How to Make Yourself Write workshop, Saturday, Nov 28, in Mississauga

How to Make Yourself Write

A creativity workout

Saturday, November 28, 2015

10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Unity Church, Unit 8, 3075 Ridgeway Drive, Mississauga, Ontario (Map here.)

Let's get motivated! This workshop is designed to help you find the time and the inspiration to write. No more staring at a blank screen. Come to this workshop and learn the five keys to beating procrastination. Then give yourself a kick-start and discover how to keep going. This creativity workout will get your words flowing and help you make the breakthrough into the next level of writing.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He 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.

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

For goodness sake, don’t procrastinate! Reserve a spot now. Email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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 Inbox. ~ Brian

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Younger Next Year for Women by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, MD, reviewed by Karen MacDougall

Workman Publishing, 2005, 352 pages. Available from Amazon.ca, $29.99 for hardcover, $9.99 for Kindle, here.

If you want to read one book that can radically change your outlook on life and aging, Younger Next Year for Women or the original Younger Next Year are your choices! 
Very easy to read and entertaining, both books start with the message that the face of aging we see today, with its litany of aches, pains, broken bones, walkers, medication side effects and mental deterioration is not the de facto blueprint for aging, and the books help put into perspective the fact that modern medicines are increasing longevity but that no one thought to tell us how to live healthy lives into our 70s, 80s and 90s.

In fact, the lives we life in the first world are intrinsically unhealthy, the impacts of which we start to see as early as our 40s and which get exacerbated as we age. So it was a refreshing and reassuring revelation to know that we can choose another option, that my mother’s advice “not too get old,” is in fact an option that I can choose, if I’m prepared to work at it.

The main message of Younger Next Year for Women is that we have to keep moving, that motion is what keeps the human body in prime working condition for as long as we keep moving. You stop moving, you begin to decay. That simple. We drive everywhere, many of us sit at desks or on couches for far too much of our lives and we eat to please ourselves as opposed to optimally fueling the machine that is our body.

The book also highlights the importance of connectivity with humanity, that this is one of the things that sets mammals apart, the importance of the pack. It is a message we seem to lose as we age, allowing ourselves to be marginalized, to think that we don’t matter anymore, have nothing left to contribute to society, so we withdraw … to our detriment.   

The book’s strength is the science behind it, it being much easier to accept and comply with a recommendation if you understand the reasoning behind the suggestions. 

The author, Chris Crawley, has an enthusiasm for healthy aging that’s also compelling, especially as he is living proof that you can turn things around at any age and that it’s never too late to start. You just need the motivation and the message that it can be done, that it will make a difference and this book provides just that.

The book is not without its weaknesses, however. Just over half the book, 200 pages, focuses on exercise, the next 83 pages are a mishmash of lifestyle and nutrition advice, with only 42 of those pages specific to nutrition and then about 70 pages to end on the importance of maintaining a purpose in life and of connectivity to the pack. 

I know the authors are well aware of this imbalance and that it reflects their viewpoint, particularly that of Chris Crowley’s, that exercise is the corner stone of their blueprint to healthy aging. But I would say that all three factors, exercise, nutrition and emotional connectivity, are equally important, and to send a message that one is heavily more important than the others is warping the message of healthy aging. 

This book could have been made a lot stronger by editing out more of the anecdotal pieces and increasing the section on nutrition (not diet, but nutrition!). They also missed out an important link to remaining connected in the last section, that of hearing loss and its correlation to increased isolation from the pack often leading to depression.

Some critics have complained the Crowley’s language is often clumsy; others are put off by the born-again tone. While I wasn’t a fan of this myself, the overall message is powerful enough to overcome any shortcomings.  And Crowley does acknowledge his weaknesses (no one is perfect), comparing himself to a Labrador puppy; i.e. a young soul. Nothing wrong with that. It takes all types, and he has taken the time and effort to disseminate a message of hope that is greatly missing in our society.

All in all, I recommend this book to all and sundry as pertinent to anyone who has reached the crest of the hill at 50 and would like to stay on top the plateau for as long as possible. But I would also recommend it to people in their 40s, as a lot of the rot starts to set in during that decade and habits get harder to change the older we get. We are never too young or too old to start living healthier lives. 

Quick Brown Fox wants your book reviews. Details here. Read how to write a book review here.

Karen MacDougall is a writer of historical fiction, with one novel completed and a second which is currently a work in progress. She has seen her work grow by leaps and bounds after networking made her aware of Brian’s classes and workshops. 

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Four fabulous presents to put on your Christmas list or to buy for that writer you love

Four presents for the writer in your life:

A three-day writers’ retreat in Algonquin Park – get two, one for you and one for your spouse, sibling or best friend, because you don’t want to miss this weekend. See here.

For a great stocking stuffer, give a gift certificate for a Saturday workshop. See what’s coming soon here or just give a certificate for them to hang on to until that special workshop they’re looking for comes around.

For a more substantial present, get a gift certificate for a weekly course. See details of classes starting in the new year here.

Or get a gift certificate for a short consult. Maybe you know someone with a picture book manuscript, a short story or an opening chapter that needs professional critiquing. Or maybe they have a query letter – they’d love to have a professional rewrite it and make it irresistible. Or maybe they’d just like to have a chat about their career. These are all things that can be done in an hour and are ideal candidates for a consult. See details of consults here.

See 60-plus more ideas for presents for writers (none of which involve my services) here.

Four literary agents at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth seek everything from cookbooks to picture books

Zachary Shuster Harmsworth

 A Literary and Entertainment Agency

1776 Broadway, Suite 1405

New York, NY 10019

and

535 Bolyston Street, 11th floor

Boston, MA 02116

http://www.zshliterary.com/

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 Inbox.  ~ Brian

Lori Galvin has joined Zachary Shuster Harmsworth as an agent based in the firm's Boston office, as part of their "deepening ... commitment to representing the finest writers of cookbooks." Like all new agents, she needs authors.

Lori (website LoriGalvin.com) knows cookbooks. For over a decade, she helped lead a team that produced dozens of landmark cookbooks (70+) for the multimedia publisher America's Test Kitchen. Just a few of her titles include the companions to the most-watched cooking shows on public television, America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen, as well as the New York Times bestseller The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook, Cook’s Country Eats Local, and Kitchen Hacks.

Lori seeks cookbook authors with a strong point of view, a solid grounding in their field, and a talent for motivating cooks of all stripes to get into the kitchen. She is also on the lookout for compelling narratives about food and drink, whether memoir or cultural commentary, serious or steeped in humor. Lifestyle topics, including motivational self-help, are also of interest.

Query Lori through the agency’s contact page here.

Nan Thornton is another newish agent. Nan was formerly a subsidiary rights assistant at Knopf and has practiced copyright law for the past 12 years, representing authors and their estates and also Pearson Education where she was in-house counsel for most of the past eight years. 

Nan currently lives in New Jersey and works out of ZSH’s New York office.

Nan is seeking authors in a broad range of areas, including literary and commercial fiction, narrative nonfiction, biography, memoir, and nonfiction in the areas of health science, business, parenting, and education. She also seeks children’s books.

Query Nan through the agencies contact page here.

Michelle Brower began her career in publishing in 2004 while studying for her Master's degree in English Literature at New York University. During that time, she worked with the agents Wendy Sherman and Joelle Delbourgo. After graduating, she became an agent at Wendy Sherman Associates where she began representing books in a variety of areas within fiction and non-fiction.

Recent books Brower has represented include: The House Girl (William Morrow 2013) by Tara Conklin, a New York Times bestseller, #1 Indie Next Pick, and Target Book Club Pick; The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler (St Martins 2015); The Girl Who Came Home (William Morrow 2014) by internationally bestselling author Hazel Gaynor; as well as the New York Times bestseller The Returned by Jason Mott (MIRA 2014), which was the basis of the ABC television series "Resurrection."

She is interested in fiction that pays equal attention to both the voice and the story, particularly literary fiction, thrillers and literary mysteries, smart women's fiction, "book club" fiction that brings a tear to the eye and a thrill to the heart, and books with a fantastic/paranormal element that reach beyond genre. She is also selectively representing YA with the same qualities. In non-fiction, she is mostly interested in subject-driven narratives, memoirs, or journalism.

Query Michelle through the agency’s contact page here.

Rick Richter brings 30 years of diverse publishing experience to ZSH. He served for over a decade on the Executive Committee of Simon & Schuster in the roles of President, Children's Publishing, and President, Sales and Distribution and he co-founded the prestigious children's publisher Candlewick Press. Most recently, Richter co-founded the digital media startup, Ruckus Media.

Richter has overseen and participated in the editorial, marketing, sales and publicity efforts supporting some 6,000 books over the course his career, focusing on the categories Children's through New Adult. Franchise bestsellers published under his supervision include; He's Just Not That Into You, Yes Man, City of Bones – Mortal Instruments, The Uglies Series, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Guess How Much I Love You, Olivia, and the successful re-launch of classic properties Eloise and Raggedy Ann, working closely with the estates of Kay Thompson and Johnny Gruelle.

As an agent, Richter is most interested in New Adult topical fiction and non-fiction, Young Adult in all forms, Middle Grade titles that are humorous or literary in nature, and Picture Books with strong central characters capable of being sustained over several books. Richter also has a passion for narrative non-fiction in the areas of History and Military History.

Query Rick through the agency’s contact page here.

Monica Pacheco

Brian Henry will lead How to Get Published workshops on Saturday, Feb 20, in Kitchener, with literary agent Olga Filina of The Rights Factory (see here) and on Saturday, Feb 27, in Brampton with Martha Webb of the McDermid Agency (see here).

Also, Brian will lead Writing for Children & for Young Adults workshops on Saturday, March 5, in Burlington, with Monica Pacheco, literary agent with The McDermid Agency (see here), and on Saturday, April 30, in Guelph (see here).

Other upcoming workshops include  You can write great dialogue, Saturday, Nov 21, in Ingersoll (see here), How to Build Your Story, Sunday, Nov 22, in Windsor (see here),  How to Make Yourself Write Saturday, Nov 28, in Mississauga (see here), and Writing Your Life, Saturday, Dec 5, in Burlington (see  here).   

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

But the best way to grow as a writer or to get your manuscript ready for publication may be with a weekly class. Starting in the new year, Brian will be offering a full range of courses for both beginning to experienced writers (details of all five classes here) ...

Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Jan 28 – March 31, (no class March 17), in Burlington. (See details of this class here.)

Writing Personal Stories, Tuesday afternoons, Feb 2 – March 29, (no class March 15) in Burlington (see here.)

The Next Step in Creative Writing, Wednesday evenings, Jan 20 – March 30 (no class March 16), in Burlington (see here)

Intermediate Creative Writing, Thurs evenings, Jan 21 – March 31, (no class March 17), in Georgetown (see here)

Intensive Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, Jan 20 – March 9  (For details, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca) 

See details of all five classes here.

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

To register or for more information, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

New book: The Corset Marker, by KT Frederick

Hi, Brian:

It's "K.T. Frederick" here.

Just wanted to say hello and thank you.  I have a erotic romance serial coming out on November 17 (and a second one coming out in December). In my acknowledgements I mention you and thank you.

This serial (Novella open ended series) was well received by big reputable publishers. Two in particular gave me a verbal offer (one for five novellas at a time). In the end because of the price point these books typically need to sell at and the rigidity in the marketing program they were offering, I decided to self-publish them.

Thanks again for everything,

KT 

ktfrederick.com

For more about the first book, The Corset Maker, see here. To buy a copy go here.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Writing for Children & for Young Adults workshop, with guest speaker Yasemin Uçar, senior editor at Kids Can Press

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong,
a #1 New York Times bestselling author
and one of Brian's students

Writing for Children & for Young Adults

 ~ the world’s hottest market ~

With guest speakers Yasemin Uçar, senior editor at Kids Can Press 

and author Jennifer Mook-Sang

Saturday, April 30

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Harcourt United Church, 87 Dean Ave, Guelph, Ontario (Map  here.)

If you want to write the next best-selling children’s books or just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn how to write stories kids and young adults will love and find out what you need to know to sell your book.

Special option: You may, but don't have to, bring 3 copies of the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel (or 1,000 words if that will get you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter.) If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started on the spot!

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
by Louise Rennison, one of the bestselling
authors Yasemin has worked with.

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 and is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. Read reviews of Brian’s classes and workshops here.

Guest speaker Yasemin Uçar is a Senior Editor at Kids Can Press. Altogether, she’s been a children’s and young adult book editor for seventeen years. She worked at Scholastic Canada before moving to the UK in 2001, where she worked as a Senior Editor at Piccadilly Press in London, managing a list of about 25 titles a year. 

She moved back to Toronto in 2006 and worked as a freelance editor for six years for several publishers, including Scholastic, Second Story Press, Madison Press Books, and HarperCollins. She joined Kids Can Press in 2012.

Yasemin has worked with many popular and award-winning authors and illustrators, including international bestselling author Louise Rennison, Barbara Coloroso, Anne Villeneuve, Pierre Pratt, Caroline Adderson, and Ashley Spires.

We will also have author Jennifer Mook-Sang as a guest speaker. Jennifer lives and writes in Burlington. She’s as amazed as anyone to find she’s a published author. Her humorous middle grade novel Speechless was started in one of Brian Henry’s classes and was released by Scholastic in September. Speechless is already a hit, and has been named a finalist for the Silver Birch award in the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program.

Jennifer was a finalist in the Writing for Children Competition 2014 sponsored by CANSCAIP and The Writer’s Union of Canada. (For information on this year’s CANSCAIP–Writers’ Union contest, see here.) At the workshop, Jennifer will speak about how she got her first book published. In the meanwhile, Speechless is available online here and be sure to check out Jennifer’s website here.

Workshop fee: 40.71+ 13% hst = 46 paid in advance by mail or Interac
or 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 if you wait to pay at the door

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

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 Inbox. ~ Brian

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.