Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Halloween week events!

Cool things happening this week

October 31st

AWCS Open Mic

7pm@ Owl's Nest Books

Dress up if you like, and bring a couple pages to read. Everyone welcome!

http://www.facebook.com/events/485010938205240/

November 1st

Come on out to either Memorial Park Library, or Owl's Nest Books to hear some great readings and support local writers.

Literary Vaudeville: Loud in the LIbrary

7pm@ Memorial Park Library

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Literary-Vaudeville-Loud-in-the-Library/282383785194421?fref=ts

Writing in the Works

7pm@ Owl's Nest Books

http://www.facebook.com/events/403346169718993/


Friday, October 19, 2012

New Courses!


Greetings, writers! new AWCS courses and workshops are live. There's something for everyone, so check it out!

Whose Story is it? (Point of View, Ownership and Telling It Like It Is)

J. Jill Robinson
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 25
10AM-4:30PM
MEMBER PRICE: $140
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $190
Some writers say that choosing the right point of view through which to tell the story is the most important decision a writer makes, and that most problems encountered in the writing process can be traced to p.o.v. concerns.  Changing point of view can certainly can have a startling impact on your narrative, and can often help get you unstuck when you’re stuck.   Come and find out more, through discussion and exercises, with novelist, short story, and creative non-fiction writer Jill Robinson.  For writers at all levels. 

World Building

Elaine Morin
SATURDAY
10AM-3:30PM
NOVEMBER 17
MEMBER PRICE: $75
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $95
Whether it’s your backyard, a Hong Kong market or an alien starship, the world you write should be believable. But which details are necessary to carry a story? How do you make those descriptive passages zing? For both fiction and creative non-fiction writers, this workshop will explore world building through already published works, discussion and lectures, and writing exercises.

Dynamic Dialogue

Susan Calder
SATURDAY
10AM-3:30PM
NOVEMBER 3
MEMBER PRICE: $75
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $95
Dialogue is one of the strongest tools for portraying characters in fiction and creative non-fiction. When do you use dialogue in a story? What makes dialogue effective, interesting and full of tension? How can dialogue move your story forward? Through writing exercises, discussion and the study of published works learn how to make your dialogue sparkle.

Weekly Courses (8 Weeks)

Short Story

Elaine Morin
THURSDAYS
7-9PM
JANUARY 24, 2013 (8 WEEKS)
MEMBER PRICE: $140
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $190
What makes a short story successful? Intact story world, compelling inhabitants, an inciting event or events, rising tension, climax and resolution. These are just some of the short story elements we will examine through handouts, video clips, discussion and writing exercises. Expect to complete at least two short stories over the duration of the class.
Please note: There will be no class on February 7. Course will run one week longer.
Elaine Morin Bio
Elaine Morin is a Calgary writer, editor and teacher, and a recipient of the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize. She has been published in Wascana Review, Prairie Journal, The Victoria Times Colonist and CBC Alberta Anthology. Her work has been adapted for broadcast on CBC Radio.

First Person Fiction Writing (Daytime)

Rona Altrows
TUESDAYS
12PM-2PM
JANUARY 22, 2013 (8 WEEKS)
MEMBER PRICE: $140
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $190
The principal objectives of this course are to give you, the writer, the  opportunity to write; to allow you to take yourself  into the mind and body of another person, a fictional person who will emerge naturally from your own creative core; and to let you write that fictional person’s reality.
You will be making extensive use of the freefall writing method for releasing subconscious thought. You will also learn from the Stanislavski System (the theory behind method acting) and from the instructor’s experience as a writer and former actor. You will enter your fictional person and become as one with her or him, without denying your own existence. In giving yourself to the process of merging with your fictional person, you will hear that person’s voice and that person will speak authentically and every part of that person’s self will come through in your writing.
The writing exercises themselves are practical. There will be lots of time to work on them and to discuss, and have a few laughs along the way. This course celebrates process, not product. It is about creativity, not technique. Imagination, invention and recollection will all have roles to play.

Introduction to Creative Writing

Vicki Chatham
WEDNESDAYS
7-9PM
JANUARY 23, 2013 (8 WEEKS)
MEMBER PRICE: $140
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $190
In this eight week course, you will learn about the free fall method of writing and how it can be a useful tool for all writing. Then, using short story as a model, you will be introduced to the basics of character, plot, dialogue and setting through discussion, free fall writing, practical writing exercises and mutual feedback.

The Artist’s Way

Caroline Russell-King
MONDAYS
7-9PM
JANUARY 21, 2013 (8 WEEKS)
MEMBER PRICE: $140
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $190
For all writers and artists. As a group we will work through Julia Cameron’s’ book The Artist Way. We will engage in exercises and activities that spur the imagination and capture new ideas while unblocking obstacles on the path to inspiration and creativity.

Our Stories: Personal Essays with Public Appeal

Ellen Kelly
THURSDAYS
7-9 PM
JANUARY 24, 2013 (8 WEEKS)
MEMBER PRICE: $140
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $190
Does your writing say what you want it to say? Is there a deeper significance to your personal writing? Learn how to expand your written work into a clear and concise essay by examining style, focus, audience and purpose. Applicable techniques used in fiction will be discussed and some published essays will be studied. There will be a work shopping component to this course.

Weekly Courses (10 Weeks)

A Novel Idea

Susan Calder
TUESDAYS
7-9:30PM
JANUARY 22, 2013 (10 WEEKS)
MEMBER PRICE: $160
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $210
Are you working on a novel-length manuscript or have an idea for one? Learn the steps involved in writing a novel, such as choosing point of view, setting up a structure, planning out the plot and characterization. Learn and discuss the foundations involved in writing quality novel-length fiction. Students will submit portions of their novel and receive critical feedback from the instructor and other students.
This course is a pre-requisite for A Novel Approach, the year-long novel course.

Weekend Writing Intensives

How to Write a Killer Thriller

Mike Harrison
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
10AM - 4:30PM
MARCH 2 AND 3
MEMBER PRICE: $140
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $190
This course covers the A to Z of writing a first-class mystery. All great stories take you on a journey and this course shows you how to build yours to a shattering climaz. It teaches character development from a unique perspective and shows how to keep your story entertaining. It also deals with the pitfalls of over-plotting and answers the writer’s nagging questions about descriptive narrative: how much is enough and how much is too much. It’s great fun and you’ll learn more than you ever thought possible.
Mike Harrison Bio
Mike Harrison is the author of All Shook UpWild Thing, and Ruby Tuesday. He has worked in advertising for much of his life and has an eclectic mix of interests that include motorcycling, hiking, cooking, and hypnosis. He lives in Okotoks, Alberta, with his wife and two cats.

One Day Writing Workshops

The Book Review

Robin van Eck
SATURDAY
10AM-3:30PM
NOVEMBER 24
MEMBER PRICE: $75
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $95
Book reviews are more than a summary of a book. It’s a craft, like any other writing. In this workshop you will learn ways to artfully craft a review so that it stands out above others. Through examples and writing exercises you will learn how to make a review unique to you, the writer, how to write a balanced review, as well as where to publish.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Fleas & Tics: Writering is hard

I've been 34 for ten days. I've done my two hours of writing every morning. And it's HARD, you guys.

It's also cool, because I'm figuring stuff out. I'm paying attention not only to what I write, but how I write. When it's working, why is that? When I'm stuck, what's going on there?

So far, this is what I've learned about how to make the most of my 2-hour block of writing time.

1. Avoid the unholy time suck that is the internet…even for research purposes

I'm quite serious about this. Writing time is writing time. Research time is a whole other animal that needs its own cage and special food.

When writing, if there's something I need to look up, I'll leave myself a note in the text like this [Look up D. Hasselhoff's astrological sign]. Then, when writing time is done, research time can begin. I can look up the Hoff's sign and feed the rest of my day to Twitter/Facebook/The Onion/Cracked/my Nabokovian butterfly obsession (shameless plug here, check out my website www.nabokolia.com) .

2. Decide ahead of time what you will work on

I have multiple projects on the go, and it's not like kids. Some I love more, some less, and I'm fickle in my affections. So I plan. My two hours today are going to be spent wringing out the rough draft of this story, or outlining that story, or editing this chapter of my novel. That way I don't waste the first half of my writing time rummaging through files trying to decide what I feel like working on.

3. It's not about the word count -- but it kinda is

National Novel Writing Month starts November 1st. You challenge yourself to pound out a 50K novel in thirty days. Your novel might not be very good, in fact it's probably full of terrible problems, like any first draft of a novel. The point is you made yourself write. You didn't obsess over every word. You powered through and got it down.

I'm not sure about this either way. Will having a daily word count goal help me, or will it result in a bunch of awful words I need to kill with fire?


Obviously this is ongoing. I'll post updates from time to time. If you want to share your struggle, or give me advice, or talk me out of barbecuing my manuscript, drop me a line at awcswriterscorner@gmail.com

Monday, October 1, 2012

Harvest



Submitted for our Harvest theme

Dug Up: Part 2
By: Gillian Zylka


They had to be planted. Neither one of us had ever planted a tree before. A kindly man at the garden centre provided us with all of the information we needed on how to plant them. He also suggested we buy Lois Hole’s gardening books. I found her book on shrubs and trees and perennials at fairs fair for ten bucks each. I read up for further detailed knowledge. We bought the shrub and tree root promoter recommended by our neighbour Marie, as she walked by with her King Charles Spaniel when we brought the trees home. I got out my little shovel from Lee Valley tools, and my husband got out his big shovel.
The next day, a hot July Saturday, we started to dig. We had carefully selected the spot where the weeping birch was to go, it had to be the perfect spot because we think we may someday put in a garage. My husband carefully measured all of the dimensions. We cut out the sod first in a perfect circle. It had to be measured with a long piece of string attached to a screwdriver in the middle. We took turns jumping on the edger pushing through the thick sod in pie shaped pieces, laying each piece aside. We dug and dug putting the earth onto a tarp carefully laid out.  The hole had to be three times as big as the tree ball. We added bone meal and the root promoter. I brought out jugs of iced water that we thirstily drank every fifteen to twenty minutes. We sweat through the heat and swore at each other that we had decided to take this on in the middle of the day. We thought we knew what we were doing. The tree had to be slightly elevated as we were told that when we added the earth we had bought at the garden centre, it would gradually sink. The tree had to go in at the precise right level. It went in and came out five or six times, each time we added more earth.
At one point I yelled in frustration, “would you put the fricking tree in and be done with it???”
It took us four and a half hours. But it was done. We watered it a lot and fertilized it. Every time I drive up to the house I look at the spindly little tree with it’s tiny little branches and small leave that are changing colour already. I wonder if it will survive the winter. The tree across the street mocks me a little, I question if I will even live to see my tree thrive to that extent, if it thrives at all.
The Amur Cherry went in the following Saturday, in the backyard in a circle where the deck had been burned. We were old pros by then, it only took an hour and a half. It looks happy in its spot.
 We found a healthy Dropmore Linden tree at the Superstore that was on sale for nine dollars. It had beautiful yellow blossoms that are good for making a tisane. We found another spot in our burgeoning backyard to plant it.
My garden is now fading into autumn, the flowers and herbs I so carefully planted the year before are in their final bloom for this year. The trees in the backyard stand stalwart though, protected by other mature trees. The weeping birch in the front yard will hopefully live.
Sundays are now days for visiting. The boys, all adults, come home, one of them bringing his laundry in tow.
As he says, “It costs four bucks at my condo…”
This summer we enjoyed the back yard together, having dinner and laughs with the neighbour’s dogs barking at our conversation. It felt good to visit and to create this year. Again.
I no longer miss the boys, we have adapted to being empty nesters. They come around to visit, and we travel to see our other son. He in kind comes home every Christmas.
 I now realize, everything has it’s season.