Workshops
Dazzle an Agent: Pro Tips to Put the Polish on Your Manuscript
Make-It Springfield 286 Bridge Street, Springfield, MA, United StatesThe publishing market is brutally competitive. It’s not easy to get a query past the gatekeepers at publishing houses and literary agencies. You’re going to need an achingly good (and short) intro letter and an irresistible manuscript sample. You could pay an editor to buff up your prose, but with a little bit of elbow Read More
The Smell of Fear: Building Suspense & Tension with Subtext
Northampton Center for the Arts 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, United StatesJoin Straw Dog Writers Guild and presenters Elizabeth MacDuffie and Tamara Fricke for "The Smell of Fear: Building Suspense & Tension with Subtext" on Wednesday, May 22, 7-8:30pm, at the Northampton Center for the Arts,33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA. In this craft workshop, writers will be guided in the art of creating suspense and tension Read More
Promoting Your Work as an Indie Author
zoomJoin Straw Dog Writers Guild on Saturday, June 15 from 1:00-2:30pm on Zoom with J. Scott Coatsworth as he shares his experience as an indie author. In this craft workshop he will present some of the tips and tricks he has learned in how to promote ones work and field questions. Scott stares, "I recently Read More
What Poems Want Reading and Revising with Care
Lilly Library 19 Meadow Street, Florence, MA, United StatesWhen giving feedback about poems, we’re often asked to point out what’s “working” and what’s “not working” and discuss revisions that would make poems “stronger.” But what would it mean to enter a different kind of relationship with our writing—one in which we let the poem itself guide us to what it needs? In this Read More
Surprising Readers and Ourselves: Playing with Hermit Crab Essays, Poems, and Stories
zoomUpon first glance, “Hermit Crabs” (stories or poems or essays that borrow another “shell” or form, also known as the False Document or Trojan Horse poem or Constraint Essay) look like literary play (and they are fun!). But they’re also great tools to break through writers’ block or overcome resistance to topics that feel heavy, Read More
Poetry Critique Meet Up in November
Northampton Center for the Arts 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, United StatesPoetry Critique Meet-up on Zoom is a chance for poets to give and receive immediate constructive feedback on their poems by everyone in attendance. Learn what is working in your poems, and what may need revision. Contribute your observations to other poets. Be fascinated by the breadth of the written word. Register for Saturday, November Read More
Poetry Critique Meet-up in November
Northampton Center for the Arts 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, United StatesPoetry Critique Meet-up on Zoom is a chance for poets to give and receive immediate constructive feedback on their poems by everyone in attendance. Learn what is working in your poems, and what may need revision. Contribute your observations to other poets. Be fascinated by the breadth of the written word. Register for Sunday, November Read More
Translation: Reading the World
zoomJoin Straw Dog Writers Guild and presenter Jesse Lee Kercheval for our (rescheduled) November craft workshop, "Translation: Reading the World" on Saturday, November 23 from 10:30am - 12:00pm via Zoom. This is a relaxed, open workshop about translating from any language into English for people just curious about translation as well as practicing translators of Read More
Historical Fiction Confidential
Lilly Library 19 Meadow Street, Florence, MA, United StatesHistorical fiction is having a moment again in the literary world. Join Straw Dog Writers Guild and writer Dean Cycon in this craft workshop "Historical Fiction Confidential" on Saturday, December 7, from 10:30am - 12:00pm at the Lilly Library in Florence, MA. This workshop will look at the different types of HF, discuss effective research Read More
Poetry Critique Meet-up in December
Northampton Center for the Arts 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, United StatesPoetry Critique Meet-up on Zoom is a chance for poets to give and receive immediate constructive feedback on their poems by everyone in attendance. Learn what is working in your poems, and what may need revision. Contribute your observations to other poets. Be fascinated by the breadth of the written word. Register for Saturday, December Read More