power of words

When You Engage in Some Good Old Literary Citizenship Because, Really, You Just Want New Writer Friends with Whom To Bitch About Publishing

When You Engage in Some Good Old Literary Citizenship Because, Really, You Just Want New Writer Friends with Whom To Bitch About Publishing

By Steph Auteri This blog post was originally published on TWC Instructor Steph Auteri‘s blog. We are publishing this extract from it with permission. View the full post here. I was at my very first HippoCamp last year when I told Lisa Romeo my hopes and…

Leaving the World a Better Place, One Word at a Time

Leaving the World a Better Place, One Word at a Time

by Cathy Chester, Guest Blogger I’ve been writing all my life. As a child, I dreamed of being a famous author, writing a work of fiction that would stand the test of time, like Harper Lee or, dare I say, Jane Austen. But life got…

RECAP: Resolve to Write 2017 – Starting the new year off WRITE – Part 2

RECAP: Resolve to Write 2017 – Starting the new year off WRITE – Part 2

On January 7 and 8, The Writers Circle held three Resolve to Write sessions facilitated by TWC Directors Judith Lindbergh (in South Orange) and Michelle Cameron (in Summit), and TWC instructor Lisa Romeo (in Montclair).  Below Mally Becker, who attended the Summit event,  shares her experiences and thoughts about getting…

RECAP: Resolve to Write 2017 – Starting the new year off WRITE – Part 1

RECAP: Resolve to Write 2017 – Starting the new year off WRITE – Part 1

On January 7 and 8, The Writers Circle held three Resolve to Write sessions facilitated by TWC Directors Judith Lindbergh (in South Orange) and Michelle Cameron (in Summit), and TWC instructor Lisa Romeo (in Montclair).  Below Steph Auteri, who attended the Montclair event, shares her experiences and thoughts about getting…

TWC’s Third Annual Gifts for Writers Compilation

TWC’s Third Annual Gifts for Writers Compilation

It’s that time of year again, when all our thoughts turn to gift-giving. If you have a writer in your life, The Writers Circle has some suggestions that celebrate that special avocation and make your writer feel cherished! Writers love reading, of course (Why else…

RECAP: The Writers Circle Mini-Retreat Photo Essay

RECAP: The Writers Circle Mini-Retreat Photo Essay

Giving yourself permission and time to write can be difficult. Life tends to get in the way – the kids, the job, all those everyday demands. This year it’s even more challenging, given that so many of us feel, well, distracted by the result of the…

RECAP – Let All Voices Be Heard: Writers of Different Faiths Share Their Stories

RECAP – Let All Voices Be Heard: Writers of Different Faiths Share Their Stories

        “I go into the Muslim mosque and the Jewish synagogue and the Christian church and I see one altar.” Rumi – 13th century Persian Sufi poet In this turbulent election season when divisive rhetoric threatens to tear the fabric of our…

RECAP: Conquering the Query Letter with Ellen Meister

RECAP: Conquering the Query Letter with Ellen Meister

by Mally Becker, TWC Outreach & Development The person sitting next to you at a dinner party leans in and asks: “So, what’s your book about?” They mean well. Of course they do. But you go blank. Or you answer, “Ummm.” Because how do you…

Attending the SCBWI Conference – Part 2: The Space Between the Panels: David Wiesner on Storytelling

Attending the SCBWI Conference – Part 2: The Space Between the Panels: David Wiesner on Storytelling

by Jeff Campbell, author and instructor at The Writers Circle Storytelling is storytelling, no matter what medium. That is the second lesson I learned at the annual SCBWI New Jersey conference on June 4 and 5. Not only that, I learned it on the first…

The Writers Circle’s 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Finalists

The Writers Circle’s 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Finalists

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE…. Here they are: The Writers Circle’s 2016 finalists in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards!  We have a lot of key winners this year in practically every writing category!  And the FOUR Gold Key winners will go on to compete on the national level.  Since TWC started sponsoring…

Don’t Underestimate the Kids

Don’t Underestimate the Kids

Amidst the sense-bombarding chaos at the annual Summit Street Fair, one of the ways The Writers Circle draws attention to our booth is through our Add-a-Line story board. “Want to help us write our story?” we call out as kids and parents stream by. “We’re…

Default Words

Default Words

Every writer has them. The words that crop up, over and over again in their manuscripts, the ones where, when they reach for a phrase, this is what appears. I’ve been thinking about default words lately, because I’m doing a pass through my latest novel,…