As a story development editor, I have had the privilege of working with writers and their manuscripts for over twenty years. Through this process, I’ve been able to identify some basic and recurring issues that challenge writers. My workshops have been created to highlight these issues and show you how to avoid the pitfalls. They are all focused sessions and designed to encourage, inspire, and improve both your short and longer works.
Below you will see listings for my private workshops and those that I teach for The Writer's Center. All are taught online through Zoom.
My Upcoming Zoom Workshops
THE TINY TALES SERIES (Workshops 1, 2, 3, and 4)
Flash Fiction and Micro-Memoir
Over the last several years, I have designed and revised this Tiny Tales Series to include Micro-memoir, Flash Fiction, and Flash Nonfiction (stories under 1,000 words). They have remained my most popular and ongoing workshops. The series begins with an overview of the form, followed by beginning and intermediate practice, and culminates in an advanced workshop where we generate new writing and polish for publication.
Learning this tiny form results in big impact writing. The power of these stories lies in their brevity, often examining one small moment with an unexpected revelation. When crafted well, these little gems can take a reader's breath away by exposing new insights and truths.
Tiny Tales (a name I call short-format writing) are certainly compelling on their own (many literary magazines are looking for quality work in this genre to publish and numerous students who have taken these workshops have placed their mini stories), but there is another benefit to mastering the form. I have found that practicing the tiny tale will make you a better writer overall. The form also lends itself well when authors are trying to construct short, powerful chapters for a novel or memoir, leaving the reader eager to turn the page.
DATE: Zoom, Tues, Jan 24
TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 pm (ET)
COST: $50 (*if you take two or more of the Tiny Tales Workshops in the current series, there is a 15% discount)
REGISTER: email Lynn your interest at: lynnauldschwartz@gmail.com
Workshop 1. Tiny Tales: An Introductory Overview
Learn what defines the short format (flash fiction and micro-memoir). Begin to understand the techniques and benefits of writing small. This is the prerequisite class for the Tiny Tales workshops that follow.
DATES: Zoom, Four Wed eve sessions, Feb 1, 8, 15, and March 1
TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 pm (ET)
COST: $175 (*if you take two or more of the Tiny Tales Workshops in the current series, there is a 15% discount)
REGISTER: email Lynn your interest at: lynnauldschwartz@gmail.com
Workshop 2. Tiny Tales, Beginning: Take Your Writing to The Next Level with Flash Fiction and Micro-Memoir
Prerequisite: This workshop is limited to a small group of students who have taken Lynn's Tiny Tales Introductory Overview or have a beginning grasp of the micro-memoir and/or flash fiction format.
This workshop is for beginning, short-format writers who want to try out what they have learned in the Introductory Overview workshop. Short reading assignments will illustrate craft and writing exercises will put those techniques into practice. Participants will have the opportunity to have their mini exercises discussed in class.
*Note: If you have taken this Tiny Tales workshop before, you are welcome to repeat. Many participants find that the repetition helps them come to a deeper understanding of not only the tiny tale genre, but also, the elements of craft.
DATES: Zoom, Four Wed eve sessions, March 8, 15, 22, and 29
TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 pm (ET)
COST: $175 (*if you take two or more of the Tiny Tales Workshops in the current series, there is a 15% discount)
REGISTER: email Lynn your interest at: lynnauldschwartz@gmail.com
Workshop 3. Tiny Tales, Intermediate and Almost Advanced: A Generative Lab for Creating New Writing and Polishing Works-In-Progress for Publication
Prerequisite: This workshop is limited to a small group of students who have taken Lynn's Tiny Tales Beginning Workshop 2 (or have the equivalent writing experience) and have a good grasp of the micro-memoir and/or flash fiction format.
We will be focused on producing new work and sharpening skills for short-format writing with the goal of publication. Participants who are styling their memoir or novel chapters in the short format are also encouraged to attend.
*If you have taken this workshop before, I am happy to have you join us again.
DATE: Zoom, Sat, Feb 25
TIME: 9:30 am - noon (ET)
COST: $50
REGISTER: email Lynn your interest at: lynnauldschwartz@gmail.com
NEW SECTION! Workshop 4. Tiny Tales, Advanced and Master: Polish, Polish, and Publish
Prerequisite: This workshop is limited to a small group of students who have taken Lynn's Tiny Tales Beginning and Intermediate workshops and have a strong grasp of the micro-memoir and/or flash fiction format.
We will continue to focus on producing new work of your choice and polishing existing tales to submit for publication.
FOR THE WRITER’S CENTER
DATE: Zoom, Saturday, February 11
9:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)
COST: $50
REGISTER
Evoking Reader Empathy
Even when a story is skillfully written, it may not be enough to make the reader care. The key lies in the emotional impact your story has on readers — inviting them to not only invest in your characters, but to embark on an emotional journey of their own. We’ll discuss how to avoid cliché and heavy-handed moralizing; determine the most effective balance of internal thought, scene, and underlying tension; and discover how to let an object or image (your father’s watch, a specific place, work of art, etc.) carry the emotional weight of your story and create layered meaning. Reading examples and short exercises will give participants the opportunity to experiment with creating empathy on the page. This workshop will be helpful to any writer wishing to strengthen reader engagement.
DATE: Zoom, Saturday, March 4, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)
COST: $50
REGISTER:
Life Stories Intensive
Whether you want to write a memoir, blog, letter to your granddaughter, or use your own life as the basis for fiction, life story writing requires that we tell where we come from and who we are. Learn to identify your story’s essence, the truth it reveals, and to engage the reader through fictional techniques. Participants will leave inspired to begin or improve a work-in-progress.
DATE: Zoom, Saturday, April 22, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)
COST: $50
REGISTER:
Making Your Characters Matter
At the core of every good tale is a character with whom the reader wants to spend time. Discover how to move beyond the superficial and cliché, crafting characters who invite the reader to explore the human condition. Illustrations and exercises will help to uncover your character's inner values (in memoir that character is you) and present them in ways that are integral to your story. We will examine effective techniques for depicting character yearning, physical description, internal conflict, and come to understand what influences reader empathy. This workshop will benefit those writing a novel, short story, or memoir.