Welcome to the March/April 2012 edition of INK STAINS!

Our workshops – both live and online – have been buzzing with industry and talent so far this year and 2012 will see some exciting publications from alumni (see alumni news below). I can’t wait to see these great books hit the shelves! This edition also has news of spring workshop offerings, tip of the month and opportunities.

HB Creativity Writing Courses (live in St. John's and Online)

1. The next Eight-Week Novel Writing Workshop Series begins on May 1, 2012, ending June 19 (Tuesday evenings, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm), at The Lantern, Barnes Road, St. John’s. Together we will workshop all the aspects of plot, narrative style, tense, point of view, dialogue and marry these explorations to a genuine understanding of where the work fits in in terms of genre, and therefore the publishing world. This will be a small group workshop so attention to each participant will be generous. This is the workshop series for you if you have an idea for a novel, a partial draft, or a full draft that needs work and rewriting. You will benefit from a supportive atmosphere, traveling with others along the same voyage, while experiencing quality feedback and advice.

2. Guided Online Writing Course. Limited spaces will become available over the next few weeks. Estimated duration of the course is 8-12 weeks. Get tips, troubleshooting sessions, extensive evaluation and advice based on your writing. The Guided Online Writing Course is designed for writers who want a significant portion of a draft of their novel, or non-fiction project, completed by the end of the course. Feedback will cover all the aspects of plot/structure, narrative style, tense, point of view, dialogue, and we will work hard on plot development to make sure that you are keeping reader interest. Call or email for a full course description.

Tip of the Month: To What Degree Should You Physically Describe Your Characters?

Have you ever read through a novel quite convinced that a character looks a certain way, only to see a(n accurate) film version which reveals he/she actually looks completely different? Did you wonder how you missed or disregarded the passage in which the character is described?

If so, it’s not surprising. Readers tend to build their own picture of a character’s appearance based on their perception of the character and the likely physical appearance that matches that perception; this personalized image tends to take precedent over the actual physical description the author supplies.

Unless an author is particularly witty in his/her physical descriptions, or expert in bringing these descriptions to life as character traits (quivering moustache to denote nervousness; long slender neck to depict aloofness, or grace) they are likely merely clogging the text when they provide too much detail. The reader builds their picture based upon only one or two telling authorial strokes which are best delivered as part of the action.

There are many ways to write characters and describe them, but if in doubt one helpful rule is not to pause in the story in order to give a description unless you have an extra special reason to do so.

Let Us Hear from You! Send me your reaction to this and other tips and whether in agreement or disagreement I will post at least a portion of it in the next INK STAINS.

Upcoming Opportunities

1. The deadline for the 2013 Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Awards will be this November (2012). Start planning now! This is a free, blind juried competition! Check the website http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/artsculture/artsandletters/index.html

Alumni News in Brief

Alumni News – Upcoming Publications for 2012 Congratulations to Lesleyanne Ryan. Her novel, Braco, already an award-winner with first prize the Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers (2011), will be published by Breakwater Books (St. John’s) this fall. Congratulations to Charles O’Keefe. His novel, The Newfoundland Vampire (Penumbra Publishing, US) is out and available through amazon.com. Congratulations to Linda Abbott. Her highly anticipated first novel, The Loss of the Marion, will be published by Flanker Press (St. John’s) in the fall of 2012. Congratulations to Tara Nanayakkara. Already a published novelist in Canada and Sri-Lanka, her new novel, Priya's World, will be published by Inanna Publications (Toronto). Congratulations to Charles O Keefe whose novel The Newfoundland Vampire will be published this year by Penumbra Publishing (US). Congratulations to Marie-Beth Wright. Her biography of Grace Sparkes, Grace Sparkes, Blazing a Trail to Independence, has been accepted for publication in 2012 by Flanker Press.

For the complete INK STAINS bulletin, which includes extended details of alumni news, please contact me at the email address on my contacts page. .