Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Secrets of Writing a Page-turner workshop, Saturday, May 23, in Barrie

Secrets of Writing a Page-turner
Sponsored by the Barrie Writers’ Club 
Saturday, May 23, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Grace United Church
350 Grove Street East, Barrie (Map here.)

Ever stayed up all night reading a book? In this workshop, you’ll learn you how to build that kind of tension.  And we'll help you put into practice the techniques professionals use – on every page and in every kind of story – to create drama and tension.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Fee: 40.71+ 13% hst = 46 paid in advance
or 43.36 + 13% hst = 
49 if you wait to pay at the door

To reserve a spot now, email: 
brianhenry@sympatico.ca


See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

It's a bad time to query a literary agent by Brian Henry


Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your In Box. 

So it’s Christmas break and you’ve had time to finish your novel, polish your query letter, and with New Year’s upon us, you’re full of resolution to land yourself an agent this year. Wonderful. But hold up. Right now is the worst time of the year to query an agent.

You want to avoid querying an agent when:
      -         She’s not in the office
      -         She is in the office but not working
      -         She’s trying to get work out of the way before going on holiday
      -         She’s crazy busy

So forget sending queries from about mid-December to mid-January. Starting about two weeks before Christmas, the publishing world begins shutting down. Yes, agents are still in the office, but they’re trying to clear their desks before the holidays start. The last thing they want is to look at queries.  

As Christmas gets closer, less and less work gets done, and agents are disinclined to pitch your manuscript anyway, because they know that editors at publishing houses are doing just as little work; they’re more likely to be sipping eggnog than looking at new manuscripts.

Then from Christmas to New Year’s, odds are no one’s even in the office, but come January 2 (or the first Monday after New Year’s), agents are back in the office and discovering that the work hasn’t gone away. They have 567 emails cluttering their In Boxes, a pile of manuscripts they should really have read a couple weeks ago, and in general so much work that they (almost) regret taking time off.

Do they want to read queries now? Hardly. Give them a week or two to get things under control again.

But this is a great time of year to plan your campaign, to comb through the postings about agents on Quick Brown Fox (here), to make your lists of possible agents and preferred agents, and to write targeted queries. Also, if you haven’t done it yet, trash your generic query and make a New Year’s resolution to write only personalized queries from now on. Because once the holidays are out of the way, this is a pretty good time of year to query agents. Certainly better than the fall, which tends to be crazy busy in the publishing world.

But what if you already have sent out a flurry of queries this holiday season?

Well, Don’t worry, be happy, as Saint Bob used to say. A few agents will have used the dead time in the publishing world to catch up on things   like reading queries. Some agents are extra dutiful and will get to your query eventually even if you sent it in December 22. As for the rest, give it a reasonable amount of time and re-query all agents who haven’t sent you a reject. At least, that’s what I’d do.  – Brian

Olga Filina
Note: I’ll be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop in Niagara on the Lake on Saturday, March 7, with literary agent Olga Filina of The Rights Factory (see here) – and Olga is actively looking for new authors. 

Also, I’ll lead a “Writing for Children & for Young Adults" workshop with Anne Shone, Senior Editor at Scholastic Canada, on Saturday, May 2, in Oakville (see here). 

For more information or to register for any workshop or course, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Other upcoming workshops, include: Secrets of Writing a Page-turner,” Saturday, Jan 17, in Toronto (see here), "How to Write Great Dialogue," Saturday, Jan 24, in Georgetown (here), and “Revising and Editing,” Saturday, Jan 31 in Oakville (here).

Weekly courses: Whether you're looking for an introduction to creative writing or you're getting your manuscript ready to submit to an agent, your best bet is a weekly course. Starting in the new year, I’ll be offering classes for beginners through advanced writers. See details for all six courses here.

For details of “Welcome to Creative Writing” on Tuesday afternoons in Burlington see here, for “Writing Your Life & Other Personal Stories” on Tuesday mornings in Oakville see here, for “The Next Step in Creative Writing” on Wednesday evenings in Burlington see here, on Thursday afternoons in Mississauga see here, and on Thursday evenings in Georgetown see here, and for “Intensive Creative Writing” on Wednesday afternoons in Burlington here.

See my full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Order your 2015 Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar now

Whether you’re a beginner or advanced writer, if you’re looking for places to send your work, you should put contests on your list. The Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar is a book that gives a full listing of contests in Canada arranged by deadline date. It lists contests for short stories, poetry, children’s writing, novels, and nonfiction – contests for just about everyone. 

The Calendar costs just $21 at one of Brian Henry's classes or workshops $25.10 by mail within Ontario (all taxes and shipping included).

To order, email 
brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

How to Build Your Story workshop, Saturday, May 9, in London

How to Build Your Story
Plotting novels & Writing short stories
Saturday, May 9, 2015
10:00 a.m.– 3:30 p.m.
London Central Library, Stevenson & Hunt Room A
251 Dundas Street, London, Ontario (Map here. )

This workshop will show you how writers plot a novel and will give you the best tips on writing short stories. We’ll also look at where to get your stories published and how to win contests. Best yet, you’ll see how to apply the story-building techniques you’ve learned to your own writing. 

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Read reviews of Brian's workshops and courses here.

Fee:
 40.71+ 13% hst = 46 paid in advance
or 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian’s full schedule here,
 including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Wanted: Tales of martinis & motherhood, Short prose & books for contest, Polish stories, and Stories of mental illness

The Field by Tracy Richardson, winner of  the
2014 Eric Hoffer Award in the YA category
Each year, outstanding works of short prose deserve wider recognition. The Eric Hoffer Awards for short prose ($250) and for independent books ($2,000) recognize excellence in writing. It’s free to enter a piece for the short prose award; books require a $55 fee.  Books must be from a small press, an academic press or be self-published.
Works of short prose (short stories or short creative nonfiction) must be less than 10,000 words, previously unpublished, or published with a circulation of less than 500. The winning prose and selected nominations are published annually in the anthology, Best New Writing.
Deadline: Jan 21 for books;  March 31 for prose. Full submission guidelines here. 

Hi, Brian.
I am editing an anthology of Polish diaspora centred short stories, which will be published by Guernica Editions.  The information is below.
Thanks,
Kasia Jaronczyk
Guernica Editions is looking for stories, previously unpublished in a book form, for an anthology centered around Poland and Polish Diaspora. Open to Canadian writers of Polish origin and Canadian writers whose work connects with Poland or Polish diaspora in some way.  Stories are to be no longer than 2,500 – 3,000 words. Royalties are in the form of two copies of the anthology.  Check out our website here. Please send electronic submissions  as a word doc file to poloniaanthology@gmail.com 
Deadline: Jan 31, 2015.  

Hi, Brian.
I really appreciate you sharing links to my stories with your readers (here and here). We have announced our new book label (Tipsy Squirrel Press) and we’re looking for submissions for our upcoming anthology: Martinis and Motherhood – Tales of Wonder, Woe, and WTF?!
The general vibe is one of sisterhood and humour. Stories should be 800 – 1,200 words and will be paired with a martini recipe and a toast. You can submit your own martini and toast, but don’t have to.
Deadline: Feb 5, 2015. Guidelines here
Cheers, 
Shannon
Southern Sin from In Fact books

In Fact Books (US) seeks stories that address the trials of living with mental illness for an upcoming anthology, tentatively titled: Beyond Crazy: True Stories of Surviving Mental Illness. Stories should combine a strong narrative with an informative or reflective element, reaching beyond a strictly personal experience for some universal or deeper meaning.
Deadline: February 9, 2015. Guidelines and submissions page here.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Oakville, Orillia, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

“Tenor on the Ninth Branch” by Glen Benison


            I see her today.
She is at the bottom of the City Hall steps looking up, way up, looking in awe at the human Christmas tree. I am certain it is Suzanne. My heart starts beating faster, and I will her to climb the steps.
            The human Christmas tree is created by a mass of people, more than two hundred, dressed in suits of forest green. Everyone is wearing white tuques and white mittens to add the visual effect of snow having settled upon the greenery.
            There must be twenty branches of this tree that spreads wide and climbs up the twenty-three steps that lead towards the entrance of City Hall. The tree sits on a base of two dozen people and grows ever so slightly narrower as it ascends towards the final and twenty-third step.             The man on the top step, at the very tip of the human tree, is dressed in shiny gold. His arms and legs are spread out at forty-five degree angles. He is the star of wonder whose royal beauty bright graces the whole project and whose presence hopefully guides passersby to come from afar bearing a variety of tithes for charity.
            I am at the end of the ninth branch of this human Christmas tree. Although I have been feeling depressingly blue, I am dressed in glittering red. I am the ornament hanging at the extremity of the ninth branch.
            I watch Suzanne and I am in awe of her radiant beauty. Time has been kind to her in the decades since I last her saw at our youth club’s year end dance. And oh what a night that was.
            I will never think more of myself than I did on that dance night so long ago. I branded every young lady but two with a florescent smiley face sticker on the back of their dress. While dancing with a young lady, I’d slowly slip my hand down to rest upon the soft curve of her buttocks. There I had gently applied a sticker.
            That was one glorious night for me; I fed my ego for hours. I was eighteen years old, displaying as much maturity as a six month old Golden Retriever. I felt that I alone owned that dance floor.
            As the music once again slowed, I placed my hand into my left pocket and looked towards Judy. Lovely Judy. She was chatting with a few girl friends as I made my move in her direction. She was to have been my next conquest. But beyond Judy’s shoulder, I saw her ex-boyfriend Nicholas who seemed to be in a debate with his own conscience. His body leaned towards Judy as he tried to work up the gumption to ask her to dance, but his feet seemed to be stuck in neutral.
            I hesitated in my approach towards Judy, for I imagined that at that late hour and that late in the season, her Nicholas’ chance was then or never.
            As Nicholas finally got his act in motion and moved towards Judy, I chose to concede to his desires and backed off. Ha, I guess I did have a heart back then, and it was gutsy of him to try and regain the lover who had cast him away earlier in the summer. I watched as Judy smiled and accepted his offer, and as they began to dance, I started to sing the words to that song: “Whenever you reach for me. I’ll do all that I can.” I sensed the power of love reigniting between them.
 A forceful tapping on my shoulder interrupted my tune.
            I turned to stare into the chest of the six foot-five inch brother of the only other young lady in the room who I had not tagged with a smiley face that night. The big bruiser jerked his thumb over his shoulder indicating that I should ask his sister Suzanne to dance. Now. I knew it was in my best interest to do just that. 
           I walked across the dance hall to where the sister and her flowery dress blended into the wallpaper on the far wall. Suzanne’s eyes lit up when I asked her to dance. I took her hand and led her out to the centre of the floor. As I put my right arm around her waist, my left hand reached into my pocket. I fingered my roll of stickers and but before I could make my move and stick a claim on her, Suzanne sighed and blurted out that she loved me.

            She told me that she had loved me since time began. She told me that my asking her to dance was the most wonderful event of her life. It was the last dance of the night and, as I understand now, most people have expectations when courted on the last waltz.
            But you just don’t tell a man you love him right off the bat like that. At least you don’t tell me that. I released the roll of smiley-face stickers in my pocket. This lady would not become my next conquest. Not if there was love involved.
With the first notes of the last dance, a black light had come on, and the smiley faces stuck on the back sides of all the ladies in the hall, except two, began to glow in testament to my ego. I had held each one of those ladies in my embrace that night. One at a time, just me and them. I’d quietly celebrated each new claim. I was a numbskulled narcissist, a total knob. But I didn’t know it then.
           I had also had this obsession of not being able to stop myself from singing along whenever there was music playing. It was instinctive. I knew all the words to the songs, especially the old moody slow dances. And I could sing, in fact I still can today. I had sung through all my earlier dances and even while dancing with this love sick Suzanne, who I desperately wanted to turn off, I couldn’t shut my mouth.
         Suzanne misinterpreted my actions. She assumed that since I was singing a love song, I was singing specifically to her, that she was being serenaded. Suzanne didn’t understand that when there was music I just had to sing and couldn’t be muted no matter how hard I tried to squeeze shut the vocal chords.
            “I am so in love with you,” Suzanne once again cooed in my ear.
I was unable to reciprocate that emotion in the slightest, but I kept on singing even though I knew the collateral damage it was causing.
While most ladies left that social evening with a smile glowing upon their backs, Suzanne left with a glowing in her heart. That glow glimmered for some time but would never generated a reciprocal response from me. She waited for a phone call that never came and hoped for a knocking upon her door that never occurred.
            Life went on.
            And now I see Suzanne climbing the steps at city hall. She stops to gaze at our human tree of wonder. She listens to our music. We of the human Christmas tree are actually a choir – a poor one I admit – comprised of downtrodden folk of the city. Standing on the ninth branch, I’m as downtrodden and defeated as most. But I can sing better than any of them.
            I am the tenor on the ninth branch.
            The human Christmas tree is a project of the city’s Mayor who brings together the homeless and at-risk folk and offers us a paying job: to sing Christmas carols between noon and one p.m. every weekday throughout December. We also sing from five to seven on Wednesday through Saturday nights.
            Battery operated red lights flicker on and off at the top of our white tuques, adding some glitter to our night-time performances. On Christmas Eve we will compete with the downtown churches, trying to draw away their midnight worshippers. I am out of work, out of luck, and pretty well out of chances to get back on my proverbial feet, but this Christmas time gig makes me feel almost like a regular guy again.
            I watch Suzanne closely. She slowly climbs a few steps, pausing at each branch while absorbing the music. She is getting nearer to my branch. I sing as powerfully as I can. My voice is the one thing I have left. I don’t need to focus on the sheet music. I know these carols by heart and I focus all my energy upon performing just for Suzanne.
            We are not a good choir by any stretch of imagination but the Mayor’s “On Your Feet Again” program is making a difference by using a normally useless contingent of his inner city folk. His is banking on the assumption that even a bunch of crappy singers can’t butcher a Christmas carol too badly, and in any case, at this time of year, the Mayor figures the populace will cut us some slack.
            The Mayor organizes a group of volunteers to feed us free meals as we linger between shows. He lets us hang out at the nearby convention centre, where he has a group of retired business people trying to teach us computer skills and effective job search techniques. This hasn’t done me much good, but I guess you never know.
            I notice Suzanne’s lips moving and I realize that she is singing along with us. We in the choir have reached out and touched another bystander. I strain my ears and swear I can hear her sweet voice weaving through the din of our choir. The spirit of Christmas that exudes from our tree of human retreads is powerful.
            The choir stops as we catch our breath before moving on to the next carol in our repertoire and Suzanne has moved up another step. She is standing by the ninth branch. My knees feel weak. Suzanne and I have not been this close since the night of the club dance when she expressed her love to me.
            I look at Suzanne standing right there just a few feet to my side. She is scanning the faces on the ninth branch. We begin singing about Good King Wenceslas and the Feast of Stephen. I push and project the power of my tenor voice to its limits. I may never have sung with such passion. I may never have been in such need of acceptance.
            Her eyes move towards me, the red ornament, and a smile spreads across her face. She joins in as we hit the stanza where “a poor man comes in sight gathering winter fu-u-el.” I can tell Suzanne does not recognize me. The twenty-some years that have passed have not been kind to me.
            I am sixty-five pounds heavier than I was when I held her in my arms the night of the club dance. My cheek jowls hang down the sides of my face like saddlebags from a mule. My long greasy hair hangs out the back of my toque in a ponytail. My collapsed nostril is a scarring from my close encounter with cocaine.
            I must get Suzanne to realize that it is me. As her eyes once again settle upon me and my distinct voice, I sing my lines directly to her. “Thou shalt find the winter's rage, Freeze thy blood less coldly.” It is as if I am on one knee, begging her to let me, this poor man, back into the warmth of her heart. Her eyes remain fixed on me and they seem to bore deeply into my soul. I reciprocate her gaze.
            She moves up the steps to the tenth branch of the human Christmas tree. I turn my head and watch as she goes but I am still singing directly to her. Then she moves to the eleventh branch. I rotate my torso and continue my serenade. On to the twelve branch and I know I have lost her. No surprise there. Why would she ever want the sad sack of bones that I’ve become?
            Our carol ends and my heart collapses. I turn back and face the City Hall Square at the foot of our Christmas tree.
            We begin our next song. It is the lovely “O Holy Night,” a carol in which my range of voice excels over all the other choir members. It is my time to shine but my spirit has darkened. The song begins and I can only lip-synch the words. My shoulders have slumped. My chin dips and disappears into my meaty jowls.
            And then Suzanne is beside me again. She is so close. I feel sweat surfacing on my forehead.
            She is staring into my eyes. My voice regenerates and I join the choir in their lyrics. Her eyes are locked on mine, as I have again fixed my gaze upon her. Her head nods as if there now just might be some slight recognition. A smile spreads across her face but it is a sad one. She reaches her hand towards me and her bare fingers linger for several seconds as they make contact with my white mittens. I feel her warmth seep through the woollen fabric.
            Suzanne turns away without a word and continues ascending the human Christmas tree. She is gone. She has stuck a crisp twenty dollar bill to my mitten.

Glen Benison has had nonfiction articles published in two Canadian running magazines and in the Ottawa Citizen; he has had seven of his (very) short stories broadcast on CBC Radio. Six years ago, he turned his fancy to fiction when he discovered many ideas taking seed in his mind and then escaping onto his keyboard. He is never certain how a story might unfold and once his fingers start the qwerty dance, a story’s ending is often totally out of his control.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Oakville, Orillia, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Six creative writing courses starting soon, for beginners, personal stories, next step, and advanced

Welcome to Creative Writing
10 weeks of exploring your creative side
Tuesday afternoons, Jan 20 – March 31, 2015
12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
Appleby United Church, 4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington, Ontario (Map here.)
This is your chance to take up writing in a warm, supportive environment. This course will open the door to all kinds of creative writing. We’ll visit short story writing and children’s writing, writing in first person and in third person, and writing just for fun. 
You’ll get a shot of inspiration every week and an assignment to keep you going till the next class. Best of all, this class will provide a zero-pressure, totally safe setting, where your words will grow and flower.
Note: Read two reviews of the "Welcome to Creative Writing" course here. More reviews here.
Fee: 149.56 plus 13% hst = 169
To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Writing Personal Stories
8 weeks of sharing and writing
Tuesday mornings, Jan 27 – March 17, 2015
9:45 – 11:45 a.m.
St Cuthbert's Anglican Church, 1541 Oakhill Drive, Oakville, Ontario (Map here.)
If you've ever considered writing your personal stories, this course is for you.  We’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal essays, family history ~ personal stories of all kinds. Plus, of course, we’ll work on creativity and writing technique and have fun doing it. Whether you want to write a book or just get your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going.
We'll reveal the tricks and conventions of telling true stories, and we’ll show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. 
Weekly writing exercises and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family and friends or for a wider public, don't miss this course.
Note: Read reviews of Brian's courses here.
Fee: 140.71 plus 13% hst = 159
To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

The Next Step in Creative Writing
10 weeks of creative growth
Offered in three locales:

Wednesday evenings, Jan 21 – March 25
6:45 – 9:00 p.m.
First readings emailed Jan 14
Appleby United Church, 4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington, Ontario (Map here.)

Thursday afternoons, Jan 22 – March 26
12:30 – 2:45 p.m.
First readings emailed Jan 15
Unity Church, Unit 8, 3075 Ridgeway Drive, Mississauga, Ontario (Map here.)
Or
Thursday evenings, Jan 22 – March 26
6:45 – 9:00 p.m.
First readings emailed Jan 15
St. Alban's Church, 537 Main Street, Georgetown, Ontario (In the village of Glen Williams. Map here.)

This course will challenge you to take a step up in your writing.  The format will be similar to the "Intensive" courses, but with less reading between classes each week, leaving you with more writing time. Over the ten weeks of classes, you’ll be asked to bring in four pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures addressing the needs of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write.
Note: Check out two reviews of the Next Step course here. More reviews here.
Fee: 176.11 + 13% hst = 199. 
To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca 

Intensive Creative Writing
10 weeks towards mastering your craft 
Wednesday afternoons, Jan 21 – March 25
12:15 to 2:45 p.m.
First set of readings emailed Jan 14
Appleby United Church, 4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington, Ontario (Map here.)
Intensive Creative Writing isn't for beginners; it's for people who have been writing for a while or who have done a course or two before and are working on their own projects. Over the ten classes, you’ll be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.
Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures addressing the needs of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.
Note: Check out a review of the Intensive course 
here. More reviews here.
Fee: 176.11 + 13% hst = 199.  
 To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Oakville, Orillia, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.