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DTSTAMP:20260814T155427Z
CREATED:20260724T160435Z
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UID:10000140-1785542400-1788220799@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:August REPLAY | 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\nREPLAY INCLUDES: VIDEO\, CHAT\, HANDOUT\, AND TRANSCRIPT \n\n\n\nFor All 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\n\n\n\n\nThe live event happened in May 2025.ABOUT 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\nQuestions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com \n\n\n\nBecause the replay is delivered instantly upon purchase\, all sales are final. \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-2/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260805T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260805T163000
DTSTAMP:20260730T144018Z
CREATED:20260707T153643Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260730T144018Z
UID:10000135-1785942000-1785947400@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Worth 1000 Words: Writing the Image+Text Essay
DESCRIPTION:Sometimes words aren’t enough. Discover how photos\, documents\, original artwork\, and other visual elements can deepen\, complicate\, and illuminate your creative nonfiction.\n\n\n\nFor creative nonfiction\, including hybrid & experimentalIncluded in the Season Pass \n\n\n\nFrom family photos\, maps\, and diagrams to drawings\, erasures\, and collages\, authors\, artists\, and publishers are finding new ways to present mixed media texts that combine words and visual elements. Whether you’ve already started using images or are curious about how images could enrich your writing process and practice\, this webinar is for you. \n\n\n\nFrom brainstorming and generating to the printed page\, images can add depth and nuance to your writing practice and finished drafts. We’ll look at striking examples of hybrid and mixed media essays\, and talk through not only the whys but also the hows—including technical and conceptual considerations (‘Do I need Photoshop?’ ‘What does ‘print ready’ mean?’ ‘Does it count as Fair Use if I only use a piece of someone else’s work?’ You’ll leave with inspiration and actionable ideas for your own visual + text essays. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nLEARN different uses for images in both brainstorming and writing essays\n\n\n\nGET an overview of practical considerations\, such as hardware and software\, publication readiness\, and permissions for images that aren’t your own\n\n\n\nBE INSPIRED by image+text prompts and a roundup of resources\n\n\n\nDISCOVER image + text work from a great reading list\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers at any level who… \n\n\n\n\nwant to explore hybrid writing\, collage\, or experimental essays\n\n\n\nenjoy hands-on brainstorming techniques (collage is great for that!)\n\n\n\nare already experimenting with images and want to learn how to get them published\n\n\n\nhave a visual art practice or passion they want to combine with their 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\nKnown for packing her webinars with deep knowledge\, actionable information\, and fun facts\, Chelsea Biondolillo is a collage artist and the author of The Skinned Bird: Essays and two prose chapbooks\, Ologies and #Lovesong.  \n\n\n\nHer essays have been collected in Best American Science and Nature Writing 2016\, The Lyric Essay as Resistance\, How We Talk to One Another: An Essay Daily Reader and is forthcoming in The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing the Lyric Essay.  \n\n\n\nChelsea’s paper and mixed media collages have been shown in Oregon\, Washington\, and New York. Her image and text essay\, “Weeds” was the winner of CRAFT Literary’s inaugural hybrid writing contest. She has a BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and an MFA from the University of Wyoming. She currently lives in Eugene\, Oregon. \n\n\n\nREFUNDS (less a $10 processing fee) 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\nThere are no refunds after the replay is sent.Questions? 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/worth-1000-words/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260812T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260812T163000
DTSTAMP:20260806T161037Z
CREATED:20260717T011254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260806T161037Z
UID:10000136-1786546800-1786552200@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Writing That Breaks the Rules: 10 Craft “Laws” You Can Defy
DESCRIPTION:Every genre has its sacred rules. Learn what they actually protect — so you can break them with confidence.\n\n\n\nFor writers at all stages\, in all genresIncluded in the Season Pass \n\n\n\nEvery writer collects a list of commandments. Show\, don’t tell. Don’t start a scene with dialogue. One point-of-view per scene. Search and destroy all adverbs. Memoir must be told in the first person. These rules are repeated in workshops and webinars until we think they’re all true\, all the time\, but most of them are shorthand for a much more useful question: Am I making the best craft choices for readers to experience these words as I intend? \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, Allison K Williams (author of Seven Drafts and editor of NYT bestselling memoirs and novels) debunks the “rules” writers hear most often in workshops\, craft classes\, and query guidance and unpacks the real craft principle underneath each one. You’ll learn which rules are structural (break them\, and the story stops working) and which are stylistic conventions (break them deliberately\, and readers barely notice—or love you for it). We’ll use examples from published books that defy every dictum on this list and succeed anyway\, plus a clear-eyed look at when breaking a rule reads as “bold choice” versus “rookie mistake.” \n\n\n\nYou’ll leave knowing exactly which rules support the writing  you want to do—and which ones were never really rules at all. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nIDENTIFY the difference between structural craft principles and stylistic conventions\n\n\n\nLEARN why POV discipline\, tense consistency\, and dialogue-opening “rules” exist—and what actually breaks when you ignore them\n\n\n\nEXAMINE notable published novels\, essays and memoirs that violate these rules on purpose\, and why they work\n\n\n\nWALK AWAY with a framework for deciding\, scene by scene\, when a “rule” is serving your story and when it’s safe to ignore—or gleefully defy\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers at any level who… \n\n\n\n\nkeep getting the same craft note in workshop and want to understand why\, not just fix it\n\n\n\nhave gotten craft feedback that doesn’t resonate or feels just plain wrong\n\n\n\nare drafting memoir\, YA\, or genre fiction and want to know which conventions their category actually enforces (and what to do if you’re not going to play along)\n\n\n\nhave a bold structural choice in mind and want to pressure-test it before committing\n\n\n\nare tired of contradictory advice and want one clear-eyed pass through the “rules” that matter\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\nSharp\, funny\, and genuinely useful from the first five minutes\, Allison K Williams is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from First Draft to Book Deal and Managing Editor of the Brevity Blog. She teaches memoir and novel craft through Rebirth Your Writing\, leads retreats from Maine to Morocco to the middle of the Atlantic\, and has a well-earned reputation for advice that improves your pages the same day you hear it.  \n\n\n\nAllison holds an MFA from Western Michigan University\, and her own work has appeared in The New York Times\, McSweeney’s\, and Brevity (the magazine) as well as on NPR\, The Moth\, Snap Judgement\, and CBC-Canada. She is the co-producer of CRAFT TALKS and founder of The Writers Bridge. \n\n\n\nREFUNDS (less a $10 processing fee) 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\nThere are no refunds after the replay is sent.Questions? 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/writing-that-breaks-the-rules/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260819T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260819T163000
DTSTAMP:20260812T155705Z
CREATED:20260717T012659Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260812T155705Z
UID:10000137-1787151600-1787157000@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Your Words\, Your Readers: Building a Substack That Lasts
DESCRIPTION:What separates a thriving newsletter from one that fizzles out after three posts? A best-selling Substack founder has answers you can use.\n\n\n\nFor publicity/platform-buildingIncluded in the Season Pass \n\n\n\nIn recent years\, many writers have turned to Substack and other newsletter platforms as a way to explore niche interests\, publish creative work\, and bypass gatekeepers to connect directly with readers. Newsletters in all formats can help writers grow an audience\, gain craft confidence\, and build a publicity platform to support publishing their books\, public speaking\, and teaching careers.  \n\n\n\nIn this session\, we will start from the beginning and look at how to create a newsletter for anyone eager to begin. We’ll address important and often-overlooked areas like the Substack name\, About section\, and style. We’ll also look at common questions: How often should you post? How long should your posts be? What should you write about (and what if you change your mind)? How do you sustain momentum beyond the first few months? Finally\, we’ll discuss how to gain readers and continue growing your audience over time. \n\n\n\nNote: While this webinar will include technical elements specific to Substack\, the underlying principles of newsletter set-up\, frequency\, audience awareness\, and platform growth will apply to any newsletter or email-sending platform. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nLEARN HOW to start a Substack and what pitfalls to avoid\n\n\n\nUNDERSTAND best strategies for maintaining a newsletter over the long haul\n\n\n\nSTRATEGIZE how to grow readership and build a platform\n\n\n\nGET INSPIRED to launch a Substack and connect directly with readers\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers who… \n\n\n\n\nhave a Substack (or other type of newsletter) but feel stagnant\n\n\n\nwant to learn whether or not to launch a newsletter (and are curious about pros and cons)\n\n\n\nare excited about their newsletter and want to keep growing it\n\n\n\nare overwhelmed by the prospect of a newsletter and want to see if it’s the right fit for their own platform\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\nA down-to-earth\, practical\, and encouraging teacher\, Becky Tuch is the founder of Lit Mag News\, a bestselling Substack dedicated to demystifying the world of literary magazines. Lit Mag News has over 17\,000 subscribers and has been listed in Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Websites for Writers. The leading expert in understanding\, assessing\, and submitting to literary magazines\, Becky is noted for her generous sharing of knowledge and accessible\, honest information for writers at all stages of their publication process.  \n\n\n\nBecky’s short fiction has been honored with a MacDowell fellowship and first place in Moment Magazine’s Karma Foundation Fiction Prize and has appeared or is forthcoming in STORY Magazine\, Chicago Quarterly Review\, Gulf Coast\, Best of the Net\, and elsewhere. She has taught newsletter writing and fiction writing to kids\, teens\, and adults throughout the country. She lives with her family in Philadelphia\, PA. \n\n\n\nREFUNDS (less a $10 processing fee) 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\nThere are no refunds after the replay is sent.Questions? 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/your-words-your-readers/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260825T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260825T140000
DTSTAMP:20260819T174922Z
CREATED:20260813T214023Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T174922Z
UID:10000146-1787662800-1787666400@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:The Writers Bridge | Build an Author Marketing Plan that Works for You with Rachel Thompson
DESCRIPTION:Do you need to be everything\, everywhere\, all at once\, to market your book? \n\n\n\nNo. You need a plan that fits your book\, your readers\, your budget\, your time\, and your tolerance for social media nonsense. \n\n\n\nMost authors don’t fail at marketing because they didn’t try hard enough—they fail because they tried to do everything at once\, on every platform\, without knowing how to assess what’s working. Rachel Thompson of BadRedhead Media has spent more than 17 years helping authors build marketing plans that don’t rely on gimmicks\, magic formulas\, or dancing on TikTok. \n\n\n\nLearn what to figure out before you start marketing at all: who your readers actually are\, what realistic goals look like\, and how to choose activities that match your time and budget. We’ll dig into DIY-versus-hire-a-pro—what’s worth learning yourself and what’s worth paying someone else to handle?—and how to tell whether your marketing is moving the needle. Rachel’s also an expert on why and how to build Substack into your author platform. \n\n\n\nBring your questions and your book marketing frustrations. Rachel’s heard them all—and probably lived most of them. \n\n\n\nJoin us TUESDAY AUGUST 25 at 1PM EASTERN / 10AM PACIFIC – live and FREE on Zoom\, all welcome! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOur special guest \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRachel Thompson is the founder of BadRedhead Media\, LLC (est. 2011)\, where she creates customized social media\, book marketing\, branding\, Substack\, and visibility campaigns for authors. Drawing on more than 17 years of sales\, marketing\, and training experience\, Rachel helps writers build their platforms\, connect with readers\, and promote their work without gimmicks. \n\n\n\nRachel’s books include Broken Pieces\, Broken Places\, Broken People\, The BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge\, BadRedhead Media’s How to Best Optimize Blog Posts for SEO\, a branding guide\, and two humor books. Her books have earned multiple awards and reached No. 1 on several Amazon lists—which she readily admits is much more exciting than cleaning the litter box. \n\n\n\nRachel shares practical marketing guidance with more than 14\,000 followers on Substack\, where she writes weekly about book marketing\, social media\, building your Substack/newsletter\, publishing\, and the realities of building an author platform. \n\n\n\nJoin your hosts Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS)\, Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and our special guest for a practical\, no-nonsense hour on marketing your book without losing your mind. \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\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\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocation
URL:https://writingcraft.com/event/the-writers-bridge-author-marketing/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Writers Bridge
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://writingcraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/TWB-logo-2023-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260826T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260826T161500
DTSTAMP:20260819T221956Z
CREATED:20260721T144532Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T221956Z
UID:10000142-1787756400-1787760900@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:WEBINAR | Mastering Braided Memoirs: How to Structure Multiple Dramatic Threads
DESCRIPTION:Learn the craft techniques that transform separate threads into a rich\, seamless narrative that surprises\, moves\, and resonates with readers. \n\n\n\nFor memoir and nonfictionIncluded in the Season Pass \n\n\n\nThe braided memoir has become one of the most exciting and sought-after forms in contemporary nonfiction—but weaving multiple narrative threads into a compelling whole requires far more than alternating between story lines. How can you transform fragments\, obsessions\, research\, memory\, and reflection into a unified work that delivers both emotional impact and a high level of reader engagement? \n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, we explore the hidden architecture that makes braided memoirs resonate. Learn how to choose strands that deepen one another\, create momentum across timelines\, withhold and reveal information strategically\, and build a deeply satisfying narrative arc from seemingly disparate materials.  \n\n\n\nWhether you’re simply curious about the form\, beginning a braided essay or book-length project\, or struggling to master the form\, you’ll leave with new tools for creating a memoir with confidence and purpose\, whose threads are stronger together than apart. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this webinar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nIDENTIFY the three powerful reasons to use this exciting—but tricky—form\n\n\n\nSELECT themes that connect multiple narrative strands\n\n\n\nLEARN to MAP the movement between each narrative beat\n\n\n\nEXPLORE the braider’s triple threat: repetition\, juxtaposition\, and variation\n\n\n\nAVOID common pitfalls\n\n\n\nDISCOVER revision techniques that strengthen connections between strands\n\n\n\n\nThis webinar is ideal for writers who… \n\n\n\n\nare new memoirists needing a flexible\, accessible way to begin\n\n\n\nwant to deepen their structural and thematic control of memoir \n\n\n\nfeel ready to break out of linear storytelling and try something more dynamic \n\n\n\nare struggling to connect disparate memories\, themes\, or materials into a cohesive narrative\n\n\n\nwant to strengthen structure\, control\, and impact in their memoir\n\n\n\nseek to weave personal experience with research\, reflection\, or cultural context\n\n\n\nwant to turn vivid fragments into a finished essay or book\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\nDr. Heather Sellers has been teaching for over thirty years\, and she doesn’t teach like anyone else. Her classes are innovative and groundbreaking\, and students describe them as fun\, lively\, and warm—the kind of workshop where you laugh out loud and walk away having learned an enormous amount.  \n\n\n\nShe is the author of You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know\, a popular memoir about family and face blindness. An Oprah Book-of-the-Month Club selection and Editor’s Choice at the New York Times Book Review\, the award-winning book was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered\, Dick Gordon’s The Story\, Dateline\, The Today Show\, and Good Morning America with George Stephanopoulos. Her essays appear in The New York Times\, The Sun\, Reader’s Digest\, Good Housekeeping\, The Best American Essays\, and numerous journals and anthologies. She is the author of four books on the craft of writing\, including The Practice of Creative Writing. \n\n\n\nHer fifth collection of poetry\, Women in Tampa Talking About Alligators\, is just out from Lynx House Press. Currently\, she is a member of the MFA faculty at the University of South Florida\, where she won the university’s highest teaching award. She also offers in-person workshops and private lessons for writers at all levels. \n\n\n\nREFUNDS (less a $10 processing fee) 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\nThere are no refunds after the replay is sent.Questions? 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/mastering-braided-memoirs/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260829T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260829T160000
DTSTAMP:20260820T161538Z
CREATED:20260720T131515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T161538Z
UID:10000138-1788008400-1788019200@writingcraft.com
SUMMARY:SEMINAR | Beyond the Frame: How Surrealist Imagery Can Unblock Your Writing
DESCRIPTION:When words fail\, images can unlock secrets. Surprise the stuck places in your manuscript by looking at them anew. \n\n\n\nFor All Writers \n\n\n\nSometimes the most effective way through a writing challenge is without words.  \n\n\n\nIn both writing and visual art\, what’s beyond the page or the frame often holds the key. Finding that hidden context can help a lifeless scene find its heartbeat. Images\, photographs\, illustrations\, even collages\, can help us see our stories differently. Surrealist imagery is particularly effective because it’s already characterized by the juxtaposition of unexpected elements. \n\n\n\nWe’ll begin with quick-start generative prompts to help you identify an area in your writing to focus on during our time together. Then\, we’ll look at traditional images and use them to help unlock a challenging place in your manuscript. Finally\, we’ll progress to surrealist photographs\, paintings\, and collages to see your own work and themes through fresh lenses.  \n\n\n\nWe’ll also discuss ways the qualities of surrealism can inform our writing\, regardless of genre\, and practice using “prepositional questions” to explore what’s beyond\, above\, below\, underneath\, inside\, before\, and after your scene to view your stuck place with curiosity and allow for unexpected connections. \n\n\n\nIf you’re currently struggling with an aspect of a work-in-progress\, feel free to bring that\, but it’s not required to benefit from the tools and techniques of the seminar. After the class\, you’ll receive the seminar recording and the slide deck with all the images and prompts used during our time together. \n\n\n\nAll levels and all genres are welcome. Please be prepared to write. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this interactive three-hour live seminar\, you will:\n\n\n\n\nEXPLORE how visual imagery can deepen your writing\n\n\n\nLEARN key tenets of surrealism and apply them to a writing challenge\n\n\n\nGENERATE new portals into an existing piece of writing\n\n\n\nLEARN HOW unexpected visual arrangements open a door to the unconscious\n\n\n\nUSE key prepositional questions to view your writing differently\n\n\n\nSURPRISE yourself by finding hidden connections in your work\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis course is ideal for writers who…\n\n\n\n\ncurious about new ways to deepen their writing\n\n\n\ninterested in the connection between visual and literary arts\n\n\n\nstruggling with a difficult part of their manuscript\n\n\n\nwho are open to unconventional portals to the imagination\n\n\n\n\nClosed captioning is available. ✔Think you might miss class? No worries\, replays will be available 3 business days after the event. ✔ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT YOUR Instructor\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFunny\, kind\, and direct\, Laraine Herring is a popular CRAFT TALKS presenter and one of our strongest voices on deeply personal writing that powerfully connects with readers. \n\n\n\nLaraine’s memoir\, A Constellation of Ghosts: A Speculative Memoir with Ravens\, was released in 2021 from Regal House. 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\, Lariane has worked with writers for thirty years.  \n\n\n\nShe’s also an illustrator and a grief counselor and the creator of The Grief Forest: a book about what we don’t talk about. She 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. Laraine’s work has appeared in The New York Times\, Tiferet\, The Rumpus\, The Manifest-Station\, and many more. 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\nStudent Testimonials \n\n\n\n“Laraine helped my book tell me what it wants to be and challenged me to do the work to get it there. I am grateful for her intuitive\, empathic\, supportive approach\, and for her enthusiasm when I arrived at the realizations she was hoping I’d get to as I did that work. Laraine’s skills are many\, and she is fantastic to work with. She is dedicated\, direct\, detailed\, dependable\, and delightful.” \n\n\n\n— Meg Weber\, author of A Year of Mr. Lucky (Sincyr Publishing) \n\n\n\n“Through Laraine’s authentic nature and ability to listen\, I learned that writing is as much an act of bravery and strength as it is about being gentle and flexible. I can’t wait to be one of her students again!” \n\n\n\n— Naomi Kaplan \n\n\n\n“Without a doubt\, Laraine is the most generous\, inspirational and challenging writing instructor I have ever met. Using provocative writing exercises\, she guided me through creative discovery\, helping reveal ideas and truths I had previously locked away. She challenged me to delve deeper into my story\, even if it meant going into the dark hidden corners.” \n\n\n\n— Janine Weyers \n\n\n\n“Laraine opened doors inside my mind and created space for me to come into relationship with my writing in a refreshing way that was all my own. I had more than one breakthrough working with her. With ease and honesty\, she created an authentic\, interesting and inviting space to grow.” \n\n\n\n— Grace Welker \n\n\n\n“Laraine encourages students to dig deep. She provides original\, interesting exercises designed to pull past the first obvious idea and find the more compelling material underneath. She is as invested in students’ work as the students themselves.” \n\n\n\n— Janet Burruel \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 $10.00 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@writingcraft.com \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/beyond-the-frame/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Seminars
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