#dwacuenticos Writing Project

#dwacuenticos allows writers the rare opportunity to pursue their writing ambitions by becoming published authors. Participants will be inclined to share their personal anecdotes providing insight into what it means to be Latinx.

The critical monthly themes that #dwacuenticos will be exploring will be as follows:

● Identifying and overcoming generational trauma.

● Hardships, struggles, and achievements of being a foreigner.

● Lives and values of housing projects residents.

● The question of belonging for first and second-generation American-born Dominicans, what makes your nationality valid? Is it bloodline or upbringing?

● Cultural representation: examining clichés, stereotypes, tropes, and ideas through shared personal memory.

The facilitator is a writer trained in this personal narrative style and provide a supportive online space. At the end of the program, writers will walk away with a writing portfolio, including a professional author bio and a piece ready to publish.  

Goals

1. Workshops will focus on crafting text, the revision process, and discussions on marketing strategies & networking.

2. Participants will explore the love of writing while acquiring the necessary knowledge to navigate the publishing industry.

September 8, 2022

The introductory class will serve as a meet and greet for participants of the #dwacuenticos project. They will be introduced to Dominican Writers, and the team; we will discuss expectations, such as the basic need to title a piece and to delve into how to create a compelling author bio. Participants will be assigned a prompt to explore and will be

expected to compose a 1500-2000 word essay to submit a week prior to the following session.

September 22, 2022

Participants will discuss the narrative framework of a personal essay, recollections of events, and emotional insights. Methods of editing will be explained. We will examine peers’ work and provide observations to polish each piece to become more in tune with each writer’s strengths and weaknesses. The assignment for this session will be to provide written feedback to a number of peers on their work.

October 13th, 2022

Cut and Salvage! Do not be afraid to cut portions of a piece to polish it. Exploring different word choices and paragraph placement to complicate the chronology and play with form: provocative beginnings and final resolutions in an essay. Provide specific, meaningful goals.

Assignment: Revisions & Rewrites.

October 27th

Step-by-step guide on the publishing piece literary journals and magazines. When to take advice and when to ignore suggestions altogether. Remaining authentic to your voice. What questions to ask? What is a query letter?

About the Facilitator: 

Yamberlie M. Tavarez-DWA Managing Editor, will create a call of submissions monthly prompt, select/edit incoming submissions, and maintain open communication with writers regarding works submitted. Yamberlie will also be the facilitator, conducting weekly workshops for participants via Zoom or in-person. She is a Queens-born Dominican essayist and poet; her writing focuses on parenting, gender roles, race, and the dynamics of human relationships. Her work experience as development director at the Feminist Press and volunteer experience with Girls Write Now have adequately prepared her for her partnership with the Dominican Writer's Association as a way to give back to the community by elevating the voices of Latinx writers.

This program was funded in part by Humanities New York with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.