Fiction Writing

**What does it mean for you to show up as authentic in the world?** Many men move through life feeling they have to keep parts of themselves hidden. The strong part gets rewarded. The tender part stays quiet. Over time, this can create a subtle disconnect, especially in relationships. When you stop performing and start showing up more fully as yourself, people don’t just see you, they feel you. That’s where real connection begins. This evening is an invitation to explore that question together. In a relaxed bar setting, we’ll have a light but meaningful conversation about what authenticity looks like in your life right now — in relationships, at work, and within yourself. ### What we’ll touch on: * What authenticity means for you at this stage of life * Where you feel aligned and where you don’t * The balance between strength and openness * How authenticity shapes confidence and connection If you’ve been curious about our retreats, this is a great way to get a feel for the space and the conversations we value. **Next Men At Soul Work Retreat: May 29 – June 1** Come as you are. Leave a little more connected — to yourself and others.

Speakers: RAG with Docling – Panos Vagenas (Docling) Earth Observation for Enhanced Risk Awareness of Commercial Properties – Patrick Jayet (AXA) From Models to Systems: Running and Applying LLMs in Practice – Rob Smith (SwissAI) Agenda: RAG with Docling – Panos Vagenas (Docling) Join this session from the core Docling team to learn how to fully utilize your unstructured data in your AI workflows, be it for RAG, information extraction or, ultimately, any document-related agent. We will go over Docling’s main capabilities, covering how it can help address your enterprise needs, as well as giving a sneak peek of upcoming developments. Earth Observation for Enhanced Risk Awareness of Commercial Properties – Patrick Jayet AXA insures millions of commercial properties worldwide. To strengthen risk awareness across its insured portfolio and streamline Risk Engineering workflows, AXA’s Global Data & AI (GDAI) innovation unit has created some time ago a new initiative combining Earth Observation and computer vision. This talk will describe how the project was initiated and developed, and how it supports risk engineers by providing scalable, data-driven insights for commercial property risk assessment. From Models to Systems: Running and Applying LLMs in Practice Apertus is a fully open-source, multilingual foundation model built for open and reproducible AI. This talk introduces the model and shares practical lessons from deploying Apertus and other state-of-the-art models for internal users. The focus is on turning model weights into usable systems.

\|In diesem Kurs setzst du eigene Motive um\, egal ob abstrakt\, nach einer Bildvorlage oder aus der Realität\. Dabei lernst du den richtigen Umgang mit verschiedenen Zeichen\- und Maltechniken\. Die Fortgeschrittene haben die Möglichkeit die Geheimnisse der alte Meister zu erlernen und realistisches Zeichnen und Malen zu perfektionieren. Die traditionelle Mal- und Gestaltungstechniken wie Ölmaltechnik des 17. Jahrhunderts, Eitempera, Enkaustik, Al-Fresco, Sgraffito und Mosaik können hier erworben sein. Unter professioneller Beratung und individueller Betreuung wird in kleinen Gruppen (ausser in den Schulferien) gearbeitet. **Einstieg und Probeunterricht** ist jederzeit möglich. **Auskunft und Anmeldung:** marianas@gmx.ch \* 078 628 78 24 \* [www.marianas.ch](http://www.marianas.ch) **Dienstags in Zürich**, GBMZ Sieglungslokal an der Hohlstrasse 197, von 9:45 bis 12:45 Uhr und von 18:30 bis 21:30 Uhr, Es ist für Rollstuhlfahrer geeignet. **Freitags** und **samstags in Illnau:** von 9:30 bis 12:30 Uhr | **Kurskosten** (inkl. Materialkosten)**:** 4 x 180 Min. = 333Fr. | | -------------------------------------------------------- | |

An der OST Rappeswil, Zimmer 1.262, [siehe hier](https://geometalab.gitlab.io/campus-maps-with-openstreetmap/ifs-campus-map/?search=way/902580361) (Öffentlicher Anlass) **Worum geht’s?** Wir treffen uns regelmässig als Community of Practice rund um **Software Crafting** – sauberes Design, TDD, Pairing, CI/CD, Observability, Security by Design, kontinuierliches Lernen, Erfahrungsautausch und diverses mehr. Dieses Treffen ist hands-on und praxisnah, ideal für Einsteigerinnen und Profis. **Fokus dieses Mal** «Functional Programming in JavaScript (with Theory)». Genaueres [hier](https://github.com/orgs/Software-Crafters-Meetup/discussions/10) **Themenliste & Voting:** [Themenliste](https://github.com/Software-Crafters-Meetup/Software-Crafters/blob/main/themenliste.md) Trage dein Thema ein und vote mit. **Ablauf** Wir werden Pizza bestellen. **Mitbringen** \- Laptop **Code of Conduct** Wir pflegen einen respektvollen Umgang, teilen Wissen offen und geben konstruktives Feedback. Kein Gatekeeping, kein Verkaufs-Pitch. **Fragen?** Melde dich via Issue/Discussion oder per Mail an *mail@marcokuoni.ch* Wir freuen uns auf dich – und auf deine Themenideen!

So, Likem will take this Tuesday's trail. Because Meetups location setter is complete shite , the loaction is Begonienstr. 9, Oerlikon https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/42438928#map=19/47.402524/8.546013 Name on buzzer: Heiskanen

### THE SILENCE LOUDER THAN WORDS They say February is the month of love, but the most profound love stories are often lived in the silent, sacred space of the unspoken. For this month’s theme: WHAT I DIDN’T SAY, we invite you to explore the gap between what you wanted to say and what stayed trapped in your chest. We've all been there: The moment the door closed, the train pulled away, or the phone clicked off, and you realized you left the most important part unsaid. Or when you were stunned silent by serendipitous good fortune or a stranger’s act of kindness that left you speechless. *“Hello darkness, my old friend...* \> *Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping* \> *And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains* \> *Within the sound of silence.”* — **Simon & Garfunkel** ### PROMPTS TO SPARK THE FIRE: * **Buried Confession:** An illicit romance or secret crush where you played it cool, while your heart was staging a riot. * **The Letter Never Sent:** A tale of sacrifice or a moment of "insane desire" that you keep/kept tucked away in a drawer—or haunting your mind. * **The Master of Silence:** When "**What I Didn't Say**" was a masterful act of protection (or a questionable decision) for someone you loved. "*The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause*." — **Mark Twain** ### WILL YOU SPEAK YOUR TRUTH? 1. Come to listen to true stories told live - or share one of yours. Whether it’s about a missed connection at the HB or a realization that came years too late, our community wants to hear yours. * **Here’s the drill:** 1. Qualify for our main stage spotlight by purchasing 1 of 10 “**I want to tell a story**” tickets on [EventFrog](https://eventfrog.ch/en/p/theatre-stage/stage-event/storyslam-what-i-didn-t-say-7425197618085511699.html) — or drop your name in the StorySLAM hat when doors open at 19:00. Names drawn until we run out of time. 2. The Craft: Prepare a 5-minute true story (no notes, just heart). 3. The Glory: The audience votes for their favorite story, with the winner heading toward our annual GrandSLAM! ** Thur. Feb. 26th, 2026** **⌚ 19:00 doors open \| 19:30 show begins** ** [jenseits](https://jenseitsimviadukt.ch/) Im Viadukt, 8005 Zurich** **️ TICKETS: on [EVENTFROG](https://eventfrog.ch/de/p/theater-buehne/buehnenveranstaltung/storyslam-what-i-didn-t-say-7425197618085511699.html) or at the door\*** \* All tickets include a voucher for a free drink

✍️ What if writing became a game? Join us for a relaxed ‘’Ink & Drink’’ evening where we play with the English language over a drink, exploring wordplay, sound, rhythm, and meaning in a fun and creative way, surrounded by books. Do these ring a bell? ➡️ _A man, a plan, a canal: Panama. Do geese see God? Was it a car or a cat I saw? No lemon, no melon._ These are palindromes - phrases that read the same forwards and backwards, and they're just one of the playful tools we'll explore together. This session is designed as a hands-on, playful writing lab, accessible to all levels. We'll start with light icebreaker games mixing words and drawings, such as: * collaborative writing games (exquisite corpse-style) * riddles, rebuses, and simple word puzzles Then, you'll be invited to create your own short texts using: * palindromes * puns and wordplay * anagrams and sound-based games * playful constraints that spark creativity. If you prefer drawing, you're also welcome to create rebuses or visual word puzzles instead of writing. Sharing at the end is always optional. What to expect: * No prior writing experience needed. * Materials will be provided * Please plan to order at least one drink, as a courtesy to the venue hosting us. Come play with language, stretch your imagination, and enjoy a creative evening together in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Looking forward to playing with words together! ✨ _To stay informed about upcoming events and group updates, you can join our WhatsApp space here:_ https://chat.whatsapp.com/JBFUg4f3JikJlO4GbNKBmX

**IMAGINE THIS** **Intense black ink staining the paper and you read: CREATIO** This word refers to the act of bringing something into existence. **To create!!** ✒️ **That is WHAT WE DO** You’ll create your unique composition using: **WATERCOLORS, GOTHIC CALLIGRAPHY and GOLDEN LEAF.** We explore the rich world of ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS (medieval Christian books from 1300–1500 AD). These books were decorated with symbolic motifs showing mainly FLOWERS, ANIMALS and GROTESQUES or HYBRID CREATURES. Usually written in Latin contained prayers, astrological signs, calendar and descriptive scenes. ✒️ **WHAT IS INCLUDED?** ► **Tutoring:** This is a longer session than usual. **3,5 hours** learning with me and solving your doubts. ► **Good quality** **material**: Watercolor paper **300mg/m2 (cellulose and 100 % cotton),** **special quills for gothic style,** watercolors, golden leaf, ink, brushes, pencil, eraser. ► **Instructions** I created for you as a summary. Don't worry about taking notes! ✒️ **WHAT ELSE IS INCLUDED?** ► **Appetizer**: Cheese, sweet grapes and Zopf bread. ✒️ **EXTRA** ► **Medieval carefully selected music.** It creates a calm atmosphere with harmonious frequencies helping the mind to deeper concentration during the creative process. **ALL LEVELS** **Beginner?** I always teach the art medium basics and give extra personalized support. **Advance?** Start to paint in your rhythm and skip explanations. **WHERE?** In the beautiful GZ Schindlergut in Zurich. **I SPEAK** English, Spanish and German (intermediate level). **Hi! I am Marga and I am here to help you to improve your life.** Let me take care of everything. Good material, relaxing atmosphere, clear organization and kind support. **ABOUT ME: [Marga Crea Arte](https://www.instagram.com/margacrea_art)** (Youtube/Instagram/Facebook/TikTok).

Greetings writers! Come down and join your fellow wordsmiths for one hour of uninterrupted writing time in the upper level of the Market District Supermarket in Upper Arlington. The main entrance of the shopping center opens onto stairs/elevator leading up to the 2nd floor cafe section where we will have a table displaying a sign with the Shut Up & Write logo. Writing is largely a solitary craft. Practicing with others in a community setting may be the thing you need to fire your own routine. We’ll meet on Wednesday evenings, starting the clock at 6:30, following a brief period of introductions. This is solid writing time and all inclusive. Any project is acceptable, be it fiction, non -fiction, work or homework assignment. All is welcome and will remain private to you. The market boasts a Starbucks, a full service bar and various affordable food options. Parking is plentiful, free Wifi is provided as well as outlets for charging your devices, though they are somewhat limited, so plan accordingly. Show up as early as you like, or stay late. This group tends to socialize some, both before and after the alloted time, but this is not mandatory to you. Feel free to come and go as you please and late arrivals are welcome. The cafe may be noisy on occasion so headphones/ earbuds are reccommended as you see fit. Please try to RSVP if possible so that we may grab enough seats for all—the venue can be busy at times. Feel free to message me privately wth any questions and/ or concerns you may have. Happy writing!

We'll meet at The Capital One Café, 167 Easton Town Center, Space A-103. This is in the main mall where the Microsoft store used to be, on your left if you're standing at the bottom of the AMC Theater escalator. Join us on Sunday for an hour of uninterrupted wordmaking! • What we'll do Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at noon on Sundays. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 12:00 - quick intros. 12:10 - timer starts: write for 1 hour. 1:10 - chat / take off / keep writing. OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens at 1-1:30ish. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you! • What to bring Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block noise or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Electrical outlets are limited, so charge your devices before whenever possible. See you at The Café on Sunday!

We'll meet at The Capital One Café, 167 Easton Town Center, Space A-103. This is in the main mall where the Microsoft store used to be, on your left if you're standing at the bottom of the AMC Theater escalator. Join us on Saturday for an hour of uninterrupted wordmaking! • What we'll do Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at 10AM on Saturday mornings. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 10:00 - SESSION 1: quick intros. 10:10 - timer starts: write for 1 hour. 11:10 - chat / take off / keep writing. OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens at 11A-11:30ish. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. (I’ll be the person with the Shut Up & Write! sign.) If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you! • What to bring Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block noise or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Electrical outlets are limited, so charge your devices before whenever possible. See you at The Café on Saturday!

**We are expanding our creative programming opportunities with Queer Quills, a quiet writing and sharing space. Queer Quills features some prompts, supplies and friendly faces to help get some inspiration or feedback for your writing. Hope to see you there!**