January 17th, 2012
"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."
—Haruki Murakami
Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene brought to you every Monday (except days of service in honor of MLK) from the bread crumb trail leading back to Grub Street's world headquarters. As always, if you are receiving this email in horror, please advance to the bottom of the page to unsubscribe yourself.
It's a brand new year, and we are seeking bloggers for the Grub Daily. If one of your New Year's resolutions was to write more, we have two great opportunities to see your words in e-ink (deadlines complimentary) and reach thousands of readers!
Opportunity #1: Blog for the Grub Daily
The Daily's mission is to be helpful to writers, and we are seeking posts that address writing and the writing life in unique and inspiring ways. Posts range from 200-600 words long. If you have a piece or an idea for a piece you'd like us to consider, please email whitney@grubstreet.org.
Opportunity #2: Be a part of 366 Days of Creativity.
366 Days of Creativity is an online calendar of daily inspiration which pairs an event from the annals of creativity with a writing prompt. Members of the community are encouraged to submit their ideas for 366 during the year, and we've been getting some great contributions. To enter, send a writing prompt paired with a date in artistic history to 366daysofcreativity@gmail.com. The best submission of each month wins a $25 gift card to a local independent bookstore in your area.
Looking to polish your work before an agent or editor sees it at The Muse and the Marketplace? Want to get immediate, one-on-one feedback from a Grub instructor? Throughout the day on March 10th, various members of our creative writing faculty will be meeting individually for thirty minutes with writers who have submitted 25 pages of their work ahead of time. The 25-page writing sample -- usually long enough to include a complete short story, a novel chapter, a substantive personal essay, a short play, a series of poems, or a screenplay excerpt -- is often needed when applying to MFA programs, teaching positions, fellowships, residencies, etc. The session includes yummy coffee and doughnuts. Deadline for submissions is 12:00pm on February 15th. See all details, including the list of consultants, here: http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=172.
Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Eve, Chris, Rowan and Sean
In addition to our ongoing workshops, Grub Street offers numerous writing-related events around town. See our website for a long-term view of all we do.
TEEN WRITING: Saturday, January 21st, 11am-1pm OR 2-4pm, Young Adult Writers Program (YAWP)
Do you like to write poems, lyrics, stories, novels or screenplays? Join Grub Street’s Young Adult Writers Program (YAWP), a FREE creative writing workshop for Boston-area high schoolers. Our students, age 13-18, come from a wide variety of schools in the Boston area, and enjoy cool writing exercises, mingling with fellow young writers, snacks, and an optional open mic. After four great years YAWP has already been recognized by the Boston Globe as Boston's hub for writing teenagers.
This Saturday, there will be three sessions to choose from in the morning and afternoon: Short Shorts, Poetry, and Fiction. YOU MUST BE AGE 13-18 TO REGISTER-- NO EXCEPTIONS. See website for full details and to register.
FREE, Grub Street HQ.
BOOK CLUB: Sunday, January 22nd 11:00am to 12:00pm, Grub Street Book Club
The Grub Book Club will offer a chance to read and discuss great books with a focus on reading from a writer's perspective. In the introductory meeting on January 22nd all interested members will get a chance to meet one another, choose what books they'd like to read from a selection of Grub instructor's work, and decide how to pick books in the future of the club. A wonderful opportunity to meet fellow Grubbie readers. Free and open to all. please RSVP to sean@grubstreet.org. You may also sign-up on the spot, but RSVPing ahead of time would be very helpful.
FREE, Grub Street HQ.
OPEN MIC: Sunday, January 22nd 1:00pm to 2:00pm, Grub Street Reading Series
Do you want a chance to read your work out loud? Do you want to get feedback from other writers? Join the Grub Street Reading Series, where you can participate in fun open mic events and practice the art of reading to an audience. In this first exploratory meeting, all interested Grubbies will discuss and create the format and structure of the reading series. Free and open to all. please RSVP to sean@grubstreet.org. You may also sign-up on the spot, but RSVPing ahead of time would be very helpful.
FREE, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, January 28th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Jumpstart Your Writing — Fiction Focus
Through a series of fun directed writing exercises, we will explore the terrain of fiction: mining for material, constructing characters and settings, shaping vivid dialogue, understanding point of view, and finding your voice.
Instructor: Chip Cheek
Sorry, this class is sold out. Join wait list.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, January 28th, 10:00am-5:00pm,The Time of Your Life
One of the keys to success in writing is using your time properly. That can be tough when you have a job, family, home or other major commitments – and when occupational hazards like procrastination and writer’s block rear their ugly heads. The good news is that all of these issues can be addressed once you’ve figured out the root causes of your time “issues” and applied some practical strategies to address them. (Hint: it’s not that you’re lazy or uncommitted—so stop blaming yourself! Another hint: it is not so difficult to create and stick to a time “budget” and schedule that will help you achieve your goals.) Author Hillary Rettig (The 7 Secrets of the Prolific) will help you achieve these goals with two three-hour seminars offered on the same day: “Time Management” first, then a lunch break, then “Stop Procrastinating!” The best news of all is that once a writer actually starts solving his or her procrastination problems or blocks and starts managing his/her time better, change can happen amazingly fast!
$115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, January 28th, 9:30am-4:30pm,Using History and Research to Enrich Your Narrative
Many of the fictional stories and creative non-fiction we write takes place within a larger context of trends in everything from fashion to politics. Details from the past can help you more fully imagine your characters or protagonists and their world. These details can also enrich your narrative. We'll look at work from writers including Geraldine Brooks, James Carroll and Diane McWhorter and see how they use history. Writing exercises will help you use the past as a springboard for new ideas and insights about the people in your work. We'll also brainstorm about creative ways to do historical research that don't involve dust-covered boxes in archives, and discuss finding the balance between the momentum of your narrative and the background information that you find. Leave with new ideas and techniques for expanding the setting of your story.
Instructor: Clara Silverstein
$115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, January 28th, 10:30am-5:30pm, Haiku Intensive
Often misrepresented or only partially understood, the heart of Haiku contains many lessons for poets in its compacted form: image, metaphor, enjambment, attention, word choice, and silence. This intensive will survey the history and core principles while reading ancient and contemporary examples. By the end of the day you will be equipped to incorporate the powerful discipline of haiku into your life, using it to hone your poetic practice and increase your daily awareness.
Instructor: Janaka Stucky
*One spot left,* $115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 29th, 10:30am-5:30pm, Guerrilla Book Promotion
If you're about to publish a book -- fiction or nonfiction -- you've probably got questions about how to best publicize it. You’re probably wondering how soon to begin your PR campaign, and which ideas work best. Whether you have a big or small publisher, or chose self-publishing, this seminar will outline both traditional and non-traditional methods to identify, reach and build a target audience in various potential book-buying communities. We'll discuss planning and executing a master timeline for book promotion; setting up a promotional budget; creating a book tour (and not just at bookstores but using non-traditional venues); brainstorming special contests, promotions and giveaways unique to your book; establishing yourself as an expert and tying in your book to current events; writing tie-in op-eds and commentaries; pitching yourself to traditional media like print, TV and radio; getting your book into the hands of opinion leader, among other topics. We'll also look at what your publisher should do and what you can do, and the problems that self-publishing creates (and how to work around them). Come with questions.
Instructor: Ethan Gilsdorf
$115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 29th, 10:00am-5:00pmHow to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book: Section A
Books often start with a simple yearning to explore new territory: fascinating topics, characters who won’t leave you alone, a good story. But manuscripts get unwieldy, fast. One out of ten writers never finish their manuscripts because most first-time book writers get lost without good structure and planning. Mary Carroll Moore, award-winning author of 13 books in three genres and a PEN/Faulkner nominee, will guide you through a simple and successful book-writing process that can take your book from idea to publication, a process using a three-act structure that eases organization and makes a manuscript vivid and engaging to readers. Find out why Aristotle believed that three acts formed a perfect structure for all stories, why humans lean toward beginning, middle, and end, and why we crave the emotional catharsis of that format in literature too. For all levels of writers working on nonfiction, memoir, or novels, at any stage from seed idea to draft. Learn why strong structuring is the key to selling a book in today's competitive publishing industry.
Instructor: Mary Carroll Moore
$115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 29th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Plotting the Novel
Starting with Aristotle and working through three contemporary authors’ ideas about plotting, this course will offer several plot forms to help you rethink your novel’s structure and the vital connection between character and plot.
Instructor: Michelle Hoover
*4 spots left* $115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 29th, 9:30am-4:30pm, Jumpstart Your Blog
A blog can be a great way to market yourself, build an audience, and exercise those creative impulses. Whether you're looking to breathe life back into an already established blog or have been wanting to start one and need a push, this class will offer guidance for writing posts others will want to read. You'll learn what makes a successful blog, read examples from the blogosphere, and begin crafting a plan that will include ways to build your audience. You'll also practice different types of posts with in-class writing exercises that will be workshopped in large and small groups. The goal is to leave with some solid beginnings (possibly finished posts), inspiration, and a strategy for success.
Instructor: Amy Marcott
$115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 29th, 10:30am-5:30pm, The First 5 Pages
It’s common knowledge that rejection rates in this industry are up around 98 percent, and you have likely felt this bitter sting on more than one occasion, but do you really know why? Do you suspect that even when agents request your material, they sometimes don’t read after the first page? You may be right. Most decisions are made within the first five pages, and not just with agents; reviews, editors, and even readers make quick judgments in the face of so many choices. Join an eye-opening session with literary agent Sorche Elizabeth Fairbank (formerly of Boston, now back in NY) and dig into the murky world of rejection, and the impact, good or bad, of your first pages. Learn what some standard rejection phrasing means (agent-speak), why decisions are too-often made on the first page, find out if you are guilty of one or more of the top twenty reasons for rejection, know when to listen to advice and when to chalk things up to subjective difference, and through an intense critiquing session, learn how make your first five pages work for you.
Email to rowan@grubstreet.org a one-page synopsis or query letter, and your first five pages, no later than 12:00pm on Tuesday, January 24th. For class, please also bring three other random pages out of the first 25, and be prepared to have your work critiqued with other members of the class. Also, feel free to bring in a sampling of some rejection phrasing that has had you perplexed or particularly frustrated. All students will receive handouts and a written critique of their first pages.
Instructor: Sorche Fairbank
$115/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.
Be sure to check out our website for a comprehensive view of upcoming events.
Grub Street wants to promote YOU! Please send events for consideration to whitney@grubstreet.org. Bonus points and undying gratitude for submitting your event info in the same format as the events below. Our apologies in advance if we cannot fit you in. Please note that we do the best we can to evaluate requests, and do privilege requests from members, but cannot be held responsible for the quality of these events and programs or the legitimacy of contests. We expect that readers will do their own due diligence before sending their work or their money to any individual or organization.
--CONTEST: Win a copy of Anita Desai's lastest book, The Artist of Disappearance
Visit Visi Tilak's blog Suprose, read the interview with Anita Desai, and enter to win. Three people will be randomly selected on January 31st.
--READING: Thursday, January 19th, 7pm, Jonathan Strong and Sebastian Stuart, More Light and Dead by Any Other Name
Jonathan Strong teaches fiction writing at Tufts University and the Bread Loaf School of English. He has also taught at Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Wellesley College. His fiction has appeared in Partisan Review, Esquire, Shenandoah, The Atlantic, TriQuarterly, and the Transatlantic Review, among others. His books include Consolation, Drawn from Life, and the forthcoming Hawkweed and Indian Paintbrush. Sebastian Stuart is the author of plays, screenplays, political satire, and critically acclaimed novels, including The Mentor, 24-Karat Kids, and The Hour Between, which won the Ferro-Grumley Award and was an NPR Seasons Readings Selection.
FREE, Porter Square Books.
--READING: Wednesday, January 25th, 6:30-7:30pm, Dawn Tripp
Local Author Dawn Tripp will read from and discuss her new book Game of Secrets. This event is Free and open to the public. Free appetizers, cash bar, Free parking. Bring a Friend!
FREE, Stellina Restaurant, 47 Main St., Watertown, MA.
--READING and PARTY: Thursday, January 26th, 6:00-9:00pm, Salon Soirée
Come see Grub members Karen Lee Sobol and Matthew Sandel perform! Karen Lee will read from her just-published memoir, Twelve Weeks: An Artist's Story of Cancer, Healing, and Hope. Matthew will read from his almost-finished novel, a contemporary comedy about good friends grappling with major depression, minor inconveniences, missed opportunities, and lots of defective merchandise. Also featuring vocalist Jan Shapiro, Shakespearean actor Ross Macdonald, underwater photographer Steve Coren, and wine, appetizers, and conversation! RSVP by January 18th to salonsoiree@hotmail.com or contact Susan at 508-221-8596.
$25 cash at the door, HAMMOND Residential Real Estate, 10 Berkeley St., Boston's South End, MA.
--WRITING GROUP: Sundays, 2pm, The Writer's Forum
The Writer's Forum is a peer review group that meets weekly to share and discuss works (and works in progress). They gather first in the main entrance lobby and then find an appropriate space upstairs. www.facebook.com/The.Writers.Forum.Boston
FREE, Boston Public Library Main Branch (Copley)
Welcome to the end of the e-mail, where like eating Cheerios in an art museum, we offer you the chance to win a prize. This American writer spent his last days stumbling into Baltimore polling places and casting ballots for drinks. Email your answer to whitney@grubstreet.org. The first correct respondent wins a Starbucks gift card for a coffee treat.
Last week's trivia: Part of Truman Capote's writing ritual was to keep 500 pencils sharpened at all times.. Winner: Larry Kerpelman.
