NaNoWriMo Kick Off Event!
Tuesday, November 5th, 1:05-1:35
Come learn about NaNoWriMo and the events we'll be having for it this year. Cookies and fun!
Create-A-Story
All of November
Come create a story with other students and build off of one another's work! To participate, come to the WRC during their open hours, or make an appointment online (click here).
Write Night
November 19th, 4pm-7pm
Come write in a creative and supportive environment with others. You can get help from the WRC peer tutors, or just write! Artist statements, biographies, class papers, NaNoWriMo, other projects, all are welcome. Snacks will be included!
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by
We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. From the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, this lively history makes a powerful case for the preservation of a system of printing conventions that is much too subtle to be mucked about with.
When Good People Write Bad Sentences by
At last, help for writers who can admit they have a problem. Do you get a lift by dangling a participle? Has your punctuation ever caused difficulties at home or at work? Do you consider yourself just a "social misspeller?" These are just a few of the warning signs that you might have an addiction to bad writing. But fear not. This practical guide to eliminating bad writing habits will put you on the path to recovery. Filled with accessible advice and examples, this "powerful 12-step program" identifies the most common writing mistakes and offers simple ways to correct them. Here, you can learn to overcome wordiness, formality, incompleteness, and other problems that stand in the way of clear communication. Andas you learn to eliminate ineffective sentences, you'll be "writing off" jargon, mixed metaphors, clichés, and more. The advice in this ingenious and useful book has helped Tom G., Martha D., and Cathy W.* write more clearly, confidently, and persuasively. It can do the same for you - whether you write for school, work, or pleasure. If you've tried other programs, only to fall back on bad habits, let Standard English be your guide. This book will show you how. Get ready to improve your writing skills - one sentence at a time. *their real names
How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books by
A helpful guide showing how to bring freshness and vitality to children's books.Aspiring authors and illustrators can learn: -- how to bring necessary freshness and vitality to children's books-- the best way to develop an idea-- how to present work successfully to a publisher-- the common myths and pitfalls of children's book publishing-- an analysis of successful fiction and nonfiction and what makes it work
Writing with Pictures by 
Writing Down the Bones by
Natalie Goldberg's word-of-mouth hit has sold well over half a million copies. Goldberg, who has conducted writing workshops for both beginners and professionals all over the United States, sees writing as a practice that helps us comprehend the value of our lives. With insight, humor, and practicality, she inspires writers and would-be writers alike to take the leap into writing creatively and well.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing by
Provides steps to writing novels, short stories, plays, poetry, scripts, screenplays and more. It features tips for unlocking the secrets behind creative writing and warm up exercises for overcoming writer's block, plus essential information on selling a work, finding an agent, negotiating contracts and fees, and dealing with success and failure.
Writers on Writing by 
If You Want to Write by 
Bird by Bird by
Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"
Writing from the Inside Out by
"Dennis Palumbo has great insight into a writer s psyche.... Everywriter should have a shrink or this book. The book ischeaper." --Gary Shandling, actor, comic, and writer "wise, compassionate, and funny..." --Aram Saroyan, poet and novelist "Dennis Palumbo provides a sense of community in the isolationof writing, of knowing that we are not alone on this uncharted andprivileged journey. He shows us that our shared struggles, fears,and triumphs are the very soul of the art and craft ofwriting." --Bruce Joel Rubin, screenwriter,GhostandDeepImpact Writer's block. Procrastination. Loneliness. Doubt. Fear offailure. Fear of rejection. Just plain...fear. What does it mean ifyou struggle with these feelings on a daily basis?It means you re awriter. Written with a unique empathy and deep insight by someonewho is both a fellow writer and a noted psychotherapist, Writingfrom the Inside Out sheds light on the inner life of the writerand shows you positive new ways of thinking about your art andyourself. Palumbo touches on subjects ranging from writer s envy torejection, from the loneliness of solitude to the joy of craft.Most of all, he leads you to the most empowering revelation of allthat you are enough. Everything you need to navigate the oftentumultuous terrain of the writer s path and create your best workis right there inside you.
Writing Tools by
Tools Not Rules' says Roy Peter Clark, vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, the esteemed school for journalists and teachers of journalists. Clark believes that everyone can write well with the help of a handful of useful tools that he has developed over decades of writing and teaching. If you google 'Roy Peter Clark, Writing Tools', you'll get an astonishing 1.25 million hits. That's because journalists everywhere rely on his tips to help them write well every day - in fact he fields emails from around the world from grateful writers. 'Writing Tools' covers everything from the basics (Tool 5: Watch those Adverbs) to the more complex (Tool 34: Turn your notebook into a camera) and uses more than 300 examples from literature and journalism to illustrate the concepts. For students, aspiring novelists and writers of memos, emails, PowerPoint presentations and love letters, here are 50 indispensible, memorable and usable tools.
Write by
Karen Peterson presents a way to beat writer's block in 10 days. Based on new brain research and psychological principles, her method shows writers how to conquer their handicap using exercises, techniques, checklists and parallel monologue.