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Delete Post Edit Blog Posts Thank you to everyone who attended my creative writing workshops in 2009! We produced a lot of fantastic poetry and tackled all of the preparation work for writing our fiction novel! You have returned to the workshops again and again, telling me you not only enjoyed the experience, but that it was working for you.
With time and money limited, I know how difficult it is to choose which workshops to take and which to let pass. That is why I keep my prices low and do my best to schedule the workshops around you. I also mold the workshops to accommodate your needs. Essentially, we focus on two aspects of writing; poetry and prose, but the specifics are inspired by you. If you would like to concentrate on character development, then that's what we do. If you want to explore creating a plot sentence or blocking out our chapters, then I design a workshop that focuses on just that. We can learn either the English sonnet, haiku, triolet or any other poetic form you desire. You tell me, and if there's enough interest, I set it up!
I would like to begin exploring dates and topics for workshops in 2010. I hope that you will email me at EileenRain@aol.com and let me know if you are interested in attending a creative writing workshop with me and what your special interests are. Visit my website at www.EileenAlbrizio.com to read details about past workshops, then email me with your comments!
Thank you again for your interest in these workshops. I look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, happy writing!
Best,
Eileen Albrizio
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Poet Robert Saunders Tribute
Saturday, November 14, 2009
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Wintonbury Branch Library
1015 Blue Hills Aveneu
Bloomfield, CT
I hope you can join us for a reading of Robert's poems on November 14th, 2 to 5 PM, at the Winontbury Branch Library at 1015 Blue HIlls Ave in Bloomfield. The event includes an open mic. Readers include Eileen Albrizio, John Basinger, Lonnie Black, Michael Cervantes, Stephanie Elliott, James and Susan Finnegan, Stanford M. Forrester, Maggie Greene, Colin Haskins, Marilyn Johnston, Hendree Millward, Tom Nicotera, Cynthia Peck, Pit Pinegar, Geri Radasci, Maria Sassi.
Robert was an extraordinarily altruistic artist, giving of his time and energy to art and poetry community without expecting anything in return except our attention.
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Wintonbury Branch Library
1015 Blue Hills Aveneu
Bloomfield, CT
I hope you can join us for a reading of Robert's poems on November 14th, 2 to 5 PM, at the Winontbury Branch Library at 1015 Blue HIlls Ave in Bloomfield. The event includes an open mic. Readers include Eileen Albrizio, John Basinger, Lonnie Black, Michael Cervantes, Stephanie Elliott, James and Susan Finnegan, Stanford M. Forrester, Maggie Greene, Colin Haskins, Marilyn Johnston, Hendree Millward, Tom Nicotera, Cynthia Peck, Pit Pinegar, Geri Radasci, Maria Sassi.
Robert was an extraordinarily altruistic artist, giving of his time and energy to art and poetry community without expecting anything in return except our attention.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Writing a Novel from Scratch has its Own Blog!
Hello all,
For those of you who are following my blog about the process of the writing of my new novel, The Tire, the Rope and the Tree, it now has its own special home at NovelWritingFromScratch.blogspot.com. I tried to have the blog set up so the oldest posts are at the top of the page, so newcomers could read about the process in order, but I can't figure out how to do that :( However, I have archived the blogs from oldest to newest on the sidebar to the left of the blog. Hopefully that will help!
I am not actually posting my novel on the blog, simply taking you through the process of writing it as I go, allowing you insight into the obstacles I face and how I overcome them. I do use examples from my novel when it enhances what I am trying to convey. I am also giving you formulas that have made the writing process not only easier, but much more fun! So, follow me through this exciting journey of writing a novel from scratch at NovelWritingFromScratch.blogspot.com.
Happy writing!
Eileen
For those of you who are following my blog about the process of the writing of my new novel, The Tire, the Rope and the Tree, it now has its own special home at NovelWritingFromScratch.blogspot.com. I tried to have the blog set up so the oldest posts are at the top of the page, so newcomers could read about the process in order, but I can't figure out how to do that :( However, I have archived the blogs from oldest to newest on the sidebar to the left of the blog. Hopefully that will help!
I am not actually posting my novel on the blog, simply taking you through the process of writing it as I go, allowing you insight into the obstacles I face and how I overcome them. I do use examples from my novel when it enhances what I am trying to convey. I am also giving you formulas that have made the writing process not only easier, but much more fun! So, follow me through this exciting journey of writing a novel from scratch at NovelWritingFromScratch.blogspot.com.
Happy writing!
Eileen
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Proofreading and Editing Service
As writers, we know how hard it is to give our work over to someone else for critique. We fall in love with our words, cherish them as if they are children, and fight like animals when someone tells us to change our words or, heaven forbid, throw them away. Yet, as writers, we also know that when we finish a project we become very close to it, often too close to see the errors or omissions that may serve to undermine our masterpiece. We do the best we can, reading and rereading, reviewing and scrutinizing, but there comes a point when we just can’t see the text objectively anymore.
It is when we reach this point in the process that we need another set of eyes on our manuscript. Friends and family are a great resource and they will make a concerted effort to point out a missing punctuation mark or a misspelled word. However, those who value our friendship will likely be cautious when it comes to suggesting changes to content, sentence structure, transitional problems or other more significant editorial issues. There’s no doubt that calling on friends or family to review our work can be beneficial, but their expertise is limited, and their honesty toward the manuscript is often tempered by their desire to stay in good graces with us.
Having spent twelve years as a broadcast journalist and news host, thirteen years as an editor and teacher of creative writing, and over thirty years as a writer, I have the skills to help you reach the point of publication with confidence. I will proofread and edit your manuscript with close-read precision, offer expert analysis, and follow-up discussion. We live among an ever-growing population of published authors. Make sure your work stands out among the rest. I can help you!
Go to www.EileenAlbrizio.com to find out more!!
Happy writing!
Eileen
It is when we reach this point in the process that we need another set of eyes on our manuscript. Friends and family are a great resource and they will make a concerted effort to point out a missing punctuation mark or a misspelled word. However, those who value our friendship will likely be cautious when it comes to suggesting changes to content, sentence structure, transitional problems or other more significant editorial issues. There’s no doubt that calling on friends or family to review our work can be beneficial, but their expertise is limited, and their honesty toward the manuscript is often tempered by their desire to stay in good graces with us.
Having spent twelve years as a broadcast journalist and news host, thirteen years as an editor and teacher of creative writing, and over thirty years as a writer, I have the skills to help you reach the point of publication with confidence. I will proofread and edit your manuscript with close-read precision, offer expert analysis, and follow-up discussion. We live among an ever-growing population of published authors. Make sure your work stands out among the rest. I can help you!
Go to www.EileenAlbrizio.com to find out more!!
Happy writing!
Eileen
Friday, June 19, 2009
TROUBLE, WHO WAS NO TROUBLE AT ALL, AND HER BEST BUD, BUDDY.
A nameless, beautiful, feminine calico sweetheart of a kitten was dropped off at the Newington Animal Shelter the day she turned nine weeks old. Those were the rules, the attendant of the shelter had said, they don’t accept animals younger than nine weeks. So, the moment the clock struck two months and seven days the humans shoved the kitten in a crate and carted her off to the pound. There just wasn’t enough room in the house for another kitten, the human donors proclaimed. The attendant promptly scooped up the orphan and plopped her in a cage.
Right above her, a skinny, frightened tabby named Freddy hunkered down, his hopes for adoption diminishing with each new day. Now into his third month at the pound, Freddy was lonely and worn out. But things were about to change.
As Freddy tried to sleep, a little white puffed paw slapped against his cage. It was the calico saying hello. Freddy couldn’t see her face, but he liked that she was making an attempt to meet him. Deep in his heart, however, he knew that she would be gone in a matter of days. The kittens never last long. They have the adorable factor in their favor, something that had long faded from Freddy's sunken face.
“He looks scared,” the man said. “Poor thing. No one adopts the older ones.”
The woman by his side looked into Freddy’s eyes. “He looks sweet.”
“He is,” the attendant responded. “He’s the nicest cat you’d ever want to meet.”
“Hmm,” the woman moaned softly and followed the man around the room of cages.
Ten minutes later, the woman and man circled the room again, pausing once more at Freddy’s cage. The kitten below him had been sleeping, and Freddy secretly, selfishly hoped she would remain that way. If she showed herself to the couple they would surely take her. Just walk away, he thought, before she wakes up. Yet, throughout the day, the couple continued to survey the room of cats and kittens, pausing each time before Freddy's cage.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice over the loud speaker announced. “The Newington Animal Shelter will be closing in five minutes.”
“Have we really been here for four hours?” the man asked the woman.
“Apparently. Wayne?” she paused. “What do you think about adopting him?" She pointed to Freddy. "The lady said he was a really nice cat.”
“I know, Eileen, but adult cats have history. I don’t know.”
Just then, in the cage below the orange tabby, a little white bit of a thing with orange and black spots arched her back in a massive kitten stretch. Sauntering to the front of her cage, she reached a fluffy, scruffy paw up to Freddy’s door and gave it a swat. Freddy reached down with his skinny orange striped paw and reciprocated. Wayne and Eileen looked at each other, and without saying a word, nodded in agreement.
“Miss?” Wayne beckoned. “We’d like to take her.” He pointed to the calico.
Freddy tucked his paw beneath his chest, knowing his friend had charmed the humans and that she would be leaving him. The short reprieve of sadness that had come only as a result of the calico’s presence had vanished.
“And him,” Eileen said, pointing to Freddy.
“They look like they’re friends,” Wayne added. “We’d like to take them home together."
The attendant removed Freddy from his cage and handed him to Eileen. Then the calico, so tiny she seemed weightless, was placed in the palm of Wayne’s hand. But she wasn’t about to stay there. In a flash, she leapt from Wayne’s hand and onto the table. With a graceful leap, she practically flew onto the top of a cabinet where she sniffed and explored her new surroundings.
“She looks like trouble,” Eileen said.
“But I bet she’s no trouble at all,” Wayne replied with a smile. “By the way,” addressing the attendant. “What are their names?”
“She doesn’t have one. This fella’s Freddy, after Freddy Krueger, you know the evil dream demon from that movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“That doesn’t sound like him,” Wayne said. “He’s too sweet to be a demon. He’s more like someone’s buddy.”
So that is the story of how Trouble and Buddy were adopted by Wayne and Eileen. They all lived happily together for more than twelve years. Trubs and Buds remained best friends, hanging out together, tussling, cleaning each other and sleeping side-by-side. Buddy grew plump and content, while Trouble grew strong, yet gentle. Life for the two cats and their parents had been joyous and playful, harmonious and peaceful for all the time they were together. For animals, however, time can be an enemy, robbing the little creatures of their lives when they are just at the peak of living.
For Trouble, her time came on June 16, 2009. Cancer had attacked her intestine, not allowing food or drink to enter. The kind doctor did everything he could, but in the end, the cancer won. Trouble died at the tender age of twelve.
Today, Buddy, Wayne and Eileen all mourn her passing and miss her dearly. She remains in their hearts and her sweet chirp and compassionate purr will always be a song left lingering in the air around them.
We love you, Trouble. Thank you for being our friend and for allowing us to love you the way you loved us.
Buddy and Trouble
A nameless, beautiful, feminine calico sweetheart of a kitten was dropped off at the Newington Animal Shelter the day she turned nine weeks old. Those were the rules, the attendant of the shelter had said, they don’t accept animals younger than nine weeks. So, the moment the clock struck two months and seven days the humans shoved the kitten in a crate and carted her off to the pound. There just wasn’t enough room in the house for another kitten, the human donors proclaimed. The attendant promptly scooped up the orphan and plopped her in a cage.
Right above her, a skinny, frightened tabby named Freddy hunkered down, his hopes for adoption diminishing with each new day. Now into his third month at the pound, Freddy was lonely and worn out. But things were about to change.
As Freddy tried to sleep, a little white puffed paw slapped against his cage. It was the calico saying hello. Freddy couldn’t see her face, but he liked that she was making an attempt to meet him. Deep in his heart, however, he knew that she would be gone in a matter of days. The kittens never last long. They have the adorable factor in their favor, something that had long faded from Freddy's sunken face.
“He looks scared,” the man said. “Poor thing. No one adopts the older ones.”
The woman by his side looked into Freddy’s eyes. “He looks sweet.”
“He is,” the attendant responded. “He’s the nicest cat you’d ever want to meet.”
“Hmm,” the woman moaned softly and followed the man around the room of cages.
Ten minutes later, the woman and man circled the room again, pausing once more at Freddy’s cage. The kitten below him had been sleeping, and Freddy secretly, selfishly hoped she would remain that way. If she showed herself to the couple they would surely take her. Just walk away, he thought, before she wakes up. Yet, throughout the day, the couple continued to survey the room of cats and kittens, pausing each time before Freddy's cage.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice over the loud speaker announced. “The Newington Animal Shelter will be closing in five minutes.”
“Have we really been here for four hours?” the man asked the woman.
“Apparently. Wayne?” she paused. “What do you think about adopting him?" She pointed to Freddy. "The lady said he was a really nice cat.”
“I know, Eileen, but adult cats have history. I don’t know.”
Just then, in the cage below the orange tabby, a little white bit of a thing with orange and black spots arched her back in a massive kitten stretch. Sauntering to the front of her cage, she reached a fluffy, scruffy paw up to Freddy’s door and gave it a swat. Freddy reached down with his skinny orange striped paw and reciprocated. Wayne and Eileen looked at each other, and without saying a word, nodded in agreement.
“Miss?” Wayne beckoned. “We’d like to take her.” He pointed to the calico.
Freddy tucked his paw beneath his chest, knowing his friend had charmed the humans and that she would be leaving him. The short reprieve of sadness that had come only as a result of the calico’s presence had vanished.
“And him,” Eileen said, pointing to Freddy.
“They look like they’re friends,” Wayne added. “We’d like to take them home together."
The attendant removed Freddy from his cage and handed him to Eileen. Then the calico, so tiny she seemed weightless, was placed in the palm of Wayne’s hand. But she wasn’t about to stay there. In a flash, she leapt from Wayne’s hand and onto the table. With a graceful leap, she practically flew onto the top of a cabinet where she sniffed and explored her new surroundings.
“She looks like trouble,” Eileen said.
“But I bet she’s no trouble at all,” Wayne replied with a smile. “By the way,” addressing the attendant. “What are their names?”
“She doesn’t have one. This fella’s Freddy, after Freddy Krueger, you know the evil dream demon from that movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“That doesn’t sound like him,” Wayne said. “He’s too sweet to be a demon. He’s more like someone’s buddy.”
So that is the story of how Trouble and Buddy were adopted by Wayne and Eileen. They all lived happily together for more than twelve years. Trubs and Buds remained best friends, hanging out together, tussling, cleaning each other and sleeping side-by-side. Buddy grew plump and content, while Trouble grew strong, yet gentle. Life for the two cats and their parents had been joyous and playful, harmonious and peaceful for all the time they were together. For animals, however, time can be an enemy, robbing the little creatures of their lives when they are just at the peak of living.
For Trouble, her time came on June 16, 2009. Cancer had attacked her intestine, not allowing food or drink to enter. The kind doctor did everything he could, but in the end, the cancer won. Trouble died at the tender age of twelve.
Today, Buddy, Wayne and Eileen all mourn her passing and miss her dearly. She remains in their hearts and her sweet chirp and compassionate purr will always be a song left lingering in the air around them.
We love you, Trouble. Thank you for being our friend and for allowing us to love you the way you loved us.
Buddy and Trouble
Monday, April 20, 2009
"Writing from Scratch": A Creative Writing Workshop
A Creative Writing Workshop ~ Limited seating! Registration required.
Saturday, May 23, 2009 from 1 to 4 PM
Only $15
605 Main Street, Middletown, Connecticut - 860-347-4957
Contact Eileen at EileenRain@aol.com to register
How often have you sat before your writing tablet or computer screen for hours at a time without writing a word. The starts are often the hardest part of the creative process of writing. That is because what we want to write comes to us by way of the abstract, that is, we feel something, so we want to write about it. But emotions are an intangible entity. As writers, it is our job to take those largely ethereal "feelings" and turn them into something palpable. By the use of words, we transform the abstract into something we can touch, taste, smell, hear and see.
This workshop will teach you the tools needed to do exactly that. We will begin by exploring the fundamentals of poetry, including form, meter, rhyme, and rhetorical devices such as repetition and metaphor to create a poem in a traditional form. (It's not nearly as daunting as it may sound. In fact, it's quite fun!) "But, POETRY," you say. "I want to write prose fiction!"
By actually learning poetic techniques and writing a poem in the structure of form, you will be able to then approach prose, whether fiction or nonfiction, with a more creative and exciting attitude. After writing our poem, we will then utilize the poetic tools we've learned to begin the process of writing that great story locked inside your head. Whether you are a novice or advanced writer, poet or novelist, or looking to pen your memoir, these tools will help you to engage in a more enjoyable and productive writing experience.
This is a 3-hour, hands-on writing workshop that will ensure you walk away with new enthusiasm for the writing process. Participants need only bring writing materials. There is no need to bring previously written works. We will, afterall, be writing from scratch!!
I hope you had an opportunity to read some of my poetry and visit my bio at www.angelfire.com/art/albrizio to read more about my credentials as writer. I hope to see you at the next workshop.
Eileen
Saturday, May 23, 2009 from 1 to 4 PM
Only $15
605 Main Street, Middletown, Connecticut - 860-347-4957
Contact Eileen at EileenRain@aol.com to register
How often have you sat before your writing tablet or computer screen for hours at a time without writing a word. The starts are often the hardest part of the creative process of writing. That is because what we want to write comes to us by way of the abstract, that is, we feel something, so we want to write about it. But emotions are an intangible entity. As writers, it is our job to take those largely ethereal "feelings" and turn them into something palpable. By the use of words, we transform the abstract into something we can touch, taste, smell, hear and see.
This workshop will teach you the tools needed to do exactly that. We will begin by exploring the fundamentals of poetry, including form, meter, rhyme, and rhetorical devices such as repetition and metaphor to create a poem in a traditional form. (It's not nearly as daunting as it may sound. In fact, it's quite fun!) "But, POETRY," you say. "I want to write prose fiction!"
By actually learning poetic techniques and writing a poem in the structure of form, you will be able to then approach prose, whether fiction or nonfiction, with a more creative and exciting attitude. After writing our poem, we will then utilize the poetic tools we've learned to begin the process of writing that great story locked inside your head. Whether you are a novice or advanced writer, poet or novelist, or looking to pen your memoir, these tools will help you to engage in a more enjoyable and productive writing experience.
This is a 3-hour, hands-on writing workshop that will ensure you walk away with new enthusiasm for the writing process. Participants need only bring writing materials. There is no need to bring previously written works. We will, afterall, be writing from scratch!!
I hope you had an opportunity to read some of my poetry and visit my bio at www.angelfire.com/art/albrizio to read more about my credentials as writer. I hope to see you at the next workshop.
Eileen
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Ever-Fading Passion for Poetry and Short Fiction
Why is it when I tell people I write poetry and short fiction they look at me like I told them their kids are ugly? I was weaned on poetry and short fiction. Those were the genres of choice for most everyone I knew all the years I was growing up. I understand the delight in delving into a long, well-crafted and multi-layered novel, but what about those times when you just want to escape for a single moment in time; take a short jaunt through the fantasy world of fiction before you have to prepare dinner for the family or pick the kids up from soccer?
Sometimes I think those who snub these pithy pieces of work believe that because they are short, they are trifles. Often I have been regarded as the “lazy” writer because I prefer to write in these brief forms. Imagine where Poe or Hawthorn would be if that were the attitude in the time of the American literary renaissance. Truth be known, I have penned more than a dozen plays and two full-length novels in addition to my hundreds of poems and scores of short stories, so I know the value of writing in both short and long forms. I find them all valuable, but there is something uniquely intriguing about the short story and the poem. These works are focused and tightly woven, revealing a mere snapshot of time. Their intensity is palpable, with the short story often beginning in medias res and ending at the peak the climax. Much of the time there is no falling action to ease the reader out of the story. So, upon approaching the final word, the reader is left in the height of the story’s emotion. For the poem, the reader is immediately drawn into the heart of the conflict, the center of the focused attention of the speaker. Words become an image, deftly evoking a profound emotional response. Poetry isn’t necessarily the lofty, lilting language of romance that needs to be studied in order to be understood. It can be quite accessible. From the beat poets of the sixties, to our nation’s former poet laureate, Billy Collins, who was actually criticized for his accessibility, poetry has been taken out of the hands of the academicians and placed onto the laps of the people.
I honestly don’t understand the aversion to these genres. Is it that folks are simply not reading them and drawing conclusions on unsubstantiated theory? Or is there something about them that is truly unappealing? I would love to know what you think. Whether you adore or abhor the short story and/or poetry, let me know your thoughts. I would love to figure this thing out!
Sometimes I think those who snub these pithy pieces of work believe that because they are short, they are trifles. Often I have been regarded as the “lazy” writer because I prefer to write in these brief forms. Imagine where Poe or Hawthorn would be if that were the attitude in the time of the American literary renaissance. Truth be known, I have penned more than a dozen plays and two full-length novels in addition to my hundreds of poems and scores of short stories, so I know the value of writing in both short and long forms. I find them all valuable, but there is something uniquely intriguing about the short story and the poem. These works are focused and tightly woven, revealing a mere snapshot of time. Their intensity is palpable, with the short story often beginning in medias res and ending at the peak the climax. Much of the time there is no falling action to ease the reader out of the story. So, upon approaching the final word, the reader is left in the height of the story’s emotion. For the poem, the reader is immediately drawn into the heart of the conflict, the center of the focused attention of the speaker. Words become an image, deftly evoking a profound emotional response. Poetry isn’t necessarily the lofty, lilting language of romance that needs to be studied in order to be understood. It can be quite accessible. From the beat poets of the sixties, to our nation’s former poet laureate, Billy Collins, who was actually criticized for his accessibility, poetry has been taken out of the hands of the academicians and placed onto the laps of the people.
I honestly don’t understand the aversion to these genres. Is it that folks are simply not reading them and drawing conclusions on unsubstantiated theory? Or is there something about them that is truly unappealing? I would love to know what you think. Whether you adore or abhor the short story and/or poetry, let me know your thoughts. I would love to figure this thing out!
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