Hazel & Wren: A Different Kind of Writers' Workshop
Image credit: Hazel & Wren
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re in a creative slump. The Hazel & Wren online community, created by two Minneapolis sisters, is an initiative that brings creative people together and helps them flourish by piling together resources, events and inspiration for writers, poets and artists in one spot. With a welcoming attitude and a knack for understanding the needs of the writing community, the women behind Hazel & Wren are creating an e-community of writers and readers--and in the process, virtually eliminating excuses for writer’s block.
Hazel and Wren are the pseudonyms of Melissa and Amanda Wray, two sisters with a lofty goal: to inspire and guide the creative folk of the world, and to have fun doing it. Their website is a right brain’s dream, with calendars of literary and creative events around the Twin Cities, as well as deadlines for contests and publications (they’re even color coded—looks like right-brained folks can be a little left brained, too). One of the coolest parts of the site is the Open Mic feature, which lets writers from all over submit poems and short stories to be posted on a specific day, creating a virtual event where anyone is allowed to contribute their work as well as their feedback on others’ writing. “We have really insightful regulars who comment on the blog and take our idea of starting a discussion to the next level,” the sisters say. This sense of community is what makes Hazel & Wren unique: One can submit material, gain feedback, give pointers and seek out new directions to take their work—all online. “That inspiration you get from being in a roomful of fellow writers, sharing ideas and exchanging feedback: that's what we're trying to create on the website.” says Amanda Wray.
The sisters are both extremely creative: Amanda’s got a thing for visuals (she studied art and design in college and is a graphic designer and photographer), while Melissa has a knack for words (both editing and writing). They both grew up as avid readers with their reading choices spanning all genres. “We originally wanted to start a literary magazine,” the Wrays explain. “The website was a compromise, something that we could both handle right now with our day jobs and freelancing, but still a way to work in the direction of a literary magazine.”
What does the future hold for Hazel & Wren? Right now the website is taking up lots of time (the sisters both work full time as well), but the Wrays are committed to improving it and to adding more to the community. Launching that literary magazine is still a goal, but right now they are concentrating on fostering their online literary community. They just added a new contributor, Timothy Otte, who will be bringing “his singular voice and point of view to the blog, and also curates [the] newly launched Calendar of (Un)Deadlines.” The women are hoping to make the Open Mic series bigger and better, possibly even hosting an actual in-person event as well. There are also plans to open up a letterpress print shop business to support the happenings on the website in the future.
So, how do you get involved? The next Hazel & Wren Open Mic is scheduled for August 10, so start getting your short stories and poems together for the overload of creativity set to occur that Wednesday. You can submit your entries for the event starting August 8 here. Be sure to follow Hazel & Wren on Twitter and Facebook as well.
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