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WORD-for-WORDS
A monthly newsletter with news for the WWW Community, writing wisdom,
prompts, and information on upcoming events.
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The Westport Writers' Workshop is seeking an intern for marketing, operational, and project assistance. Paid position, up to 10 hours per week.
Email Michelle at info@ westportwritersworkshop.com
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An eBook Believer
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I'll admit it, I am not an "early adopter." I came late to my smartphone  and my hybrid car. So no wonder that I may have been the last person in the literary world to let go of the idea that self-publishing was much more than what was once known as "vanity press."
If anyone could pay to produce a book that could be sold on Amazon or downloaded on an e-reader, without having gone through the vetting process of landing an agent and mainstream publisher, how much credibility could that book have? So I have always encouraged writers to try first to get an agent who could in turn sell the book the traditional way.
But I completely changed my mind when I heard about Connecticut author Judy Mandel, who felt so committed to her memoir Replacement Child that she self-published it as an e-book despite its initial rejection by mainstream publishing, and then went on to mainstream publishing success ... READ MORE
 Jessica Bram Founder/ Director
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News of Our Writers
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Congratulations to WWW writer Rebecca Martin, whose article "Dr. Dude" appeared in the September issue of Literary Mama. Becky is a longtime participant in Jessica Bram's advanced The Examined Life workshop. (Think you don't have time to write? Becky has somehow managed to build a writing career while giving birth to and raising three children.)
A big congrats to WWW writer Carol Boas, whose short  story "Under The Table" was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: I Can't Believe My Dog Did That series, released last week. Carol is working on her children's novel that she workshops in Ann Haywood Leal's Writing Middle Grade Fiction workshop.
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Upcoming Event
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Author Judy Mandel:  A Self-Publishing Success Story
Monday, October 29
7:30 to 9 pm
Come meet Judy Mandel, whose memoir Replacement Child will be published by Seal Press, a division of Perseus Books in 2013. You will be encouraged by Judy's inspiring story of how she first self-published Replacement Child as an eBook in 2011, after being told by agents "I don't think I could sell it."
Judy Mandel will share her inspiring story on October 29 at 7:30 pm at the Westport Writers' Workshop. Refreshments will be served.
Special price: $15 or free for Westport Writers' Workshop members. Pre-registration is required, and registration is limited.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER
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October article
Dialogue in Screenplays
by GiGi New
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Note: In addition to leading workshops in screenwriting at TV writing at the Westport Writers' Workshop, GiGi New has private practice as a script consultant for both TV and feature length film screenplays. See below for information about her upcoming Screenwriting: 3-Day Intensive workshop.
When asked what's the one thing that plagues a writer when crafting a screenplay, nine times out of ten, the answer is dialogue. Writers have a love-hate relationship with dialogue because it's fun to write, but it will drive you to madness when it's not "just right."
When I work with students, I often find they want to launch into dialogue without really knowing who their characters are. They hope to find their way into the character with dialogue. In fact it's just the opposite. Character informs dialogue. One must know who one's characters are, their points of view, their flaws etc. before dialogue is implemented. Otherwise the dialogue is written with a "tin ear"
How many times have you gone to the movies and felt that the dialogue was stilted or forced? It's because the characters and the world they live in has not been fleshed out. But once it is... dialogue can be a joy to write.
We've all wished at one time or another... READ MORE
Note: GiGi New will lead a 3-Day Screenwriting Intensive Workshop October 19-21 at the Westport Writers' Workshop. Spaces are still available. See below.
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Your idea for a screenplay:
How to get it down on the page?
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This is where you can finally learn how.
Screenwriting: 3-Day Intensive 
Oct. 19, 20, and 21
9 am to 12 noon or 1 pm
$525
If you have a story idea that you believe will make a great feature length film, then don't miss out on this opportunity to get your idea onto the page under the guidance of professional screenwriter, GiGi New.
This 3-Day Screenwriting Intensive Workshop will focus on specific and concrete techniques for writing a great screenplay that's compelling and cinematic. The workshop is appropriate for anyone who has a screenplay already in progress, as well as anyone with a story idea and a desire to finally get started.
A few spaces are still available. Limited to 10 participants allow time to focus on each writer's work.
GiGi leading a Screenwriting Intensive Saturday workshop this summer.
Her Screenwriting 3-Day Intensive will not be offered again in 2012.
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In Case You Missed...
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On Saturday September 15, Marcelle Soviero held Westport Writers' Workshop's first How To Publish Your eBook workshop that taught participants everything they need to know to go through the self-publishing process. Participants received a comprehensive handout with vetted recommendations for conversion houses, editors, graphic designers, printers, and every other source required to publish, distribute and market a print edition or Kindle, iPad, or other eBook format, with projected costs and time estimates.
 This workshop filled to capacity. Please email us to let us know if you're interested in attending a repeat How To Publish Your eBook, date to be determined. We'll put your name on a waiting list.
Marcelle Soviero's An Iridescent Life: Essays on Motherhood and Stepmotherhood (left),self-published in both print and ebook editions, has already earned a its author a profit. Marcelle reports that she gained the confidence to self-publish An Iridescent Life after many of the essays had been accepted by publications including Anderbo, Babble.com, Eating Well, More.com, Salon.com, and MetroNY Parents, among others.
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October Featured Workshop
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"Since taking Marcelle's How to Get Published Brown Bag, I have had two pieces accepted for publication. I can't understand why everyone doesn't take this workshop!"
~ Randi Olin, Weston, CT
5 Mondays 12-1:30 pm
Begins October 8
Are you ready to publish your essays, short stories, and/or poetry? Bring lunch and join us to learn of publishing opportunities, be guided through the submission process, and develop action plans to get published, in a supportive atmosphere.
In this interactive, goal-oriented series led by Marcelle Soviero, participants will will be held accountable for submitting work to new markets on a consistent basis with the goal of publication. Participants will also obtain up-to-date information regarding new opportunities, upcoming deadlines, contests, conferences, and new online and print markets.
The series will also cover topics such as
- how to use market databases, blogs and email newsletters to find new opportunities
- how to create a submissions binder and a submissions tracker
- how to write cover letters and brief bios.
4 Mondays (bi-weekly) Oct, 8, 22, Nov. 5, 19
12 noon - 1:30 p.m.
$175 or $150 for WWW Members
or anyone enrolled in a Fall 2012 WWW workshop series
"The How to Get Published Brown Bag workshop was an invaluable resource for those of us new to the publishing process... .I now have essays out to multiple publishers and a blog that's drawing hundreds of views and revenue! I wouldn't have done any of this without Marcelle and her direction.
~Kathleen Nash
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October One-Time Workshops
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with Ellen Ullman
Oct. 6, 9 am to 12 noon
Just as the early bird gets the worm, the cleverly written pitch gets the editor's attention-and usually the assignment. But how can you be sure your pitches are fun and functional without being sappy or boring? How can you write a pitch that is guaranteed get you in the door, and ultimately the job? There is a formula to pitch writing, and this workshop will help decipher it READ MORE
Memoir Writing for the Absolute Beginner
with Jessica Bram
Oct. 13, 9 am to 1 pm
Have you ever thought to yourself, "I've really got to set down my life story"? If you have the urge to set down the story of your life - either for a published memoir or simply to leave a legacy to children and grandchildren READ MORE
Register Now
Screenwriting: 3-Day Intensive
with GiGi New
Oct. 19-21, 9 am to 1 pm
If you have a story idea that you believe will make a great feature length film, then don't miss out on this opportunity to get your idea onto the page under the guidance of professional screenwriter, GiGi New. READ MORE
Cracking the Code of the American Bestseller
Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 am to 12 noon
What can we learn from studying the most successful novels of all time? What do these books have in common? And what do they tell us about the general reading public and about ourselves? ... These are essential questions for the contemporary fiction writer, and the subject of this important workshop.READ MORE
Register Now
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New "Essentials for the Fiction Writer"
Talk on Endings
Coming in November
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Essentials for the Fiction Writer: Endings
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2 pm to 4:30 pm
Essentials for the Fiction Writer is a series of high level, craft-oriented workshops for fiction writers. Each delves deeply into critical elements of fiction writing, with emphasis on the novel.
 In this workshop we will look at the complex question of what makes a story's ending feel "necessary, proportionate and satisfying." READ MORE
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National Novel Writing Month
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Don't write your novel alone ....
What is NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month happens every November. It's a fun, seat-of-your-pants writing event where the challenge is to complete an entire novel in just 30 days. For one month, you get to lock away your inner editor, let your imagination take over, and just create!
That means participants begin writing November 1 and must finish by midnight, November 30. The word-count goal for the adult program is 50,000 words, but the Young Writers Program (YWP) allows 17-and-under participants to set reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals.
In 2011, 250,000 adults and 50,000 young writers participated in NaNoWriMo.
For more information and to sign up go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/
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Westport Writers' Workshop
3 Sylvan Road South
Westport, CT 06880
203-227-3250
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Writopia Lab Workshops for Ages 8 to 18
Now Taking Place After School and Sundays
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As every parent of a talented young writer knows, kids who love it somehow find time to write creatively, despite their busy school year schedules.
And now in Westport, these creative kids find each other after school and weekends at Writopia Lab Creative Writing Workshops.
Workshops have a maximum of six participants. Sessions are peppered with original and fun writing exercises, but focus primarily on writing--and completing--stories. Each week students bring copies of the newest drafts of their work to share with the group, review each other's work, and then share their ideas with the group. Within a few sessions, students comfortably and easily provide insightful feedback to their peers. READ MORE
 | | Laptops are supplied at Writopia Lab workshops. Above: Writopia Lab teacher Christine Pakkala with an inspired group of young writers this summer. |
Writopia Lab is a 501(c)3 corporation. Students pay on a sliding scale according to ability to pay.
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Well Said
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"In Judaism there is an old tradition that when a young boy first begins  to study, the very first time, after he reads his first word in the Torah, he is given a taste of honey or a sweet. This is so he will always associate learning with sweetness. It should be the same way with writing. Right from the beginning, know it is good and pleasant. Don't battle with it. Make it your friend."
~Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones
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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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