David's Thursday Writing Group

Need a Boost With Your Story?

Writers know that solid, constructive feedback on their works is extremely important as they write their stories. If you're working on a novel, or short story, or collection of poems or a memoir, then come join my thursday writing circle. You can expect helpful feedback and lots of thought-provoking discussion as we review our work together with the goal of making our stories as effective as possible. And we will dive into more writing topics you'd like to explore.

We'll meet for 8 weeks, every Thursday starting September 26, from 6 - 8 pm and finishing on November 14. All online through Google Meets. That's a whopping 2 full months of non-stop writing action!

All genres are welcome. All styles are welcome.

During the workshop, we'll review the elements of great storytelling and develop more ideas to write about. If you're already an experienced writer, we'll further develop your craft in a friendly, supportive environment. If you're just starting out, we'll make sure you begin on the right foot.

When and Where

We will meet every Thursday evening, 6 - 8 pm, online via Google Meet starting September 26 - November 14

Along with time working together to get your story finished, we'll look at some of these topics (among others of your choosing)

Here are some of the topics we'll cover:

- plotting techniques and tools

- The psychology of characters and their motivations

- advanced dialogue methods

- prologues and epilogues

- Conflict and Tension

- How to lengthen or shorten your prose

- adding colour and nuance to your story

- Writing a satisfying ending

- Revising, Editing and the final touches

- using AI to help with your story and editing

What We'll Do

In-class time is a mix of teaching the above writing strategies and showing real-life examples of how they work. We will also spend time writing and discussing our stories-in-progress in class so you’ll have a chance to learn as much as we can from each other.

My Role

My role is to coach you through the story-writing process, give you constructive feedback, show you the proven techniques that experienced writers use, and challenge your assumptions. I will help you develop your story idea, characters and plotting so you have a clear roadmap to follow.

Money Back Guarantee

We're so confident our program will help you draft your first short story that we're offering a 100% personal money back guarantee. If you do the work and you're not completely satisfied by the end of the workshop, we'll personally help you get on track or give you your money back no questions asked.

Class size is limited for quality time together.

What Others Are Saying About the Ottawa Writing Workshops

“Thank you! Wonderful, useful and welcoming!”

“Great session!”

“I really enjoyed the class. I learned a lot. I would have liked an even longer session as I really enjoyed everything we learned today. Thanks!”

“The writing exercises were fun and motivating.”

“Best practical ‘How To’ guidelines to writing and revising”

Refund and Intellectual Property Policy

When you sign up for this workshop, you agree to and understand the following:

- any stories, story ideas, character ideas, or anything related to the development of fiction in the workshop remain the intellectual property of the individual participant

- full refunds will only be issued up to 7 days before the workshop takes place. After that, no refund will be issued for any reason, including but not limited to personal issues, schedule conflicts, or illness. This is necessary to ensure that the costs I have to commit to personally with respect to room rentals, equipment rentals, materials and other expenses are covered.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to register for the workshop?

No. Everyone is welcome and all levels are welcome from beginner to experienced.

What's Google Meet all about... I've never used it?

It's pretty simple. You'll be sent a link via email for the Meet. Just click on the link and you're in! Of course, the instructor will help you get familiar with the platform each step of the way.

I'm not working on a story right now, but I'd like to start one during this workshop. Is that okay?

Absolutely. This workshop is designed for writers at all stages of the story writing process, from story idea, to planning and plotting, writing and revising.

What can I bring into the event?

Bring your enthusiasm!

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

contact David at davidallanhamilton00 @ gmail.com

Meet Your Instructor for this workshop...

David Allan Hamilton

David will be running this workshop. He's a full-time writer and writing instructor in Ottawa, and is author of the best-selling Ross 128 trilogy.