ONLINE Sleuthing the Facts: Want to give your stories greater scope and depth? Research!
4 weeks | Tuesdays | 1-3pm MT | Begins November 7, 2023
Instructor: Sandra Phinney
MEMBER PRICE: $150.00 (with member coupon AWCSM25)
NON-MEMBER PRICE: $200.00
In this 4-week course, participants will read stories that have added elements of research and learn how writers use research tools to enhance their writing by giving their stories more depth and scope. In turn, this raises both the entertainment value for readers, as well as the educational component.
We all love to learn as we read. It’s a hidden bonus. Whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction, adding information gleaned from various sources can put some fat on the bones of your story--the good kind of fat. Much like coming up with the perfect recipe, it’s a matter of adding details, anecdotal information, “found content,” factoids, historical content, etc. so the outcome is as tasty as it can be. Where can we go to find information? How can we incorporate the information? How much to include? Where to insert? Why bother? In this class, you’ll be able to write a story (or more than one); determine what parts of your story could benefit by doing some research; map out a game plan; and do it.
This is an interactive online class using the Zoom web platform.
Sandra Phinney’s stories have been published in over 70 publications including Nature Canada, Canadian Geographic, and the Toronto Star. She is a regular contributor to Your Local Magazine, and Saltscapes Magazine (including their annual Food & Travel publication.) Phinney has written content for Fodor’s and D.K. Eyewitness travel guides, as well as sections for the National Geographic Guide to the National Parks in Canada. She has four non-fiction books. The latest is a travel memoir for Pottersfield Press (2018) titled Waking Up In My Own Backyard—Explorations in Southwest Nova Scotia. Currently, she has a contract with Pottersfield Press to publish a book of personal essays.
Phinney delivers writing workshops throughout Atlantic Canada and Ontario on topics ranging from starting a freelance business to narrative, memoir, and travel writing. In 2021, she was the Literary Artist In Residence for four weeks at Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO site.
