For more than twenty years, Rosemary Daniell—Southern belle, successful writer, and tireless champion of female empowerment—has led Zona Rosa, a writing workshop for women founded on the premise that writing can be not only a creative challenge but a tool for healing. Here, she shares the secrets of Zona Rosa: practical advice and home-grown "Exorcises" that help you face and think through writing issues, and life in general.

 

You will learn how to avoid the "13 (Possible) Boo Boos" that plague everyone's writing. You will bring yourself to "Write About the Thing I Most Don't Want to Write About" and learn how facing the difficult past can lead to breakthroughs. You will discover "The Emotional Tai Chi of Getting Your Work Out There," with suggestions for painlessly sending your work into the world.

 

Along the way, you will meet some of the many women who have improved their writing—and lives—through the camaraderie, constructive advice, and fun of Zona Rosa. And you will learn from Rosemary Daniell, who has weathered personal tragedy, Bad Love, and her own writing issues to come out singing. Secrets of the Zona Rosa is reading for any woman who writes—and who has lived a life full of stories.

Praise

"Daneill's [new book] is an infectious memoir [about Zona Rosa, her] supportive sorority."—Kathaleen Roberts, Albuquerque Journal

 

"Daniell has emerged as a well-regarded writing teacher in her own right and an engaging chronicler of the glories and tribulations faced by American women, regardless of geographic region . . . Her writing . . . is uncluttered, straight to the point and utterly engaging . . . I encourage men to read this book—not only to gain valuable insight into the real world of women, but to see how a really capable writer practices her craft."—Jim Morekis, Connect Savannah

 

"Rosemary Daniell is one of the great writing teachers I have seen at work in the country."—Pat Conroy

About the Author(s)

Rosemary Daniell

Rosemary Daniell is the founder and leader of Zona Rosa, a series of creative life-changing writing workshops attended by thousands of women (and the occasional man) over the past 24 twenty-five years. She is the author of The Woman Who Spilled Words All Over Herself, Fatal Flowers, Sleeping with Soldiers, and, four other works of poetry and prose, and four other books of poetry and prose. She has appeared on many national television and radio shows, has been featured in People and Southern Living, and speaks at writers' conferences around the country. Her awards include the 1999 Palimpsest Prize and two NEA Fellowships. She lives in Savannah, Georgia.

Excerpt

Preface
You Are Now Entering the Zona Rosa
 
What is the Zona Rosa? And what does it mean? These are the questions people ask me more often than any others. Since we in Zona Rosa were originally four women, getting together to talk about writing and life, on the surface it simply means the “feminine zone.” Our name came from a quarter in Mexico City, reminding me when I first heard it of a name for a female rock group.

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Table of Contents

Preface:

YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE ZONA ROSA

 

Chapter One:

THE STORY OF MY WRITING (AND OTHER) LIFE

Why Where You Are Is Good Enough

 

Chapter Two:

WE ARE ALL DOORS UNTIL SOMEONE SLAMS US

How We Can Empower Ourselves No Matter What

 

Chapter Three:

IF I WAS REALLY WILD

Why Courage and Daring Are Not Just for Other Women

 

Chapter Four:

WHEN I'VE STEPPED OUT IN FAITH

How Patience, Perseverance, and Some Other Virtues Your Grandmama Taught You Can Help You in Writing and Life

 

Chapter Five:

IF I TOLD MY JUICY SECRETS

How the Power of the Pink Keeps Us Laughing, or Why Even Serious Babes Still Want to Have Fun

 

Chapter Six:

"IF I'M REALLY HONEST, I'M NOT ACTUALLY OKAY WITH . . ."

How Writing plus the Power of the Pink Helps Keep Us Sane When the Worst Happens

 

Chapter Seven:

IF I THOUGHT LIKE A GUY

Yes, There's a Lot We Can Learn from Them!

 

Chapter Eight:

A CHORUS LINE OF WINNING LEGS

To Take You Where You Want to Go

 

Chapter Nine:

A BEVY OF PERFECT T.I.T.S

All the Writing How-to You Will Ever Need

 

Epilogue:

FIREWORKS, OR THE BIG ZONA ROSA PARTY IN THE SKY

 

Afterword, and an Invitation

 

Appendix A:

My Third Brother's Wife's Strawberry Cream Cake, or the Official Zona Rosa Dessert

 

Appendix B:

A Slew of Writing Fears—Do Any of Them Hit Home?

 

Appendix C:

Tap into the Power of the Pink—Start Your Own Sub Rosa Group!

 

Acknowledgments