Workshops at JWWS 2023
These are two sets of workshops at the live event.
You will be able to choose your workshops during the registration process.
Workshop Set One
4:00 – 4:50 pm
Top Five Elements in a Successful Children’s Book
Dena Ackerman
Writing a children’s book seems simple (everyone and their great-aunt has written one), but writing a successful children’s book is not! What makes it appealing? What topics, settings, and characters speak to people? Should it rhyme? What kind of pictures make a book irresistible? Let’s break it down!
Dena Ackerman is a fine artist, illustrator, writer, editor, and teacher. She specializes in portrait art and illustration, using traditional art mediums to create scenes that are cozy, humorous, and compelling. She has illustrated over 30 books and created hundreds of custom paintings for private collectors, businesses, and magazines.
The Art of Creating Characters That Come Alive
Rochel Istrin
Backstory Tips That Add Depth to Your Writing
Are you an emotionally involved fiction writer who wants your readers to care about your characters—even the villains? If yes, this class is for you! Participants will practice creating their own backstories and learn how this simple technique adds vibrancy to their writing.
Rochel Istrin was born and raised in Missouri (USA), and worked with autistic children before making aliya the summer before the Yom Kippur war. In Israel, she was blessed with a large family, attended nursing school at Laniado in Netanya, and until her recent retirement worked as an RN both at Mayanei HaYeshua Hospital and as a school nurse for Femi Premium.
Today Rochel is a regular writer for Mishpacha Junior and Stronger magazines, and has contributed to Ami, Bina and Hamodia.
Her favorite genre is historical fiction. She has written the novels Searching (Targum Press) ; Hidden (Artscroll) ;Stepping Stones (Tfutza) ; The Captives (Artscroll) ; and Return from Captivity (Artscroll).
Rochel’s nonfiction books are Baby’s First Year: a Jewish Mother’s Guide (Artscroll, with Suri Brand, Michal Eisikowitz and Miriam Zakon) and Shmiras HaLoshon with Pleasure (with Rivka Lavie, self-published)
Rochel has also written fiction for children (8-14) under the pen name Tovy Mann.
Writing as a Therapeutic Tool
Batya Ruddell
The Art of Left-to-Right Hand Writing
Use your words to heal the deepest parts of yourself! In this workshop, we’ll learn the incredibly powerful healing technique of left-to-right hand writing. This easy method enables one to connect his subconscious with his conscious self via the hand and the pen. Watch the dialogue unfold and experience life-changing results!
Batya Ruddell is a columnist for Hamodia and Binah publications and the author of 7 books, most notably “The View from Ninveh” and “On Their Derech”. She is also a certified Narrative Therapist and gives therapeutic writing workshops in person and on zoom. Batya is a frequent public speaker at events in Israel and Chutz L’Eretz. She lives in Telzstone, a small community outside Jerusalem and enjoys her passion for horse riding.
Plot Is Character
Rochel Samet
This interactive workshop is for participants who want to learn hands-on how to use plot to influence character, and character to influence plot, in order to craft a story outline that works. We’ll work step by step so that every participant has a chance to grow their own original plot and character from kernel to full-plot outline, and leave with a ready-to-write story in hand.
Memoir Writing: Not the facts please. Just the feelings!
Chaya Sarah Stark
The difference between memoir and autobiography is not “just the facts.” Names and dates and details are relegated to a back seat as you tell your story. In this workshop, you’ll choose a pivotal moment or event in your life and write it out, sharing the experience and how you felt about it.
Think Like a Journalist
Liane Grunberg Wakayabashi
Learning the Art of Feature Writing
In this session, you’ll learn the simple steps for becoming a feature writer. Feature writing is a beautiful way to touch lives while expanding your horizons. I’m going to share with you literary crafting, technical, and even the psychological secrets I’ve discovered over many decades of writing that can turn your ideas into compelling published articles. I’ll break it down in ways that will get you excited about leading a life outside of your comfort zone, from pitching a story idea to a newspaper or magazine editor to the thrill of the interview, and finally sitting down to write and edit, rinse and repeat.
Workshop Set Two
4:55 – 5:50 pm
Impostor Syndrome — Who Am I to Write a Book?
Chaya Hinda Allen
Impostor Syndrome is a real thing that invades our thoughts and stops us from achieving and succeeding. But how do we know if we’re really good enough? Let’s get together to understand what Impostor Syndrome is and how to uproot those negative, paralyzing thoughts from our lives. So YOU can write and share your perspectives confidently.
Chaya Hinda Allen empowers others by imbuing them with an optimistic approach to life, born of faith and trust in Hashem’s goodness and love. For the past twenty-five years, Chaya Hinda has been guiding, teaching, coaching, and mentoring women of all ages and stages (from teenagers to great-grandmothers; professionals, entrepreneurs, stay-at-home moms, Rebbetzins, community leaders and more). She specializes in helping them cut overwhelm and frustration, and gracefully navigate challenging relationships and life situations, sharing tools and insights through classes, guided imageries, one-on-one coaching, group coaching programs, trips, retreats and her newest venture, the Chaya Hinda Coaching academy. Chaya Hinda co-wrote Write Your Way Home, a Torah Guide to Therapeutic Writing with Yocheved Rottenberg When you join her community, be ready to laugh a lot along your path of growth, and to be surprised by how much goodness you discover within yourself.
10+ Ways to Earn Media Coverage for Your Written Work without Paying a Shekel for Ads
Heather Dean
By the time an author has finished her manuscript and is ready to publish her written work, she has incurred untold expenses and may not want to spend more to promote her book! Learn how to leverage techniques that are free, effective, and targeted to reach the kind of book buyer an author seeks.
While this is not a promised path to earning bestseller status, one can nonetheless get the word out about her book without paying a shekel for ads. You’ll learn a combination of at least ten strategies and real-world examples of how these strategies can sell books!
Heather Dean (a.k.a. Ayalah Haas) is an author, sought-after public speaker, and media interview consultant. She is also the producer and host of “613 Books,” a weekly podcast on which she interviews a variety of notable authors whose books are geared to readers who appreciate authentic Jewish values. After her exciting fourteen-year career interviewing hundreds of celebrities for MTV, E! Entertainment Television, Associated Press (AP) Radio and other international outlets, she authored her memoir, Searching for Heather Dean: My Extraordinary Career as a Celebrity Interviewer and Why I Walked Away from It. This book takes the reader on her journey into a glamorous broadcasting career and lifestyle, and her decision to leave all of that for an authentically Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael. While living here with her husband and children, Heather has become a respected writer, media producer and interviewer in the frum world. She made her mark in this niche as a contributor to a variety of frum publications, and as the producer and host of weekly podcasts that include: “At Home in Jerusalem” (Aish.com); “The Modern Jewish Home” (Israel News Talk Radio; and “Conversations with Heroes” (Israel News Talk Radio).
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade
Ahava Ehrenpreis
Turning “Lamah” in to L’mah through Writing
Use your love of words and passion for writing as an instrument for positively dealing with the hardships of life as well as grief and loss. The power of the word to provide others with validation, information, and guidance is enormous. Together we’ll explore the excitement and tremendous satisfaction in sharing one’s personal journey in print. This workshop will include concrete suggestions for creating a publishable manuscript.
Ahava Rivka Ehrenpreis, nee Sperka, a Detroit native who calls New York home, was married to world-renowned mathematician, Dr. Leon (Eliezer) Ehrenpreis z”l, and is a mother and grandmother. She taught English and Judaic Studies on the college level for many years but more recently has chosen to concentrate on her writing. She has gained an active following for her many first person essays that have appeared in a variety of Jewish publications.
Indeed, the responses to her articles on navigating life on one’s own and recognizing that so many other women faced similar circumstances prompted her to write her book On My Own… But Not Alone, (Mesorah Publications, 2019.) The journey, joys and triumphs of parenting a child with Down Syndrome was avidly followed by readers of Mishpacha Magazine. His untimely passing due to Covid-19 was the catalyst for the book More Than Special (Mesorah Publications 2021), a guide for families with individuals with special needs. A desire to increase the concept of inclusion from a very young age, was the inspiration for her most recent book for children, My Special Uncle (Mosaica Press, 2022)
Tiny Steps, Great Results: Creating the Environment That Turns Your Dreams into Reality
Leora Gruen
You’re determined to write. You have dreams. You have set goals. Over and over again. So why doesn’t it happen? Based on James Clear’s Atomic Habits, this practical interactive workshop will explain four laws of behavior change that will drastically change your approach to goal setting.
Leora Gruen, Business and Life Direction Coach and NLP Practitioner, is an experienced facilitator of Temech networking and business development groups. She runs physical groups throughout Israel and internationally via Zoom.
Leora guides women in discovering their unique personal and business values. Her goal setting workshops empower women to achieve success, clarity and productivity.
Creative Faith
Leah Kotkes
When ruchniyus fuels the creative process of the origination of new work for the reader, as a writer we are blessed with siyatta d’shamaya and hatzlacha.
Creative Faith is one discipline from which to build a life of a writer and a publishing portfolio.
Creative Play helps a writer explore and develop possibilities.
Becoming a Creative Athlete serves a writer in a multitude of ways. Getting the work completed and submitted is one primary goal.
This is a practical workshop. We will be writing most of the time. Not necessarily to share. But to understand who we are as a writer, where we are holding as a writer and where we need to go next.
This workshop will be a facilitated writing session. Notebook and pen required. And, the ability to listen, be guided and to write. All for your own benefit.
Leah Kotkes Currently, mentor and consultant to writers. Previously, features writer and columnist exclusively at the following media in order of employment: Hamodia, then English Mishpacha then Binah Magazine. Additionally, founding member of English Mispacha; Founding Features Editor of Binah Magazine
Fact or Fiction?
Shterna Lazaroff
When telling a real story, there’s a delicate balance between fact and fiction. In this workshop, we’ll learn the fiction methods that help you build a compelling nonfiction arc and keep readers reading every line. If you love sharing other people’s stories, this workshop is for you.
Shterna Lazaroff has written 200 pieces for Mishpacha and Ami magazines (many under “Shterna Karp” or “Musia Slavin”). She hates writing fiction so 99% of what she writes is based on true-life accounts and real stories – such as the diary serial editors once called “the best this magazine has ever run.”
You’re Writing All Day Anyway—Let It Help You!
Yocheved Rottenberg
Use the Power of Your Profession to Guide You to Clarity, Catharsis, and Connection
You are a writer. It is your profession and your essence. Did you know that it can also be a tool that will lead you to incredible self-exploration? Did you know that you can achieve tremendous inner growth just by writing for a few minutes from time to time? Join this workshop to learn how.
Yocheved Rottenberg is the premiere (and only!) Certified Journal Facilitator in the frum community worldwide. She reaches thousands of participants through her beloved workshops, private sessions, and best-selling books. Her life-changing tools relieve stress, increase emotional health, and create meaningful connections. Read about her groundbreaking work on her site and her book, both titled Write Your Way Home.
