Craft workshop
Creative Approaches to Structuring Your Essay with Nancy McCabe
Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Wednesday, February 9 from 7:00-9:00pm for an online craft workshop: Creative Approaches to Structuring Your Essay with Nancy McCabe. This interactive presentation will focus on the devices that fiction and poetry offers us in structuring our essays. We’ll explore options from traditional narrative to lyric approaches like braids, collages,
Character Whispering: Strategies for Further Insight with Justine Dymond
zoomJoin us on Saturday, April 23, 10:30am - 12:00pm for a Straw Dog Writers Guild Craft Workshop: Character Whispering: Strategies for Further Insight with Justine Dymond, Whether you are playing with possibilities for new stories or trying to get closer to a character you’ve known for a while, this workshop will offer a variety of
Writing Funny Workshop with Terianne Falcone
Lilly Library 19 Meadow Street, Florence, MA, United StatesWhether you want to write comedy or just punch up your writing with humor, there are tips and tricks that you’d want under your belt. In fact, some of these “rules” transfer into any and all types of writing. In this two-hour free workshop, Terianne Falcone shares some of the standard techniques such as “The
Crash Course on Using Dialogue
zoomA Crash Course on Using Dialogue. Or, how to avoid “Hi, how are you?” / “I’m fine, thanks. And yourself?” / “Just wonderful.” / “That’s great to hear. Have a nice day.” / “You as well!” with Morgan Talty will be held virtually via Zoom on Saturday, November 19, from 10:30am-12noon. Register HERE. “Don’t ever
Historical Research: Fact and Fiction
zoomHistorical Research: Fact and Fiction will review methods of historical research, with emphasis on first-person, or primary, sources. The presenters will be at the Swift River Valley Historical Society and will have access to their archive room. The presentation will include on-line research and problems and obstacles with historical records. The presenters will also discuss
Uneven Characters: Filling in the Cracks
The Artist Cafe 1365 Main Street, Springfield, MA, United StatesWriting characters can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be! In this workshop, we will go over what makes a character three-dimensional, using inspiration from ourselves and the people around us to create realistic characters (positive and negative traits, dynamic vs. static characters, etc.), and dialogue vs. action and how to utilize both to
Small Publishing in a Big Universe
zoomJoin Straw Dog Writers Guild for our May craft workshop "Small Publishing in a Big Universe" with writer Steven Radecki on Sunday, May 21, 4:00-5:30pm via Zoom. Between traditional publishing and self-publishing there is small publishing. We discuss the place that independent publishers play in the publishing ecosystem, comparing and contrasting the submissions processes, benefits,
How to Become an Engaging & Dynamic Reader of Your Written Work and Wow Your Audience
zoomThis workshop is for anyone who wants to learn (and practice) reading the written word aloud (whether your own or that of others), with power, flair, and dynamism! Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Wednesday, September 13, 6:00 - 8:00 pm for How to Become an Engaging & Dynamic Reader of Your Written Work and
Let’s Make a Scene
Lilly Library 19 Meadow Street, Florence, MA, United StatesScenes are the building blocks of screenplays. Like Legos, each one is strong and intact on its own — but its purpose is to be part of a larger structure. This is a seminar for anyone interested in the many ways screenwriting differs from prose. To get the most from our time together, read a
Every 4th Reader is Listening: Getting Your Book into Their Ears
Athol Public Library 568 Main St, Athol, MA, United StatesNarrator Scott Ellis shares, "As an audiobook narrator and retired teacher, I am always looking for ways to engage more people with audiobooks. I am looking forward to being with your group to walk through the entire process of audiobook production: from searching for the right narrator on the right platform, understanding the lingo used
Roundtable Discussion – Your Writing Practice: Pitfalls and Solutions
Northampton Center for the Arts 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, United StatesJoin Straw Dog Writers Guild for a community-based roundtable discussion to share your best ideas and most stubborn blocks with fellow writers to gain insight into your writing process and community resources. This craft workshop with Michael Favala Goldman and Lindsay Rockwell will take place on Saturday, December 16, from 10:30am-12pm at Northampton Center for
Chapbooks: Crafting a Collection
Join Straw Dog Writers Guild with presenter Adrie Rose on Sunday, February 11 via zoom from 3-5pm for this craft workshop. We will come together to work on pulling together poems into a chapbook collection. We’ll talk about what chapbooks are (and are not) and some strategies for arranging the poems in them. Participants are
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Writing a Query Letter
zoomJoin Straw Dog Writers Guild with literary agent Cherise Fisher for an informative workshop about the often daunting task of writing a query letter. When you are ready to search for an agent, learn how to write the best query letter possible. Experienced agents like Cherise have received thousands of query letters and she has
Writing Inside the Body
A.P.E. Gallery 126 Main Street, Northampton, MA, United StatesSusan Sensemann will lead a 2 hour writing workshop at A.P.E. Gallery, 126 Main Street, Northampton in conjunction with a five-person exhibition "Physiotasmagorical” which investigates corporeal secrets that reside at the juncture of the clinical and the imaginary in fantastic conjurings of our internal selves. We will begin with a discussion of the "felt sense"
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