for Julie MacShane
I am available to give writing and editing workshops. Contact me by email. My workshops are usually one hour long and are free of charge to locations in the immediate area, unless otherwise specified.
Hour-long workshops for small groups of aspiring writers to find their passions and write about them! Writing about what you love is key to a successful writing career.
2. Book Autopsy/Book Critique
Good for Book Clubs!
a) Traditional Critique (vis a vis established theories/questions) or b) Book Autopsy: Acquire the skills to determine the strengths of a fiction work by asking questions about character, plot, setting, dialogue and theme. By performing a series of steps, like during an autopsy, you can lay bare the guts of the book and determine whether it is "good" in a conventional sense. See below description for more information.
3. How to "Wrap Up" Your Writing as a Gift
Giving a poem or story as a gift is one of the most powerful and personal gifts you can ever present to someone you care about. This class will discuss how to turn your writing into a gift the recipient will treasure. See below description for more information.
2012 Signing/Sale Dates:
July
Ongoing
***I do attend and sometimes facilitate a book club at Windham's Nesmith Library. Contact the library for more information.***
Please contact me to arrange a signing at your book club, library or book store. My email is juliemacshane @ yahoo.com (without the intentional spaces).
Additional Workshop Information:
1. Follow Your Passion Writing Workshop
2. Book Autopsy
3. How to "Wrap Up" Your Writing as a Gift
PREVIOUS EVENTS
2012
Come see me at the Nashua, NH, Public Library Author Event on Thursday, February 23 between 7 and 9 pm. Spend an evening chatting with local authors, browsing their books, and getting their advice on what it would take to get your own book published. Light refreshments served.
2011
December
Name: 38th Annual Holly Day Fair
November
Name: Thornton's Ferry 30th Annual Holiday Craft Fair
October
Name: Hudson, NH, PumkinFest Weekend
September
Name: Dublin, NH, Craft fair
August
Name: Blueberry Jamboree
July
Name: Firehouse Expo 2011 Flea Market
Name: 2012 New England Authors Expo
Date: Wed., July 18, 4 pm to 9 pm
Location: Dansverport Yacht Club, Danvers, Mass.
Comments: "The Expo will consist of numerous New England authors, illustrators, publishers, writer's groups, schools, associated businesses and sponsors. The Expo is an excellent place to meet authors and artists, buy many books, and discuss book writing, illustrating and printing with dozens of publishing professionals," says the Pear Tree Publishing web site.
More details
For Beginning Writers and Those with Writer's Block
This workshop helps aspiring or beginning writers to discover their passions and interests in life and then to transfer the enthusiasm into writing. Those with writer's block can rekindle their pleasure in writing by re-focusing on what made them excited to write in the first place. Writing about what you love is key to a successful writing career. Participants will see how their own interests can help them write and finish a novel or other work.
I've found that most good fiction books have five areas in common. They all score relatively high marks in: Setting, Dialogue, Character, Plot and Theme. In discovering just how good a book is, I've developed my patented Book Autopsy method. Of course, books are not dead objects - they're living, breathing entities to most of us that come to life when we read them. So that is where the comparison between a book and a dead body ends. However, after we're done reading, the critical skills of dissection are still important to get the most out of a book. In this workshop, I'll lead you through this "scientific" method of book assessment. Any book, any time.
Giving a poem or story as a gift is one of the most powerful and personal gifts you can ever present to someone you care about. This class will discuss how to turn your writing into a gift the recipient will treasure. Please bring a copy of the writing that you may want to give as a gift. We'll go over examples of writing brought into class and discuss how to improve them. Writing and pages should be clean, clear and crisp. Sample projects will inspire you to give your pages sparkle through the use of color, art, stickers and special themed paper. We will also discuss the best and least expensive ways to bind your writing, or to present it in different ways. This workshop is appropriate for adults and older teens.
February
Date: Sat., December 3, 8 am to 2 pm
Location: Bishop Guertin High School, 194 Lund Road, Nashua, NH
Comments: Come see my new designer Christmas trees: gothic Christmas trees, Star Wars and Coke themed trees, and Sesame Street, cars and flower-themed trees. A plethora of Christmas gifts line the aisles of this wonderful craft fair in southern New Hampshire. Come share in the Christmas spirit!
Date: Sat., Nov. 19, 9 am to 3 pm
Location: Thornton's Ferry Elementary School, 134 Camp Sargent Road, Merrimack, NH
Comments: Come see my new designer Christmas trees: gothic Christmas trees, Star Wars and Coke themed trees, and Sesame Street, cars and flower-themed trees. A plethora of Christmas gifts line the aisles of this wonderful craft fair in southern New Hampshire. Come share in the Christmas spirit!
Dates: Friday, Oct. 14, from 4 to 8 pm
Saturday, Oct. 15, from 11 am to 7 pm
Sunday, Oct. 16, from 11 am to 5 pm
Location: Hills House, Rte 102, Hudson, NH (across from Alvirne High School)
Comments: Full Midway Carnival, Crafters (including us, MacShane Books, selling books, plush and other fun stuff!), Vendors, Food and Goodies, Children's Games & Entertainers, and more!! FREE Admission.
FREE Trick or Treating Sunday (kids in costumes, 10 & under), FREE Petting Zoo, FREE Children's Concert, entertainment, Bounce House, Games, Food and Beer Tent with live bands. Also, Classic Car Show on Saturday, from 9am-2pm with trophies; Sam The Music Man; and Raffles.
Date: Sat., September 10th, 10 am to 3 pm
Location: Yankee Field, Dublin, NH
Comments: Artisans from all over New England gather to present a wide variety of hand-crafted items for sale. Jewelry, soaps and lotions, cutting boards, fabric crafts, photography, pottery, and much more. Free admission, ample parking, refreshments available.
Date: Sat., August 6
Location: Greenfield, NH
Comments: I plan to sell my 3-book firefighter fiction series, a Firefighting Trivia book, and my Garden Journal and Tracker, plus garden bookmarks.
Date: Sat., July 23, 10 to 3 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD; Baltimore Convention Center
Comments: In conjunction with the last day of Firehouse Expo 2011, there will be many vendors of all things firefighting. I plan to sell my 3-book firefighter fiction series, a Firefighting Trivia book, and firefighter toys - mostly Sesame Street related.