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Occasional Newsletter / #1 / January 2021
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Welcome to my new newsletter.
I hope this will provide support for your work,
insights into the craft of writing, opportunities to enhance your skills,
and information about who is publishing what, where and how.
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In celebration of this first issue, everyone whose name was on the initial subscription list has been entered in a draw to win either:
- One workshop for your writers' group (Max. 8 participants) on a subject chosen from the list on this page (Value $250), or
- An in-depth critique of up to 10 pages of fiction or memoir. (Value $55), or
- A handful of writing-related books, with a few of mine thrown in. (Priceless!)
No need to contact me or apply. Everyone on the initital mailing list is eligible, and I will contact the winners in early February.
If this was forwarded to you by someone else, and you'd like to be included on the mailing list for subsequent issues, you can subscribe here.
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The more you write, the easier it gets.
The more you write, the better it gets.
(That's me talking!)
But unless you're in the middle of a project or piece of work that's totally involving, you may sometimes want to write but not be able to think of anything to write about.
I am now posting a prompt a day on the StartWrite page of my website here.
Do check it out and give it a shot from time to time. The page also includes tips on how to approach writing from prompts, and what to do with the work that results.
Today's Prompt: Write about a first time -
bike ride, plane trip, kiss, day of work or schoo, when you lost someone important to you...
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For readers, writers, parents, teachers, librarians... book lovers
I Read Canadian - This day dedicated to reading Canadian empowers families, schools, libraries and organizations to host local activities and events within the week. February 17, 2021.
World Read Aloud Day, sponsored by LitWorld. "A celebration of the power of reading aloud to create community, to amplify new stories, and to advocate for literacy as a foundational human right." Readers, writers, teachers, librarians read to seniors, adutls, children - all online this year. February 3, 2021
Check your local library, book store or writer's organization
to learn what's planned for your community.
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2020 was a strange year, necessitating moving workshops and presentations from the classroom to online. A steep learning curve for some of us.
But for many writers, it presented more opportunities for learning, and less barriers - as there's no need to travel or to schedule travel time. Any many students have told me that they have experienced increased connection to their fellow students, rather than less.
In the winter I will be teaching Writing From Life through Vancouver Island's Elder College, and offering Travel Writing there in the spring (I do see the irony of this!), both through Zoom. Much as I'd love to be back in the classroom later this year, I doubt that is going to happen.
Although I am not teaching for EC in the fall, I will be scheduling a couple of workshop/events of my own, with information to follow in the spring newsletter. One possibility is a day-long Zoom Write at Home event, a mix of presentations, discussion break-out groups, and in-session writing sprints.
Check out my website or Facebook page for updates and announcements.
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Many organizations offer writing-related workshops and presentations, some of which are open to non-members. Check out UVIC's Continuing Studies Program, VIU's Elder College, The BC Federation of BC Writers, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Editors, or your local writer's union or federation website.
Contact me to recommend courses and workshops coming up this spring.
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For those writers who don't want to dig too deeply into the elements of craft, but find a few tips helpful in guiding their work, I am producing a series of free Tip Sheets to download from the Help for Writers page of my website.
The first one deals with that slippery topic of Show vs Tell. Others planned for the series include: Point of View, Pacing, Editing & Revisions, Dialogue, Constructive Critiquing, Voice and Research Strategies.
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And speaking of Show and Tell...
Filter Words
This is a term I was introduced to only recently.
Filter words such as 'saw', 'felt' and 'heard' often create an extra layer between your subject/character, their experience and the reader. When they occur in your manuscript, they may reveal spots where you've moved out of your character's POV experience or where you are 'telling rather than showing'.
A quick way to find where they occur in your work? Use the Search function of your word processor, then type in any one of noticed, seemed, spotted, saw, realized, felt, thought, wondered, believed, knew, decided... to identify filter words, and determine if you need to rephrase and reframe the wording in order to engage the reader more fully.
Check this very useful article by Louise Hamby for more information and advice.
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Top Picks: Writing-Related books
- How Fiction Works by James Wood
- Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft by Janet Burroway
- Sin and Syntax: How to Write Wickedly Effective Prose
by Constance Hale
- If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Indepenence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland.
- The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life by Twyla Tharp
For the love of a good read: A purely random list of favourites
- Samantha on a Roll by Linda Asham (picturebook)
- The Skellig by David Almond (midgrade novel)
- The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin (adult fiction)
- The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (adult fiction)
- London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd (non fiction)
Thanks for Reading. See you next time.
Meanwhile, you can reach me with your comments, questions
and suggestions at loispeterson@hotmail.com.
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