120 days, to develop and grow a consistent daily writing practice

🌿 2 x 60-min facilitate writing sessions each month

🪴1 x 90-min session by a guest faciliator, who is a renowned published author & experienced writing teacher, each month

🌳 ongoing support from me via a Telegram group (dedicated to writers only in this tier)

💫 1 x 60 min 1:1 mentoring session with me every month. includes support to clear blocks or fears and/or feedback on your work as needed.

R 4, 800 per month

IMAGE: Dwinanda Nurhanif Mujito /unsplash

INTENTIONAL COMMITMENT:

The Writer's Oasis is designed as an intentional 120-day journey to support you to connect deeply with your Writer's Oasis and from that place, create a daily writing practice that you can sustain on your own, after the course ends. each day builds on the work done before.

because of this, it is important to ensure that you can dedicate 30 minutes per day, to this process, for the full four months. it is also important that you can attend all (or most) of the live sessions.

most importantly, you need to create space in your life for these 120 days, to truly show up for, and commit to, your writing practice.

a word from previous participants

When I reflect back on the month long morning sessions with Toni, how she had immersed us in the Joy (and Sorrows) of writing, equipped us with tools which we practiced in and out of session, it is the life cycle of Chasmanthe Floribunda that comes to mind. The soil here on the Cape Flats continues to grow richer with fallen leaves now become mulch; my Soul/Soil is richer for the confidence I gained through her careful coaching allowing me to reach deeper, quieten, reflect and journal. Her carefully curated lessons and prompts continue to urge me to adventure, compost my words and language in ways that are wholly mine. I continue to grow my writing practice as the temporality of time with Toni is not a once off or linear time. It is now layered into the rhythm of my day. I am deeply grateful. [Photo: Carl Collison]

Deirdre Prins-Solani [Sep 2025]

Education.Culture.Heritage specialist.SpiritualEcologist

The Writer’s Oasis was an invaluable space for me while I was writing my book. Toni is clearly an expert in her craft both as a poet/writer and as a teacher of the art of writing. The exercises that she took us through enabled me to open up my own language and re-energise the metaphorical palette that I was using in the book. It made for far richer expression. The course is delivered in micro workshops which are perfect for busy people. I actually stepped out of a work reception once to do the 30 minute session! The Writer’s Oasis is both practical and profound.

Jessica Horn [Feb 2023]

Author of African Feminist Praxis: Cartographies of Liberatory Worldmaking and Speaking in Tongues

Even though I am not formally trained in writing, over the years, through editorial feedback loops and publishing, I have become trained and conditioned. To add to that, while trying to sustain myself as a writer, I've found that overtime the whims of editors, trends, and grants have informed how I write and what I write about. For that reason my writing has been disembodied for a long time, and has become a little more palatable. Through the guided meditations and writing exercises offered in The Writer’s Oasis, I was able, after a long time, to locate in my body what words and thoughts wish to come out and to find their source. I felt and sensed, as opposed to thinking and crafting. I allowed myself to feel into my history, to give word to what my inner self is saying, to let the logic break apart, to face the fear, to unravel a bit and accept the truth of what my current work is about. But mostly to emerge into something else, something more honest.

Mathapelo Mofokeng [Sep 2024]

Writer (Fiction & Flim), End-of-Life Companion, Abortion Doula

I arrived at The Writer’s Oasis knowing I needed a space which would help me reclaim my creative voice. From time to time I find that it gets consumed or has to compete with academic writing which behaves like a jealous lover. With February also being my birthday month and my word for the year being honour, The Writer's Oasis was both a gift and a way of honouring myself and my creativity. Knowing that I had to commit for a month I was able to learn to say no and protect the time dedicated to the scheduled sessions. It's no longer difficult for me to simply say no if the ask is something that will affect my writing time. It is now a way of life. It's amazing how much magic can happen in 30 minutes when we show up with full dedication. Toni's gentle facilitation is definitely part of the magic which is met with the alchemy of showing up with and for the writing. The Writer’s Oasis has been a gift that keeps on giving.

Athambile Masola [Feb 2025]

Researcher, Writer, Poet

The Writer's Oasis is a 30-day spell! Gently and deeply, reaching into the subconscious obstructions to my creative visioning and flow. I was profoundly re-minded of the wealth of my personal archives of memory, journaling, half-forgotten works-in-progress and years of wild dreaming around concepts that I later downscaled or left on the shelf, having lost faith or the initial fire of momentum. There were subtle layers like accumulated dust or cataracts grown over time, gradually blinding me to what has been here —within me— all along. The 30-day commitment to a dedicated and intentional space, has been a revitalizing practice of consistency, daily prioritizing my own deepest desires, grounding me in a paradoxically liberating routine. This simple showing up, day after day, has been healing my shaky confidence in keeping such promises to myself. I entered each session with joyful ease and anticipation of adventure, because I travelled into spaces within my body and imagination that surprised me again and again. Toni's ability to co-create a beautiful and safe container for this kind of re(dis)covery, is truly extraordinary. She clearly knows this path from having walked it and listened well to its teachings. I was tired of my old "not enough time and resources" song and bored with my own vocabulary even when approaching new projects. The prompts and encompassing processes embedded in this course feel like serious play, full permission to let go of self-imposed boundaries on what's possible in my work and life, here and now. The Writer's Oasis helped me shed weathered skin, reawakening my sensory and intuitive ways of exploring what I want to bring into the world through my art and my being. I am immeasurably grateful for this and excited about what more my older and current projects can reveal to me, through this fresh way of navigating.

Malika Ndlovu [Feb 2024]

Poet, Performer & Creative Applied Arts Practitioner

When my time on The Writer's Oasis came to an end, all I could do was thank Toni for developing and sharing a writing practice that is genuinely fit for purpose. These workshops provided me with the multi-dimensional support I needed; they met me where I was, with what I was struggling with, and offered me a stream of supportive community, perspectives, tools, techniques, and even playlists. Toni has artfully blended her life's practice, which she shares as joyful medicine for fellow creatives (the beauty of listening to Toni read or talk about poems!). I highly recommend this course to anyone seeking an oasis in life; you will come away with much more than you expect, and Toni is a guide par excellence.

Jeri-Lee Mowers [Feb 2024]

Co-Founder and Chief Project Officer: Research Advisory Institute

Thank you for helping me find my voice again in writting, I feel so much more confident now to use my written words. I've been using what I learnt and it's been helping greatly, especially the exercise you taught us of just writting the words and letting them flow from the heart without thinking too much. Just this exercise has helped me to feel comfortable in writting (this project) we're still working on the fear of where is this going and what must be done with it when done. Thank you for your work and for your understanding with words and how they come through us as messages to help us re-member whomst we are.

Nomathamsanqa Makade [Feb 2023]

Owner & Creator: Gaia's Love

It's an attempt to convey just how transformative and cathartic the live calls are with you. You have a gentle, yet unquivering way of evoking the deeper, grittier work to be done. I am so good at staying in the comfort zone, where it's cosy and easy, —but that's seldom where any real growth and healing happens. And learning to write, with you, has been more real, and more powerful in moving the tectonic plates inside of me, than many other therapies or ways of processing and learning. Thank you (and at the same time those two words don't feel nearly sufficient)!

Claire Coetzee [Feb & June 2023]

Artist & Writer

The Writer’s Oasis is imperative; not only for writers or those who want to write, but for all artists. It is a workshop which awakens. Where you are gently held and nurtured to reconnect with the heart and express and create from that enlivened place. The Writer’s Oasis evolved and transformed my writing and its practice. To feel the quiet yet exigent spaces within and give them voice and truth. It made me aware that this creative space is a refuge, a haven and the life blood of our inspiration and momentum. It allowed me to not only fully connect with the project I am working on, but to reconnect my writing and all my creative practices, with my heart so that it is an embodied experience of creation and play.

Nathaniel-Antonio Lloyd [Feb 2023]

Writer, Actor, Film Script Developer

One always longs for a safe space in which to bring the the vulnerability of one's writing projects and give them space in which to breathe, unfold, and find the courage to reveal their potential expansiveness and wonder. You have created that space for me. Instead of pressure and deadlines, this space gave me permission to allow my writing to unveil its treasures in its own time. I have learnt how to come to my writing with a buzzing anticipatory joy instead of feeling crippled with trepidation and overwhelm. I have learnt how to listen and breathe, and listen to what wants to be written. I have learnt how to find and activate the positive practices that support my writing, so that I am drawing on the abundance of a rich and resourceful foundation. And with all this, has come the clarity and patience to consistently show up at the page and trust in the process- that what needs to be written, the nature of its framework and the unfolding of its content, will reveal it’s form and structure in its own time. It has also empowered me with the knowing and affirmed that I am committed to my writing life, and that it is worth committing to because it fills me with the satisfied thrumming of a deep contentment and peace, which feeds and enriches my life exponentially in a myriad different ways. I am truly able to recognise and see the value of writing for my life and the need for it to be shared with with others.

Tina Schouw [Feb 2024]

Heartist, Singer-Songwriter, Writer

The Writer's Oasis was a transformational experience. I met that part of myself that writes with joy and ease, and gave her space to breathe and play. Toni's facilitation is gentle and deep. She nurtures, nourishes and invites you into creativity. She creates a safe space to go into the edgy areas where growth happens. The gifts from this month continue to unfold for me. I can't recommend this experience enough

Maia Marie [Feb 2023]

Healer, Facilitator & Writer

How we spend our days, is of course, how we spend our lives. –Annie Dilliard

I look forward to starting the new year with you, by creating a daily writing practice that is nourishing, joy-filled and embodied. one that can become a healthy foundation for all the other areas of our lives. to join me, choose your course package below, and I will see you at the water.

Along the River

[THE LITE TOUCH]

120-day email course, & ongoing support from me, via a dedicated Telegram group, at R 880 per month.

IMAGE: Sander Dechering/unsplash

At the Vlei

[THE FULL COURSE]

full course including 3 live sessions, (one
by a guest faciliator), and ongoing support from me via a dedicated
Telegram group, at
R 3,600 per month

IMAGE: Valentin Salja/unsplash

Under the Waterfall

[THE WRITING INTENSIVE]

full course, including live sessions and a monthly 60-min 1:1 mentoring session with me, with support for clearing blocks & fears, and feedback on your writing as and when needed, at R 4,800 per month

IMAGE: Dwinanda Nurhanif Mujito /unsplash