Source
It's been almost two weeks since our last update and things have been very busy at The Block.
The Numbers
Our membership now stands at an incredible 678. The member list is pruned weekly to remove members who have joined and not interacted for the past 30 days, so most of that number are regulars who use our editing services, brainstorming room, workshops and other channels.
New Channels
Character immersion is an interesting new channel where writers can delve into their characters, living and breathing their worlds. The channel is to be used as a tool to explore your characters more fully.
Book Club is a new addition that gives members the opportunity to read the same book and to write a story from a writing prompt based on the book - although not fan-fiction. Writers explore the book as an author, seeing what techniques are used, story arcs and such that they can use in their own work. The plan is to spend a month at a time on a particular book.
Promotions
The ever awesome 
Muxxybot is Live!
Our resident mad scientist 
Accolades
Our members continue to shine across Steem in different curation trails and projects. As a community we are extremely proud that their work has been workshopped at The Block.
Contests
Our inaugural Poetry Contest wrapped up a few days ago and we were very happy to have received no less than 35 entries! The second contest is running right now and we are very pleased that 
Courtesy of
@GMuxx's latest Art Prompt Writing contest is into its second week. Writers are tasked with writing a story using the piece of artwork shown above as a prompt. Check the post here. This closes at midnight UTC on the 1st February. There is a prize pot of 35 Steem and the SBD payout from the announcement post up for grabs.
A New Sheriff in Town
Plagiarism is a curse on this platform, with some users seeking an easy way to earn crypto. Muxxybot is based at The Writers' Block and we have employed the services of a talented young member who checks each and every nomination that the curation team put forward. He also checks the blogs of prospective new members for anything that would raise concerns. As a community, The Writers' Block takes the notion of only putting out quality original work onto the blockchain seriously.
Thanks
@GMuxx's poor health continues to affect him and this week 
@GMuxx
Like what I do? Vote for my witness https://steemit.com/~witnesses - scroll below top the 50 witnesses and enter my name in the text box, then click vote. Thanks for your support.
