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WORD-for-WORDS
A Monthly Newsletter from the Westport Writers' Workshop
with news of the WWW Community,
writing wisdom, prompts,
and announcements of upcoming events
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WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON
at the
WESTPORT WRITERS' WORKSHOP?
 PLEASE
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
where you will also find special offers and advance invitations.
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How does a book find its readers? Any published author struggles with this question once one's book is launched into the world. This question also came to mind recently when our workshop leader and author Sandra Rodriguez Barron contributed her review of Elegance of the Hedgehog (see "What We're Reading" below). Here's what she wrote:
"I find it deeply disturbing that although The Elegance of the Hedgehog was published in 2008 and spent a year on the New York Times Bestseller List, I didn't hear about it until recently. I only discovered this gem in the process of compiling a reading list of novels set in France. I instantly recognized the cover, but had ignored it hundred times when I saw it in bookstores or online. Strangely, none of my prolific-reader friends had read it either. To me, it just proves that there is no sure-fire way to match books with readers in a highly personal, customized way. (I've decided I need a literary equivalent to e-harmony or match.com... if you know of one let me know.) How many quiet but amazing books am I missing out on in cacophony of media reviews and advertising?"
Add to this conundrum the frightening prospect that the cozy "brick and mortar" bookstores, where we browse for discoveries, may soon be extinct. This was proposed in a recent Authors Guild blog post, "Publishing's Ecosystem on the Brink: The Backstory." See article.
What's a writer to do? All we can do, I suppose, is have faith that if we write a really good book, someone is going to find it, love it, and spread the word.
So keep at it. Get feedback. Improve it. Develop your craft. That's your best chance of turning out a book about which your reader will say - as Sandy wrote about The Elegance of the Hedgehog:
"After I read the last page, I closed it, held it to my heart, and thought: thank you."
Founder/Director
Westport Writers' Workshop
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YOU ARE INVITED
2012 Writers' Retreat
May 4-8
Watch Hill, RI
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What if you had several days with nothing to do but write? No responsibilities at all - no work, no errands - except to turn your attention to that treasured writing project which has been waiting on the sidelines "until you had time"?
And what if you could do so in a beautiful seaside estate with six other writers and two talented guides?
This May, in a repeat of their successful 2011 writer's retreat, Jessica Bram and Suzanne Hoover will accompany seven writers to a luxurious, private oceanside estate in Watch Hill, RI for five days of quiet, uninterrupted writing time, followed by daily evening workshops. The retreat includes daily country breakfasts and gourmet dinners served in an elegant dining room, plus a final night dinner at the elegant Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
The cost of only $1,195 includes private room accommodations, all breakfasts and dinners, and all workshops and retreat activities. For details go to Watch Hill Writers' Retreat.
Open to both fiction and nonfiction writers.
Registrations are now being accepted. Limited to 7 participants. Click here or call (203)227-3250 for more information.
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News of Our Writers
|  Congratulations are in order for WWW Office Manager Kathleen Nash, whose essay "Love Observed" was recently featured on the front page of Salon.com. Kathleen is taking Marcelle Soviero's Get Published Mastermind Brown Bag and had this immediate success right out of the gate!
January was a busy month for WWW instructor Marcelle Soviero. In addition to leading several sections of Memoir Writing and weekly Get Published Mastermind and Poetry Brown Bags, her essay "THE SCRIPT (Science and Faith Tour) was featured in Anderbo Magazine. Another article, "My Husband the Chef," appeared in the March issue of Eating Well. Marcelle will be leading BLOCKED? How to Get Unstuck this Saturday, Feb. 4 from 9am-noon.
WWW director Jessica Bram and instructor Marcelle Soviero will be attending the Association of Writers & Writing Programs' annual conference at the end of February.
Keep the good news coming. If you've been published or have a success to report, please let us know.
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This Month's Featured Workshop:  BLOCKED? How to Get Unstuck with Marcelle Soviero
(Hurry - it's this Saturday!)
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Does the blank page fill you with fear? Do you ever wonder how the professionals overcome "First Draft Anxiety"?
Good news! There is still time to register for ....
BLOCKED? How To Get Unstuck Saturday, February 4 9 a.m - noon $125
($110 for WWW members) In this workshop, published poet, essayist, and seasoned WWW instructor Marcelle Soviero will help you learn practical strategies to jumpstart your writing in order to reach your writing goals. Suitable for beginning writers and experienced authors alike, this energizing half-day workshop will leave you feeling inspired and empowered. Blocked? How to get Unstuck will focus on specific strategies designed to lift the quantity and quality of your writing, particularly when you are stuck and can't seem to write at all. Topics include establishing the "writing habit;" how to generate ideas; using prompts; facing the revision process; and managing writer's block in general. The workshop is based on writing strategies culled from dozens of books and online resources. In addition to our discussion, there will be three ten-minute exercises, so bring your notebook and get ready to set yourself on the perfect writer's path for the year.
A comprehensive handout including resources and inspiring writing prompts is included.  Marcelle Soviero's award winning essays have been appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Salon.com, New York Metro regional newspapers, Babble.com., and featured on NPR.Marcelle is also the author of an award winning poetry chapbook, The Body That Wants. She has an MFA in English/Poetry from New York University and a BA in Creative Studies from Hofstra University. She has lectured at The New School, NYU, and in various libraries, bookstores and school districts nationwide.
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Open Mic Night
Monday, February 27
7-9pm
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What are you writing? We want to know!
Please sign up to share your work with us at our Open Mic Night. All genres including Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry are welcome. Read a selection of your work to an audience of your peers and other interested listeners. Bring your friends and family for support. Or just come to listen and be inspired.
Cost only $5 per person but free if you read your work aloud. Also free for WWW members. Come for free coffee, brownies and fellowship, too! |
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Coming Next Month:
Be A Critic Panel
Monday, March 26
7:30-9pm
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- Do you always have an opinion and aren't afraid to express it?
- Are you a book/food/film blogger looking for more followers?
- Would like to be paid to share your opinions in a review column of your own?
In today's world of blogs and social media, it is easier than ever to break into the world of professional criticism.
Learn how on Monday, March 26 at a panel discussion with professional Movie Critic Susan Granger; Food Critic/Blogger Liz Rueven; former NY Times Book Reviewer Erica Sanders-Foege; and former Music Critic Laurel Tuohy.
A Bit About Our Panelists:
 Susan Granger has been an on-air television and radio commentator and entertainment critic for more than 25 years. Known locally for her movie review column in the Westport News and other Connecticut newspapers, her commentaries, reviews and interviews are distributed around the world by SSG Syndicate. Her articles and reviews have appeared in hundreds of publications including Working Woman, Playboy, The New York Times, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, and many others.
 Food writer Liz Rueven is founder and editor of the popular food blog Kosher Like Me.
She has written restaurant reviews and chefs' profiles for Ctbites since its inception, focusing on organic, vegetarian and local ingredients, producers and products.. She hosts professional and community food tastings, demonstrations and events in Fairfield County and NYC.
Erica Sa nders-Foege is a book publishing professional most recently with Taunton Press, where she acquired cookbooks and titles in home design, craft/fiber arts, and home reference. She has been a regular reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, Newsday, and People magazine, among others. Her magazine editing experience includes Vanity Fair, Redbook, and Woman's Day.
 Laurel Tuohy was formerly a music critic for the Danbury News Times, where she reviewed and interviewed local indie bands. She is currently the Westport Writers' Workshop's Social Media Strategist and a freelance journalist.
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 Join us for lunch and poetry
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It's not too late to join this focused, lunch-time workshop: Wednesdays, 12:30-2 pm, POETRY BROWN BAG with Marcelle Soviero. Share your work and develop your craft in a lively and supportive atmosphere.
Bring lunch and your latest poem. Cost will be prorated for remaining sessions, or carry over to spring.
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Upcoming Workshops | |
Saturday, February 4, 9 am-12 pm, BLOCKED? HOW TO GET UNSTUCK with Marcelle Soviero. $125
Saturday, March 3, 2-4:30 pm, ESSENTIALS FOR THE FICTION WRITER: STRUCTURING YOUR NOVEL with Suzanne Hoover, PhD. $55
Thursday, March 8, 7:30-9 pm, GOOGLE TOOLS FOR WRITERS with Jan Kardys, Black Hawk Literary Agency. $25 or free for WWW members. Info to come.
For more information or to register see
individual links above or go to
www.westportwritersworkshop.com
or call (203)227-3250.
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 What We're Reading
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This month, workshop leader Sandra Rodriguez Barron recommends The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Sandra leads Westport Writers' Workshops' Fundamentals of Fiction Workshop.
Translated from the French, The Elegance of the Hedgehog follows the homely Renée Michel, a concierge in a posh Parisian neighborhood who secretly listens to Mozart and can quote Marx and Tolstoy. Renée's economic survival requires that she hide her fierce intellect from the building's tenants, and so she plays the role of the dull-witted and ignorant servant. The second voice in the novel is super-smart Paloma Josses, daughter of one of the tenants. Paloma plans to kill herself on her thirteenth birthday because she finds life in the pop-culture lane to be vulgar and pointless, and like Renée, hides behind a mask to conceal her true nature. Enter a wealthy Japanese widower named Ozu, a kindred spirit who is able to crack through their layers of pain and teach these unlikely friends that they can be at odds with the world and still have a place in it. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is profound, philosophical, gently satirical and bittersweet in its approach to love, friendship, beauty and art. After I read the last page, I closed it, held it to my heart, and thought: thank you. I plan to read it again and again. Sandra Rodriguez Barron Author of Stay With Me (HarperCollins 2010) and
The Heiress of Water (Harper Collins 2008)
What are you reading? Please share your book reviews or thoughts with us at info@westportwritersworkshop.com.
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February Writing Challenge
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What Annoys You?
Gum on your shoes. Assault by artificial fragrances. Over-priced flea-market wares. These are just a few of the things New York metro residents have recently complained about on the New York Times's Complaint Box column.
Have you got a gripe of your own? Submit a Complaint Box essay. It could earn you a New York Times byline.
Send your rant - no more than 500 words, to: complaintbox@nytimes.com, with a subject line of your last name, followed by "Complaint Box" and the topic.
For an added incentive, we'll give a $50 gift certificate or credit toward any WWW program if you get your piece published. Just let us know.
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Well Said
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 "If you want to be a writer, you have to write every day. The consistency, the monotony, the certainty, all vagaries and passions are covered by this daily reoccurrence. You don't go to a well once but daily. You don't skip a child's breakfast or forget to wake up in the morning. Sleep comes to you each day, and so does the muse."~Walter Mosley
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Announcing...
Unicorn Writers' Conference
Saturday, April 28
Portland, CT
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We recently found out about this wonderful writers' conference right here in Connecticut. Join us at theUnicorn Writers' Conference, Saturday, April 28, 7:30am - 8pm at the elegant Saint Clements Castle in Portland, CT (near Middletown).
Participants will spend the day learning valuable tips for getting manuscripts noticed by publishers in workshops and tutorial sessions led by professionals from all branches of the publishing industry. A networking dinner and party at the end of the day will provide further opportunities to connect with other writers and publishing industry insiders.
We hope to see you there.
 | | 2011 Networking Party |
Click here for more information, or to register.
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Weather Cancellation Policy | Don't be fooled into thinking winter has been canceled this year!
In the event of inclement weather, please visit www.westportwritersworkshop.com where we will post cancellation announcements on a sticky note. Or any time after 7 a.m. you may call the Westport Writers' Workshop at 203-227-3250, where there will be a pre-recorded message.
If the Westport Public Schools are closed, we will cancel our daytime Westport workshops. Please check with us in the afternoon for notice of evening cancellations. |
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Westport Writers' Workshop
3 Sylvan Road South
Westport, CT 06880
203-227-3250
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| Please feel free to forward this newsletter WORD-for-WORDS to your friends and fellow writers. Visit our website to sign up for newsletters. You can also read past archived issues here.
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