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SUMMARY:WEBINAR | It’s Complicated: Finding Your Way Back to Writing
DESCRIPTION:Maintain and nurture your relationship with your writing to strengthen your stories and ease your creative process.\n\n\n\nThis webinar is part of the season pass. Interested in joining the subscription? Read more here.  \n\n\n\nFor all writers \n\n\n\nEvery relationship has its ups and downs\, and your relationship with your writing is no exception. We sometimes grow apart through life’s changes\, schedule shifts\, or that nagging feeling that there must be something more out there.  \n\n\n\nIt’s normal to find that what worked in our creative process ten years ago no longer feels right and to experience cycles of connection and disconnection. It’s what we do next that makes all the difference. It’s time to check in and honestly assess what’s working in our creative relationship and what’s not. To clarify what helps us write—and why—and establish a healthy and rewarding relationship with our creation.  \n\n\n\nWriters know that we need our writing to be at its best\, but what we often don’t acknowledge is that our writing also needs us. Explore what it means to be in the right relationship with our writing\, why it matters\, and how to chart a flexible path forward together with communication\, clarity and commitment. This experiential\, process-based workshop includes generative writing exercises to help you reconnect with your writing\, honoring the changes both of you have gone through over the course of your life together. \n\n\n\nCan’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants. \n\n\n\nWe will be writing during this webinar! Come with an open mind\, an active imagination\, and writing tools. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE your relationship with writing\n\n\n\nDISCOVER key techniques to maintain a flexible\, committed writing practice\n\n\n\nINQUIRE into your changing writing relationship through generative prompts and invitations\n\n\n\nRECOMMIT to yourself and your writing\n\n\n\n\nYou should take this webinar if:\n\n\n\n\nYou feel disconnected from your writing or unmotivated\n\n\n\nYou used to have a writing process that worked\, but now you’re struggling to connect with your words\n\n\n\nYou value writing as a means of self-inquiry and discovery.\n\n\n\nYou’re looking for ways to invigorate a lackluster writing practice\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLaraine Herring’s memoir\, A Constellation of Ghosts: A Speculative Memoir with Ravens\, was released in 2021 from Regal House. Her work has appeared in The New York Times\, Tiferet\, The Rumpus\, The Manifest-Station\, and many more. She’s the editor of the anthology Becoming Real: Women Reclaim the Power of the Imagined through Speculative Nonfiction (Pact Press\, 2024)\, and a trilogy of writing books from Shambhala\, including Writing Begins with the Breath: Embodying Your Authentic Voice. A retired professor of creative writing and psychology\, Laraine founded the online ‘zine Hags on Fire\, a place for women to share stories about menopause\, and co-designed The Imaginal Memoir Cave immersion program with Gayle Brandeis. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in Counseling Psychology\, and lives in the mountains of northern Arizona with many cats. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nFULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/its-complicated/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250702T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250702T160000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250604T175542Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250701T154641Z
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SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Essential Questions: Unlock Your Writing’s Power
DESCRIPTION:Enhance your writing and engage your audience with the power of essential questions that captivate and connect with readers. \n\n\n\nThis webinar is part of the season pass. Interested in joining the subscription? Read more here.  \n\n\n\nMemoir\, Fiction and Screenplays \n\n\n\nElizabeth Gilbert credits the runaway success of “Eat\, Pray\, Love” to her essential question—“What if my life belonged to me?” It worked for her—let’s make it work for you. To capture the attention of a broader audience and make your writing resonate more deeply with readers\, discover the transformative power of essential questions to elevate your storytelling and expand your readership.  \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, we’ll examine essential questions in bestselling works\, primarily focusing on memoir\, with a sprinkling of fiction and film. We’ll discuss the difference between implicit and explicit questions and explore techniques for placing these questions in your scenes and narrative.  \n\n\n\nYou’ll finish this webinar equipped with an expansive list of essential questions and the motivation and inspiration to use them to elevate your writing today! \n\n\n\nCan’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nDISCOVER why essential questions lead to increased engagement for readers (and appeal to publishers)\n\n\n\nLEARN the difference between implicit and explicit questions\n\n\n\nANALYZE how bestselling books effectively use essential questions\n\n\n\nRECEIVE an expansive list of essential questions to apply to any and all writing projects\n\n\n\nGET INSPIRED to harness the power of essential questions\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is a great fit for writers of fiction & nonfiction including screenwriters who are…\n\n\n\n\nLooking to enhance their storytelling skills and engage readers more deeply.\n\n\n\nSeeking new strategies to broaden their audience and increase their work’s appeal.\n\n\n\nWanting to stand out in a competitive market by using essential questions to convince agents\, editors\, and publishers that there’s a readership for their work.\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJennifer Leigh Selig is an LBGTQ+ teacher\, international speaker\, book publisher\, and author whose writing and teaching career spans four decades. She’s the author of dozens of newspaper articles\, book reviews\, essays\, journal articles\, short stories\, screenplays\, and books\, including the Nautilus Gold award-winning book\, Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit\, The Writer’s Block Workbook: A Psychologist’s Guide to Working With and Through Writer’s Block\, and Deep Memoir: An Archetypal Approach to Deepen Your Story and Broaden Its Appeal. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nFULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/webinar-essential-questions/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250628T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250628T170000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250522T143647Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250612T033455Z
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SUMMARY:SEMINAR |The Self-Editor’s Toolkit: 10 Tools\, Tips and Techniques to Develop Your Memoir or Personal Essay
DESCRIPTION:The triumph of finishing a draft is soon overtaken by wondering\, Now what do I do? Get the practical and creative tools you need to deepen and polish your work to its greatest potential.\n\n\n\nNonfiction and Memoir \n\n\n\nLive on Zoom | Saturday\, June 28 @ 2:00-5:00 pm  EDT \n\n\n\nAfter the joy of creating comes the picky process of self-scrutinizing\, taking stock\, and tuning up–essential steps in the writing process. Shifting from generative to reflective mode can be tough\, but there are simple\, straightforward methods to refresh your perspective and gain entry into what’s already on the page.  \n\n\n\nIn this three-hour seminar\, learn 10 techniques that creatively (and sometimes stealthily) re-engage you with the work\, including scaffolding\, housekeeping\, reverse outlining\, perhapsing\, tic lists\, set design\, flow checks\, and runway time. You’ll practice some of these methods live\, then pick from the toolbox to build a personalized action plan for revising your work that suits your writing style. \n\n\n\nUsing big-picture inventories and line-level search-and-destroy tactics\, deep conceptual inquiries and thoughtful worksheets\, you’ll gain greater clarity about how to refine language\, structure\, characterization\, and more\, and a new enthusiasm for self-editing. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this insightful Three-hour live seminar\, you’ll learn to:\n\n\n\n\nAPPROACH your work with fresh perspectives\n\n\n\nCLARIFY your aims for the work \n\n\n\nAPPLY simple techniques and inventories that instantly elevate your prose \n\n\n\nBRING more dimension and depth to your work \n\n\n\nPLAN a clear and understandable revision process for your draft\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis seminar is ideal for writers who want to refine\, strengthen\, and deepen existing CNF and memoir drafts.\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR Instructor\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLise Funderburg studied at Reed College and the Columbia University School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in The New York Times\, Threepenny Review\, Philadelphia Inquirer\, National Geographic\, Salon\, The Nation\, More\, and The Chattahoochee Review. \n\n\n\nHer latest book is Apple\, Tree: Writers on Their Parents (University of Nebraska Press\, 2019)\, a collection of all-new work by 25 writers\, which Publishers Weekly deemed a “sparkling anthology” in its starred review. Her previous book was Pig Candy: Taking My Father South\, Taking My Father Home (Free Press\, 2008)\, which was chosen as the Drexel University Freshman Read in 2012. Pig Candy fits into several genres—including narrative nonfiction\, memoir\, travelogue\, and biography—but essentially\, it’s a book about life\, death\, and barbecue. \n\n\n\nTestimonials from past students:\n\n\n\n“Great job of presenting new strategies to keep me writing!” \n\n\n\n“Very well organized and illuminating.” \n\n\n\n“I really\, really felt comfortable with Lise as a person guiding us…she was so relatable\, warm\, and committed to offering helpful advice.” \n\n\n\n“Lise helped me find my voice when I dove into writing to process some difficult and painful life experiences. She patiently walked me through early drafts that read more like diary entries than memoir\, and through her wise counsel\, I found a road map to give voice to my experience and rediscover the joy of writing.” \n\n\n\n“She created a wonderful roadmap to follow!”“THANK YOU!!! Loved this very thoughtful\, inspirational\, and informative presentation.” \n\n\n\nTHE FINE PRINT \n\n\n\nWe understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course\, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers. \n\n\n\nBefore the class\, you may request a full refund. \n\n\n\nPlease keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/the-self-editors-toolkit/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Seminars
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250625T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250625T143000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250525T133632Z
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SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Looking Back\, Moving Forward: Writing About Grief\, Loss & Trauma
DESCRIPTION:Unsure how to start writing about grief\, loss\, or trauma? Stuck midstream? Wondering how honest to be?\n\n\n\nCreative Nonfiction \n\n\n\nWriting about grief\, loss\, or trauma can feel overwhelming. Where do you begin? How much should you reveal? And how do you shape painful experience into something meaningful—for both you and your reader? \n\n\n\nRobert Frost famously said\, “No tears for the writer\, no tears for the reader.” But turning raw emotion into compelling narrative requires more than catharsis. It demands reflection\, structure\, and the willingness to uncover what’s at the heart of the story. \n\n\n\nIn this 90-minute live webinar\, we’ll explore how acclaimed memoirists and essayists approach emotionally charged material—and how you can apply their techniques to your own work. We’ll look closely at the roles of conflict\, joy\, and meaning-making in shaping personal narrative and discuss strategies for writing that is honest without becoming unmoored. \n\n\n\nYou’ll leave with practical tools to deepen your creative nonfiction and move your work forward—with insight\, clarity\, and connection. We’ll also revisit Frost’s lesser-known companion quote: “No surprise for the writer\, no surprise for the reader.” \n\n\n\nThere will be writing in this webinar!  \n\n\n\nCan’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXAMINE the nuts and bolts of craft in notable examples of memoir and essay about loss\, grief\, and trauma \n\n\n\nEXPLORE narrative balance of research\, memory\, and imagination\n\n\n\nDEVELOP confidence in your right to write your version of events\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is a great fit for creative nonfiction writers of all levels who are…\n\n\n\n\nSeeking to create a compelling story from the experience of grief\, loss\, or trauma\n\n\n\nInterested in crafting scenic writing\n\n\n\nCreating narrative from researched fact and individual memory\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJESSICA HANDLER is the author of the novel The Magnetic Girl\, winner of the 2020 Southern Book Prize\, a 2019 “Books All Georgians Should Read\,” an Indie Next pick\, Wall Street Journal Spring 2019 pick\, Bitter Southerner Summer 2019 pick\, and a SIBA Okra Pick. Her other books include Invisible Sisters: A Memoir and Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss. Her nonfiction has appeared on NPR\, in Tin House\, Drunken Boat\, The Bitter Southerner\, Brevity\, Creative Nonfiction\, Newsweek\, The Washington Post\, and More Magazine. She lives in Atlanta. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\n FULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/looking-back-moving-forward/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250624T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250624T140000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250614T143140Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250616T145800Z
UID:10000036-1750770000-1750773600@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:The Writers Bridge
DESCRIPTION:Copyright\, Trademarks & AI Plagiarism\, Oh My!\n\n\n\n“That person stole my work!” But…did they? \n\n\n\nYou’ve seen high-profile complaints about stolen ideas\, stories and pitches—even naming traditional media outlets. You’ve also heard “that writer” complain that a big movie studio stole his totally-marketable\, billion-dollar idea\, and thought yeah\, right. \n\n\n\nMore personally\, maybe you’ve considered whether you can use a brand name in your novel\, or song lyrics in your memoir. Or wondered how confident you need to be in your recall of a scene to put quotation marks around remembered dialogue. Perhaps you’re moving skeptically away from—or towards—”generative” AI. (If ChatGPT helped with the research\, does it get a byline?) \n\n\n\nWith our expert guest\, intellectual property lawyer and author Lisa Rayne\, you’ll learn what you can and can’t do to protect your work and incorporate the work of others. We’ll discuss the key legal aspects of copyright\, trademarks\, and AI usage that authors should know and understand. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOur special guest Lisa Rayne is an award-winning author\, an intellectual property lawyer\, and an advocate for the mainstream distribution of fiction that showcases multicultural protagonists. \n\n\n\nShe writes sexy contemporary and banter-laden historical romance featuring badass characters across the span of time. She’s won multiple Emma Awards and appeared on multiple Amazon bestseller lists. Her milestone historical romance centering Black protagonists\, Never Cross a Highlander garnered a coveted Publishers Weekly starred review and was lauded by Kirkus Reviews as “a flawless combination of modern-day issues and old-school romance.” \n\n\n\nAs a business and intellectual property attorney\, Lisa is passionate about helping creatives become savvy entrepreneurs. When she’s not writing (or working)\, Lisa spends her time serving as track mom to the youngest of her two daughters\, binge-watching planner flip-throughs on YouTube\, and plotting how to get one of her novels turned into a movie featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. To find out more\, visit lisarayne.com and connect with her on social media (@authorrayne). \n\n\n\nJoin your hosts Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS)\, Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and our special guest for this lively\, funny hour of frank talk about copyright\, ideas\, and publishing in an AI-aware world. \n\n\n\nFREE\, all welcome! Sign up to receive the Zoom link the day before. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEnjoy past recorded sessions here\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTERS\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAllison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House\, Knopf\, Mantle\, St. Martin’s Press\, and numerous small presses. An expert in author marketing and community building\, her platform includes the Brevity Blog (80k+ followers)\, Instagram (10k+)\, a mailing list (12k+)\, and Facebook (5k+)\, with publications in the New York Times and appearances on NPR and CBC. Her book\, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book\, sold on proposal. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSharla Yates is the author of the poetry chapbook What I Would Say if We Were to Drown Tonight\, published by Stranded Oak Press (2017). She hosts a webinar series\, CRAFT TALKS for writers on writing\, and co-hosts The Writers Bridge with Allison K Williams. Her nonfiction essay\, “Address” was a finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal writing contest and the 2016 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award. She is the former Director of Education at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and teaches creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/writers-bridge-copyright/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Writers Bridge
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250618T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250618T143000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250516T201115Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250701T155840Z
UID:10000030-1750251600-1750257000@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Mindfulness for Writers: Simple Steps To Create a More Fruitful Writing Life
DESCRIPTION:Mindfulness allows us to see with fresh eyes\, to uncover what hasn’t yet been explored\, and offers a powerful counterbalance to the disappointments that accompany rejection and ambition. Learn to reclaim the joy in your writing life.\n\n\n\nAll Genres \n\n\n\nToo often\, as writers\, we find ourselves drawn to common\, customary\, and comfortable realizations–but the practice of mindfulness can open us to see with fresh eyes\, to search our memories\, and reveal what hasn’t yet been explored. Mindfulness teaches us to listen to others\, but also to ourselves\, even those thoughts that make us uncomfortable. (Perhaps especially those thoughts!) \n\n\n\nPracticing mindfulness offers a powerful counterbalance to the disappointment and dissatisfaction that too often accompany the world of publishing\, rejection\, and ambition. To live a more fruitful writing life\, we can make both the practice of writing and the work itself less about ourselves\, becoming mindful of our motives and our attachment to desired outcomes. \n\n\n\nCan’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nDISCOVER how mindfulness can free up our creativity and enhance our enjoyment of writing\n\n\n\nEXPLORE how to move beyond “safe and customary” realizations in our writing \n\n\n\nLEARN ways to lessen the disappointment and dissatisfaction that accompany the business side of submission\, rejection\, and ambition.\n\n\n\nNURTURE compassion for our characters\, our family members\, and ourselves.\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is a great fit for writers of all levels who…\n\n\n\n\nFeel stuck\, discouraged\, or dissatisfied with their writing life\, and wish instead to be energized and optimistic\n\n\n\nWant to see with fresh eyes\, moving beyond common and comfortable realizations\n\n\n\nWant to reconnect with the joy and surprise they once felt as writers\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOne of our most popular and beloved presenters\, DINTY W. MOORE is the author of the memoirs Between Panic & Desire and To Hell With It\, and the writing guides Crafting the Personal Essay and The Mindful Writer\, among other books. He has published essays and stories in Harper’s\, The New York Times Magazine\, The Georgia Review\, The Kenyon Review\, The Southern Review\, Short Reads\, and elsewhere. He is the founding editor of Brevity\, the journal of flash nonfiction. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nFULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/mindfulness-for-writers/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250611T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250611T160000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250508T200602Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250701T155647Z
UID:10000026-1749654000-1749657600@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Fresh Words\, New Patterns\, Bold Essays: Breaking Free from Cliché
DESCRIPTION:Writing is an art of disruption. Our best writing resists and overturns familiar patterns of thought and language\, inventing new forms of expression.\n\n\n\nNonfiction \n\n\n\n“I have yet to meet a writer who set out to say nothing interesting. Yet\, when our essays fail to interest editors\, agents\, and readers\, we are often at a loss for how and where we went wrong\,” says our presenter\, Jaswinder Bolina.  \n\n\n\nJaswinder is a thoughtful\, thorough teacher. For writers ready to explore their voice and reach the next level in their sentence craft\, join him in this intermediate/advanced webinar to study how our choices of diction\, syntax\, and sentence construction often underlie greater missteps in our work. Cliché means so much more than the overuse of familiar phrases. It can also mean our tendency to use familiar sentence structure in our writing–and worse\, in our thinking.  \n\n\n\nWe’ll discuss what constitutes a cliché\, why we’re so inclined to use clichés\, and how avoiding dead language brings power to our ideas. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXAMINE how cliché comes from stating the obvious\, but also from stating something remarkable and interesting in an obvious and uninteresting way.\n\n\n\nCONSIDER the differences between original and clichéd writing to write more artful and impactful nonfiction.\n\n\n\nCHALLENGE our language and our thinking in order to write original\, thought-provoking essays that attract the attention of editors\, agents\, and readers.\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for …\n\n\n\n\nExperienced writers\n\n\n\nWriters hoping to publish in major media outlets\n\n\n\nWriters looking for techniques to enhance their prose\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJaswinder Bolina’s fourth poetry collection English as a Second Language and Other Poems is published by Copper Canyon Press in 2023. His debut collection of essays Of Color was published by McSweeney’s in June 2020. His nonfiction has appeared at The Washington Post\, The Paris Review\, Shenandoah\, The Poetry Foundation\, and other outlets. His essays have also been featured in anthologies including the 14th edition of The Norton Reader (W.W. Norton & Company 2016)\, Language: A Reader for Writers (Oxford University Press 2013)\, and Poets on Teaching (University of Iowa Press 2011). He teaches on the faculty of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Miami. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nFULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/fresh-words-new-patterns/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250607T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250614T160000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250417T153707Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250610T151339Z
UID:10000020-1749304800-1749916800@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:2-DAY SEMINAR | The Quest for Clarity: The Blueprint Method to Structure Your Nonfiction Book or Memoir
DESCRIPTION:Writing a nonfiction book or memoir with authority requires command over your material and your ideas. Learn how to focus on what matters most so you’re prepared to craft a compelling book proposal.\n\n\n\nNarrative Nonfiction and Memoir \n\n\n\nLive on Zoom | Saturdays\, June 7 & 14 @ 2:00-4:00 pm  EDT \n\n\n\nEven before you write a proposal\, distilling a book’s core is an essential first step in understanding what you’re writing about\, how you’re telling the story\, and who that story is for. These foundational structural elements help capture the attention of agents and publishers. \n\n\n\nIn this two-session course\, you will complete a mini-blueprint to help you clarify and strengthen several key aspects of your book’s structure. You’ll learn how to articulate why your book is needed and why you’re the right person to write it\, define its central point\, and craft a compelling killer sentence or early logline. \n\n\n\nYou’ll also develop book jacket copy\, brainstorm multiple draft titles and subtitles\, and determine your book’s dominant style—whether it’s an exposé\, a reinterpretation of history\, a memoir focused on family\, trauma\, or something else. In addition\, you’ll identify the structural “container” for your book\, such as a collective or chronological narrative\, and create (or make a good start) on an outline for the book that conveys a sense of momentum from one chapter to the next. It’s a summary of the story’s logic. \n\n\n\nParticipants will complete most or all of the mini-blueprint before our second class\, and we’ll review selected examples of participant work to highlight what’s working well and why\, along with common pitfalls to avoid. You will gain a much deeper understanding of your book—bringing you one step closer to writing a strong commercial nonfiction book proposal. \n\n\n\nRead more about Amy’s take on this topic here. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this insightful four-hour live seminar\, you’ll learn to:\n\n\n\n\nDISCOVER the elements of a blueprint that will help organize your research and ideas and nail the thesis of your book.\n\n\n\nACTIVATE the blueprint’s tools to uncover your ‘why\,’ the point of your book\, and your ideal reader.\n\n\n\nDRAFT an outcome-based outline that begins to reveal your chapter flow.\n\n\n\nEXPLORE the power of drafting titles\, jacket copy\, and other succinct elements that reveal your book’s purpose and focus.\n\n\n\nUNLOCK your book’s sense of urgency\, timeliness\, and undeniability.\n\n\n\n\nCan’t make the first session? No worries. We’ll send you the replay by Wednesday! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis seminar is ideal for writers who have a rough idea for a nonfiction book and no idea how to develop it\, as well as writers who have already produced many words but don’t know how to continue and have no discernible structure or outline.\n\n\n\nFor writers planning a memoir\, this seminar will help you find the focal points for your story and define its emotional center.\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR instructor\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAmy L. Bernstein is a professional nonfiction book coach helping subject-matter experts and memoirists to develop sellable manuscripts. Amy’s reputation as a results-oriented coach is growing\, as senior literary agents and publishers send authors needing direction and polish her way. She is a former award-winning journalist\, executive speechwriter\, and communications director in the George W. Bush and Obama Administrations. Amy is also a published author\, poet\, and essayist. Her new nonfiction book\, Wrangling the Doubt Monster: Fighting Fears\, Finding Inspiration\, was short-listed for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize and won first place as best book of self-help and inspiration from BookFest 2025. \n\n\n\nTestimonials from past students:\n\n\n\n“I love your enthusiasm\, your clarity\, your compassion\, and your humor! Great presentation. And it didn’t feel rushed at all. I look forward to the recording.” \n\n\n\n“It’s like you got inside my head and told me everything that I’ve been wondering about for the past 6 months. Thank you Amy!” \n\n\n\n“Thank you for the Master Class on how to write a book proposal for a nonfiction book. The class was absolutely first-rate! Your approach really helped take the edge off the process for a first- time book writer.”  \n\n\n\n“Amy Bernstein is a wizard. I entered her workshop with a proverbial problem – something was missing from my writing. Within 30 minutes of her instruction\, the words came. Don’t walk to her workshop\, run!” \n\n\n\nTHE FINE PRINT \n\n\n\nWe understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course\, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers. \n\n\n\nBefore the class\, you may request a full refund. \n\n\n\nPlease keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/seminar-the-quest/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Seminars
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250531T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250531T160000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250426T200547Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250520T191206Z
UID:10000022-1748703600-1748707200@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:FREE WEBINAR| From Here to There: Simple Marketing Strategies for Writers Who Feel Stuck
DESCRIPTION:You don’t need a personal brand. You need a personalized path. Even if you’re the most marketing-skeptical writer\, this webinar can help you get unstuck\, find your people\, and build a platform in a way that feels like a natural extension of your work—and yourself. \n\n\n\nAll Genres \n\n\n\nMarketing is often framed as a hustle: build your list\, grow your audience\, get on every platform\, sell your work. But for many writers\, this can feel overwhelming\, confusing\, and a little gross. Let’s be honest: writing is hard enough. What if finding and connecting with readers was the fun part? Or at the very least\, what if your marketing efforts didn’t all feel like agony\, obligation & ick? \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, we’ll walk through the six most common roadblocks writers face in building a platform—-and the spots where most writers get stuck\, spin their wheels\, or want to give up.  \n\n\n\nOver our time together\, you’ll learn simple\, sustainable strategies to build momentum\, and start showing up with less anxiety and more intention. Whether you’re launching a newsletter\, trying to grow your readership\, or just want to be less allergic to the idea of “putting yourself out there\,” this webinar will give you a map—and a little motivation—to move forward. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nIDENTIFY six key roadblocks that prevent creative momentum\n\n\n\nLEARN how to define a personal “North Star” to guide and focus all your marketing decisions\n\n\n\nUNCOVER simple\, human strategies for building confidence and finding your audience\n\n\n\nSHIFT away from “content creation” to “creating connections”\n\n\n\nEXPLORE sustainable\, low-tech ways to stay consistent without burning out\n\n\n\nRECEIVE a list of practical tools\, prompts\, and resources to keep making progress long after the webinar ends\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for Writers who…\n\n\n\n\nwant to grow their audience without compromising their voice or values\n\n\n\nare overwhelmed by marketing advice and/or unsure where to start\n\n\n\nare “doing all the things” and still feel like nothing’s working\n\n\n\ncame to writing later in life and feel behind when it comes to platform-building\n\n\n\nare building toward publication but feel paralyzed by self-promotion\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStephen Knezovich is the co-founder of Short Reads and Ascender Book Services. He is also the marketing strategist for Off Assignment\, a collage artist\, and the curator of two newsletters: Read This and Gluu. Previously\, he spent 16 years as the director of marketing for the literary nonprofit and publisher Creative Nonfiction. And before that he was a fledgling graphic designer\, an occasional DJ\, an inept book reviewer\, an undisciplined fiction writer\, the interim GM of a (now successful) restaurant\, a film school dropout\, the founder of a fake fraternity\, a passionate (but decidedly not professional) skateboarder\, and an aspiring comic book illustrator. He lives in Pittsburgh\, Pennsylvania\, with his wife\, two kids\, and their giant dog. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/from-here-to-there/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250528T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250528T150000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250427T161516Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250701T155434Z
UID:10000023-1748437200-1748444400@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Writing the Unknown: Imagination\, Invention\, and the Ethics of Filling in the Blanks
DESCRIPTION:How to responsibly craft scenes you or your protagonist didn’t witness\, don’t fully remember\, or can only speculate about—with clarity\, honesty\, and emotional truth.\n\n\n\nFiction & Nonfiction \n\n\n\nFirst-person POV in both memoir and fiction demands emotional truth\, but what happens when the main character simply doesn’t—or can’t—know what happened\, but the story still demands that certain information come through? In this craft-centered session\, we’ll explore techniques for threading in offstage action\, family history\, hidden truths\, and essential context—without breaking the voice or cheating the form.  \n\n\n\nMemoirists may need old family stories\, information from people they’re estranged from or are deceased\, or cultural context from before their birth. \n\n\n\nNovelists know that first-person fiction is intimate and immediate—but your narrator can’t be everywhere\, can’t know everything\, and might be naive\, biased\, or flat-out wrong.  \n\n\n\nWhether due to absence\, memory gaps\, or lost connections\, writers often face the challenge of telling stories that hinge on scenes the main character never witnessed or the memoirist can no longer verify.  \n\n\n\nThis special 2-hour webinar explores how to use informed imagination and clearly signaled speculation to bring in offstage information and uncover hidden truths without misleading your reader or losing consistency in POV. We’ll explore writing the unknown using speculation\, research\, deduction\, mysticism & faith. Through discussion\, examples from published work\, and a guided writing exercise\, we’ll learn how to responsibly fill in the blanks—and consider when doing so serves the memoir or novel and when it doesn’t. \n\n\n\nThis is a TWO-HOUR class\, with 20 minutes of writing time in the middle.  \n\n\n\n\n40 minutes – Learn five types of perhapsing\, see them in published work\, and understand why and how to create scenes and montages outside the protagonist’s direct experience.\n\n\n\n10 minutes – Q&A to fully understand and apply the information.\n\n\n\n20 minutes – Revise a scene to include perhapsing\, or write a few speculative paragraphs from scratch. Allison will continue taking questions in the chat. OPTIONAL: volunteer for live-editing and upload your scene as a Word doc or docx to a Google Drive.\n\n\n\n40 minutes – Allison will live-edit pages shared on screen\, noting where the writer is succeeding in the purpose of the scene\, and what revisions she suggests to make the prose even more effective. During live edits\, she’ll call out specific techniques and tips for everyone to apply to their own work\, right away. \n\n\n\n10 minutes – Q&A and planning your writing from here.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE the challenges of uncertain or secondhand scenes\, backstory\, subtext and offstage action in first-person prose.\n\n\n\nDEFINE emotional truth in fiction and the ethics of invention in nonfiction.\n\n\n\nDEEPEN your narrative authority by signaling speculation on the page with language and structure.\n\n\n\nWRITE a speculative or secondhand scene using clear signals to the reader.\n\n\n\nDISCOVER what’s working with live-editing of volunteer pages and tips for everyone.\n\n\n\n\nThis workshop suits memoirists and novelists at all levels who want to use ethical imagination as a craft skill\, not a shortcut.\n\n\n\nYou’ll receive the slides and prompts to take this work into your manuscript \n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAllison K Williams is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book. She’s helped writers sell to Big Five and literary publishers\, hit the NYT Bestseller list\, and sign multi-book deals. She’s guided essayists and humorists to publication in media including the New Yorker\, Time\, the Guardian\, the New York Times\, McSweeney’s\, Refinery29\, Hippocampus\, the Belladonna and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity\, she inspires thousands of writers with weekly blogs on craft and the writing life. \n\n\n\nAllison works with literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction\, and is familiar with the conventions of most genres. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Western Michigan University and spent 20 years as a circus aerialist and acrobat before writing and editing full-time. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nFULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/writing-the-unknown/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250527T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250527T140000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250324T195528Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250519T151557Z
UID:10000013-1748350800-1748354400@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:The Writers Bridge | Seven Minutes in PR Heaven: Build YOUR Promo Strategy
DESCRIPTION:Reach your readers–keep your soul.\n\n\n\nYou have limited time\, energy and $$$. What’s the best way to promote and publicize your work?Authors often struggle to break through the noise in today’s crowded market. Publicity can be one of the most powerful tools in a writer’s career\, yet many struggle with how to pitch themselves and their work effectively. \n\n\n\nFive authors from our community will pitch their current projects including Big Five\, small press\, and self-published books\, as well as Substack and writing courses\, to top PR Professionals\, and receive immediate live advice on what to do—advice we’ll all be able to use and consider for our own projects! \n\n\n\nJoin Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS)\, Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and special guests Tonya Todd\, Joylynn Ross and Jen Greybeal for this lively\, funny hour of frank talk about author platform\, audience engagement\, and just plain getting people to read your book. \n\n\n\nRegister at the link to get the Zoom link the day before the event and a reminder one hour before\, and join us live to network and ask your questions! Or\, subscribe on YouTube @TheWritersBridge to catch the replay. \n\n\n\n\nAn unprecedented opportunity to learn from two highly respected PR professionals\, Joylynn Ross and Jen Graybeal. \n\n\n\nWith only seven minutes to share their projects and receive feedback\, authors will learn the importance of a concise pitch and receive direct\, actionable advice to help them take their PR strategies to the next level.\n\n\n\nLearn the key areas authors should focus on when crafting a publicity campaign.\n\n\n\nGet insight into avoidable challenges that often stand in the way of successful media outreach.\n\n\n\n\nWhether you’re in the beginning stages of your PR strategy or fine-tuning an existing campaign\, get expert advice to elevate YOUR public relations efforts and boost your visibility. \n\n\n\nFREE\, all welcome! Sign up to receive the Zoom link the day before. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE TO GET THE REPLAY AND WATCH PAST SESSIONS here\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔Subscribe on YouTube to get the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTERS\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTonya Todd is an experienced moderator with a passion for empowering authors. Until October 2024\, she could boast being the most publicized author without a book. Now\,she shares her publications at workshops and conferences across the country\, while mentoring other writers\, teaching literary citizenship\, and promoting support of the arts. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJen Graybeal (she/her) is dedicated to empowering authors through encouraging feedback\, collaborative problem solving and gently-applied tough love. In ten years ofcoaching\, workshops\, and editing projects\, she has helped over a thousand authors create stories they are proud of and businesses that align with their individual vision of success.Jen is a Certified Creativity Coach with a degree in English\, an ever-expanding TBR pile\, and a furball assistant that is usually on her lap. Visit her website for client testimonials at  www.jengraybeal.com or follow her on Instagram\, Threads\, Blue Sky\, and TikTok:@JenTheEditor. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoylynn Ross is an award-winning author\, editor\, literary consultant\, publishing coach\, literary educator\, and expert publicist with years of experience working with authors toboost their visibility and grow their brands. She has more than 40 publications in print and has sold over three-quarters of a million books. Her published works include the“New Day Divas” series\, If I Ruled the World\, An All Night Man and The Root of all Evil. Her children’s book\, The Secret Olivia Told Me\, received an American Library Association Coretta Scott King Honor. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAllison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House\, Knopf\, Mantle\, St. Martin’s Press\, and numerous small presses. An expert in author marketing and community building\, her platform includes the Brevity Blog (80k+ followers)\, Instagram (10k+)\, a mailing list (12k+)\, and Facebook (5k+)\, with publications in the New York Times and appearances on NPR and CBC. Her book\, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book\, sold on proposal. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSharla Yates is the author of the poetry chapbook What I Would Say if We Were to Drown Tonight\, published by Stranded Oak Press (2017). She hosts a webinar series\, CRAFT TALKS for writers on writing\, and co-hosts The Writers Bridge with Allison K Williams. Her nonfiction essay\, “Address” was a finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal writing contest and the 2016 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award. She is the former Director of Education at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and teaches creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Allison@Idowords.net \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/the-writers-bridge-seven-minutes/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Writers Bridge
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250521T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250521T161500
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250427T163311Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250701T154924Z
UID:10000024-1747839600-1747844100@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | The Ideal Sentence: Your Voice\, Your Tone\, Your Pace
DESCRIPTION:Every beginning sets a tone\, establishes a voice\, and signals the quality of the language that is to come. Your beginning is one of your most important writing choices–learn to make it powerful.\n\n\n\nAll Genres \n\n\n\nWill that language be complex and tangled? Plain-spoken? Vanilla? Lavender? Will it zing like jazz or sing like a lullabye? Will it feel lethargic\, or will it clop\, or will it swashbuckle? \n\n\n\nIt’s always time to think about sentences—to explore the ways they work (and sometimes don’t)\, the ways we bend them to get closer to the truth\, and the ways we work on patterns and rhythms so that the pages remain alive.  \n\n\n\nProse from Hilton Als\, Michael Ondaatje\, Jean-Dominique Bauby\, Jia Tolentino\, Annie Dillard\, Olivia Laing\, Carmen Machado\, Terry Tempest Williams\, and Mark Richard will inspire us and lead our way. \n\n\n\nExercises presented will be focused on voice\, tone\, mood\, and pace. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nREFINE your writing voices\n\n\n\nEXPERIMENT with mood\, tone\, and pace\n\n\n\nDEVELOP powerful new beginnings\n\n\n\nCREATE a better understanding of your writerly strengths\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers who:\n\n\n\n\nare intent on capturing the attention of agents\, editors\, and readers.  \n\n\n\nare keen on perfecting their work.\n\n\n\nwish to build more dimension into their writing.\n\n\n\nWant to learn more about sentence craft and explore their writing voice.\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOne of our favorite presenters\, BETH KEPHART\, is the award-winning writer of memoir\, children’s books\, young adult novels\, and craft books. She is also a paper artist. Her new book\, her first novel for adults\, is Tomorrow Will Bring Sunday’s News: A Philadelphia Story. Please join her Substack journey at The Hush and the Howl. More at bethkephartbooks.com \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nFULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/the-ideal-sentence/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250514T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250514T163000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250411T191358Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250701T154802Z
UID:10000017-1747234800-1747240200@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Structure Your Story: How to Keep Readers Hooked From Start to Finish
DESCRIPTION:Storytelling skill is the most challenging aspect of the craft of writing. Learn how to design a structure that will hold your readers and keep them turning the page.\n\n\n\nFiction\, Nonfiction\, Memoir\, Novel\, & Short Story \n\n\n\nStorytelling skill is the most challenging aspect of craft: the way the plot unfolds and how events create new energy and excitement for readers to keep going. For many of us\, these skills do not come naturally.  We have to train and practice. \n\n\n\nStructuring a successful project requires knowing where to start\, what to include\, and how to deliver a powerful\, memorable\, and compelling story with a meaningful resolution. In this webinar\, we’ll explore the basic principles of story design and present proven templates to help you re-think your approach to story design\, restart your project\, and save revision time. \n\n\n\nThis webinar is for novelists\, short story writers\, memoirists and nonfiction writers who are working on individual pieces or a book-length project. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE ready-made\, easily customized templates that jump-start your story \n\n\n\nTROUBLESHOOT pitfalls that hold great stories back\n\n\n\nLEARN the six key scenes that make a story rivet your reader\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for Writers:\n\n\n\n\nStuck in a novel or memoir (especially if you’ve reached the murky middle!)\n\n\n\nStruggling with a large amount of material\n\n\n\nWho feel they have not yet mastered essential plot skills\n\n\n\nWho worry their work isn’t capturing attention\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOne of CRAFT TALKS’ most popular presenters\, for her insightful and inspiring webinars\, HEATHER SELLERS is the author of 11 books\, including four books on craft\, a memoir\, a children’s book\, a collection of short stories\, and four volumes of poetry.  She teaches in the MFA program at the University of South Florida\, and her work has appeared in The New York Times\, Reader’s Digest\, The Sun\, and The Best American Essays. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nFULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund\, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/webinar-structure-your-story/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250507T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250507T143000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250401T163123Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250506T154026Z
UID:10000016-1746622800-1746628200@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | The Meaning in the Moment: Using Place\, Time\, and Detail to Power Your Scenes
DESCRIPTION:Learn to bring more immediacy and urgency to your prose by replicating how life feels in the moment\, crafting scenes that capture the texture of actual living. \n\n\n\nFiction & Nonfiction \n\n\n\nOur lives—and our characters’ lives—unfold in distinct moments – specific times\, particular places\, intimate details – rather than through explanatory passages and abstract interpretation. In this webinar\, we will practice bringing more immediacy and urgency to our prose by replicating how life feels in the moment\, and crafting scenes that capture the texture of actual living. \n\n\n\nWhether working with our own remembered lives in memoir\, or our characters’ constructed lives in fiction\, rather than “naming” a character’s emotional reactions\, let the reader experience the discrete moments that bring the significant feeling forward. We will look at examples from both memoir and fiction and discuss how to use the techniques in your work. Allison and Dinty will also “improvise” scenes\, writing in the moment to illustrate how details accumulate to create a whole. \n\n\n\nYou’ll leave with a better understanding of your craft\, clear ideas to enhance your scenes\, and prompts and nudges to get you started on new work or revision. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE how scenes can resonate more powerfully by replicating “real” life events\n\n\n\nDISCOVER ways to increase the immediacy and urgency of your story\n\n\n\nLEARN HOW deliberate craft choices create a powerful emotional connection\n\n\n\nWATCH Allison and Dinty improvise scene writing and editing live on Zoom\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for:\n\n\n\n\nWriters sick to death of hearing “show don’t tell” and unsure how to act on that feedback\n\n\n\nWriters who have been told they “Explain too much.”\n\n\n\nWriters who’d like their work to immediately capture attention and engage agents\, editors and readers.\n\n\n\nWriters with a piece that’s been widely submitted and rejected\n\n\n\nMemoirists needing new ways to recreate intensity of feeling on the page\n\n\n\nNovelists struggling with their genre\, who need to embrace tropes while keeping them fresh.\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDINTY W. MOORE  is author of the memoirs Between Panic & Desire and To Hell With It\, and the writing guides Crafting the Personal Essay and The Mindful Writer\, among other books. He has published essays and stories in Harper’s\, The New York Times Magazine\, Georgia Review\, Kenyon Review\, Southern Review\, Short Reads\, and elsewhere. He is founding editor of Brevity\, the journal of flash nonfiction. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nALLISON K WILLIAMS is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book. She’s helped writers sell to Big Five and literary publishers\, hit the NYT Bestseller list\, and sign multi-book deals. She’s guided essayists and humorists to publication in media including the New Yorker\, Time\, the Guardian\, the New York Times\, McSweeney’s\, Refinery29\, Hippocampus\, the Belladonna and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity\, she inspires thousands of writers with weekly blogs on craft and the writing life. Allison works with literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction\, as well as essays\, short fiction\, and and social platform. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Western Michigan University and spent 20 years as a circus aerialist and acrobat before writing and editing full-time. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/webinar-the-meaning-in-the-moment/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250503T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250503T170000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250325T204033Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250424T154745Z
UID:10000014-1746280800-1746291600@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:SEMINAR | Exactly What Publishers Want From Authors: The Key Steps to Landing a Book Deal
DESCRIPTION:Master the steps to getting your book deal and stand out in a competitive market\n\n\n\nAll Genres \n\n\n\nWhat do publishers want? How do they decide which book to make an offer on? What are the many steps between you and a book deal? For aspiring authors eager to see your book on the shelves\, but puzzled by the mysterious process of getting published\, this seminar will uncover the intricate decision-making process that book publishers use to select manuscripts. \n\n\n\nBy the end of this seminar\, you will have a thorough understanding of the inner workings of the publishing industry and be equipped with the knowledge and tools to dramatically increase your chances of a deal. Whether you’re a first-time author or looking to enhance your publishing strategy\, this class will be your gateway to unlocking the doors of the literary world. \n\n\n\nAll registrations will receive a publication/query readiness checklist. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this insightful three-hour live seminar\, you’ll learn to:\n\n\n\n\nUNDERSTAND the key factors publishers consider when evaluating submissions\, including market trends\, target audiences\, and profitability.\n\n\n\nEVALUATE manuscripts using industry criteria such as story originality\, writing quality\, and thematic relevance.\n\n\n\nNAVIGATE the decision-making process by understanding who reviews your manuscript and their role in securing a book deal.\n\n\n\nDECODE the financial side of publishing\, from advances and royalties to the approval criteria for publication.\n\n\n\nSTAY AHEAD of industry trends and insights that shape publishing decisions.\n\n\n\nANALYZE real-life case studies of successful books and what made them stand out.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis seminar is ideal for writers:\n\n\n\n\nSeeking literary representation\n\n\n\nWho are self-published and looking to transition to traditional publishing\n\n\n\nWith finished nonfiction manuscripts who want to pitch directly to publishers without an agent\n\n\n\nWanting to gain a deeper understanding of the publishing industry\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWith over 30 years of publishing expertise\, Amy Collins has sat on all sides of the desk in the publishing world. As an agent with Talcott Notch Literary Services\, Amy champions a diverse range of authors—her clients have secured deals with top publishers across genres like fantasy\, romance\, horror\, and thrillers. Her non-fiction clients focus on cookbooks\, pop-culture\, lifestyle and humor.  \n\n\n\nA former book buyer\, publisher\, and sales director\, Amy blends her sharp market insights with an unwavering commitment to her clients’ success. Beyond representing authors\, Amy is a USA TODAY bestselling writer herself\, with several non-fiction titles to her name\, including It’s the Little Things (Simon & Schuster/Adams Media). She’s a trusted voice in the industry\, regularly featured in Writer’s Digest Magazine and a speaker at major conferences worldwide. \n\n\n\nTestimonials from past students:\n\n\n\n“I found Amy to be savvy about publishing\, down-to-earth\, and funny as hell.” – Nancy McMillan \n\n\n\n“I just want to say how much I have enjoyed this class. Your professional generosity is so refreshing and valuable. I think every single person in our class felt seen and personally guided. I know I certainly have.” – Pam O’Hara \n\n\n\n“This class was a gift not only to my career but to my spirit. As a writer who finds pitching and promoting myself anxiety-provoking\, I appreciated Amy’s breaking down the intimidating into a plan of small\, easily actionable steps. She is a generous teacher who inspires as well as she informs.” – Karen Novak \n\n\n\n“This session made me realize I didn’t hate pitching. I just didn’t truly understand its power and how to personalize it to my needs toward those I want to reach. Now I can’t wait to get started.” – Louis H. Mitchell \n\n\n\nTHE FINE PRINT \n\n\n\nWe understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course\, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers. \n\n\n\nBefore the class\, you may request a full refund. \n\n\n\nPlease keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/seminar-exactly-what-publishers-want/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Seminars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T143000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250321T203419Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T200805Z
UID:10000010-1746018000-1746023400@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Smarter Than You Think: Trusting Readers with Subtlety\, Nuance\, and the Pleasures of Uncertainty
DESCRIPTION:Readers love putting two and two together for themselves\, but too often—out of insecurity—writers forget to provide readers the space to discern and discover. \n\n\n\nFiction & Nonfiction \n\n\n\nReaders are curious people with active\, agile minds. Too often\, though—out of insecurity about how well our story is coming across—we provide too much information\, robbing our readers of one of the key pleasures of reading: putting two and two together for themselves. \n\n\n\nThis webinar will use examples from successful memoirs and literary essays to examine how we can write as if telling our story to the smartest friend we have. Where is the line between leaving a reader in the dark and allowing for some delicious suspense? When are nuance and suggestion more effective than perfect clarity? When is contradictory character information a strength rather than a blunder? \n\n\n\nWe’ll examine how we can enter the reader’s thought processes to discern the difference between confusing our readers and leaving them intrigued. And we’ll examine our own insecurity patterns\, rooting out our tendencies to tell\, then show\, then tell again. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE the line between confusing our readers and leaving them happily intrigued\n\n\n\nLEARN to write as if telling our story to “the smartest friend we have.”\n\n\n\nEXAMINE our own insecurity patterns\, rooting out our tendencies to tell\, then show\, then tell again.\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers at any level who:\n\n\n\n\nWould like their work to immediately capture attention\, to engage agents\, editors and—of course—readers\n\n\n\nStruggle with “how much to tell\,” “how much to show\,” and how much to “hold back”\n\n\n\nWant to revise work that’s been widely submitted and rejected\n\n\n\nAre insecure about their storytelling skills (that’s all of us)!\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDINTY W. MOORE  is author of the memoirs Between Panic & Desire and To Hell With It\, and the writing guides Crafting the Personal Essay and The Mindful Writer\, among other books. He has published essays and stories in Harper’s\, The New York Times Magazine\, Georgia Review\, Kenyon Review\, Southern Review\, Short Reads\, and elsewhere. He is founding editor of Brevity\, the journal of flash nonfiction. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/webinar-smarter-than-you/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://writingcraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/3.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T163000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250321T204659Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250417T161054Z
UID:10000011-1745420400-1745425800@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | The Fine Art of Containment: Finding New Ways to Hold Your Story
DESCRIPTION:Structure can seem like such a mundane word\, but in this webinar\, we’ll find exciting new ways for you to bring your story to life on the page.\n\n\n\nNonfiction \n\n\n\nYou’ve mined your memories\, written your scenes\, and come to some insights—yet your personal essay or memoir still doesn’t seem to fully engage your reader. Radically revising your structure might be the answer. \n\n\n\nWe’ll be thinking of structure in the sense of “containers\,” the way you might choose the perfect vase for a bouquet. Containers in this context could be thought of as through-lines that both hold and propel the narratives. These container scenes create both boundaries and forward movement for material that might otherwise have a hard time finding its focus. \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, we will explore the various “container scenes” writers have used to structure their essays\, and how you can identify container scenes that might already exist in your own work. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE how to structure a personal essay to fully engage a reader\n\n\n\nPLAY with Beginnings and Endings\n\n\n\nDISCOVER how to identify a container scene in the works you read\n\n\n\nIDENTIFY and employ container scenes in your personal narratives\n\n\n\nBE EQUIPPED with suggestions for future reading and practice\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers:\n\n\n\n\nEager for fresh insights into revision practices\n\n\n\nInterested in how published authors structure their personal essays\n\n\n\nLooking for inspiration to draft new work and revise existing pieces\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBRENDA MILLER’s most recent book is A Braided Heart: Essays on Writing on Form. She is the author of five more essay collections\, including An Earlier Life\, which received the Washington State Book Award for Memoir\, and she is the recipient of seven Pushcart Prizes. Her book of collaborative essays with Julie Marie Wade\, Telephone: Essays in Two Voices\, received the Cleveland Poetry Center Award for Creative Nonfiction and was published by Cleveland State University Press in 2021. She co-authored\, with Suzanne Paola\, the textbook Tell it Slant: Creating\, Refining\, and Publishing Creative Nonfiction\, now in its third edition from McGraw-Hill Higher Education. She is a Professor Emerita of Creative Writing at Western Washington University. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/webinar-the-fine-art-of-containment/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://writingcraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T161500
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250321T202214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250403T030714Z
UID:10000008-1744210800-1744215300@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | The Dreaded Comp Titles: A Necessary Evil That Can Launch Your Career
DESCRIPTION:Learn why the industry relies on comps\, where to find the best ones\, and how to use them to strengthen your pitch.\n\n\n\nComp titles are one of the most powerful tools for helping agents and publishers quickly understand where your book fits in the market. These comparable books—similar to yours in key ways—can make or break your pitch. In a logline or query\, comp titles serve as “shorthand” for your book’s tone\, theme and story\, making it easier for editors and agents to determine if a manuscript is a good fit. In a proposal\, strong comp titles also prove that books like yours are selling now. \n\n\n\nYet\, finding and using comp titles is one of the most challenging parts of querying. \n\n\n\nThis webinar will demystify the process of identifying and effectively using comp titles. Learn why the industry relies on comps\, where to find the best ones\, and how to use them to strengthen your pitch. Discover tools\, databases\, and research methods to uncover comps with strong sales numbers—all with step-by-step guidance and one-on-one assistance. Learn a structured\, 7-step process to streamline the search\, giving you everything needed to research and find your titles. \n\n\n\nAs an added resource\, a 30-minute video will be provided\, detailing how to use your newly found comps to improve your chances of securing the right agent or publishing house. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\n✅ Discover effective strategies for finding strong comp titles\n\n\n\n✅ Learn how to use comp titles to strengthen queries and pitches\n\n\n\n✅ Understand how comps demonstrate market viability and attract agents\n\n\n\n✅ Overcome the frustration of searching for and selecting the right comps\n\n\n\n✅ Avoid common mistakes that can weaken a book’s positioning\n\n\n\n✅ Gain tools to maximize success in securing an agent or publisher\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for ….\n\n\n\n\nAspiring and Querying Authors – Writers preparing to pitch their book to agents and publishers who need strong comp titles to strengthen their query.\n\n\n\nSelf-Publishing Authors – Writers looking to position their book in the market and attract the right audience using comp titles.\n\n\n\nLiterary Agents & Editors – Publishing professionals who want to refine their ability to identify and evaluate comp titles for submissions.\n\n\n\nBook Coaches & Writing Instructors – Professionals who guide writers through the querying and publishing process and need effective strategies for teaching comp title research.\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAMY COLLINS\, Agent with Talcott Notch Literary Services\, has over 30 years of experience matching books with readers. As a former book buyer\, publisher\, and sales director\, Amy focuses on the marketplace and sales potential for authors. As an agent\, she represents many authors who have signed deals with major publishers and is currently negotiating book to film as well. Amy is the author of several non-fiction books and is currently traveling the country with her two dogs meeting with editors and authors. She can be found on Instagram\, Threads\, and BluSky at @askamycollins. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/webinar-the-dreaded-comp/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://writingcraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Event-Template-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250405T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250405T160000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250122T195931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250327T143117Z
UID:10000003-1743854400-1743868800@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:SEMINAR | Deep Characterization for Fiction: Uncovering Secrets\, Relationships and Your Character’s Inner Life
DESCRIPTION:Do you feel like your character isn’t fully speaking to you? Dive deep into the mindset\, psychology\, motivations\, and relationships of your characters to produce stunning results.\n\n\n\nTo truly capture a character’s voice\, motivations\, and subtext\, it’s essential to imaginatively live in their skin. Characters drive your story\, and fully inhabiting their consciousness and uncovering their hidden mysteries will infuse new life into your narrative. This seminar is a guided deep dive into both the inner and outer worlds of your characters. \n\n\n\nThrough a series of immersive exercises\, you’ll start by exploring your character’s outer world in unique ways: drawing\, mind-mapping\, and sensory charts. These activities will allow you to experience your character’s surroundings in a fresh\, impactful manner. You’ll also take a meditative journey into your character’s inner world\, exploring how their environment influences their thoughts\, reactions\, and inner dialogue. This process will help you uncover histories and relationships within your story that you may not have discovered yet. \n\n\n\nBy the end of this seminar\, you’ll feel equipped to live inside your character’s skin\, with a repeatable set of exercises and techniques to deeply understand the characters in every story you write.  \n\n\n\nThere will be a break at the halfway point of our session. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this seminar you’ll:\n\n\n\n\nENTER a flow state and imaginatively immerse yourself in your character’s world\n\n\n\nMASTER techniques for eliciting emotional depth through setting and past memories\n\n\n\nMEDITATE to explore your character’s emotions and relationships in a profound way\n\n\n\nCREATE a mind-map based on emotion and character motivations\, while avoiding forced or inauthentic plot elements\n\n\n\nDEVELOP an ongoing emotional and analytical connection with your character\, allowing them to speak to you \n\n\n\nALLOW your character to drive the narrative\, ensuring their actions remain grounded in their authentic motivations\n\n\n\nDISCOVER character objectives through non-analytical means\, so you always understand why your characters do what they do\n\n\n\nREFINE your story’s POV and voice to reflect the evolving discovery of your character\n\n\n\nUTILIZE these exercises to overcome writer’s block and reignite your inspiration\n\n\n\n\nEvery registrant will receive a manual of exercises that can be used to continually deepen their character work. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis seminar is ideal for fiction writers in all genres who:\n\n\n\n\nFeel intimidated or confused about characterization\n\n\n\nStruggle to convey their characters in a lifelike manner\n\n\n\nFeel their characters aren’t speaking to them\n\n\n\nWant to understand their characters’ motivations but aren’t sure where to start\n\n\n\nSeek to go beyond analytical character analysis and fully inhabit their character’s world\n\n\n\nStruggle to emotionally connect with their character’s inner world or bridge the gap between inner and outer worlds\n\n\n\nAre drafting or significantly revising a work-in-progress\n\n\n\n\nWho this class may not be suited for:\n\n\n\nThe class focuses on delving deeply into both the inner and outer worlds of your character for fiction writers and illustrators. Writers of memoir or narrative nonfiction will need to create their own workarounds for many of the immersive exercises\, which is possible but won’t be directly provided by the instructor. \n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBRITTA JENSEN’s novel\, Eloia Born\, won the 2019 Writer’s League of Texas YA Discovery Prize and was long-listed for the Exeter Novel Prize. Subsequent publications include a sequel\, Hirana’s War\, Ghosts of Yokosuka\, and the forthcoming Orphan Pods as well as short stories “Why Not Ophelia” in the Castle Anthology of Horror- Femme Fatales\, and “Noise in the Woods” in Mixed Bag of Tricks. Her stories explore themes of persevering through disability\, found family\, and the intersection of love and various cultures on new worlds. For the past twenty-two years she has taught creative writing and edited books. Friends often refer to her as a polyglot— a product of living twenty-two years overseas in Japan\, South Korea\, and Germany before settling in Austin\, Texas with her awesome capoerista/tailor husband. She loves coaching authors and editing books with The Writing Consultancy and Yellowbird Editors.  \n\n\n\nTestimonials from past Character Immersion Workshops for SCBWI\, Westbank Library\, The Writer’s League of Texas\, schools & TWC Workshops:\n\n\n\n“I got so much out of the Character Immersion Workshop and can’t wait to use it on more of my characters!” –Lynne Kelly\, author of Song for a Whale\, The Secret Language of Birds and Chained. \n\n\n\n“The class was so rich with ideas and wonderful exercises. Our group will be talking about some of your ideas for weeks to come\, I’m sure!”-Maureen Turner Carey\, author & librarian\, Westbank Library \n\n\n\n“I can’t express enough how much this workshop was a breakthrough for me\, but for the rest of the characters I have written since. I keep going back to the material because I had been stuck on an important character who was acting only on the surface of herself: she was showing up in the right scenes and saying the right things. When I put her through this Immersion Workshop I discovered her core motivation which will allow a more purposeful character to have much more impact those same scenes and those same lines.”-Marc Hess\, author \n\n\n\n“A breakthrough for me was better understanding my character through the POV of another. When writing from another character’s POV\, so much more was revealed that both clarified and verified things swirling around in my head\, but couldn’t yet breakthrough.”-Kellie McCants\, author and actor \n\n\n\nTHE FINE PRINT \n\n\n\nWe understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course\, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers. \n\n\n\nBefore the class\, you may request a full refund. \n\n\n\nPlease keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/seminar-deep-characterization/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Seminars
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DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250319T153132Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250327T143139Z
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SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Writing the Taboo in Memoir: Bring Your Most Vulnerable Stories to Life
DESCRIPTION:At their best\, personal narratives about “taboo” topics speak to our darkest truths and teach us what it means to be vulnerable.\n\n\n\nTopics like mental illness\, sex\, and violence are often branded “taboo” and can be some of the most difficult material to write about. But at their best\, these narratives speak to our darkest truths and teach us what it means to be vulnerable. Even the most stigmatized topics can be made approachable if you know how to pull the reader in and give your story universal resonance. No matter how difficult the subject matter\, memoirists can keep readers engaged by using craft techniques like worldbuilding\, identifying universal truths\, and exercising narrative control. \n\n\n\nThis webinar will explore the challenges and opportunities of writing honestly about taboo topics. We’ll discuss why it’s so important to give voice to unsayable truths\, and how to use craft tools to create unforgettable memoirs and essays. We’ll also address self-care strategies\, how to know when material is “too” explicit\, and how and when to exercise narrative restraint. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE why certain topics are “taboo” in personal narratives–and why you should write about them anyway.\n\n\n\nLEARN craft tools for making such stories feel resonant to readers\, including worldbuilding\, identifying universal truths\, and exercising narrative control.\n\n\n\nADDRESS the practical challenges of writing about taboo topics\, including self-care strategies\, knowing when material is “too” explicit\, and how to use narrative restraint.\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for ….\n\n\n\nA memoirist or personal essayist who is tackling topics often considered taboo or stigmatized in society. Examples of these kinds of topics include mental illness\, sex\, and violence. \n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔All registrants receive the recording. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKATIE BANNON is a writer\, editor\, and educator whose work has appeared in The Rumpus\, ELLE Magazine\, Narratively\, and more. Her memoir manuscript\, which charts her journey as a compulsive hair puller\, was a finalist for the Permafrost Nonfiction Book Prize. A graduate of GrubStreet’s Memoir Incubator\, she holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Emerson College. She is a developmental editor who loves working with memoirists and essayists on how to write and revise their most vulnerable\, taboo stories. She teaches at GrubStreet and lives in Central Massachusetts with her partner and two cats. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/writing-the-taboo/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250308T160000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250122T200257Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250217T155842Z
UID:10000004-1741446000-1741449600@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:Angle of Vision: Reflection and Retrospection\, Time and Tense
DESCRIPTION:Writers of nonfiction prose rarely consider tense\, but it is essential to orienting a reader. Writing about our own experiences\, crafting through verb tense\, allows retrospection—consideration of the past from the vantage point of the present. \n\n\n\nRetrospection is a powerful form of meaning-making: it allows us to consider what happened through the lens of subsequent experience\, adding a layer of significance to memory and allowing writers to recognize and reflect on what’s changed and why it matters. To powerfully use this voice\, writers must make thoughtful choices when choosing tense. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWe’ll examine and discover how tense functions; consider the oft-repeated advice that present tense is more vivid and immediate; and analyze how mastering tense allows seasoned writers engage in retrospection and reflection. \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXAMINE the ways one can use tense to enable retrospection and reflection\n\n\n\nANALYZE past and present tense\, to understand how each functions discretely and how they can work together\n\n\n\nLEARN to use tense in your own writing\, to create an angle of vision that draws meaning from memory and experience\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers of memoir and personal essay who want to better understand how to write from their own memories and experiences.\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available ✔All registrants receive the recording ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYOUR PRESENTER\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMichael Copperman’s  prose has appeared in The Oxford-American\, Guernica\, The Sun\, Creative Nonfiction\, Boston Review\, Salon\, Gulf Coast\, Triquarterly\, Kenyon Review and Copper Nickel\, among many others\, and has won awards and garnered fellowships from the Munster Literature Center\, Breadloaf Writers Conference\, Oregon Literary Arts\, and the Oregon Arts Commission. His memoir TEACHER: Two Years in the Mississippi Delta (University Press of Mississippi 2017)\, about the rural black public schools of the Mississippi Delta\, was a finalist for the 2018 Oregon Book Award in CNF. His work is represented by David Dunton of Harvey Klinger. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/angle-of-vision-reflection-and-retrospection-time-and-tense/
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250301T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250301T150000
DTSTAMP:20260507T115551
CREATED:20250128T191148Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250217T161634Z
UID:10000002-1740832200-1740841200@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:The Secrets to Finding the Right Path to Publication for Your Book
DESCRIPTION:This is your year to focus on your publishing goals! Make meaningful strides toward achieving them in this two-day intensive\, tailored for writers aiming to publish traditionally with Big Five\, literary\, or university presses.\n\n\n\nThis two-day event includes focused teaching sessions\, plus industry guests discussing the publishing landscape and taking your questions. Your host Peter Mountford will teach the dos and don’ts of writing query letters\, with a focus on how they differ by genre\, covering common publishing pitfalls and clarifying important questions\, such as the necessity of having a platform\, what that truly means\, and much more! \n\n\n\nIn addition to these key lessons\, Literary Agent Anjali Singh\, Tin House Editorial Director Masie Cochran and FSG Executive Editor Jenna Johnson will join us to share the topics currently on publishers’ minds. Our time also includes networking\, pitch practice\, and a rich resource packet to spark–and sustain–your publishing journey.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGuests Include:\n\n\n\n\nAnjali Singh – Founder of her own literary agency (est. 2024) and former agent at Ayesha Pande Literary\, Anjali represents literary fiction\, memoir\, narrative nonfiction\, and graphic novels.\n\n\n\nMasie Cochran – Editorial Director and Interim Publisher at Tin House Books\, where she has edited numerous award-winning and bestselling works since joining in 2011.\n\n\n\nJenna Johnson – Executive Editor at Farrar\, Straus and Giroux\, working across fiction and nonfiction with a focus on cultural history and overlooked stories from around the world.\n\n\n\n\nOn day two\, you’ll be able to join early and participate in breakout rooms to practice your pitch with fellow writers. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDuring this intensive\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nLearn to write an effective query letter: Understand the structure\, tone\, and content of a compelling query tailored to your genre.\n\n\n\nDevelop a targeted list of publishers to pursue: Identify the right publishers for your work based on genre\, style\, and market fit.\n\n\n\nDiscsover essential resources for finding the right agent: Gain insights into the agent search process and learn to find agents who align with your goals.\n\n\n\nEngage in meaningful discussions with industry professionals who will share their insights and address your specific questions.\n\n\n\nRefine and Practice your elevator pitch: Participate in breakout sessions designed to help you craft and polish a succinct\, impactful pitch (sometimes called a “jacket copy“) that showcases your book.\n\n\n\n\nAll participants will receive the slides and an extensive resource packet to support their publishing journey. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis intensive is best for writers who:\n\n\n\n\nWant to cut through the noise to work efficiently toward their publishing goals\n\n\n\nHave little to intermediate knowledge of the publishing industry and are looking for more practical guidance on navigating the submission process\n\n\n\nAre considering seeking an agent and/or publisher for their book\n\n\n\nDesire a clearer understanding of the publishing landscape\, including current trends and expectations from publishers\n\n\n\nAre weighing whether traditional publishing is the right path for them\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available (except for breakout rooms). ✔Think you might miss part of the intensive? No worries\, a replay will be available. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR Host\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPeter Mountford is a popular writing coach and teacher with twenty years of experience. The author of the novels A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism (Washington State Book Award)\, and The Dismal Science (NYT editor’s choice)\, as well as the forthcoming collection of short stories\, Detonator. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in the New York Times (Modern Love)\, Paris Review\, Ploughshares\, The Atlantic\, Guernica\, The Sun\, Granta\, and Missouri Review He lives in Seattle\, and teaches at the University of Nevada\, Reno at Lake Tahoe’s MFA. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Fine Print\n\n\n\nWe understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course\, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers. \n\n\n\nBefore the class\, you may request a refund (less a $25 processing fee). \n\n\n\nPlease keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins. \n\n\n\nQuestions? Please email Info@craft-talks.com \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFeatured Guests\n\n\n\n\nMaise Cochran is Editorial Director (and Interm Publisher) of Tin House Books\, where she has worked since 2011. Before coming to Tin House\, she worked at InkWell Management Literary Agency in New York\, NY. She has edited many award-winning and bestselling titles\, including the intricately plotted novels of Claire Fuller; an Obama Best Book of the Year pick (Cory Taylor’s Dying: A Memoir); E. J. Koh’s family saga The Magical Language of Others; Annie Hartnett’s darkly funny Rabbit Cake. \n\n\n\n\n\nJenna Johnson is an Executive Editor at Farrar\, Straus and Giroux working in both fiction and nonfiction\, with particular interest in overlooked stories from around the world\, religion\, cultural history and biography\, natural history and ecology\, and food. Among her titles are Samantha Hunt’s “The Dark Dark” and “Mr. Splitfoot\,” National Book Award Finalist “The Turner House” by Angela Flournoy\, national bestseller and NBF 5 Under 35 honoree “We the Animals” by Justin Torres\, Booker shortlisted “Pigeon English” by Stephen Kelman\, Man Asian Prize Winner “Three Sisters” by Bi Feiyu\, National Jewish Book Award winner “The Lion Seeker” by Kenneth Bonert\, and James Beard Winner “Save the Deli” by David Sax. Before FSG\, she worked at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and in advertising and public relations. She holds a B.A. in History from Columbia and an M.A. in Religious Studies from NYU. \n\n\n\n\n\nAnjali Singh founded her agency in 2024. Most recently\, she was an agent at Ayesha Pande Literary for nine years; she has also worked as an editor at Vintage Books\, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt\, Simon + Schuster and as Editorial Director of Other Press. She is best known for having championed Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis after stumbling across it on a visit to Paris. She has always been drawn to the thrill of discovering new writers and among the literary novelists whose careers she helped launch are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie\, Samantha Hunt\, Saleem Haddad and Nawaaz Ahmed. She focuses on literary fiction\, memoir\, and narrative nonfiction as well as representing graphic novel writers and illustrators across all age ranges. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegistration Info\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvent Organizer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/publishing-intensive-the-secrets-to-finding-the-right-path-to-publication-for-your-book/
CATEGORIES:Intensives
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