Workshop for writers announced
COSHOCTON – Instead of being a “charm,” Coshocton’s Write-on Writers Guild’s Third Annual Writers Workshop will be “unique.” Who ever heard of a writer’s workshop without a featured speaker? Who ever heard of a writer’s workshop where participants were invited to introduce themselves and read something they’ve written? Who ever heard of a writer’s workshop without advance registration? Who ever heard of a writer’s workshop that only costs $10?
The Writers Workshop will be held Saturday, Oct. 1, at Frontier Power Community Room, 770 S. Second St., Coshocton. Registration with coffee, muffins fruit, etc., will begin at 8:30 a.m. Cost to attend is $10 per person.
After welcome and announcements, PART I of the Writers Workshop will begin when several members of Coshocton’s Write-On Writers Guild introducing themselves, telling what kind of writing they do, what the guild means to them, and reading something they’ve written. Members introducing themselves will be Sharon Hunter, Crystal Meinstein, Alyssa Mayley, Mary Ann Sherman, Cristie Merce, Sally Kinkade, Wilma Meek, and Mike Stevens.
Following a break, Crystal Meinstein will lead everyone in a brief writing exercise. She writes essays, fiction short stories, and poetry. She and her husband Ron have written a memoir called “150 Years of Marriage,” about their parents’ lives and their lives. Featuring her Bicentennial Quilt, Crystal has lectured on the life and works of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
PART II will consist of choosing between three different workshop sessions. Writing your memoirs will be led by Cristie Merce. She has been a professional storyteller and member of The Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytellers for 30 years. She is also a member of the Business and Professional Women of Coshocton. Two of her favorite sayings are, “When an old person dies, you lose a library,” and “OOPS, that’s another story.” She has completed her own personal memoirs with more than 300 handwritten pages of her life’s journey. In her professional life, she retired as an adult caregiver specializing in Alzheimer’s clients.
Mary Ann Sherman will lead a second workshop session titled writing with suspense. She will base her session on a chapter from Dal Donovan’s book, “Brush Strokes,” a how-to-do-it book for aspiring writers, 12 short literary sketches that illustrate by example how to go step by step to the level of a satisfied author. It contains 34 techniques (brush strokes) that – when applied – will assure improvement in every facet of authorship.
Mary Ann and her husband Ken farm in southern Chili (Fresno, Ohio). She writes mainly farm-related magazine articles and poetry, as well as short stories.
A third morning workshop session will be led by last year’s featured speaker, Wendy Koile, titled enticing publishers. Koile is a full-time English instructor at Zane State College in Zanesville, and holds a master’s degree in teaching. Her third book, “Disasters of Ohio’s Lake Erie Islands,” was published in June 2015. Her second book, “Legends and Lost Treasure of Northern Ohio,” has been featured on several Akron and Cleveland radio stations, as well as on the Ohio Channel for its unique topic. Her first book, “Geneva on the Lake: A History of Ohio’s First Resort,” published in 2012, entered its second printing in 2014.
After a lunch break, Crystal Meinstein will lead everyone in a second writing exercise.
Then part II will continue, with a second chance to attend Cristie Merce’s memoirs workshop session, Mary Ann Sherman’s writing with suspense workshop session or Wendy Koile’s different afternoon workshop session, researching for non-fiction historic novels.
Following a break which features salty junk food, part III begins, where participants will introduce themselves, tell what kind of writing they do, then read something they’ve written, or an excerpt from a larger work.
The workshop should conclude around 3:30 p.m., with plenty of time for networking with other participants or members of Coshocton’s Write-On Writers Guild.
Category: Clubs & Organizations
