Chicago Writers Conference: Sept. 27-28, 2013

Writers, not traveling out of town for a conference this year? Don't miss this chance, right in town...

Get Ready for CWC 2013! 1. Get inspired: Read more on what to expect. Our blog showcases past speakers, CWC 2012 success stories, and interviews with this year's panelists. 2. Get details: Our website has information on how to get to the conference, hotels, and nearby conveniences. 3. Get organized: With over thirty speakers, twenty sessions, and several events, CWC will keep you busy all weekend long. Explore our Speakers Page and Schedule to see what sparks your interest. Attend the talks and panels that will help your writing career the most. 4. Get registered: Regular registration is open until September 13. Signing up for the conference is as easy as clicking on this button:

On a Languid Summer Saturday

While browsing the stacks of favorite books on my many shelves, I came across Virginia Woolf's small masterpiece, The Waves, this morning.

We've all read it but as a writer seeking the secrets of true writing, The Waves has special meaning, and it takes a slow summer Saturday to sit down and appreciate it. Other days, other months are too distracting, but a steamy August Saturday lets a little more light and warm air swirl around us, so we sit, and we read amid the garden's glory.

"There are hours and hours,' said Rhoda, 'before I can put out the light and lie suspended on my bed above the world, before I can let the day drop down, before I can let my tree grow, quivering in green pavilions above my head. Here I cannot let it grow. Somebody knocks through it, They ask questions, they interrupt, they throw it down."

Have you ever noticed the chapters in The Waves? The author mentions she wrote to a rhythm and not to a plot. This tiny book explores Woolf's individual and collective identity, moving through the passage of time and the cycle of nature as her six main characters develop from childhood to maturity.

Each chapter begin in a delightful style, using the sun to pace the reader's way through the story, as I did on this languid day...

The sun had not yet risen.
The sun rose higher.
The sun rose.
The sun, risen, no longer couched on a green mattress darting a fitful glance through watery jewels, barred its face and looked straight over the waves.
The sun had risen to its full height.
The sun no longer stood in the middle of the sky.
The sun had now sunk lower in the sky.
The sun was sinking.
Now the sun had sunk.

It may interest you to know that Virginia Woolf worried that The Waves would be 'fundamentally unreadable' and yet also 'my first work in my own style'."

It is a rare Saturday that this blogger can to sit on the porch with this old favorite book, and slow down enough to read it in a new way. If you don't a copy of the Waves, ride your bike to the library or check Amazon. they have many copies at true bargain prices here.

Helen Gallagher

Wearing many hats

Writer? Author? ... Here's an interesting viewpoint on what it takes to make it today.

We know this, but this blog post excerpt, from Cheryl Pickett restates the facts in a direct way.

So, let me ask you.... my friends and clients who've successfully published this year, I'm sure this will resonate with you. She's right... so how many hats are you wearing to keep your book alive?


From Cheryl Pickett, TheNonfictionZone.com

"The biggest rule change? Unless you are writing just for a hobby, you need to wear much more than your writer hat. You’ll need to write, potentially publish, and definitely market. Bottom line, you are a small or micro business owner, not just an author. And that means you need to do all the things that go with running a business."