Saturday, January 13, 2018

A Brooklyn Writer's Dream: To Live and Write in Paris

Brooklyn, I Left My Heart in Paris

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft


Aspiring writers, I aspired for 30 years to not have to juggle earning a living and writing.

And my dream came true. I got a one-year creative writing sabbatical in Paris. I extended it for 3 months by signing up to be a nanny in Barcelona.

I wrote the first draft of a novel in that time and began revising: click on the cover to your right to read a sample. 

You could do a writing sabbatical, too. My Higher Power orchestrated events, and I leapt at the opportunity when it presented itself. I didn't have anything more than that influencing events on my side. 

PS: If you like my blog, would you Retweet the tweet that brought you here? Thanks!


Brooklyn writer goest to Paris
The Pont Des Artes, before the chain link fence was covered with sheets of plywood, as it is now.  I used this scene in The Paris Writers Circle to portray a divorce--an unravelling of a love relationship, a hole left in one's life.

Brooklyn writer goes to Paris
This is a picture of the Institut de France and the Pont des Artes. This kind of beauty is everywhere in Paris.

Brooklyn writer in Paris
To be honest, I'm not sure which church this is. But isn't it glorious? There are buildings like this all through Paris and throughout France. A patrimony of architecture. This is woven into The Paris Writers Circle as well.

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