The Room to Write

So, what is it that The Room to Write preaches? Write. When in doubt: Write. When you have a moment: Write. If you want change: Write. Don't say you don't know how or you're no good at it or you don't know what to: Write. When you want to express yourself creatively, think comprehensively, share knowledge, create healthy dialogue, connect with others: Write. As Founder and Director of The Room to Write, I have found myself pushing my own personal and professional writing projects to the back of the ever-growing list of "things to do." Finding that work/life balance is difficult for all of us. Making time for yourself when you have a family is a challenge. And saying, "No" doesn't always come easily. The list of responsibilities grows while the number of hours in a day remain the same. Still just the 24. So, we must sit and focus. Decide what we want 2024 to look like for each of us. I have my own website for my own writing and I'd like to sha...

On Saturday, November 18th from 1-4pm the Wakefield Public Library hosted the 2nd annual Local Author Fair in collaboration with The Room to Write and Whitelam Bookstore .  A huge shout out to Karen Stern, librarian extraordinaire, for making this event happen. 15 authors from Wakefield and surrounding towns came together to make their books available to the public.  This was a great opportunity for readers to find a locally written book and meet the writer behind the book cover. Another aspect of this fair that gets less attention is the fact that the authors get to meet each other. Part of our mission at The Room to Write is connecting writers, authors and creative minds with each other. Community is such an important part of creativity.  The Wakefield Library's Local Author Fair is a uniquely important event in that it allows both independently published and traditionally published authors to be able to gather together and make their books available to the public at o...

The Room to Write is hosting “Fountain Pens & Writing Culture,” a presentation by pen enthusiast David Watts, Jr.  On Tuesday, November 14th, David will give his talk at two locations— arrive early to receive a free fountain pen! The morning presentation will be from 10:30 am – 11:30 am at the Stoneham Senior Center , 136 Elm Street, Stoneham, MA 02180.  Register by calling 781-438-1157. The afternoon presentation will be from 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm at the Wakefield Senior Center , 30 Converse Street, Wakefield, MA 01880. No registration required for this location. In his talk, David journeys into the history of fountain pens, users, and the importance of cursive writing among younger generations.  David is an active member of Boston Pen People, whose members range widely in interests and levels of knowledge - from rank beginners to acknowledged experts. While some like vintage pens and others like modern styles, they all share a deep appreciation for pens and writing cult...

Wakefield Senior Center: October 3rd : Kick-off for a new session, "Writing Talk.” This month, a TRtW instructor will lead a chat about “What Writing Is,” a five-page chapter from Stephen King's book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Also, if you enjoy this chapter and want to read the whole book, consider joining Whitelam Books on Thursday, October 26th at 7 pm for Writer’s Book Club. The group will be discussing King’s book this evening.  October 10th : Gather & Write session led by an instructor from TRtW. Come with your own ideas of what to write or be inspired by prompts provided by facilitators from The Room to Write.  You'll have time to write, as well as an opportunity to share your writing. October 17th : "Open Mic" session where each person will have about 3 minutes to share something they've written or read. October 24th : Gather & Write session led by an instructor from TRtW. October 31st : Monthly Critique Group where writers will read...

  Critique Groups are coming! Critique Groups are coming . . . back from summer hiatus:) We are very excited to see our critique group members again. Please be sure to check the deadlines for submission below or by clicking the link to the Critique webpage on our site below. The Kid Lit Critique Group deadline is a week away--so gather up your writing and be sure to check our submission guidelines on our Critique page. See you soon:) Deadlines approaching!!   Click to see critique page for deadlines, meeting dates and guidelines. Next Multi-genre Critique Meeting: Thursday, September 21st (Submissions Due: August 31st) Kid Lit Critique Meeting: Tuesday, September 12th (Submissions Due: August 22nd)

It's summer--so we're taking it easy here at The Room to Write, but even during our down time a few things manage to get done.  One much-anticipated website restoration milestone is the return of our podcast page where those who would like to tune into our Journey of a Story author interview series with only their ears can now find most of our 30+ interviews on three podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , & Spotify .  If you would like to give them a listen and learn all about the writing, publication and book making process click here for our podcast page and take your pick of platforms.  Betsy Ellor A great big thanks to our wonderfully talented and series collaborators at Wakefield Community Access Television studios along with the IT wizardry of George Getty who helped us get everything up onto podcast platforms and integrated onto our website. The three most recent interviews, which were conducted in the May/June timeframe coincidentally all inv...

Despite the unpredictable weather, we had an amazing time at Wakefield's Festival by the Lake on Saturday, June 10, 2023.  The Festival by the Lake is always a great opportunity to connect with our supporters, educate visitors about our organization and make connections in the community. This year we were fortunate to have four local authors as guests in our tent available to talk to, purchase books from and to have books signed. Local author essayist and TRtW's Coordinator for Senior & Veterans Programming Linda Malcom joined us to start the day at 10am with her collection of essays, Cornfields to Codfish . To learn more about Linda and her book click here or watch her interview as part of our Journey of a Story series here. Local writer Lisa Varchol Perron stopped by next at 11am with her nonfiction picture book, Patterns Everywhere , and her very sweet board book about unconditional and enduring nature of a mother's love, My Love for You . To learn more about L...