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Learning to See

A Writing Blog About Craft & Creative Process
"Learning to see is the basis for learning all of the arts."
​- Flannery O'Connor

January 8, 2020

12/2/2019

2 Comments

 

10 Writers Share Their 

Routines & Tips

compiled by Cressida Richards

Have you ever wondered how other writers set up their routines? Who are these people who seem to be writing constantly, and how, where, and when do they find the time? Well, in answer to these questions, ten PVWW writing instructors are sharing the innermost details of how they do it - and you'll be amazed at some of the down-to-earth common sense they offer, how their routines point not to superhuman nose-to-the-grindstone austerity, but to a relaxed and playful dedication to the craft. 

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2 Comments

October 05th, 2019

10/5/2019

1 Comment

 

Adorn Your Stories: The Art of Details

​by Sara Rauch

WRITING A STORY IS A LOT LIKE BUYING A HOUSE. You probably have an idea of big-picture musts (nice light, wood floors, two-car garage; prickly protagonist, murder mystery, Gothic undertones) as well as a few elements you’ll leave to chance (I’ll know it when I see/write it!). For many of us, writing—like life—is a blend of knowledge and intuition. And strengthening your knowledge of craft gives you the tools to trust your intuition during the creative process.  

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1 Comment

August 28th, 2019

8/28/2019

1 Comment

 

Meet Dennis James Sweeney!

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​We're so excited to welcome writer, editor, and instructor Dennis James Sweeney to the pioneer valley and to Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop! Dennis will be teaching two September one-day classes: 
Beyond Nonfiction and Writing Illness and the Body. Get to know a little bit about him below!

"As reality grows more and more confusing, the question of how writing relates to it grows more and more urgent. We need to ask: How does writing intervene in the world?" - Dennis James Sweeney

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1 Comment

April 18th, 2019

4/18/2019

2 Comments

 

What We're Reading at 

Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop

​compiled by Cressida Richards

"I'd encourage folks to not get too caught up in 'what it is' you're writing. Think instead of the story that must be told, honoring its truth, and then use whatever tools within your toolbox that can best give your story its unique life.​"
- Sarah Jane Cody, on what she's learning from T. Kira Madden's Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls

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2 Comments

March 25th, 2019

3/25/2019

2 Comments

 

"Playing! Curiosity! Vulnerability! Stretching"

A Conversation with Carolyn Zaikowski on Process & Poetry

​by Cressida Richards

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"To me, there’s not a whole lot of evidence that the creative wellspring was made to be harnessed with super strict, planful routines. I suspect that creativity needs a lot more air, space, breath, and trust than we tend to give it in modern America. Not that routines should be thrown away—just that there’s something very American (dare I say capitalist) about the particular way we’ve started discussing art as work/plan/routine. Now, ritual I can get with." - Carolyn Zaikowski

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2 Comments

March 11th, 2019

3/11/2019

8 Comments

 

Writing From Objects: A Warm-Up Exercise

​by Cressida Richards


​HERE IS A SCENARIO:
​I have just gotten home from running errands. I’ve hung up my jacket, unpacked the
grocery bags, replaced the paper towel roll, tossed the gas station receipt. I feel a sudden impulse to write. I am enthusiastic as I sit down at my desk and open my laptop. My mind is percolating with fragments of ideas, sound bites, little phrases. I open my word processor, see the blank page, and realize that I am... overly excited. My hands are shaking slightly over the keys, but they don’t know where to begin. I am not inspired—I am overwhelmed.

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8 Comments

February 11th, 2019

2/11/2019

2 Comments

 

A Mini-Interview with PVWW Instructor Eleanor Lane

Eleanor Lane talks monsters, favorite horror authors, why certain craft elements are even more crucial when writing scary stories, and what non-horror writers can learn from all of this. 
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"Scary stories are actually very similar to jokes in terms of how important structure is. If you put a monster reveal a moment too soon, or have too many similar standoffs between main characters and monsters, or choose the wrong tense to tell the story in, the story will fall completely flat."
​

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2 Comments

February 08th, 2019

2/8/2019

2 Comments

 

Meet PVWW's Intern: Cressida Richards!

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We are thrilled to welcome our first intern, Cressida Richards, to the PVWW team this season! Cressida is a poet, a recent University of Massachusetts Amherst grad, and a soon-to-be MFA candidate! She'll be working with PVWW's social media pages, blog, interviewing PVWW instructors and authors, and helping to organize a spring reading. We are so excited to work with her!

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2 Comments

January 21st, 2019

1/21/2019

2 Comments

 

7 Craft Tips to Strengthen Your Sentence-Level Writing

by Joy Baglio

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No matter how compelling your ideas are or how intriguing the plot of your story, if your sentences don't entrance readers - or at the very least, don't make them stumble - it will be harder for your work to find an audience. The good news: Strengthening your sentence-level writing is a little like working out at the gym. Anyone can show up, learn these tips, and work on putting them into practice (aka: strengthening your sentence-level "muscles"). The more you read your work aloud, listen to the sound and flow of your own sentences, and think about syntax and sentence structure, the more you'll become aware when your sentences need tweaking. 

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2 Comments

January 14, 2019

1/14/2019

1 Comment

 

Journaling Exercise: 

What Are Your Writing Goals?

​by Joy Baglio

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The New Year is the perfect time to get clear on your creative goals! You don't have to fulfill all of these goals immediately, but clarity and intention about what you want in your writing life is an important first step. Spend five minutes journaling about each of your goals in response to the following questions, and we're sure you'll come to some inspiring clarity about your goals!

1) Logistics: How would you like writing to happen in your life? How often do you want to write? Do you want to make it part of a daily or weekly routine? What time of day do you like to write? When can you fit it in to your day? When do you feel most creative?

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What People Are Saying About PVWW

"Can't say enough about PVWW, Joy, and her amazing team of teachers! Writing is very much about the ability to sit in your seat for hours and put pen to paper, but coming to PVWW has helped me build a community around my writing, breathe new life into my efforts, and get out of my own head a bit. And beyond that, I've learned lots of practical, nuts-and-bolts techniques that have vastly improved my work."
- Emily Everett, Editor at The Common

Contact Us

Email: joy@pioneervalleywriters.org
Phone: 518-645-1113 
Location: Northampton, MA

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