In my writing workshops we begin by mining our own lives for ideas that can be turned into fiction.
From there we decide where to start our story which, surprisingly, is not always at the beginning. We work at developing some opening lines that immediately draw the reader in. I then use short, snappy writing exercises where students will learn the do’s and don’ts of writing dialogue, axing adverbs and showing vs telling to add pizzazz to our fiction. As a former teacher, I’m very comfortable in the classroom.
Testimonials
“I want to thank you for sharing your time with the young writers in Mill Bay last Tuesday evening. You have no idea how pumped they were at school the next day! You are such a personable speaker and a generous writer and the kids expressed that they were excited to meet a ‘real author’ who believed that with dedication to the craft and mulish persistence, they might one day be published.” Patricia MacKay
“Shelley was able to connect with individual students in a very meaningful and personal manner. With her interactive and engaging manner Shelley challenged the students and gave positive guidance as they developed ideas and explored new aspects in their writing. … it was evident that each student had a rich writing experience.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed watching the energy and creativity from everyone in the workshop. Once again you gave the participants a very unique and amazing experience. The sharing comes, a least in part, from the comfort you create in the room. My sense from the group was that each grew in their writing that morning and were very happy to be part of the event.”
“The workshop was excellent as always. The feedback from the students was very positive, and very positive from the teachers also.” Linda Irvine, Dover Bay Secondary School