“I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you, and that you will work them, water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.”
As a membership organization, we have managed—not always gracefully— the complexities of meeting in 2020. We’ve continued to share our writing. We have interacted playfully. And we’ve honed our peer critique skills. We’ve kept ‘mute’ at a minimum. We’ve peeked into the homes of our writing friends. And we’ve kept the Zoom ‘mute’ option at a minimum. We like to hear voices, laughter, surprise, and the delightful sounds of home. One must wonder how we’ll behave with one another when we finally meet face-to-face!
Each month we try to offer inspiration for the writing life. Here is a short essay, “You Were Made for This,” by Clarissa Pinkola Estes—a poet, storyteller, and psychoanalyst. This lovely essay might offer a bit of comfort during these times that try women’s souls.
Our October 6 beginning at 6:30 on Zoom will feature a guest author, who will discuss her book. Also, we will comment on three member manuscripts.
Our guest author is Susan E. Lindsey—former director of Women Who Write and Savvy Communications owner and book editor. She will be reading from, and answering your questions, regarding her narrative nonfiction book, Liberty Brought Us Here, which was released by University Press of Kentucky in July 2020.
“Lindsey takes a history that is two dimensional and makes it come to life, in a very human way. Even on the very first page of the first chapter, you can feel how human the characters are— characters that are traditionally not portrayed as humans, but property, survivors, bundles of fear and oppression. They feel real and alive, and as people, we could’ve known in a past life, in a way that is rarely executed effectively.”
“Beautifully written and meticulously researched,” as Alan Huffman calls it, “nuanced, poignant, right on time. An entertaining, heartfelt, cleansing, and educational piece.”
“The book is not only a rare, forgotten perspective of history but also an engaging piece of accessible scholarship.”
For peer commentary, please send a manuscript less than 1,200 words (4 pages double-spaced 12 pt. font) for peer commentary by 5 PM Monday, October 5 to . The host will post each manuscript on her desktop, as a screen share, so we can all follow along.
Join us for our annual retreat to Hopscotch House—October 10
We will retreat again at the Hopscotch House in Prospect, KY on Saturday, October 10—all day—with an overnight option on Saturday night. Cost is $20 including one boxed dinner (no potluck). WWW will provide individually wrapped snacks and each participant will bring a sack lunch. We can accommodate a maximum of ten persons for the day and five persons overnight.
Of course, we will comply with health department guidelines, masks on inside except when eating o reading our work aloud (in the early evening,) spaced at a minimum six-foot distance. We will bring our own sack lunches.
The October weather should enable us to spend a lot of time outside on the back deck and walking the lane, the fields, the labyrinth. Sigh!
Sign-ups on the website through October 8. Or email .
Try out these websites
Each month we provide links, craft information, prose, or poetry to nurture our members’ writing lives.
Try out these websites for ideas, inspiration, entertainment (the writing kind)—
https://www.eventbrite.com/- EventBrite has a mission to bring the world together through live experiences. Online classes vary by topic. Some have a fee, some are free.
https://fundsforwriters.com/- Funds for Writers is an online resource for writers that emphasizes finding money to make writing a realistic career.
https://www.writerswrite.com/contests/- Writers Write contest page includes links to upcoming writing contests for poetry, essays, and short stories. (Be sure to check all rules, fees, etc. before submitting.)
Submit your writing —
The Women Who Write website now features a blog— prose and poetry by WWW members. Craft essays and publishing pieces are always welcome. Members, please pitch a blog idea by e-mail to
Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson, members of WWW, have started a publication on Medium.com. Landslide Lit is inspired by the lyric from the Fleetwood Mac song, Landslide. We invite submissions of poetry and prose about growing up, growing older, looking forwardand looking back. Currently, we’re collecting prose and poetry about voting and citizenship until October 15. To learn more, e-mail Kim and Bonnie at .
Find out about current submission requests from Susan Lindsey’s Savvy Communications newsletter.
Become a member—
As a community, WWW strives to nurture your writing life. We hope you choose to join or renew as a member and participate in our monthly meetings, author talks, retreats, and workshops. Please do share your ideas for future programming!
We have planned meetings through the end of 2020. November is poetry month. And in December, we’ll listen to Christmas letters (short essays). Writing prompts will be posted for both!
Be safe. Stay strong. Write forward!
The Leadership Team— Kimberly, Terri, Pam, Alisa, and Melony
Our guest author is Susan E. Lindsey
