WordSpring

April 2021 is WordSpring Month! Horror-able: Writing in a Genre that Should Scare You to Death Fairly straightforward. You should be terrified. Lean into that. Throw in some comedy, maybe some realms of magic, possibly even a slice of life kind of feel. Then tear it apart with as much viciousness as you can muster. In this workshop we’ll talk about genres, sure, but also the three ways to add elements of horror to a story and figure out the difference between what horror writ...ing really is and how vast the genre has become. We’ll play a little scary game and there will be times you may pause to finish your writing exercise, or just because you’re too scared. But honestly, I’ll be presenting this terrifying genre in a relaxed and non-stress environment. Which will only make you more suspicious and soon your paranoia will get the better of you. But everything will be fine. You’ll see. See more

Coming soon . . . April 2021! Writing the Hard Histories: Historical research, creative writing, and traumatic events. With Lia Deromedi: This workshop will explore writing historical fiction with an emphasis on war and other traumatic events. The darker moments throughout history offer a wide variety of possibilities for stories, from espionage to civilian experiences, the lowest ranking soldier or his mother back home. In this workshop, I’ll focus on the intersections between historical research and fiction writing, accuracy and creativity. In addition to going over some tips and tricks for how to write about traumatic historical events, the attached activities will include the opportunity to examine passages from published works and craft your own short scenes.

This April, 2021 Kyleen Bromley received her Masters in Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is currently working towards her Masters in Creative Writing at CSU, Chico. Her workshop addresses using visually descriptive language, which is essential to holding your reader’s attention. This workshop will show you how to utilize visual images that will give your readers an intimate and impactful experience when reading your work.

Coming April 2021 Molly Emmons teaches fiction writing at Butte College and has led a novel-writing group for the last 15 years. She is working on her tenth novel. Her workshop, "We Have Ways of Making You Talk: Better Stories Through Stronger Dialog," will introduce the basics of writing good dialog and provide methods of sharpening this essential element to strengthen character development and intensify plot. Handouts and practice opportunities are part of the workshop.

Canceled: Dear friends and supporters of WordSpring, in keeping with the effort to keep everyone safe and healthy, the WordSpring committee has determined that we need to cancel this year's conference. We hope to be back and better than ever next year. Meanwhile, we thank you all for your interest and hope to see you at the very next event.