For our summer session, Eileen Whitener is once again teaching one of PWN’s generative writing classes, Just Write. Aimed at the shy or new writer (and with the help of guided writing prompts), this class offers a supportive environment to invite you into the storytelling mindset. We “sat down” with Eileen to talk about how to coax out the hidden writer …
One of PWN’s newest instructors, Marissa Elliott, is teaching Memoir. We “sat down” with Marissa to find out her experiences with the genre.
PWN instructor and PWN’s Debut Review podcast co-host Courtney Harler is once again teaching Flash Fiction & Memoir. We sat down with Courtney and asked her a few questions about this exciting genre.
Music. Some writers love to write to it, to have inspirational tunes playing while they pound their keyboards (computer keyboards, that is). Some writers cannot listen to music while they write, they love it so much it’s too distracting. Some writers get inspired by music, they admire the thoughtful poetic lyrics. And some writers create playlists for their books, songs that represent a scene from their novel or a feeling from their memoir.
We are thrilled to share recent success stories of our writers and instructors!
by Lisa Hartsgrove
I love working with Shore House. Not just because I get to teach writing the way I like to—with enthusiasm and support, not judgment—but also because of the strong, caring community we have built together.
Q: Before we jump into discussing Book Revision Lab, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you’ve come to be a part of Project Write Now.
A: I live in Fair Haven, New Jersey, with my wife and two sons and dog, Luna. Jennifer Chauhan, Allison Tevald, and I founded Project Write Now to be the writing center we always wished we had growing up and as adults. Before we started PWN, I didn’t know anyone near me who was a writer. Now I have dozens of writer friends.
by Jennifer Chauhan
This past Mother’s Day was my fifteenth without my mom. She passed away after a short battle with metastatic lung cancer in 2007, leaving me not only without a mom but also without my best friend. I was 38 with small children (6, 4, and 2) and in a marriage that was beginning to unravel. At the time, I was convinced I couldn’t survive. Every day felt unsurmountable as I was swimming in grief—floating and then sinking, gasping for air. I was also dealing with heightened anxiety as I cared for my terminally ill father, who died shortly after my mom, and for the first time I experienced panic attacks that erupted at random—in a supermarket aisle, at a dinner out with girlfriends, in the shower.
From Ralph Waldo Emerson to Barbara Kingsolver, writers have been known to use nature to connect with their creativity and spark their muse. In celebration of spring, we asked our team members to share with us their favorite out-of-door spaces either to write in or to rejuvenate their writing spirit.
by Gay Norton Edelman
Last year, I didn’t make it to my Shangri La cabin for the October splendor. There were good reasons why it didn’t happen. But still, I felt bereft, missing mother nature’s extravagant color spread in upstate New York. Sure, there are leaves where I live in New Jersey. But not the expanse of rolling hills I grew up with.
