Writing with Oven Mitts: Nurturing the Creative Spark of the Writer/Mother (In Person at HVWC)

Writing with Oven Mitts: Nurturing the Creative Spark of the Writer/Mother

Writing and motherhood are courageous acts of creation, requiring patience, love, dedication, and faith. But too often the demands of parenting compete with the urge for self-expression, leaving writer/mothers adrift, blocked, and disheartened.

This course is designed to rekindle that creative spark by empowering you to reclaim the space, energy, and opportunities necessary to develop your craft, build a sense of community, and validate your writing goals. Prepare to dive into practical strategies for carving out writing time and leveraging your heightened powers of observation to enrich your fiction or non-fiction writing. Whether you are trying to finish a project or decide on one, this class will get you energized. Topics include:

• The writing imperative:  How to take your work seriously and get others to do the same.
• The juggling act: Strategies from writer/mothers who have successfully balanced childcare, jobs, and family obligations with their writing careers.
• Bringing the page alive: The mechanics of good writing, with practical guides to help you train your own inner editor.
• From creation to publication: How to prepare your work for submission to agents, magazines, journals, and publishing houses in the current landscape, including sample pitch letters.

The class will include handouts, recommended reading materials, and immersive exercises designed to foster your development as a writer.

Suzanne Chazin is the award-winning author of nine suspense novels and dozens of personal essays, short stories, and magazine articles. Her novels have been shortlisted by the American Library Association for Best Mystery of the Year. They have also received glowing reviews in People Magazine and USA Today and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly. Her short fiction appeared in the anthology, Bronx Noir, which won the 2008 Book of the Year Award for special fiction from the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association. Her tenth novel, a young adult thriller, is currently out on submission. She is also working on a book about motherhood and the writing process. A mother of two and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Suzanne has worked for more than three decades as a writer. She was a Senior Editor and Staff Writer for more than a decade at Reader’s Digest, where she won several national awards. Her work has also been published in American Health, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, and The New York Times. Suzanne was a 2012 writing fellow at Purchase College and has taught fiction and non-fiction writing at The New School, New York University, Sarah Lawrence College, and The Smithsonian Institution. Find out more at: www.suzannechazin.com.