Writing for Children and Youth – January 24 to March 20, 2017

The children and youth writing market is a rich and vibrant one. In this online course, you will examine the writing process from initial concept to finished work including how to turn ideas into stories, story structure, developing characters, the creation of outlines and the importance of editing and revision. You will also examine ways to research publishing houses where you can submit your work, cover letters, synopses and sample chapters.

Learn more about Writing for Children and Youth and how to register here

Writing for Children and Youth – January 24 to March 20, 2017

The children and youth writing market is a rich and vibrant one. In this online course, you will examine the writing process from initial concept to finished work including how to turn ideas into stories, story structure, developing characters, the creation of outlines and the importance of editing and revision. You will also examine ways to research publishing houses where you can submit your work, cover letters, synopses and sample chapters.

Learn more about Writing for Children and Youth and how to register here

The Writing for Publication class takes place at Mount Royal University on Saturday, February 11, 9 am to 4 pm.

Have you ever read a novel, short story or nonfiction article and thought, “I could have written that”? This workshop shows you where to find ideas and turn them into a marketable venture. Half the class is spent exploring novels, short stories and non-fiction projects from concept to draft, the other half discussing how the various markets operate.

This class is ideal for novice writers wishing to write material for publication.

Registration

Registration is available here on the Mount Royal University website.

Today I’ll be at Good Earth at Aspen Landing in Calgary from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

There will be a presentation about all my books, some readings and of course lots of time for questions about writing and publishing.

I’ll also be signing copies of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and Future Imperfect.

Hope to see you there.

Today I’ll be at Good Earth at Glenmore Landing in Calgary from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

There will be a presentation about all my books, some readings and of course lots of time for questions about writing and publishing.

I’ll also be signing copies of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and Future Imperfect.

Hope to see you there.

Writing for Children and Youth – January 24 to March 20, 2017

Even at Christmas, activities unrelated to writing can often unlock your inspiration. These include wrapping gifts, stringing lights, decorating the tree and house, or even more everyday tasks such as doing laundry, walking the dog, tidying the house, or washing the dishes after a family meal. It’s surprising how even the most mundane situations can launch you on the road to your next story. Ideas might also be generated from your own influences, either from childhood or later in life. Something you see in the run up to Christmas might remind you of incidents from previous festive seasons that can serve as inspiration.

If you drive to work, you probably don’t normally notice the same familiar sights that you pass each day, such as company names and logos, advertising billboards, road signs and so on. And yet these can also provide a starting point for your writing. Take a selection of the things that you see one morning, completely at random, then write them down once you get to work. From there your task is to create a short story, even if it’s only one page, including all of those items. You could also perhaps choose ten festive words that you encounter on the way to work and write a short piece using all of them at least once. And if your day wasn’t that interesting, turn that into a writing challenge too. Recall the most mind-numbing or irritating aspect of your day and write a short poem about it. It might not win any awards for content or style, but creating that poem about such a bland topic might be just what you need to get moving with your writing.

In the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season an idea might come to you out of the blue. This could be an overheard conversation or a song on the radio, for example. No matter what the idea is, make a note of it, however insignificant it may seem at the time. It might be a character name that you like the sound of, even if you don’t have a story to put it in yet. It could a title for a novel. Keep notepads handy, or even use a voice recorder if you have ideas while you’re driving. You might have many ideas that may never become complete stories. However, you should always keep a record of them since you never know when you might get another piece of the puzzle.

Writing for Children and Young Adults

Evening classes at Mount Royal University in Calgary on February 21 and 28, and March 7 and 14, from 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm.

Explore the process of writing books for children and young adults aged 8 to 12. Focus on structure, character development and research, and their importance in your stories. Examine how to turn a creative story idea into a marketable, finished manuscript.

Registration

Registration is available here at the Mount Royal University website.

In the holiday season, an interesting exercise designed to get a story moving is to randomly use a collection of presents or Christmas decorations drawn from a bag. You then create a story in which these objects must all be used as a significant part of the narrative. You then draw out four or five at random and use them to create your story.

This type of exercise always sparks the imagination and you’d be surprised at what you might come up with when confronted with a group of seemingly unconnected objects. You can establish a time limit to force yourself to devise the beginning, middle and end of the story. You could even use this as a game to keep children entertained. The final result may not be bestseller material, but the process will certainly stimulate your imagination and might be just enough to get your creativity moving. 

If you don’t feel as if you can create your own story from scratch, why not use someone else’s? Rewrite the ending to a Christmas story that you’re very familiar with or use different characters. This could be a fairy tale, a real incident from history, myths or legends, a movie or TV series, whatever you like really. You could take a Christmas carol or seasonal song and create new lyrics all about your own Christmas experience. 

Whatever path you decide to follow, the process could lead you in all sorts of interesting directions. A radically different take on familiar characters and situations, while they may not be marketable in themselves, will help to get your creative juices flowing and perhaps serve as inspiration for your own work. 

Today I’ll be at Good Earth at Glenmore Landing in Calgary from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

There will be a presentation about all my books, some readings and of course lots of time for questions about writing and publishing.

I’ll also be signing copies of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and Future Imperfect.

Hope to see you there.

Today I’ll be at Good Earth at Aspen Landing in Calgary from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm. There will be a presentation about all my books, some readings and of course lots of time for questions about writing and publishing.

I’ll also be signing copies of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and Future Imperfect.

Hope to see you there.

Despite the mayhem of the Christmas season, the final weeks of the year still present considerable opportunities for writers. You might even find the missing piece of the puzzle that allows you to create your masterpiece or at least get some really great ideas.

Consider an overheard conversation and where it might lead. How about “there’s no way I’m inviting him to our house for Christmas ever again”, or “after that incident last New Year’s Eve, her family will never be the same.” Any of these could be overheard in the aisle of the toy store, in the food court at the mall, at a store checkout or at the airport as you wait to board your flight to visit relatives. Or maybe you receive an unexpected Christmas card and immediately recognize the name above the return address as belonging to someone you thought you’d never hear from again. You could even find a mysterious note in a gift sent to you by mistake, complete with tantalizingly vague details about someone who appears to be in serious danger. All of these are great story starters, but can also help you develop your own idea or take a story on a completely different path altogether.

Consider airports while you’re waiting for an hour or more for your flight to depart. You’re surrounded by many different kinds of people as they eat snacks, drink coffee, read books, newspapers or magazines, listen to music or perhaps chat to the person beside them. The same applies to the crowds in the malls during the busy shopping season or if you undertake a regular journey to work on a bus or a train each morning with hundreds of other people.

You don’t know these individuals at all, but to the writer these situations provide a wealth of material. You can speculate about the lives, jobs, families even the hopes and dreams of your fellow travelers and shoppers. You could even imagine a ‘what if everything went wrong’ story and concoct a tale from a hypothetical catalogue of disasters. In these ordinary everyday situations, the possibilities for extraordinary inspiration are almost endless.

The Writing for Publication class takes place at Mount Royal University on Saturday, February 11, 9 am to 4 pm.

Have you ever read a novel, short story or nonfiction article and thought, “I could have written that”? This workshop shows you where to find ideas and turn them into a marketable venture. Half the class is spent exploring novels, short stories and non-fiction projects from concept to draft, the other half discussing how the various markets operate.

This class is ideal for novice writers wishing to write material for publication.

Registration

Registration is available here on the Mount Royal University website.

For many of us, December is a very busy period that requires good time management. For example, if you normally try to write a certain number of pages or words each day at other times of the year, the occasional day might have to be cancelled due to family duties. However, in December it can seem as if you lose entire weeks of your creative time. There’s shopping, cooking, planning, and the kids are off school. You may have to attend your workplace’s office party or that of your partner. The holiday season is always a very hectic period.

So with all these distractions, how do you find time to write? Well, there are a number of strategies you could try. If you have a book deadline or even just want to set time aside to create, examine some of the traditional things you do each Christmas. Be ruthless when you determine which of these activities can be sacrificed and perhaps undertaken only every other year. Maybe it’s caroling in the neighbourhood, visiting a distant relative or rarely seen friend, but if it’s not happening, you have more writing time. Be selective about the functions you attend too, without being rude or giving the wrong impression. Let’s be honest, there are some years when many of us would rather not attend the office party if we can help it.

You can also delegate holiday duties to others. Have the kids decorate the tree if they’re old enough or recruit other adults to do the decorations. Delegate cooking and baking duties as well. You can even go out for dinner at Christmas, as long as you don’t feel like you’re betraying the family tradition. However, it’s important to keep in mind that such an outing isn’t an annual event, just something to free up some of your time for writing.

Buy Christmas gifts early if possible. If you have the same people to buy for each year, you might save some time by buying things in September or October, for example. You can also buy gift certificates or do some of your shopping online. It all saves time and gives you more chance to write.

You can also try to schedule work earlier in the year. Take a look at your upcoming commitments in the latter part of the year and do a rough estimate of the time these will require. Unless you have newlyweds, a new set of in-laws, have newborn babies in the family or have long lost relatives visiting from overseas, you have a good idea of how the holiday season will unfold. Bank those crucial writing hours earlier in the fall. Work an extra hour or do more writing in September and October and your creative muse will thank you later.

Writing for Children and Youth – January 24 to March 20, 2017

Today I’ll be at Good Earth at Aspen Landing in Calgary from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm. There will be a presentation about all my books, some readings and of course lots of time for questions about writing and publishing.

I’ll also be signing copies of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and Future Imperfect.

Hope to see you there.

Today I’ll be at Good Earth at Glenmore Landing in Calgary from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

There will be a presentation about all my books, some readings and of course lots of time for questions about writing and publishing.

I’ll also be signing copies of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and Future Imperfect.

Hope to see you there.

Writing for Children and Young Adults

Evening classes at Mount Royal University in Calgary on February 21 and 28, and March 7 and 14, from 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm.

Explore the process of writing books for children and young adults aged 8 to 12. Focus on structure, character development and research, and their importance in your stories. Examine how to turn a creative story idea into a marketable, finished manuscript.

Registration

Registration is available here at the Mount Royal University website.

During the holiday season, some people have a week, or even two, off work. While the Christmas and New Year period is invariably a very busy time, filled with family, friends, visiting, food and drink or even long distance travel in some cases, that doesn’t mean you can’t be working at your chosen craft during the festive season. Actual writing may not always be possible, especially if you have kids at home for a couple of weeks. Opportunities might also be in short supply if you have a seemingly endless amount of family gatherings or you may even be one of those people who really love to shop. And yet even if you can’t work on your novel, the end of a calendar year can still provide endless sources of inspiration.

Ideas for characters, for example, are most often derived from people around us such as family, friends, work colleagues and so on. While you may not wish to use those individuals directly in a story, they may still inspire you to create a unique character.  You might decide to combine some people together, using different elements of the personalities, quirks, mannerisms or expressions of distant relatives you only see in December or at weddings, parties and other events.

You might also get ideas from people you see while out shopping for Christmas. And of course, there are family activities, community events, hilarious antics from pets or memorable incidents with children, any of which may give you ideas for stories that don’t need to have a seasonal theme.

Your holiday season might not feature the catalogue of disasters depicted in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but may still provide you with a wealth of material. The festive season is primarily for family, but just in case, always have a notepad nearby. You never know when inspiration will strike.

The Writing for Publication class takes place at Mount Royal University on Saturday, February 11, 9 am to 4 pm.

Have you ever read a novel, short story or nonfiction article and thought, “I could have written that”? This workshop shows you where to find ideas and turn them into a marketable venture. Half the class is spent exploring novels, short stories and non-fiction projects from concept to draft, the other half discussing how the various markets operate.

This class is ideal for novice writers wishing to write material for publication.

Registration

Registration is available here on the Mount Royal University website.

This Sunday, I’ll be at Indigo at Signal Hill in Calgary from 11.30 am to 5 pm.

I’ll be signing copies of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Flashback, and Future Imperfect.

Indigo is located at 5570 Signal Hill Centre SW in Calgary. Hope to see you there.

As a writer, you can never undertake too many checks before your work is finally released to the public. Cut out a few steps of the revision process and you could very well live to regret it.

Here are some more newspaper headlines that should have been corrected prior to publication.

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Let’s hope this isn’t in full view of the zoo’s visitors.

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

This seems to be a rather drastic course of action.

War Dims Hope for Peace

Now who would have suspected that?

If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

I think this might be called stating the obvious?

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

Let’s hope they’re using pretty strong tape.

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge

This editing mistake could perhaps be described as shocking.

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

It must be something to do with their space diet.

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

So that’s how they’re keeping the numbers down.

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

Now there’s a court case I’d like to see.

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Now who would have expected such a thing in that kind of location?

So the next time you’re tempted to cut corners with the editing process, think again. Unless of course you have a burning desire for your work to be the subject of an online article about the perils of poor editing.

Writers should always check their work before publishing their novel, short story or article. This is equally important for journalists, especially those composing the attention-grabbing headlines for news stories.

Here’s a collection of newspaper headlines that could certainly have used a little more attention to detail prior to publication.

Cannabis Smuggling by Troops. Investigation by Joint Chiefs

These people would seem to be an ideal choice to handle the case.

Strip Club Shock – Magistrates May Act on Indecent Shows

This might certainly be a shock for the audience.

More Women Needed for Random Sampling

This initially appears to make sense, until you read it again.

Police Found Safe Under Blanket

Presumably the officers were working on a very dangerous case?

Monty Flies Back to Front

A report about a general returning to the front line in World War II takes on a whole new meaning here.

8th Army Push Bottles Up Germans

Another World War II headline. This sounds painful, to say the least.

Crack Found on Governor’s Daughter

I think we can safely assume that no one at all checked this one before publication.

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

I wonder what he or she is an expert in?

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

This seems rather extreme to become official policy.

Cold Wave Linked to Low Temperatures

Maybe this headline was composed by the same expert who commented on the jet crash?

So if you’re desperate to get your masterpiece finished and have your potential best-selling novel in the public eye, don’t forget the editing.

For writers, it’s vital to examine your work in detail many times before you submit your work to publishers or upload the text of your ebook to an online bookstore. Even if you’ve checked the text a hundred times, you might still find errors that need to be addressed. 

Good editing and revision is very important and yet many new writers often overlook these crucial steps in the creative writing process. However, even the most experienced writers and journalists can still make embarrassing mistakes.

Here are just a few classic examples that slipped through the net. 

He crossed one leg over the other and planted both feet firmly on the ground.

This could be an interesting maneuver to witness.

He put his hands on his knees and held his head in despair.

This person appears to have two pairs of arms.

She ran down the beach and cast her eyes out to sea.

Did the girl gaze out toward the horizon or throw her own eyes into the water?

We will not stand idly by and be murdered in our beds.

I’m not sure how many people could actually sleep standing up in bed in order to be murdered, but I guess it could be possible.

Last night’s result isn’t as good as it sounds on paper.

A reporter’s take on an unexpected outcome to a sporting event seems somewhat confusing.

There’s a huge question mark hanging over him after the last game.

A below par performance by a player prompted this remark.

It shows what a hot seat that number six shirt has been.

We know what this means, but it certainly sounds very odd.

If Beethoven were alive today, he’d be turning in his grave.

This headline appeared above an article about a rather substandard orchestral performance.

New Hospital in the Pipeline.

Here’s another newspaper headline, referring this time either to a very large pipeline or a very small hospital.

The soldiers were close enough to see their enemies eating their lunch through binoculars.

Initially this one seems to be okay, but is actually complete nonsense.

And finally, a classic ad from a local newspaper.

German Shepherd. Eats anything, fond of children.

So the next time you feel tempted to skip that final examination of your work, beware. It never hurts to do that one extra check.

Writing for Children and Youth – January 24 to March 20, 2017