Program Description
Event Details
This program is brought to you courtesy of a partnership between Michigan Writers and the Traverse Area District Library. You can register for this event by either registering with the library below OR registering with Michigan Writers on their website.
Demystifying "Show, Don’t Tell" is taught by Lynne Golodner, who is the author of eight books and a forthcoming novel, WOMAN OF VALOR, which debuts September 26, 2023. The writer’s mantra – and the bane of most writers’ existence – is Show, Don’t Tell. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned writer, the chances are good that you’ve come up against this feedback and grumbled under your breath trying to figure out how, exactly, to show more than tell. In this workshop, writers will get down and dirty with ways to show and how to identify in their writing where they are telling and how to enjoy transforming that telling into showing. We’ll go through techniques and strategies for showing, read excerpts of published writing that are particularly rich in showing, do some spontaneous writing, and explore how to make your writing stronger, more compelling, and un-put-down-able!
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
- Better understand why showing is so important to compelling writing
- Learn to identify instances of telling in your drafts and know when to tell and when to show
- Develop some go-to key techniques and tricks to show more in your writing
- Feel empowered to improve your writing and not crushed when you receive this feedback
- Grow comfortable examining your writing and finding ways to make it stronger
ABOUT LYNNE GOLODNER:
You know that person you were when you were little, before the pressures and stresses of having to earn a living or support a family? Back when you engaged in activities simply because they were fun and you were driven to do them? For Lynne Golodner, that person loved writing.
In the early 1980s, she carried around a corduroy-covered journal, writing stories, poems, and skits. Writing was her way of figuring out the world, of capturing momentary beauty and stunning silence. That journal sits behind Lynne’s desk today, to remind her of who she has always been.
As a journalist for the first part of her career, Lynne wrote about home, architecture, design and real estate, food, faith and family. She also wrote eight books – two poetry collections and six nonfiction works – between the years of 1996 and 2013. Her first novel, Woman of Valor, will debut in September 2023. During her journalistic years, Lynne lived in New York, Washington, D.C., and her native Detroit, and in 2008, she pivoted her career to focus on marketing. Today, she coaches writers, offers courses of her own and teaches through WritingWorkshops.com, and her marketing business, Your People LLC, now focuses on guiding writers in building their author brand, creating marketing plans, and crafting writing careers. In 2023, Lynne founded Scotia Road Books, a hybrid publisher for women over 40 with strong voices that need to be heard.
Lynne’s writing has appeared in magazines and newspapers across America including the Great Lakes Review, bioStories, Adelaide Magazine, The Dillydoun Review, YourTango.com, Porridge Magazine, Story Unlikely, Valiant Scribe, the Jewish Literary Journal, the Forward, the Good Life Review, Hadassah Magazine, Saveur, Better Homes and Gardens, Midwest Living, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, Parenting, Parents, AARP: The Magazine, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, HOME, Teacher Magazine, Hockey Digest, Poets & Writers, Tennis Magazine, Crain’s Detroit Business and so many more. She also recently was a finalist in the Annie Dillard essay constant from Bellingham Review.
Lynne is the host of the Make Meaning Podcast, where she interviews authors and people in publishing. A former Fulbright Specialist, Lynne graduated from University of Michigan (BA, Communications/English) and Goddard College (MFA, Writing). She is the mother of four young adults and lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan with her archivist-husband Dan.
Places you’ll find Lynne: