Raise the Stakes

Wednesday 17 April 2024, 7:00-8:30 pm
Annapolis Chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association
Online via Zoom

If you want to keep your readers turning pages, you have to give them a story question with high stakes. In this workshop, Barbara Morrison will share ways to make your story more engaging by increasing the risks and rewards for your protagonist.

All meetings are open to the public and free to MWA members and first-time guests. All others may pay $5.00. Annual dues to MWA are $50.00 and include other benefits on top of monthly attendance at all chapter meetings. More information and registration link here.

Poetry Reading at Byway Books

Sunday 21 April 2024, 3-5 pm
Byway Books and More
399 Canal Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
Free

Stanford M. Forrester and I will be the featured readers at this event celebrating National Poetry Month. Our reading will be followed by an open mic, so please join us for this opportunity to hear some local poets!

Byway Books is Brattleboro’s newest bookstore with a carefully curated collection features a diverse array of books that cater to all tastes, books and games, and a focus on community. Support your local independent bookstores!

Contact me for more details.

Showtime: Giving a Successful Reading

Tuesday 14 May 2024, 7:00-9:00 pm
Frederick County Chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association
Online via Zoom

Giving a reading is perhaps the most stressful and most rewarding part of being a writer. The connection with the audience and the rush from their reaction to your work buoys the spirit of the most jaded writer. Yet many, if not most, writers lack the performance skills to present a compelling reading. We will look at how to select and order the selections for a reading, go over basic oral interpretation techniques, and practice by reading pieces provided. Participants are also encouraged to bring their own work to practice reading.

All meetings are open to the public and free to MWA members and first-time guests. All others may pay $5.00. Annual dues to MWA are $50.00 and include other benefits on top of monthly attendance at all chapter meetings. More information and registration link coming soon.

Two classes at Common Ground!

Traditions Week 1, 24-28 June 2024
Common Ground on the Hill
ONLINE

Common Ground on the Hill’s first of two Traditions Weeks is online again this year. What a great opportunity to take advantage of these fantastic classes! Sign up for individual week-long classes–hundreds of them in music, art, writing, film, dance. Be sure to check out the free concerts, lectures, and other activities. Plus undergraduate and graduate credit is available for taking Traditions Weeks classes. For more information and to register click here.

Bearing Witness: Writing Songs, Stories and Poetry

Monday – Friday 24-28 June 2024
Time 1:00-2:15 pm
Some writers of songs, stories and poetry take on the responsibility of bearing witness to some truth in our world. Bearing witness means to testify. Unlike a complaint or a political protest, such works create an experience for the reader or listener that will mark them and, as Carolyn Forché says, make them witnesses as well to what has been brought to life in the work. In this class, we will examine the idea of bearing witness and how to most effectively bring it into our writing. We’ll look at examples and practice creating our own works. Register here.

Life Writing Workshop

Monday – Friday 24-28 June 2024
Time 2:30-3:45 am
We all have stories to tell. In the Life Writing Workshop, appropriate for both novice and experienced writers, we’ll practice telling ours in journals, memoirs, personal essays and other forms of life writing. After looking at examples, we’ll discuss how to get started and then begin transforming our experiences into stories that will preserve memories and touch others. Register here.

Building a Strong Story Structure

Tuesday 13 August 2024, 7-9 pm
Lower Eastern Shore Chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association
Online via Zoom

Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, whether you are working on short pieces or a book-length manuscript, whether you are an outliner or a pantser, at some point in the writing/revision process you have to make sure your story has a sound structure. We will look at multiple ways to structure a story to make it so compelling that a reader cannot put it down. We will also practice analyzing the structure of several stories.

All meetings are open to the public and free to MWA members and first-time guests. All others may pay $5.00. Annual dues to MWA are $40.00 and include other benefits on top of monthly attendance. More information and registration link coming soon.

Time to Write Writers’ Retreat

Thursday 19 September to Sunday 22 September 2024
Pinewoods Camp, Inc.
80 Cornish Field Road
Plymouth, MA 02360
$250 includes meals and lodging. Early registration $220 until 2/29/24.

Join us for a weekend of writing in the woods. You’ll have opportunities to critique each other’s work using guidelines that inspire constructive and positive suggestions. Evenings might include readings and games in front of the fire. Most of all, you will have plenty of time to write.

Pinewoods is a beautiful rustic camp located in a 25-acre pine and beech forest between Long Pond and Round Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Its cabins are mostly double occupancy with nearby modern toilets and showers. There are lots of trails for walking, two ponds for swimming, and the whisper of pine trees to inspire you.

Download the TTW 2024 Retreat flyer for more information & registration.

ONGOING EVENTS

Poetry Discussion Group

First Saturday of every month
12 – 2 p.m.
ONLINE
Free

Each month we read and discuss the work of a poet. Open to all. No experience or preparation necessary. Copies of the poems are available. These casual discussions are a great way to expand your knowledge of and appreciation for poetry. Come and help us choose next month’s poet.

For more information and a link to join, contact me.