Posts Tagged "Shakespeare"

Judith’s Room

Posted by cafebebemama on Jan 8, 2010 in Judith's Room | 5 comments

Virginia Woolf

I’ve become part of a brilliant new Writing Community called, “Judith’s Room“.  The Fair Josie of Sleep is for the Weak fame has created a Ning community of Women Writers after a flurry of Tweets about needing “A Place of Our Own” in which to write.  Josie grabbed the bull by the horns and within 2 days, has the group up and flourishing.  Day One, yesterday (7/1/10), there were over 80 women who joined the group!

Why is this exciting?  Well, through blogging, I’ve realised that WRITING is what I want to do.  I’ve been given the opportunity to write about my life as a Mummy and all of the happiness and pain that it brings; I’ve been given the opportunity to write about products that every parent needs and wants; I’ve been given the opportunity to write about my experiences as an American Expat.  Some of this writing has even been COMMISSIONED ( = £££)!  Mind you, my commissions aren’t much and some of the work has been for free, but the key is, I’m being published.  I was considering taking a local college Creative Writing course (I may still do this) as I do need to LEARN more about writing well but just as I was considering this, Judith’s Room has come to the rescue.  There are some brilliant women on board, some of whom have been published and can offer great advice.  I’m a bit worried as I’m no Virginia Woolf (I haven’t even read her…I’m more of a Chick Lit/Mummy Lit kind of person) but it’s very exciting to be in on the ground floor of what I believe will be a brilliant resource for women writers.  Now I just have to get down to work…by finding my lost mojo!

If you are a woman writer, check out Judith’s Room for inspiration, support and a community with whom to share.  Thank you Josie for making it happen.  Oh, wait, are you wondering how the name “Judith’s Room” came about?  Well, the more literary of you will appreciate this one!  Here is some copy from the Judith’s Room community:

Our name takes its inspiration from the Virginia Woolf essay ‘A Room of One’s Own’, in which she suggests that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. In her essay, Virginia uses the fictional character of Shakespeare’s sister Judith to explore issues surrounding the talent and potential of women writers and the difficulties they have faced. Judith may have been as equally gifted as her brother but as a woman of the time would not have been allowed to write or be published. She left for London to try her luck, but ended up dead on a roadside, just another Anon: another forgotten female literary giant that never was.

Quite inspirational I think…here’s to some great writing!  Watch this space!