As a story development editor, I have had the privilege of working with writers and their manuscripts for over 20 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.
Note: Fall workshops are now listed below for my Tiny Tales Series and Saturday workshops for The Writer's Center.
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, check-in meeting 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 crafting short, powerful chapters (or a scene) for a novel or memoir, leaving the reader eager to turn the page.
DATE: Zoom, Wed, Sept 13
TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 pm (ET)
COST: $55 (*if you take two or more of the Tiny Tales Workshops in the current series, there is a 10% 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, Sept 20, 27, Oct 4 and 11
TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 pm (ET)
COST: $185 (*if you take two or more of the Tiny Tales Workshops in the current series, there is a 10% 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 (Workshop 1) 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 weekly, 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 genre, but also, the elements of craft.
DATES: Zoom, Four Wed eve sessions, Oct 18, 25, Nov 1, Nov 8
TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 pm (ET)
COST: $185 (*if you take two or more of the Tiny Tales Workshops in the current series, there is a 10% discount)
REGISTER: email Lynn your interest at: lynnauldschwartz@gmail.com
Workshop 3.
Tiny Tales, Intermediate: 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, New date is not yet announced
TIME: TBA (ET)
COST: $55
REGISTER: email Lynn your interest at: lynnauldschwartz@gmail.com
Workshop 4.
Tiny Tales Check-in: 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.
This is a check-in opportunity to present new or revised work to fellow writers, to polish for publication, and to discuss the challenges/concerns and successes of the publishing process. This workshop may be repeated as many times as you wish.
FOR THE WRITER’S CENTER
Mapping Strategies For Story Structure
Exploratory mapping exercises, tools, and techniques to discover where your story is going and how you will get there.
There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for story structure. Let’s discuss a plan that is right for you. We’ll brainstorm the strengths and weaknesses of your specific story’s destination and the journey along the way. Is there a rich narrative and character arc, a strong point of entry, appropriate placement of flashbacks, a transformative and
resonant ending, and will a reader care? We will play with maps, sketches, diagrams, and understand the importance of revising your initial plan as your story takes on a life of its own. Bring your specific idea for a short story, memoir, or novel.
In this workshop we'll explore the following:
• A flexible outline that works for your plot
• The true purpose of your story
• Techniques for beginnings and endings
• Character arcs, yearning, internal and external conflict, and transformation
• Components of a successful scene
*This workshop is designed for beginning and intermediate writers who hope to gain the confidence to start, finish, and revise their manuscript’s plot and structure.
Evoking Reader Empathy
How to employ the craft of emotion that is essential to every story’s purpose.
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.
In this workshop you'll learn:
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The importance of Underlying Emotion
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How to avoid Cliché Emotion
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How to use the Objective Correlative technique
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How to create Resonant Endings
*This workshop will be helpful to any writer wishing to strengthen reader engagement.
DATE: Zoom, Saturday, Nov 4
9:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)
COST: $60
REGISTER
Making Your Characters Matter
How to create a character who a reader cares about.
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.
In this workshop we'll explore:
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Moving beyond Stereotypes
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Character Yearning and Motivation
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Effective Character Description
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Villains
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Transformation
*This workshop will benefit those beginning and intermediate writers who are writing a novel, short story, or memoir.