Join me on Saturday, January 28 (12:30 NDT) for a virtual 1.5 hour workshop on dialogue. By parsing examples from literature, this workshop will go beyond the fundamentals to explore how dialogue can multi-task: convey speech, advance plot, reveal character, add atmosphere, and enhance setting. We’ll also consider the philosophy of quotation marks, body language, action, subtext, and how to revise a long passage of direct dialogue.

Space is limited so sign up early here. Tickets are $17.

This interactive three-hour workshop functions like a biology lab. Together, we will dissect a piece of short fiction from the New Yorker, first by listening to the author read the story, and then by taking it apart piece by piece to examine the various aspects of craft. Specifically we will discuss: point-of-view, psychic distance, plot, structure, prose, and dialogue. This workshop will be primarily conversational, almost like a book club. This an in-person event and will be held at The Lantern (35 Barnes Road) in St. John’s. Attendance is capped at 30 and participants must register here. Deadline to register: January 4, 2023 @ 5 p.m. NST. Selected participants will be contacted by: January 9, 2023 @ 5 p.m. NST. 

As part of my time as Memorial University’s Writer in Residence, I’m hosting a small group session for writers of colour living in Newfoundland and Labrador. This session is not a workshop but rather an informal conversation. Subjects discussed will be determined by the participants’ interests and curiosities so bring your warm drink and burning questions. Does my novel need a glossary? Can I write in dialect? Should non-English words be italicized? How is marketing different for writers of colour? Is it true we get paid less? What’s a diversity panel? These are some of the topics we could cover but this conversation belongs to the participants. My role is to answer questions and facilitate open conversation, not teach, so we will follow your noses. If you are a writer of colour (or a person of colour who is curious about writing) and living in NL, this session is for you. Registration is open.

This workshop will explore dialogue in its three forms - summary, indirect, and direct - by reading and discussing examples of each. We will see how dialogue can multi-task, be used not just to convey speech but also advance plot, reveal character, add atmosphere, and enhance setting. We’ll also explore the philosophy of quotation marks, consider body language, action, and subtext, concluding with a tip sheet. Registration is open.

This workshop will explore dialogue in its three forms - summary, indirect, and direct - by reading and discussing examples of each. We will see how dialogue can multi-task, be used not just to convey speech but also advance plot, reveal character, add atmosphere, and enhance setting. We’ll also explore the philosophy of quotation marks, consider body language, action, and subtext, concluding with a tip sheet. Registration is open.

I’m hosting a webinar led by author Lauren Carter. This online event is part of a series put on by The Writers’ Union of Canada. Note the times listed are NDT. Here’s the elevator pitch: Writing, rewriting, revising, editing — how do you know when you’re done? Join award-winning writer and writing teacher Lauren Carter for a discussion about what being finished with your writing project might look like. Sharing her own process, Lauren will cover stages of finishing, appropriate appraisal of the work (by yourself and by others), revision, editing, and — finally — submission. The focus will be on long and short prose, including novels, memoirs and other creative nonfiction, short fiction, and essays. Hosted by bestselling novelist Sharon Bala, this webinar runs 60 minutes and includes a Q&A period. Free for TWUC members, $10 for everyone else. Registration is open.

To celebrate Morgan Murray’s debut novel Dirty Birds (which was long-listed for Canada Reads 2021) the Port Authority Writing Group is having a reunion. Moderated by acclaimed prizewinning author Lisa Moore, join Morgan Murray, Melissa Barbeau, Sharon Bala, Susan Sinnott, and Jamie Fitzpatrick for this fun event as these wonderful authors chat and reminisce about their writing past and look to the future. This event is hosted by the AC Hunter Public Library and Breakwater Books and will be streamed on Facebook. Email: reference@nlpl.ca to register.

This workshop is like a biology lab. Together, we will dissect an audio story, first by listening, then by slicing it down the centre, and taking it apart piece by piece, searching for the structure that underpins the narrative. We will discuss the Aristotelian arc, the three-act structure, the three types of stakes, foreshadowing, framing, and turning points. Registration is open.

In the domain of fiction, character is king. Long after we’ve forgotten plot twists, the particulars of setting, and even the narrative style, of our favourite books, it is the characters we remember. In this workshop we will investigate the difference between what Forster called flat and rounded characters, talk about arcs and epiphanies, and learn how to create imaginary humans who feel true enough to be real. Registration is open.