Nanci Panuccio
Hello and welcome.
I’m Nanci Panuccio, founder of the Emerging Writers Studio in New York.
I mentor aspiring writers to create, revise, and publish their short stories, memoirs, novels, and personal narratives. I do this through manuscript editing, eCourses, and here on this site.
I’ve been at this for twenty-five years, first as a student, and then as freelance writer, editor, and teacher.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
- Your writing is trying to make sense of something that won’t let you go. It’s beyond capture, beyond understanding, even. The beauty is in the question. Not the answer.
- Your task is not to judge your work, but to get out of your head and into your dream space. That’s where your power resides.
- There’s tremendous freedom with form. Learn technique and practice it as rigorously and seriously as any dancer, musician, or athlete.
- A big part of the writing process is uncovering why you’re writing your story in the first place. What are you trying to understand about the experience? Once you have that, you’re half way there. Promise.
- There’s something uniquely brilliant about your writing. Even if you’re just beginning. Even if it isn’t obvious on the page yet.
- Write from what you know towards what you don’t know. Not knowing creates space in your work. This is as true in memoir as it is in fiction.
- You know more about the craft of writing than you realize, simply by being alive. Trust your instincts.
Backstory
Perhaps like you, my writing obsession began early. As a child, I was prolific and fearless. I wrote with no limitations. No fear. No hesitancy.
But somewhere along the line, I abandoned writing for more reliable, lucrative pursuits.
My father had put me through college, after all, and I was duty bound to make good on that investment.
So, while I held many writing related jobs after college — in magazines, advertising, public relations, and my own freelance writing business — it wasn’t until the age of 39 when I finally took a stand and began writing solely for myself. I said goodbye to my clients, sold my apartment, and moved to a stream side apartment surrounded by mountain views. It’s here where I devoted the next two years to writing fiction.
During that time, I earned my MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts where I had the great fortune to work with some of the best authors/mentors in the business – David Jauss, Abby Frucht, Diane Lefer, and Doug Glover, to name a few. And I wrote my short story collection, Anatomy of the Invisible.
Giving up my business and my home to pursue something that had absolutely no guarantee of succeeding felt like diving off a cliff. But taking my writing seriously was the best investment I ever made in myself — and in my writing. I only wish I had done it sooner.
In 2006, in Phoenicia New York, I launched the Emerging Writers Studio, a workshop for writers starting or returning to their writing after years of putting their writing dreams on hold. And what fascinating stories these writers had to tell!
Today I work with writers all over the world. My long term clients publish in anthologies, journals, and magazines. And many others are well on their way to completing their novels, memoirs, and story collections.
Pro Credentials
A long time ago, I worked for Ziff Davis Publishing, CBS Publishing, and Grey Advertising. I also worked as a researcher and content producer for a cable TV show called The Family Today.
A freelance writer since 1997, I’ve written everything from web and ad copy, newsletters, brochures and advertorials, to audio-visual scripts, feature articles in newspapers and magazines, and short stories.
My work has appeared in THE NEW YORKER, REDBOOK, and BACKPACKER. And I wrote all the content for the lifestyle and travel magazine, INIZIO.
My short stories have been finalists in the Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize, Inkwell Journal’s Fiction Prize, and the Gulf Coast Fiction Award.
I’ve lectured for graduate writing students at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and have written several essays on narrative craft including In Praise of Metaphor.
I’m currently at work writing a short story collection.
Read what notable authors have to say about my fiction here.
Read and hear excerpts of my writing here.
About This Site
This site is devoted to helping you through the mysterious, potent, often chaotic and unwieldy process of writing great fiction and non-fiction. I want to inspire you to write more, write joyfully, write freely and authentically.
This is a space for you to read, discuss, explore. What are you eager to talk about? I’ll do my best to cover it here, in workshops, or in upcoming online courses.
Reach me here.
Email: NPanuccio@hvc.rr.com
And connect with me here.
My greatest hope in sharing my thoughts with you is that you develop an ongoing dialogue with your prose—that you engage with it in a spirit of play, experimentation, purpose, and discovery.
Write on.
