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Creativity from the Stacks June 28 – more talented performers

As promised I will introduce the rest of the creative talent from the East End Writers’ Group who are performing/presenting at our big event Creativity from the Stacks. We meet in a library branch in Toronto which is also where the presentation takes place, hence the title created by Paola Ferrante one of our performers. You met Paola in last week’s post.

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 28, 2017, 6.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.

Includes mix and mingle, light refreshments, sample writing critique, authors’ books for sale, and presentations by EEWG members.

Location: S. Walter Stewart Library (auditorium), 170 Memorial Pk. Ave., Toronto, Ontario

We are also partnering with the library branch for this presentation as we do with our regular writing critique evenings. More info about the East End Writers’ Group here.

We also are partnered for this event with East End Arts.

More info about them here.

And now – drum roll…

Here are the rest of us who are presenting.

Nick Nanos – Musician, Composer, Fiction Author

Gail Murray – Poet and Creative Non-fiction author

Lee Parpart – Poet and Fiction Author

Shane Joseph – Literary Fiction Author

Sharon A. Crawford – Mystery Author, Memoir Writer, Writing Instructor

More info about the performers and the presentation here.

Of course to get the full flavour, the full experience, you have to come to the event.

See you there.

Sharon A. Crawford

More info about all the performers and the presentation here.

Creativity from the Stacks features variety of talent

15 Jun

Many of you probably know that I run a writing critique group called the East End Writers’ Group. It’s been going for almost 17 years. This month on June 28 we are holding a special presentation to showcase some of our members’ talents. And many of us are going beyond doing author readings. Of course we will have some of that. But we will also have photography combined with memoir, a how to from pitching your story to a magazine to publication, a songwriting/singing presentation, and a comedy skit where book characters run wild. We are also holding a short writing critique sample so people can see just what we usually do and participate. The whole event is free and is open to the public, so not only just to writers.

We are doing this presentation in partnership with East End Arts and the Toronto Public Library, specifically the S. Walter Stewart branch where we meet once a month except for August and December. You can read more about East End Writers’ Group on my website.

Without further ado, here is more specific info including an introduction to some of our presenters. The rest will be in next week’s post.

First the schedule:

6.30 p.m. to 7.10 p.m. Mix and mingle, nibblies and sample writing critique

6.40 p.m. to 7.10 p.m. Sample Writing Critique led by Gia Petec in a corner of the auditorium (those not participating can continue on eating and chatting)

7.15 p.m. to 9 p.m. the presenters take their turns on the stage in this order:

Sharon A. Crawford welcomes all briefly and starts introducing the performers.

Laura Jones -shares photographs and passages from her memoir-in-the works

Paola Ferrante reads her short story “Cold Hands” which appears in the current issue of Minola Review.

Event co-host Nishe Catherine will read her short memoir “Selena” which was shortlisted in Malahat Review’s Creative Non-fiction contest.

Nishe Catherine takes over the MCing.

Gail Murray will talk about writing to submission calls and will read her story “Summer in the Sandbanks” from More of Our Canada.

Sharon A. Crawford and Shane Joseph perform a comedy skit featuring characters from their books who collide with real life and each other.

Lee Parpart talks about small press publishing and reads three recent poems.

Nick Nanos does a musical performance and talks about songwriting.

9 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.. More chatting, nibblies and checking out and perhaps buying a book or photograph.

Introducing the Presenters Part 1

Gia Petec – writer and zumba instructor

Link to Gia here

Laura Jones – photographer and writer

See Laura’s website

Paola Ferrante – writer and teacher

Nishe Catherine – poet and writer of short stories and non-fiction

More info on these and the other presenters are on the event website created by Lee Parpart. Of course you get a peek at the others too. But I’ll still feature the rest of us in next week’s post. Meantime check out the event’s Facebook page also created by Lee.

And the Location for Creativity from the Stacks

S. Walter Stewart Library (auditorium), 170 Memorial Park Ave., in the East York part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you are in the area please join us on Wednesday, June 28.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

1 Comment

Posted by Sharon A. Crawford on June 15, 2017 in Author Reading, Comedy Skit, East End Arts, East End Writers' Group, Sharon A. Crawford, Toronto Public Library, Writing Critique Groups

Tags: Author Readings, Beyond Blood, Characters in Fiction, Creativity from the Stacks, East End Arts, East End Writers' Group, East York Cultural Hot Spot, Gail Murray, Gia Petec, Laura Jones, Lee Parpart, Nick Nanos, Nishe Catherine, Paola Ferrante, Shane Joseph, Sharon A. Crawford, toronto public library, Writing Critique

The Credibility Factor in Fiction Writing

11 May

The second Beyond book.

We writers let our imaginations flow. We get creative and write outside the box. However, sometimes we go on tangents with our plots, and characters’ actions and dialogue, often resulting in going way off the credibility meter. We don’t always see that, but our readers do.

And to make it more complicated – credibility can be relative. What is credible for fantasy may not be credible for mystery or romance – at least the plot. Character, no matter the genre, always need to be credible.

I’m not immune to this credibility tangent. Just ask my publisher. And read last week’s post here.

So, how do we get make sure our characters and plot are credible?

One thing I sometimes do is act out a scene. Can a character actually do this? No, I don’t jump off buildings – nothing extreme like that (I’m afraid of heights anyway.) But I do it to get the logistics of a character’s action. For example to see if a character could actually see something from a certain window? Or what it is like walking in heavy rain. Yes, you can use your imagination, but I bet you’ll forget some detail. So get out there and experience your scene. Hook yourself up to your cell phone so if you have to talk like your character, you don’t risk strange looks from others you pass. If you are using present time and present location and not making any of that up, it might be a good idea to get the lay of the land as it is now for streets and crossings. You don’t want your characters crossing a street called Main Street today that last week was renamed to Markham Avenue.

Use a credibility meter for characters to decide on action or dialogue. (And remember, this might be done in a rewrite). Ask yourself how your character would act or react- based on their traits, based on their background, based on their psyche, based on what has happened with and to them before in your novel. Would a timid character suddenly start arguing with someone who is clearly trying to get her goat? But remember, part of a novel’s premise is things change and that includes the characters. So if something happens to your character to bring about a change, maybe that character will finally tell that other character off. Don’t make it easy for him or her. It would be a struggle.

It also is a good idea to have your writing critiqued by a writing critique group – online and/or in person.

Remember, writers can have tunnel vision about their work. But other writers will look at it fresh and from other viewpoints.

That is taking your writing out of the box in another way.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

How Writers in Residence can help your writing

07 Jan

Sharon A. Crawford’s latest in the Beyond series

What are the advantages of having a Writer in Residence look at your writing and give feedback and marketing advice?

I’ve had the good fortune to be involved on both sides. For two sessions I was Writer in Residence for the Canadian Authors Association Toronto branch. In that position, I have helped writers with advice on marketing their manuscripts, writing a query letter, editing and evaluating their manuscript – up to a point.

One thing about a Writer in Residence is he or she only evaluates/edits up to 20 or 30 pages – either for free or at a lower rate than normal fees. But it is worth every dollar (we don’t have pennies anymore in Canada), Euro or whatever denomination your country has. It is also worth your time because of the vast experience of Writers In Residence. They are published authors in various genres and if you pick your Writer in Residence to match your area of writing it can benefit your writing.

The process varies, but generally it involves submitting a few pages double-spaced of your writing-in-the works and then meeting with the WiR to get his or her feedback, ask questions and get some advice on how to make your manuscript sparkle and perhaps some marketing tips.

Recently, I had the experience of being on the other side of the fence. I am a member of the Toronto Heliconian Club and one of the benefits is the Writer in Residence. Just before Christmas I met with her – Dawn Promislow – not for critique of my new Beyond novel in the works, but for an assessment of a five-page personal essay. I didn’t have to pre-submit the manuscript, just brought a couple of hard copies – one for her to look at and one for me – while we chatted.

And it was more than just a superficial chat. First, Dawn read the manuscript, then did a general overall evaluation including summing it up as good and more professional than she expected. (Note: this essay had been rewritten more times than I have fingers.) Then we went through it all line-by-line and discussed what worked, what didn’t, what could be expressed better and in fewer words, and what could be deleted. One of my concerns was to make it shorter so I could submit it to markets that require a shorter than 1300 personal essay. Previous to meeting withe Dawn I had shortened it from 1500 words to 1300 words.

It was a two-way discussion, none of this just giving advice with me listening. That’s important because the bottom line is it is my story and if I don’t have some input in the critique, I won’t really understand what needs to be done. The whole meeting took about an hour and 20 minutes.

So, besides CAA and clubs like the Heloconian, where can you find a Writer in Residence?

Try your local libraries. The Toronto Public Library system has two Writers in Residence programs a year, alternating locations with the two largest library branches – Toronto Reference Library and North York Central branch. I have submitted manuscripts over the years to WiRs at both branches. You have to have a library card for this – but library cards are free and renewed annually.

And submit is a keyword here. You have to submit up to a certain number of pages double-spaced to the library by a certain date. Then the library gets the manuscripts to the WiR and you will hear back from the library with an appointment time and date to meet with the WiR. Currently the TPL WiR is poet, memoir author, former journalist, etc. Brian Brett at Toronto Reference Library. For this session, Brian Brett will be focusing on poetry.

That’s another key. Submit something you are writing in the area of the WiR’s experience. Unlike me, who once submitted a chapter of my memoir to a literary novelist and poet. My memoir was part literary in style, but this author just didn’t get it. Another time, much earlier, I submitted one of the original chapter versions of the memoir to a well-rounded in writing experience WiR – Austin Clarke and got some excellent and thorough feedback. It was also a two-way discussion and it was Mr. Clarke’s feedback that helped me decide to actually write more chapters in a memoir.

So, a few tips for submitting your work to a Writer in Residence.

Follow any submission guidelines.
Make sure you match the WiR to what you are writing.
Rewrite, rewrite your submission – a loose draft won’t do.
Show up on time for your appointment with the WiR.
Listen to what the WiR says but don’t be afraid to question and add details about what you are writing – it is not a one-way street.
Don’t be afraid to ask related questions that are pressing – such as markets, copyright issues, and in the case of memoir (one I always find comes up in my memoir writing workshops) – naming names and the fear with writing your story.

Good luck. The WiR can be the experience that helps you get your manuscript focused and inspires you to keep at it.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

To find out more about Sharon A. Crawford and where her Beyond books are available click on the Beyond Blood book above.And visit her website

Sharon A. Crawford author

Tag Archives: Writing Critique

Creativity from the Stacks June 28 – more talented performers

Creativity from the Stacks features variety of talent