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<\/a>IWOSC President Flo Selfman greeting the assemblage. Photo by Steven Weiner.<\/p><\/div>\n
And it was such a human potpourri! I still always picture writers like I did when I was little, even though I’m one myself now. I picture them to look like my mother, herself a poetess; older and teacher-esque, with glasses, (although hers had just plain glass in the frames; she was always ahead of her time.) So, I was pleasantly surprised to see all ages, ethnicities, and level of hipness. I was so curious to ask what each person’s writing specialty was!<\/p>\n
This IWOSC seminar was such a popular event; it was basically standing room only. I witnessed about a dozen people being turned-away; I was actually the very last one to make the cut! Whew!<\/p>\n
The whole thing was very professionally done; yet it was also a casual, inviting event.<\/p>\n
First up was a greeting from their super-amiable president, Flo Selfman. She has a proofreading–copyediting company and is also a publicist, and is one of the few people I know (besides me, of course,) who knows proper grammar, usage, syntax, etc. As a matter of fact, when I know that I’m writing something in the popular<\/em> vernacular, rather than the correct <\/em>one, I think, \u201cI hope Flo’s not reading today’s column!\u201d<\/p>\n Then the assemblage heard from a successful woman writer and blogger, Tammy Bleck, who has a blog called called Witty Woman Writing.\u00a0She basically walked them through blogging 101, which they all seemed to want to know about. The talk was about two and a half hours, with a break at half-time, and the time passed quickly enough.<\/p>\n There’s nothing more you need to know about the actual event because it will be a different lecture each time. (Duh.) And even if you’re not a member, you can pay a small fee and enjoy the one you’re interested in. Their topics always sound so interesting to me. There’s so much to learn in the world of writing! Who knew? One would never think of all these topics by themselves! (Or, at least, I<\/em> wouldn’t.)<\/p>\n So, in case you’re interested in joining, or just learning more about IWOSC, here are some deets I culled for you, with the assistance of Flo:<\/p>\n \u2013 It’s a nonprofit.<\/p>\n \u2013 Their members are writers of every ilk: authors of fiction and nonfiction, journalists, screenwriters poets, editors, even publicists; all with different levels of success.<\/p>\n –They stage several programs each month for education and networking, which focus on the business of writing.<\/p>\n –Did someone say parties? They have those, as well, in the form of summer and winter networking events.<\/p>\n So, please check out their site to see how you can benefit from this lovely organization. But one word of caution: if you go to one of their events in this same venue, dress in layers. For the two hours we were there, the temperature went through about thirty changes! And that’s not a work of fiction!<\/p>\n