Upcoming Events 2024
Dynamic Character Creation
Saturday, October 26th, 10am-12pm
Ever wonder why some characters live in your head forever and others just don’t?
Understanding the intricate nature of character building is the secret sauce that transforms a good story into a great story. In this class, we'll dive deep into the art of character development, focusing on the importance of backstory and how to use it to create relatable characters that will leave your readers obsessed!
We’ll also cover:
The central message that will lock readers in and anchor your characters to the story.
How to find the right motivation and meaningful action (aka plot) for your characters.
Determining key relationships and how they’ll affect your main character.
…and more!
Facilitator: Gwendolyn Valerius
Sell Your Novel This Year! with Laura Sims
2 sessions and a 1:1 Consultation: Feb 13, 20, 27
Laura Sims, author of acclaimed novels, Looker and How Can I Help You, will help you sell your novel this year. With a decade’s worth of experience in submitting fiction, Sims will give you insider guidance on sending to agents so your query letter and synopsis will go from overlooked to accepted.
In this special two-part workshop, which includes a private consultation, you’ll get expert submission tips, feedback from peers, and individual guidance from Sims on your submission materials.
2024 is your year! Take advantage of this one-time opportunity to work with Laura Sims and turn your frustration into triumph in the literary world.
Creative Collaboration:
An Audio Writing Experience
Feb 24, 10:30am - 6:00pm
Sat, Feb, 24. 10:30-6 pm. $125
In this action-packed, one-day working retreat, we will receive a delicious prompt and write individual monologues that will be thematically linked to form a cohesive theater piece. After sharing, revising, and rehearsing, we’ll put the pieces together and record the whole as an audio performance. In addition to dynamic creating and collaborating, we’ll also bond over lunch and a Happy Hour. Director/Facilitator: Mary Amato, award-winning author and musician
You’ll get to:
• write and revise a piece
• perform a piece
• collaborate productively
• co-produce an audio play
• bond with kindred spirits
For writers who:
• crave a break from isolation
• love theater—particularly audio
• want to actually have fun
• need a creative break
• are willing to shake it up
Submission Sunday
Sending out your work is lonely and easy to put off. Start the year in-the-game. Come submit your writing in the company of other writers. Or just write in the space that day, on us. Third Sunday of every month.
Members and Non-members: FREE
February 18, 1pm-4pm
A three-part series exploring how a writing practice can be started or strengthened by using powerful spiritual tools. This class will focus on letting go and connecting to the universal mind to create flow. All classes will include meditation, generative writing, and lively discussion.
Instructors:
Marcia LeBeau, poet & energy healer
Sonja Thayer, spiritual retreat facilitator
$44 each workshop
$111 for all 3 workshops
3 sessions: Feb 1, Mar 10, Apr 11
Writing and The Spirit
PAST EVENTS 2023
Fall Writers’ Happy Hour
Come join us to celebrate summer with drinks, snacks, and conversation in our community of writers. All are welcome.
Members: FREE
Non-members: $10/person
Please RSVP
September 27th, 5-7pm
4 sessions: March 7, 14, 21 & April 4 (performance),
7-8:30pm
Whether you are a seasoned poet or just beginning, we will create exciting new work and amplify its power by releasing it from the page and onto the stage. This 4-session workshop culminates with a group reading at CHS Black Box Theatre. (Class is part of The South Orange Maplewood Adult School.)
Instructor: Marcia LeBeau
Poetry and Performance
Poetry and Performance
Whether you are a seasoned poet or just beginning, we will create exciting new work and amplify its power by releasing it from the page and onto the stage. This 3-session workshop culminates with a group reading at The Write Space. (Class is part of The South Orange Maplewood Adult School.)
Instructor: Marcia LeBeau
October 5, 12, 19, 7-8:30pm
Poetry Showcase
October 19, 7-8:30pm
Participants in Poetry and Performance class, group reading.
Back by popular demand, The Write Space in partnership with WAE Center, present eight local poets reading poems inspired by the artwork in the curated show The WEA Open. Heidi Gallery at The WAE Center, 310 Eisenhower Parkway, Livingston, NJ
November 19, 1-4pm JSDD WAE Center, Livingston, NJ
Ekphrastic Reading II
Holiday Happy Hour
Come join us for an end-of-the-year celebration with drinks, snacks, and conversation in our community of writers. All are welcome.
Members: FREE
Non-members: $10/person
Please RSVP
December 15, 5-7pm
Pen Parentis Accountability Meet-up
Wednesdays, 2-3 PM
This weekly afternoon meet-up (on Zoom) is specifically geared to writers with children (of any age) and will help you set writing goals and give you support to accomplish them. Facilitated by Marcia LeBeau.
Meetings are free with Pen Parentis Title Membership ($10/month)
Drop-in fee: $10 payable to Pen Parentis
Unless otherwise listed here, meetings are every Wednesday. Please contact info@thewritespacenj.com for the Zoom link.
If you are interested in an in-person meet-up, please contact us with date and time that is best for you.
June 2023
June 25, 1-4pm
Submission Sunday
Sending out your work is lonely and easy to put off. Come submit your writing in the company of writers. Or just write in the space that day, on us.
Come join us on a Friday evening for drinks, snacks, and conversation in our community of writers. All are welcome.
Members: FREE
Non-members: $10/person
Please RSVP
June 30, 5-7pm
Writers’ Happy Hour
April 2023
Blazing Poetry Reading at the South Orange Public Library
April 20, 6-7pm
The Write Space is thrilled to be partnering with The South Orange Library to celebrate National Poetry Month. Eight local poets will be reading their work followed by refreshments. 18+
Readers: Theresa Burns, Anthony Ellis, Leah E. Jackson (aka Lyric), Marcia LeBeau, Mary Tautin Moloney, Rachelle Parker, Jason Craig Poole, Soraya Shalforoosh
Writers’ Happy Hour
Come join us this Friday evening for drinks, snacks, CBD samples and conversation in our community of writers. All are welcome.
Members: FREE
Non-members: $10/person
Please RSVP
April 21, 5-7pm
March
Writers’ Happy Hour
Come join us this Friday evening for drinks, snacks, CBD samples and conversation in our community of writers. All are welcome. It is a free event but adding to the bounty is appreciated.
Please RSVP
March 10th, 5-7pm
Unleash Your Muse, CBD/Writing Event
February 25th, 1-3pm Join us for an afternoon of chill creativity, all in service of releasing your muse. Bring a piece of writing that you want to revisit, but haven’t had the time or headspace to. Learn how CBD and cannabis can help you quiet the noise and stoke your creative fire. Try a mild CBD product (or stronger – we’ll have various types!) and participate in a guided meditation to get you ready for the next phase – writing. Revise an old piece or start something new. Go where your quiet focus takes you!
To register, go to our online Store
February 25th, 1-3pm
An afternoon at The Write Space helped me get eight submissions out in a single afternoon, more than I’d done in the previous two months.
—Jessica de Koninck, author of Cutting Room
We have closed the
Zoom room dedicated to quiet writing, but check back for other virtual events in the future.
Our 2022 in-person programming will begin in March.
July 10, 2021 3-5:30pm
Join us for an afternoon reading with music. It’s time to start our literary groove thing!
Thursday, August 20, 2020.
6-8PM
Join us for a night of LIVE outdoor music benefiting local musicians and Black Lives Matter. Socially-distanced space is very limited.*
Can’t make the concert, but want to support the cause? 100% will go towards the musicians and Black Lives Matter.
* To comply with social distancing, tickets are available in:
LAWN POD SEATING - 6X8 ft pods for families and/or quaranteams. Each pod can accommodate 1-4 people. Pods are 6 ft. away from all other pods. Please bring a blanket and/or low chair to sit on. You will get to choose your lawn pod when you arrive the night of the concert. First come, first serve. See chart.
INDIVIDUAL SEATS - There will be a row of chairs behind the lawn, placed 6 ft from each other in the back. You are free to move the chairs next to family members.
Face coverings required. BYO food and beverage. Rain Date: 8/27/20.
Contact info@thewritespacenj.com with any questions.
There are no upcoming events at this time.