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"Writing keeps me from believing everything I read." -
Gloria Steinem
CONTENTS OF THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE
Writers' Night OUT! - Monday, September 18
Writers' Night IN! - Monday, September 25
Save the Date for Our 2024 Book Party - Sunday, February 4
A Gift to Be Simple
Want a Place to Sell Your Books?
Grants Available to Low-Income Writers
Open Mic Every Thursday
Calling All Book Authors! Tune-In Tuesdays
Kudos
Upcoming Events
Spread Your News on the Update and Our Website!
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WRITERS' NIGHT OUT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 @ 6:00 P.M.
730 TAVERN, CENTRAL SQUARE, CAMBRIDGE
Fall is almost in the air, so why don’t you come to Writers' Night Out in Central Square to hang out with members and friends of the National Writers Union? We can share stories about the writing life and the books we have read recently, have a cold drink, and maybe even sit outside. Please contact Shannon O’Connor to RSVP.
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WRITERS' NIGHT IN (ON ZOOM)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 @ 5:30-6:30 P.M.
This is the time of year when you're out and about in the early evening, running some errand of earth-shaking importance, and suddenly say, "Wait. When the heck did it starting getting dark so early?" The shorter days always seem to creep up on us like the cat stalking your fish and chips. Soon it'll be time to put away the shorts and dig out the soup recipes.
Speaking of time, how about spending a little with NWU colleagues and friends at this month's "Writers' Night In"? Bring a refreshing beverage of your choice and let us know what you've been up to.
RSVP Charles Coe for the ZOOM link.
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SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR FABULOUS 2024 BOOK PARTY
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2024
@ 2 P.M.
We're planning to go live this year for the first time since 2020. We'll meet at the Dance Complex at 536 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, convenient to the Red Line and buses, site of past Book Parties. We'll be honoring our members who have published books in 2023, and hearing from an outstanding guest speaker.
If you have a book that will have been published by the end of the year, contact editor Barbara Mende. Let us know, too, if you're interested in reading from your book at the party.
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A GIFT TO BE SIMPLE
by CHARLES COE
Sometimes in a writing class or workshop you come across someone who's trying to "write like a writer”--using fancy vocabulary and complicated sentences because..."That's what writers do." Sometimes they're imitating a particular writer they admire. That's understandable for someone still trying to find their own voice. If you want to become a painter, part of the traditional training is to copy the masters.
If your true calling as a poet or prose writer, your authentic voice, is to write like Thomas Pynchon or James Joyce or Ezra Pound, then more power to you. But though it might seem counterintuitive to some, sometimes the most powerful and profound writing at first glance might seem simple. One great example is The Good Earth, Pearl Buck's poignant novel about a poor Chinese farmer living through the sweeping changes that moved his country from ancient agrarian times to the modern world in one generation. Another example is Ernest Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea, the tale of an old fisherman's struggle to land a giant marlin.
Both books were written at an eighth- to ninth-grade reading comprehension level. Both books won the Nobel Prize for Literature,
Of course there's a place for elegant and sophisticated language a la Pynchon or Joyce. But for many writers, our challenge is to communicate profound ideas with plain language. But "plain" doesn't mean artless. A serious examination of Buck's and Hemingway's prose leaves the reader gobsmacked at the level of sophistication and craft.
Another way to think about this: Imagine conversing with a stranger on a cross-country flight and something you mention makes them say, “Really? That’s interesting. Tell me about it.” How do you tell your story? Like a “writer” with high-falutin vocabulary and sentence construction? Or in "ordinary" language used with subtlety and skill? An oversimplification, of course, but something to consider.
We might keep in mind the words of Albert Einstein (a pretty smart guy): "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
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WANT A PLACE TO SELL YOUR BOOKS?
Authors Without Borders (AWB) is a regional consortium of book writers and authors, founded in 2007 by four authors whose mission is to jointly market their books and assist other writers in navigating the course to marketing and publication. “We like to help writers avoid some of the pitfalls we experienced.”
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AWB still has opportunities for authors to sell their books: at Durfee-Fall River - December 2nd and 3rd (inside gym), 9-4 pm. Saturday, one spot open; Sunday, two spots open. $30 per day.
Please email authorswb6@gmail.com for more information.
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GRANTS AVAILABLE TO LOW-INCOME WRITERS
TO ATTEND CONFERENCES OR WORKSHOPS
The Boston Chapter Steering Committee is offering $100 grants to up to five NWU members in good standing. These grants are available to those who face challenging financial circumstances and would like to attend a writing conference or workshop (one of those listed below or one of your choice), or to take advantage of some other professional development opportunity.
If you would like to apply, or would like more information, please contact Steering Committee Chair Willie Wideman-Pleasants.
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OPEN MIC EVERY THURSDAY
The NWU New York Chapter, which for many years hosted open mics at the Muhlenberg branch library, is now holding virtual open mics weekly: every Thursday from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.
All writers from all genres are welcome. You can read for up to seven minutes. Just RSVP on meetup.com to view the link to join.
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CALLING ALL BOOK AUTHORS! TUNE-IN TUESDAYS
FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH
Royalty, Compensation, and Distribution Issues for Book Authors
Join a discussion about the most pressing issues for book authors today. Share your experience and knowledge, and advance your career, in this virtual event hosted by Book Division Chair Dan McCrory and NY Member Timothy Sheard. Planned topics for the next several sessions are listed here.
To REGISTER for the Zoom program, email chair Dan McCrory.
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JOHN McDAID is a finalist for a Pegasus Award in the Writer/Composer category. The annual Pegasus Awards, announced at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest in Columbus, OH in October, recognize excellence in filk music.
Please send any news of a publication, award, or writing-related appearance that has already happened to editor Barbara Mende. (A piece on your own blog or website doesn't qualify.) Send 50 words or less, plus your name and a link to the publication, event, or website where readers can find more info about you or the happening. Don't send notices of work that will be published in the future. Do send news of future events, but see the "Upcoming Events" block for that.
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USE THE UPDATE AND OUR WEBSITE TO SPREAD YOUR NEWS
Are you speaking or reading from your work in the near future? Do you want to publicize an event that writers would be interested in zooming in to? Can you provide a service, such as editing or indexing or publicity, for your fellow union members? Do you just want to introduce yourself to the NWU membership?
Our Boston Chapter website, which you can reach at
nwu.org/chapters/boston/ or www.nwuboston.org, is here for you to use. Not only that, but if you send us an announcement of a specific event by the second Monday of each month, we'll try to include it in these updates.
Please send us news of any upcoming events that you'd like us to publicize, along with Zoom links or PDF posters if you have them. If you'd like to promote your services, plug your latest book, tell us about something writing-related that happened to you, or post anything else you can think of, we'll try to give it a place on the website.
And we'd love to hear from you if you'd like to contribute to these updates. Do you have information or a viewpoint on some phase of writing or publishing that you'd like to pass along? Do you have tips that you'd like to share with your fellow writers? Send them in! And don't forget, if you've published something or participated in an event or made an appearance, we'll post it under Kudos.
Send all your news for the Update and website to your webmaster.
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Chair: Willie Wideman-Pleasants
Editor and Webmaster: Barbara Mende
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