Workshops
Turning your Life into Story… and into publication
Facilitated by Sue Reynolds
Place: OSHAWA – Trent University in Oshawa, Room 105
Times: 7:00 – 9:00 pm.
Dates: Monday nights, January 30 – March 27 (please note – there is no class on Feb. 20)
Registration: $220 (WCDR members 10% discount – $198.00)
This 8 week course shows participants how to find the germs of story in personal experience (their own or those of their family and friends) and transform them into short fiction.
Through the study of existing short stories and learning writer’s craft techniques, authors will experiment with their own tales.
Homework can be submitted privately for individual feedback each week.
By the end of the course writers will produce one or two polished stories and, if they choose, “put a stamp on it” – i.e., identify a contest or journal they think is an ideal market for their story and send the piece off.
January 30 — Defining and Exploring the Idea of Short Story
February 6th — Going where there’s a knot
February 13th — the Locus of the Story
PLEASE NOTE – no class on February 20th
February 27th — There comes a moment – Transformation… or not
March 6th — Tied up in a bow or untied shoelaces?
March 13th — Objective Correlative – supportive metaphor and imagery
March 20th — Editing and Refining
March 27th — Put a Stamp on it
Susan Lynn Reynolds is a writer, teacher and psychotherapist. She teaches writing through workshops in the community, in college continuing education programs, and in social services settings. She writes and has won awards for her YA novel, short stories, poems and non-fiction.
She has been leading writing groups since 1998 and has been certified to lead workshops in the Amherst Writers method since 2002. She is licensed to work with groups doing expressive writing for wellness as well.
She has been leading writing workshops for female inmates at Central East Correctional Centre for 12 years, a program for which she received the June Callwood Award for Outstanding Volunteerism.
To REGISTER
| Registration for Non Members
$220.00 + HST |
Registration for Writers’ Community Members
$198.00 +HST |
There’s a spot available in Writers’ Sanctuary for December 17th
I’ve had a cancellation for Writers’ Sanctuary on December 17th. It’s been booked solid for months.
If you’re interested in attending please email me at sue@writeportal.ca
Thanks!
Please go to this link to pay: Payment Page
Writing Workshop in Barrie Ontario – “Show Don’t Tell” – November 27, 2016
Whether you’re writing fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry, you hear the maxim “show don’t tell” over and over again. But what exactly does that mean? And are you doing it?
Join Inkslingers for a full day workshop into this most essential skill.
The day will cover “showing” rather than “telling” in several different forms:
- dialogue
- description
- plotting
- subtext
as well as identifying those opportunities in your writing when telling is actually more appropriate than showing.
Workshop participants will be working with samples from their own work to see where they are already using this skill and to find out where they employ it more powerfully. This hands on, interactive workshop will make sure each participant fully integrates this essential element of the craft of writing.
Location: BARRIE Ontario Travel Information Centre – Meeting Room
21 Mapleview Dr E
Barrie, ON L4N 9A9
(Hwy 400 at Mapleview Dr (formerly Molson Park Dr), SE corner of intersection * accessible from 400 northbound and southbound * accessible from Costco parking lot)
Time: 10:00 to 4:00
Cost: $95 + HST
($75 + HST for WCDR, WCSC, WCYR, WEN, WHEN, PWAC members)
Payment for Writers’ Sanctuary 2017
Please click on the dates for which you are paying. The cart will appear in the sidebar to the right – Click on the yellow and blue Paypal button to go to the PayPal portal and complete your payment.
(Please note: if the date you are requesting is WAIT LIST ONLY, you are not required to pay a registration fee unless your WAIT LIST ONLY spot becomes available and you’re able to attend. If a spot does not become available, but you have paid already, a full refund will be issued or transferred to another date if you wish.)
Payment for Writers’ Sanctuaries with Sue Reynolds for AUTUMN 2017 |
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September 17 (Sunday) |
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September 18 (Monday) |
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September 30 (Saturday) |
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October 21 (Saturday) |
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October 23 (Monday ) |
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October 29 (Sunday) |
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November 19 (Sunday) |
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November 20 (Monday) |
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November 25 (Saturday) |
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December 3rd (Sunday) |
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If you are notified about your waitlisted spot becoming available, you may pay for it here, below: |
If you have hit the wrong button and wish to take a date out of your cart, just hit the small green up arrow in the shopping cart and that item will be removed from your cart.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
If Sue receives your cancellation notice up to five days in advance of the retreat, (for instance, if the retreat is on a Saturday, she must hear from you by midnight on the previous Sunday) you may choose to apply your deposit to a future retreat or receive a refund (minus a $20 administration fee).
If you cancel with less than five days notice, (in the example above, for instance, it would be anytime Monday or later) and your spot cannot be filled from a waiting list, no refund will be made. However, you are permitted to sell or gift your spot for that date to another person. If you do this, please email or call Sue right away to provide the contact information of your replacement. Since Sue provides lunch, it is important that she know of any dietary restrictions etc.
NOTE: *If a Sanctuary is cancelled for any reason, such as severe winter weather creates dangerous driving conditions, Sue will call all registered participants as soon as she has made the decision to cancel. In this situation, participants may request a full refund or transfer their payment to a future retreat date.
Inkslingers Cancellation Policy
CANCELLATION POLICY:
If I receive your cancellation notice up to five days in advance of the retreat, (for instance, if the retreat is on a Saturday, I must hear from you by midnight on the previous Sunday) you may choose to apply your deposit to a future retreat or receive a refund (minus a $20 administration fee).
If you cancel with less than five days notice, (in the example above, for instance, it would be anytime Monday or later) and your spot cannot be filled from a waiting list, no refund will be made. However, you are permitted to sell or gift your spot for that date to another person. If you do this, please email or call me right away to provide the contact information of your replacement. Since I provide lunch, it is important that I know of any dietary restrictions etc.
NOTE: *If a Poetry Sanctuary is cancelled for any reason, such as severe winter weather creates dangerous driving conditions, I will call all registered participants as soon as I have made the decision to cancel. In this situation, participants may request a full refund or transfer their payment to a future retreat date.
Inkslingers Writing Retreat – 7 Days Write by Lake Simcoe
A Review
by Theresa Dekker
In 2011 I was looking for an affordable getaway where I could concentrate on my writing when I received a notice describing the Inkslingers weeklong writing retreat at Loretto Maryholme in Roches Point, Ontario. Only an hour’s drive from home, set on an idyllic country property, it offered me a sanctuary from distractions and excuses.
I arrived on a beautiful July Sunday afternoon and after unpacking in my private room took a walk to explore the grounds. From the various flower gardens to the unimpeded view of Lake Simcoe and then through a silent walk of the labyrinth I felt myself letting go of all the day-to-day clamour that had occupied my thoughts.
The group gathered for a delicious meal – the first of many prepared by Chef Deb Rankine – where we had a chance to meet fellow writers and talk about how the week would flow. Our hosts and facilitators, Sue Reynolds and James Dewar, set a comfortable relaxed tone from the first night. I headed off to bed ready to experience silent mornings. Continue reading
IRELAND August 6 to 14, 2016 – writing, yoga, exploration
From August 6th to 14th, Inkslingers will be offering a writing/yoga/discovery retreat in lovely, literary Ireland!
Ireland is the home and inspiration of a number of literary greats, many of whom have influenced the literature of Western civilization: James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, C. S. Lewis, Edna O’Brien, Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, Anne Enright, Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, George Bernard Shaw, Roddy Doyle, Seamus Heaney, Maeve Binchy, to name some of the best known.
Come and steep yourself in Irish literature and landscape. Slow down and let the beauty and history of Ireland seep into your consciousness, and your writing.
Participants who wish to travel with the group will leave Toronto on Friday evening, August 5th, arriving in Dublin midday on Saturday, August 6th. (Participants are also welcome to make their own travel arrangements and meet us in Dublin).
Optional activities will include visiting sites of significant literary, geological and historical significance in this land that saved civilization during the Dark Ages.
After two nights in Dublin, the group will head off to Sligo (Yeats Country!) for two days, then to Ennis in County Clare for two days, before returning to Dublin for the last days.
Each day will begin with the Radical Restoration model of yoga at 7:00, breakfast at 8:30 and a 2 1/2 hour writing workshop after that.
After lunch each day there will be optional local activities that individuals can participate in or not, as they wish or as they have energy for. (Three of the days will include travel to our next destination in the afternoon. This, of course, is not optional 🙂 ) This is your retreat so each participant is at complete liberty to follow their own inclination or energy level when it comes to planned events.
Please click here to register and to pay the deposit.
Yoga classes will be offered by yoga teacher and poet extraordinaire, Kate Marshall Flaherty.
The writing sessions will be led by Sue Reynolds, with occasional support by Kate and by James Dewar.
Pricing:
Early bird registration for this retreat is $2700 Cdn if you register before April 18th, 2016.
Cost of this retreat is $2950 Cdn after that date.
A non-refundable deposit of $250 Cdn is required at the time of reserving your spot on the retreat. Trip must be paid in full 60 days before August 5th.
That price includes all hotels (double occupancy), all breakfasts, the programmes (yoga and writing workshops) all transfers between hotels, and 4 dinners. Quoted price also includes most of the optional activities available to the group (list to follow).
A VERY limited number of single occupancy rooms are available for an additional $429 Cdn. Single rooms will be available on a strict first come first served basis. Book early!
Not covered: Participants are responsible for their own airfare to Dublin, lunches, and 4 dinners.
Please click here to register and to pay the deposit.
Having Trouble Finding Time to Work on Your Writing?
Mark your calendar for the evening of Monday, December 7th for INKSLINGERS once-a-month, NoCost poetry workshop evening at C’est What? in Toronto.
For December 2015 we’re revisiting our old model: 1 hour of creating poems through writing on the spot to prompts offered by an AWA certified facilitator (Sue Reynolds in December), 1 hour of workshopping pieces brought to the evening (please bring 15 to 20 copies – we have room for 8 pieces), and a final hour of workshopping your performance of your work “on stage”.
(We’re in the Library Room at the back of the pub!)
This event is designed to inspire poets at every skill level to develop their craft through writing, revising, and performing.
NEXT INKSLINGER’S FREE WORKSHOP:
MONDAY December 7th, 2015
NEW START TIME: 7:30 p.m.
NEW LOCATION: C’EST WHAT? (67 Front Street East)
PLEASE NOTE THAT C’EST WHAT? SERVES FOOD AND BEVERAGES in the performance lounge starting at 6:00 p.m. (and throughout the evening).
We are very grateful for the patronage of our hosts at C’est What? All participants in the evening’s workshop are encouraged to come early and share repast with Sue & James and the Guest Facilitator prior to the evening’s event.
Inkslingers’ new home is C’est What, 67 Front Street East, downstairs. C’est What is located in the cellar of a historic 19th century building in the St. Lawrence Market area. Casual, warm, and inviting, with great craft beers and a diverse and delicious menu. An easy 3 minute walk from Union Station.
Location: C’est What? 67 Front Street (at Church Street).
From Union Station: 5 minute walk or take the 72A Pape bus to Church Street and walk one block north.
From King Subway Station: 5 minute walk or take the 504 King streetcar east to Church Street and walk one block south.
WRITE-CRAFT-READ November 9th – FREE
INKSLINGERS offers a once-a-month poetry workshop evening on Mondays at C’est What? in Toronto.
(We’re in the Library Room at the back of the pub!)
This event is designed to inspire poets at every skill level to develop their craft through writing, revising, and performing.
In our new location we have also changed things up a bit. The first part of the evening will not only be writing on the spot, but will also include optional reading of the brand new work. In AWA-workshop fashion, the audience will offer immediate feedback on what’s working already in these just-written pieces.
The first part of the evening will now be facilitated every month by an AWA-certified writing instructor. For the next evening – November 9th, 2015 – our guest facilitator will be:
Kate Marshall Flaherty
AWA facilitator and host of the Stillpoint Writer’s Workshops
Kate Marshall Flaherty published her most recent book, Stone Soup with Quattro Books, the same year as Reaching V, with Guernica Editions. She has been published in Canadian journals such as CV2, Descant, Grain, Malahat Review and Vallum, International Anthologies such as Not A Muse, and American Journals such as Saranac Review. She was Shortlisted for Descant’s Best Canadian Poem, the Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize, the Robert Frost Poetry Prize and Thomas Merton Poetry of the Sacred Award.
She is honoured to have written with both mentors Pat Schneider and Sue Reynolds as she became certified in the AWA Method of writing, and now guides her own StillPoint writing workshops in the AWA method. She guides Golden Rule Leadership Retreats, Writing as a Spiritual Practice Workshops and yoga classes.
She is now the Toronto Rep. for the League of Canadian Poets. Poetry is her lifeline.
Bolster your poetry practice with a night of prompts, production, feedback and community!
Join Sue Reynolds, James Dewar and Kate Marshall Flaherty on Monday, November 9th at 7:30!
NEXT INKSLINGER’S FREE WORKSHOP:
MONDAY November 9th, 2015
NEW START TIME: 7:30 p.m.
NEW LOCATION: C’EST WHAT? (67 Front Street East)PLEASE NOTE THAT C’EST WHAT? SERVES FOOD AND BEVERAGES in the performance lounge starting at 6:00 p.m. (and throughout the evening).
We are very grateful for the patronage of our hosts at C’est What? All participants in the evening’s workshop are encouraged to come early and share repast with Sue & James and the Guest Facilitator prior to the evening’s event.
Inkslingers’ new home is C’est What, 67 Front Street East, downstairs. C’est What is located in the cellar of a historic 19th century building in the St. Lawrence Market area. Casual, warm, and inviting, with great craft beers and a diverse and delicious menu. An easy 3 minute walk from Union Station.
Location: C’est What? 67 Front Street (at Church Street).
From Union Station: 5 minute walk or take the 72A Pape bus to Church Street and walk one block north.
From King Subway Station: 5 minute walk or take the 504 King streetcar east to Church Street and walk one block south.
WRITE-CRAFT-READ Poetry Workshop Night – October 5th
INKSLINGERS offers a once-a-month poetry workshop evening on Mondays at C’est What? in Toronto.
(We’re in the Library Room at the back of the pub!)
This event is designed to inspire poets at every skill level to develop their craft through writing, revising, and performing.
In our new location we have also changed things up a bit. The first part of the evening will not only be writing on the spot, but will also include optional reading of the brand new work. In AWA-workshop fashion, the audience will offer immediate feedback on what’s working already in these just-written pieces.
The first part of the evening will now be facilitated every month by an AWA-certified writing instructor. For the next evening – October 5th, 2015 – our guest facilitator will be:
Susie Whelehan
AWA facilitator and host of the Writers’ Oasis monthly retreats
Susie Whelehan reads and writes in Toronto’s West End. Her work has been produced on television and published in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Windsor Review, and various anthologies. She was a finalist in CBC’s Canada Writes and won first place in poetry at the Canada Church Press Awards. With Rebecca Cunningham, Susie co-wrote Meditating Mamas: a Spiritual Resource for New Mothers, published by Novalis, and with Anne Laurel Carter she co-edited and contributed to an anthology published by Knopf Canada, My Wedding Dress: True-life Tales of Lace, Laughter, Tears and Tulle.
Bolster your poetry practice with a night of prompts, production, feedback and community!
Join Sue Reynolds, James Dewar and Susie Whelehan on Monday, October 5th at 7:30!
NEXT INKSLINGER’S FREE WORKSHOP:
MONDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014
NEW START TIME: 7:30 p.m.
NEW LOCATION: C’EST WHAT? (67 Front Street East)PLEASE NOTE THAT C’EST WHAT? SERVES FOOD AND BEVERAGES in the performance lounge starting at 6:00 p.m. (and throughout the evening).
We are very grateful for the patronage of our hosts at C’est What? All participants in the evening’s workshop are encouraged to come early and share repast with Sue & James and the Guest Facilitator prior to the evening’s event.
Inkslingers’ new home is C’est What, 67 Front Street East, downstairs. C’est What is located in the cellar of a historic 19th century building in the St. Lawrence Market area. Casual, warm, and inviting, with great craft beers and a diverse and delicious menu. An easy 3 minute walk from Union Station.
Location: C’est What? 67 Front Street (at Church Street).
From Union Station: 5 minute walk or take the 72A Pape bus to Church Street and walk one block north.
From King Subway Station: 5 minute walk or take the 504 King streetcar east to Church Street and walk one block south.