Nancy Aronie leads her writing workshops with a focus on kindness. Her latest book, Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay: Crafting the Story Only You Can Write, which was published in October, draws from the same place.
Ms. Aronie founded and runs the Chilmark Writing Workshop. Her personal essays have been published in many newspapers and magazines, and have been regularly featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.
Despite her career as an educator, she says that she does not teach writing.
“My main thing is I make it safe....It’s just about being able to be completely the core of you, the real of you,” she said. “I don’t teach writing. I teach gushing...because I really think we live in such a withholding culture.”
The structure of Seven Secrets mirrors Ms. Aronie’s attitude towards writing. Following Ms. Aronie’s discussion of each secret, she includes an essay from another writer. She then closes with an enthusiastic analysis as to why the essay works.
The book is organized by examples of craft, such as a strong hook, vulnerability or a three-part narrative.
The essays were written by many of Ms. Aronie’s workshop attendees, along with friends whose writing moved her. She put out a call to her fellow writers and asked them to submit. The narratives span a wide range of topics, from Tony Shalhoub’s experience being saved by a dog on a long car ride to Laura D. Roosevelt’s reflections on helping with the funeral arrangements for her nanny’s son.
Ms. Aronie enlisted the help of two readers to help her decide which essays to include.
“I had to hire readers, because I know everybody. And how could I choose when I love them all. I love all the people, and I love all the writing,” she said.
Kate Feiffer, whose essay on her mother’s raunchy literary career is used as example of the importance of direct quotes, said Ms. Aronie is adept at seeing what is possible.
“Nancy finds things in people’s writing, it’s like walking along a path in the woods with a botanist and she points out things you might have seen but didn’t recognize,” Ms. Feiffer said.
Ms. Feiffer added that Ms. Aronie’s generosity as a teachers has helped so many writers on the Island.
“Every writer’s group that I have been in on Martha’s Vineyard...were with people who had taken Nancy’s writers group and were modeled after her. Even before I knew her, she had a huge impact.”
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