The Publishing Lottery

by Uncategorized

You could win it in weeks, months, years, or never  Like so many writers, I have dreamed of winning the publishing lottery: landing an agent, then a publishing house, and then walking into a bookstore and seeing my book—my baby, my creation, my labor of love (and quite a few other emotions)—sitting on a shelf, keeping company with Stephen King and Jodi Piccoult, Amy Tan and Yaa Gyasi. I may have picked out actors who would best play my characters in the movie.  But reality has a tendency to rub the shine off any dream. I have certainly had my share of those moments. One of those moments ...

Retired and Writing

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On January 31, 2020, three days after my 62nd birthday, I retired from over 40 years as an actuarial analyst. I wanted to use my new freedom to write; specifically, I wanted to complete the science fiction novel that I had been working on for the prior two years.  Within 30 days of my retirement, on or around March 1, 2020, the world closed. People went into hiding, and the few who ventured out covered their faces with masks. I had no idea you’d all take it so hard; I was flattered. I thought about going back to work but realized that it would send the wrong message; eventually you’ll have ...

Why Join a Writing Group?

by Uncategorized

You may be wondering why someone would join a writing group, so I asked some of our members to share what brought them to the Princeton Writing Group: “In 2013, I was divorced and realized I needed to get back into creative writing, which I had always loved.  My brother suggested that I check out the Meetup site for groups I might be interested in, and I found PWG there.  It seemed to be a more solid writing group than others on the site, for writers to support and motivate each other, and it has become much more than that for me!” -Jenny   “I joined PWG because I was lonely a ...

Welcome to the PWG Blog!

by Official Updates

We are so thrilled to be writing our inaugural Princeton Writing Group blog post! Having a website and blog for our group has been something we’ve dreamed about for years, and thanks to the web designing prowess of our leader emeritus, Shen, and our blog coordinator, Denita Stevens, it is now a reality. So many of us have fallen in love with this writing group for what it’s contributed not only to our writing skill and achievements but for the relationships and friends we’ve met along the way. We are missing seeing you all in person regularly, and we’re hoping this blog will help unite us m ...