The Literary and Language Committee of Etcetera (the BA English student society) was extremely excited to celebrate National Novel Writing Month in November 2020 with a workshop led by Dr Rose van der Zwaard. Dr van der Zwaard provided illuminating insights into what creative writing entails and encouraged participants to write by using inspiring creative prompts. Attendees were also given an overview of the creative writing courses available at the Universiteit van Amsterdam, and learned about the seven basic plots commonly used in narrative writing. Dr van der Zwaard further sparked participants’ imagination with a ‘Showing vs. Telling’ exercise. The workshop proved very enjoyable and generated an inspiring and motivating atmosphere where people felt comfortable sharing their own writing. A huge thank you to Dr. van der Zwaard for collaborating with LLACE and Studievereniging Etcetera for this event!