Villains, Vendettas and Vagabonds

A one-day exploration into how putting “the bad” into your writing will hook your readers and keep them reading until the bitter end. Ruth E. Walker is known for her deft hand with intriguing characters in her fiction and she is not shy about her affection for the nasty ones.

Discover how even adding a few rough edges to a previously angelic character can bring important depth to your plots. Punch up a flat storyline with revengeful renegades, riots and rebellions. Writing `bad` characters and `nasty`plots need not be scary.

Ruth knows a thing or two about writing bad characters. Her bad ass characters in “Death in the Family” helped her win an honourable mention along with plenty of comments and kudos in Geist literary journal’s Literal Literary Postcard Story contest. Her story then went on to be linked online by the prestigious Utne Reader in the U.S.

Her edgy fiction creations have appeared in Cadenza (U.K.) and LICHEN Arts & Letters Preview. And the complicated “villain” in her novel Living Underground has readers questioning their ideas about what constitutes evil.

Come prepared to write with hands-on exercises, learn from lively discussions and take home practical handouts.

Email info@writescape.ca to find out when this workshop will be offered again. NOTE: an in-depth full-day Masterclass is also available.

You Earned It – Now Keep It

Taxation Tips for Writers and Artists with Gwynn Scheltema.

Are you a writer, storyteller, musician or visual artist? Whether you get paid or not, Revenue Canada offers aspiring and professional arts community members unique tax considerations. These are not available to other occupations. So how can you benefit from them?

Knowledge is the key.

Participants will learn the answers to such questions as:

How does Revenue Canada define “freelance”?
If I win a writing contest, is that money considered income?
What if I’m published but I don’t earn any income?
Should I keep all my novel expenses for the year when it’s published?
Do I have to register for HST?

This workshop…

has information you can use
answers writer-related questions
has creative writing tax-ercises
is loaded with tax-saving tips
is practical and easy to understand

Gwynn Scheltema is a full-time writer and editor, owner of The Write Connection, and a partner in Writescape.ca. Before turning to writing full time, Gwynn worked for over 25 years in accounting, teaching and administration. She received her accounting designation in 1974 and has worked in the accounting field as an accountant, auditor and tax preparer since that time.

Send us an email to be notified of the next date for this workshop: info@writescape.ca

PR Launch Pad

Public Relations Plans to blast off and bring you attention and readers

Get inspired, become creative and delve into the wild and dynamic world of book and author promotion. Invest two nights to :

create your marketing plan
craft press releases
design launch events
enhance your brand as “author”
find contacts
research venues
examine social media options

Gwynn will help you refine your image and your collection of ready-to-serve bios, literary CVs and author profiles. Ruth will share insights and surprises from her book tour and live appearances. Even the authors with a string of titles know they have to work the publicity machine to promote their books. Whether you have a book in hand or are working toward that goal, this workshop series will get you fired up and ready to launch.

Email info@writescape.ca to find out the next time this workshop will be offered.

Here Be Dragons: Plot and character in fantasy fiction

with Heather M. O’Connor and Anne MacLachlan

Choose your own adventure–and who to take along for the ride–in this four-week workshop on plot and character in fantasy. Through hands-on activities and discussion, you’ll learn how to:

craft nuanced, believable heroes and villains
follow the Hero’s Journey to chart their path and yours
explore fantasy’s many subgenres and archetypes
discover online resources to continue your quest

Excellent companion to The Many Worlds of Fantasy.

Tasting the Page: Beyond the Five Senses

With Gwynn Scheltema

In this one-day workshop:

challenge your reader’s perceptions and assumptions
deepen your powers of description
learn new descriptive techniques to give greater weight to your narrative voice.
master how to add description without slowing the narrative.

Don’t let your fiction be left on the plate. Prepare it gourmet style and your readers will beg for more.

Have fun experimenting with creative writing exercises that make your writing live. We’ll munch our way through a smorgasbord of fiction foods from image and emphasis, to movement, theme, and syntax.

Come prepared to go new places and try new things.

As past participants have said, “You provoked me into thinking of new ways of approaching my writing,” and “Your exercises were great—inspiring, short, but effective. You let us try lots of different things.”

17 Ways to Edit for Energy

with Gwynn Scheltema

You’ve finished your first draft. What’s next?

Your story submission was rejected. Why?

Your writing seems flat. How can you energize it?

Could you use a simple but dynamic self-editing process that injects the energy you need into your writing?

Checking style, presentation, spelling and grammar is not enough. Your writing must have energy. Put power in your prose, turn flat into fabulous, and put your writing on the path to publication.

Learn energizing editing techniques
Identify and avoid the most common reasons that good stories fail.
Practise your new skills immediately on YOUR draft
Add a handy ready-to-apply checklist to your editing toolbox
Use editing examples supplied, or bring your own.

Writing for Children

with Erin Thomas and Gwynn Scheltema

Do you love children’s books? Do you still remember the characters that you cared about as a child? Have you ever wanted to write a picture book or novel that kids will read over and over again?

Writing for Children introduces you to the basics of writing for young readers. Come find out what publishers look for, and what makes writing for children different from writing for adults.

You’ll learn how to write for different age groups and different reading levels within those age groups. You’ll discover the importance of engaging dialogue and find out how to make your characters come alive. You’ll see how plot and scene structure can strengthen your story, and you’ll explore ways of finding inspiration.

This hands-on six-week workshop series is packed with activities, opportunities to practise your new skills, and written and oral feedback on your work from two powerhouse facilitators.

Write to Win: Techniques & Tips for First Place

Learn how to make your entry stand out from the crowd. Whether you’re entering writing contests or submitting to agents and publishers, it’s all a contest. And many entries never make it past the first reader.

When: Saturday, June 17, 2017; 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Minden Branch of the Haliburton County Public Library, 174 Bobcaygeon Road, Minden, Ontario

Write to Win is all contest, all day, with exercises, surprises and prizes. This hands-on workshop will help you

choose the best contests before you even start writing
learn what eliminates many entries
understand the process of judging
try on various writing forms and approaches
take home a wealth of tips and materials

Dorothea Helms and Ruth E. Walker are prize-winning writers. Between them, they have won:

Barbara Novak Award For Excellence In Humour and/or Personal Essay Writing
Whitchurch-Stouffville Grimm Fairy Tale Short Fiction Contest
Canadian Living short story contest
Ontario Arts Council grants
Geist Literal Postcard Story Contest
Dan Sullivan Memorial Poetry Contest
The Writers’ Circle of Durham Region short story contest
Suburban Newspapers of America Advertising and Promotions Contest

Dorothea and Ruth have also created and administered contests, and are sought-after judges for international, national and regional writing contests.They have seen some wonderful entries get eliminated early on. And they have had to decide first, second and third place with dozens of brilliant entries to choose from. How did they do it?

Register online:

$80.00 +HST

$75.00 +HST Writing organization members discount & discount for library patrons & staff

Writescape’s mission is to inspire, support and engage writers at all levels. From delivering innovative, hands-on workshops to creating all-inclusive retreats, the Writescape Team pays attention to the smallest detail so writers can focus on their work. Escape to write…with Writescape.

Watch Your Language AND From Inspiration to Publication

Gwynn Scheltema and Ruth E. Walker are at the Ontario Writers’ Conference.

Gwynn is offering an advanced class: Watch Your Language. Dialect, foreign languages, accents and other linguistic touches provide diversity and authenticity to dialogue. Gwynn will help participants avoid character stereotypes so that what is being said is not overshadowed by how it’s being said. Gwynn’s popular workshops at the OWC are consistently highly rated and fully booked.

Ruth’s beginner workshop From Inspiration to Publication invites new writers to play with words through hands-on exercises and fun activities. Participants will risk a little and try on different forms of creative writing. Useful handouts offer tips on submitting material to the right market. Ruth will also serve as a Blue Pencil Mentor, offering helpful feedback in one-on-one discussions with writers about their manuscripts.

Gwynn and Ruth have been at the OWC since it launched, facilitating workshops, mentoring writers and enjoying the many speakers and learning opportunities that a comprehensive conference like this has to offer.

To register, visit the Ontario Writers’ Conference.

Deciphering the Magazine Masthead

with Gwynn Scheltema

Do you have a finished article, short story or a good query idea, but no clue where to send it? Editor in chief, editorial assistant, managing editor – who is the right person to hunt down? What do all those different editors do, and how does knowing that extend your freelance opportunities?

Magazine mastheads and tables of content can hide a gold mine of information. Learning to decipher the masthead is a first step to selling more articles or getting your short story read.

In this one-hour workshop, you’ll hone your detective skills with quick hands-on exercises. You’ll learn how to successfully sniff out the right editor, and avoid submission red herrings, so your article, story or query escapes the slush pile and gets the attention it deserves.