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Letter from Alison
Cross this Line

New Year's Day is my favorite holiday. I love beginnings, clean slates, setting goals.
 
A lot of us have decided that 2015 will be the year we get serious about our writing dreams. This is the year we shall begin or finish, find consistent, dedicated writing time or send work out to agents or editors.
 
Over the last several years, quite a few people have come to the Village Writing School with the desire to write. Several of us are now writing regularly and making good progress. Others have not yet found their voice. But what make one person catch fire and another continue to waffle? Is it lack of motivation, lack of direction, or too little time?
 
Often, and I have experienced this phenomenon myself several times, the only thing needed is to cross a line. Cross the line to making time to write. Cross the line to giving yourself permission to take a workshop. Cross the line to thinking of yourself as a writer.
 
I just returned from a research trip with the next 25,000 words of my historical novel outlined. I want to finish this book in the first half of 2015.
 
Join me in setting writing targets for the new year and then join me in crossing that line that divides the writers from the talkers. That line is only in our head and we have the power to cross it.
 
Village Writers ~~ Stronger and Better Together 

Start YOUR Writing Year Off RIGHT

PLANNING & PLOTTING with PAT CARR

January 10          1 - 4 pm            $25
 
Pat will discuss core incidents and teach you how to choose events, characters, setting and genre. You'll learn to find the opening and plot points for your rough draft so that you start off on the right foot. 

A perfect workshop to help you live the writing dream in 2015!!
 

Dialogue & Setting

January 19

9 am - 4 pm

Rogers
 
What to Say
How to Say it
Setting--More than a Place
Setting--Friend or Foe
4 Elements to Research
CONGRATULATIONS to the VWS Fayetteville Writing Circle celebrating their year anniversary this month!!  

Here's a note from Laurie Reichart, Coordinator.

Hello everyone,
This last year has been a blessing for me. 

We started the Fayetteville Writer's Circle in January of 2014 and a lot has happened to our members. There were novels accepted,  books published, books marketed, essays and short stories  published. Some writers received awards and recognition.

While all this was going on we were still writing, critiquing and juggling things in our personal lives. Give yourself a pat on the back, a special treat or an applause. You deserve it!

2015 is going to be even better. I know I would not be writing as much as I am if it wasn't for you and the circle. I look forward to this year and all the challenges, support and advice we give each other.

The January 4th meeting will be at 1:00 in the Fayetteville public Library. We will meet on the second floor in the Leverenz room. Turn left at the reference desk. If you would like to meet up early, I am always there at Arsaga's coffee shop, inside the library, before one.
 
Laurie Reichart
If you're in Northwest Arkansas, this is a serious writing group, and Laurie does a fantastic job keeping it all organized. She would love to meet you.
 
What’s Special About VWS Curriculum?
Alice French
 
We are thrilled that Tom Eaton, PhD, has chosen our VWS curriculum and workbooks for his Little Rock/Maumelle workshops.

Because Tom has taught creative writing for a number of years, I asked him what attracted him to the VWS curriculum material and the accompanying workbooks for the five-part course. 

Tom: The joy of this curriculum is in its simplicity—not simple in its concept but in its approach and fluidity. It allows for expansion into different areas of writing while still establishing a solid baseline for technique.

Alice: What do you mean when you say it can be expanded into different areas of writing?

Tom: We could expand the curriculum into ESL participation (English second language) with non-native speakers who have stories to tell. And, it can be expanded into after-school support programs for young people whose personal stories have been removed in our pursuit of standardization and test performance.

Alice: Do you view the curriculum primarily as a course for beginning writers?

Tom: No. The curriculum returns to the basics, of course. But, the beauty of the (VWS) curriculum is that it leaves a lot of room for interpretation, an absolute necessity for a writer. It leaves room for problem-solving and example-based exploration. 

New writers can follow it; more experienced writers can challenge themselves to examine weaknesses in their own work and revise.

This curriculum teaches the craft, not the standard. Therefore, in the hands of the right instructor, it can remain simple, or become as complex as one needs it to be in order to meet specific results for writers at multiple levels. That is why it works—because it addresses any audience. 
 

In an upcoming newsletter, we'll tell you more about Tom's specific plans for Village Writing School workshops in Maumelle starting in February. 
Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes Taxes
Plan Ahead!!
Make a Tax-Deductible Donation Now to Save Taxes in April.

Remember that you can deduct any donations to the Village Writing School, a 501c3 nonprofit corporation.

To make a one-time donation, go to our Homepage and click on the DONATE button in the right column. 

A donation will help to establish and promote our school and secure its stability and independence.
Get in on Our Fun Weekly Drawing!
 
Share our FaceBook posts or retweet a post on Twitter & 
be entered in a drawing for a $5 Amazon card.

You're entered once for each time you share one of our posts or Tweets.

Drawings held on Saturday.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS WEEK'S WINNER:
Beth Carter

A r o u n d   the   V i l l a g e
 

Write all day and all night in our soft, unwrinklely chambray shirts with the ultra-cool VWS ribbon over the pocket.

 

Get a long-sleeved one for winter.


We'll be ordering again soon. All sizes $23.
Email Jessie if you want one. 

 
~~~~~~~~~~
 
Our very own Wendy Taylor Carlisle will read in San Miguel, Mexico on January 5!   

Check out Wendy's new website here. 

Don't miss the opportunity to have your poetry mentored by Wendy in our twice-monthly poetry roundelay  on the 2nd & 4th Sunday afternoons.
 
~~~~~~~~~~
Our First Anthologies are printed! These were the stories from the Crystal Bridges workshop.

We printed these in house and Wicker Walker Printing did another great job on the cover.

Next year, we plan a collection of stories and poems from the writing circles and roundelays.
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Website
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Email
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E U R E K A   C A L E N D A R 
 
Jan 1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! NO Writers' Night Out

Jan 4 - Fayetteville Writing Circle 1-3

Jan 8 - A SPECIAL Writers' Night Out--Don't Miss it! 

Jan 10 - Planning and Plotting with Pat Carr 1-4

Jan 11 - NO Poetry Roundelay this Sunday

Jan 14 - Memoir 3 pm
             
More Info and Registration for Any Workshop HERE.
R O G E R S   C A L E N D A R 

Jan 17 - Dialogue and Setting
Feb 7 - The Word and the Sentence
March 7 - Subtext, High Events, Closings
April 4 - Self-Editing
May 2 - First Page/Character

All Workshops will be from 9-4 with an hour for lunch. The fee for each is $45 with a 10% discount if the whole program is paid in advance. 
More Info and Registration for Any Workshop HERE.
MEMOIR
CIRCLE
2nd Wednesday 
3 - 5 p.m.  
Village Writing School
 
POETRY ROUNDELAY
2nd & 4th Sunday
2 pm - 4 pm
Village Writing School
WRITERS' NIGHT OUT
Thursday Evenings 
5 - 7 p.m.  
Village Writing School
FAYETTEVILLE WRITING CIRCLE
1st & 3rd Sunday
1 pm - 3 pm
Fayetteville Library
 
The mission of the Village Writing School is to foster a vibrant literary community in Northwest Arkansas and to provide resources for ALL writers who seek to improve their craft.
 
SUPPORT OUR MISSION
 

Become a Friend of the Village Writing School.

Donate as little as $10 per month.

Become a Friend
Thank You
FRIENDS OF THE VILLAGE
We Grow Through Your Support
 
Tandy Belt,  Kim Clark, Jean Elderwind, Valerie Fondetti, Alice French, Nancy Grosella, Linda Hebert, Nancy Harris, Ann Hopkins, Shirley Lambertson, Mimi Mathis, Richard Schoe, Betty Schoeninger, Cris Senseman, Shiva Shanti, Darlene Simmons, Judith Ulch, Brent Wendling, Marcia Yearsley

You are receiving this email because you asked to be kept informed about writing workshops and coming events.
     
Copyright © 2014 
Village Writing School
 All rights reserved.

VillageWritingSchool.com
alisontaylorbrown@me.com
479-292-3665
177 Huntsville Road
Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Publisher: Alison Taylor-Brown
     Editor: Alice French

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