Inspired by TWC’s upcoming writing retreat, Michelle offers a whimsical fairy tale… Once upon a time, there was a timid young woman with a yen for writing and a monster desk-drawer dragon that fed on her work and kept her voice hidden from the world……

by Alex, age 14, Summer Intensive Writer This essay was written following the Summer Creative Writing Intensive’s visit to the Deserted Village in Watchung Reservation on July 23. Through the bus window I can smell the unmistakable, impenetrable scent of soil. As we climb out,…

by Cindy Sharra, TWC Intern As New Jersey’s prolonged winter loosened its grasp, the long-awaited summer took its place. Students from around the area parted from their schools and supplies – except from their pencils, that is. But they wouldn’t be used for writing research…

O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain! My tables—meet it is I set it down That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain— Hamlet Act 1, scene 5, 106–108 Hamlet had it right. When we write the villains in our stories, we want to…

This Sunday’s Speaker Series event, “Publishing Insiders” was a huge hit, with three articulate young professionals telling it like it really is in a rapidly changing and still completely vital industry. Alex Cameron, Assistant to the Associate Publisher at Tor Books (part of Macmillan), Anna…

A lot of my students are coming to an interesting moment in their writing. They’re nearing the end of their drafts – long, hard-earned manuscripts that they’ve been crafting for months – sometimes years. But they know they’re not finished. In fact, their first sentence…

Jason Allen Ashlock may not like to call himself an expert, but we at The Writers Circle refuse to consider him anything else. Who but a true digital visionary could take the shaky landscape of modern-day publishing and map such a clear, precise picture of…

No matter how old you are, it’s been a tough winter. The prospect of school extending into summer is crushing our youngest writers’ spirits.  And you parents out there are no doubt going stir-crazy with the kids at home. So we at The Writers Circle…

One of my teen writers was talking to me about a book she was reading this past week. In the space of three sentences, she had diagnosed why the writer’s technique was working and – even more importantly ― applied what he had done to…

by Lisa Romeo, TWC Instructor “You’re kind of cranky. But in a good way.” Last night, the final night of an 11-week memoir and personal essay class, a writer who attended each session (despite complicating situations in her life), said this to me by way…

“How to become a bestseller?”  It’s the second question on every writer’s mind, right after “How do I get published in the first place?” No matter how many optimistic articles one reads, there’s no magic formula.  According to TWC guest speaker Christina Baker Kline, when…

Holiday time is a hopeful time for writers. We actually think we’ll get something done in those quiet hours between family gatherings – foolish dreamers that we are. Still, there are some basic necessities that help us. For those of you who love a writer,…