WorkPlay Story Writing Workshop

Calling writers aged 9 to 12 in Richmond Hill, Ontario! I’ll be hosting a WorkPlay Story Writing Workshop weekly from July 22 to August 12, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., at the Richvale Branch of the Richmond Hill Public Library, and I would love to see you there.

Spark your imagination in this hands-on workshop. You’ll write your own mystery story, create fantastical worlds and the characters who live in them, and develop stories about real people—including you! With fresh and inspiring story-starters, you’ll have fun with words and develop your creative writing skills.

I can’t wait!

Feeling It: Creating Emotional Depth in Your Novel

I’m happy to announce my next workshop with Whale Rock Workshops. I’ll be co-teaching Feeling It: Creating Emotional Depth in Your Novel with author and poet Laura Shovan for the second time.

“I just didn’t connect with the character.”
“The character didn’t resonate with me.”

How many times do writers hear these phrases when submitting to editors and agents? These dreaded, vague responses can often leave writers scratching their heads. Was it the writing? The plotting? How can they write stories that readers can’t resist?

Emotionally deep stories grab readers’ attention and encourage them to care about the characters and their world. It’s one way to improve your writing and craft stories that readers (and agents and editors) connect to. Join us for a deep-dive into getting your characters’ emotions on the page.

Participants are expected to bring a chapter from a novel at any stage of development. Each session will tackle different ways to achieve emotional depth, whether you are connecting emotionally to your writer self, your characters, or your story ideas. Sessions will include exercises and side-writing assignments and will explore drafting and revising to achieve emotional depth. Participants will have homework to complete between sessions.

Each participant will walk away with a chapter of greater emotional depth as well as the tools needed to tackle all their manuscripts.

Participants will submit ten, double-spaced pages and receive feedback from one of the instructors.

This workshop is for you if:

• You are writing a middle grade or young adult novel.
• You are writing a memoir.
• You love plot and/or dialogue, but struggle with getting to your character’s heart.
• You’ve received the dreaded “I just didn’t connect…” feedback on your manuscript.
• You would like to explore new ways of emotional connection in your writing practice.
• You are gearing up for submission and want to be sure your book hits the emotional highs and lows.
• You are a novelist looking to enhance your skills.

You will complete this workshop with:

• A deeper understanding of the importance of getting emotions onto the page.
• Practical tools and techniques to help you infuse your work with emotional resonance.
• New ideas and inspiration for how to take your project and writing to deeper places.