Workshops
Engage your readers better
Writing for Clarity
Practise the three pillars of effective writing:
decluttering, activating, and organizing.
Learn how to create reader-friendly text.
Yoga for Your Story
Stretch and strengthen your
“author muscles,” and learn about
the vital elements of writing fiction.
Writing for Clarity
Want to write text that’s clear, concise, and easy for audiences to understand?
Originally designed for government staff, this interactive workshop is equally useful for corporations, associations, agencies, and any other group that values clarity in its communications.
The three independent modules are:
- Writing for Clarity 1: Declutter your message
- Writing for Clarity 2: Activate your text
- Writing for Clarity 3: Organize your ideas
Each module takes about three hours to deliver, to groups of 8–15 participants.
Take your text from “dull” to “dynamic”
As a professional editor, I’ve spent several decades helping writers to
improve their text.
In this course, pen-and-paper exercises help people to practise their new skills — such as how to:
- avoid needlessly wordy phrases
- cull repetition, redundancy and deadwood from sentences
- use verbs instead of nouns, to give text more energy
- eliminate the passive voice
- give every paragraph a clear identity
- craft a strong introduction and conclusion.
Contact me to learn more about booking the Writing for Clarity workshop,
including timing and cost.
Yoga for Your Story
Become a better writer in just a few weeks!
My interactive course teaches you some of the strategies used by professional fiction
editors — such as how to:
- lead with strength
- think about what motivates your characters
- visualize your scenes from a reader’s perspective
- use verbs to make your text more vigorous
- map your narrative arc
- develop an ear for dialogue
- avoid the most common writing mistakes
- make sure that every word tells.
Improve your writing skills
My goal is for you to leave every meeting with your head full of new ideas.
Sessions are flexible in terms of content, tailored to the individual needs of the authors.
In each session, you’ll do some or all of these things:- analyze a piece of your own writing, and a piece by other group members
- discuss the specific problems you have with your work
- write some new material
- practise the writing techniques I’ll show you
- talk about your passion for (and frustration with!) the writing life.
The group meets for three hours in the evening, once a week, for a six-week period.
The time and place are arranged to suit the convenience of participants.
Visit my fiction website, The Fiction Portal
to learn about upcoming courses.