Join us for Four FREE Workshops throughout April at the Brainerd Public Library
Register by calling 218-829-5574. Class sizes are limited.
Download Flyer writers workshops April 2016 Library
Class Title: Peeling Away the Layers to Discover the Truth of your Character
Thursday, April 7, 2016 5:30-7:30
Instructor: Candace Simar
Class Description: Peeling Away the Layers to Discover the Truth of Your Character: What strange alchemy makes a reader identify with your fictional character? Why don’t readers love your character as much as you do? This class will help you learn ways to make your characters live and breathe on the page. No matter where you are on the writing journey, your writing will improve by creating more dynamic characters. Bring a notebook and pen. This informal class includes both instruction and sharing
Bio: Candace Simar has written Abercrombie Trail (2009), Pomme de Terre (2010), Birdie (2011), Blooming Prairie (2012), and Shelterbelts (2015). In 2013 she co-authored Farm Girls with Angela Foster. Birdie received the 2012 Spur Award and Blooming Prairie was a 2013 Spur finalist. Candace lives in Pequot Lakes. www.CandaceSimar.com
Class Title: Skype presentation,How to Write a Query Letter with Bonus personal feedback on your Query Letter (limited to first 25 registrations)
Monday, April 11, 6:00-7:00 p.m. Plus individual feedback to 25 writers.
Instructor: Laura Zats
Class Description: Join Laura Zats of Red Sofa Literary for an informal conversation about querying your book. She will cover tips, tricks, and best practices for catching an agent or editor’s attention. After the conversation, which will include ample time for Q&A, Laura will provide personal feedback on your query letter within two weeks of the class that will help you sell your story.
BIO: Laura Zats is an Associate Agent with Red Sofa Literary where she represents middle grade and young adult literature, science fiction and fantasy, and romance and erotica. She’s been working as an editor since 2011 and has held positions at companies in both the US and the UK. Laura also teaches authors all around the country about writing and publishing. www.RedSofaLiterary.com
Class Title: Somewhere Between Poem and Prose and Something Else Entirely
(For Middle and High School Students)
Thursday, April 21, 2016 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Instructor: Sonya Chamberlain
Bio: Sonya Chamberlain has an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from The Writers Program at Warren Wilson College and has taught writing to students in a variety of settings from urban alternative high schools to small town arts collectives and elementary schools. She is also a parent, full time licensed homebirth midwife, avid Crossfitter and knitter, and loves to eat good food.
Class Description: How short can you make your story? How prosey can you make your poem and keep it poetry? How rhythmic and rhyming can a paragraph be and still be labelled fiction and not verse? This class will explore the short short story, the prose poem, and everything that doesn’t fit in a tidy little genre box. Come ready to read and puzzle over many examples and write just as many of your own.
Class Title: How to Attract Readers (or Publishers) With an Engaging First Page
Saturday, April 23, 2016 9 a.m to 11 a.m.
Instructor: Angela Foster
Bio: Angela Foster is a writer and editor who lives in Pine City, Minnesota. She teaches memoir at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, MN, and holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Pine Manor College in Boston, Massachusetts. Angela’s poetry book, Farm Girls, co-authored with her sister Candace Simar, was released by Riverplace Press of Brainerd, Minnesota. For more information about Angela, please visit her website at www.angelaffoster.com.
Class Description: The first paragraphs of your manuscript have an important job—to hook the reader and keep him turning the pages. So how do you make your opening page a grabber? During this workshop we will discuss the components of an effective first page, view examples of current works and end with practical advice to help implement these details in your own work. Bring your first page of a memoir or novel for critique. This workshop is suitable for all genres.
These free programs are made possible with funding from Kitchigami Regional Library through the State of Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment funds.
