New workshop!
Write from the Start: a no-rules project to support a year of writing
This in-person workshop is for anyone yearning to establish a regular writing practice and start, or re-start, a fiction or nonfiction writing project. No experience necessary.
Each session will consist of opportunities to share and discuss your work, study published writing, discuss craft, and learn new skills. Craft guidance will focus on using exploration, close attention, inquiry, and discovery to create and hone your writing.
Find your way into your writing project in the company of other writers while discovering your own process. Expect tangible results, lively discussion, clear guidance, and a chill, collaborative approach to creative problem-solving.
Wednesdays, January 7 – January 21, 2026
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Halifax, Nova Scotia
The workshop costs $450 and includes a preliminary guide to the craft of writing, copious handouts, and an individual editorial guide to send you on your way. (Gift certificates available.)
To enroll, or for further details—please email Valerie.
Each session will consist of opportunities to share and discuss your work, study published writing, discuss craft, and learn new skills. Craft guidance will focus on using exploration, close attention, inquiry, and discovery to create and hone your writing.
Find your way into your writing project in the company of other writers while discovering your own process. Expect tangible results, lively discussion, clear guidance, and a chill, collaborative approach to creative problem-solving.
Wednesdays, January 7 – January 21, 2026
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Halifax, Nova Scotia
The workshop costs $450 and includes a preliminary guide to the craft of writing, copious handouts, and an individual editorial guide to send you on your way. (Gift certificates available.)
To enroll, or for further details—please email Valerie.
Four short courses
Feeling stuck? These short courses are designed to efficiently resolve writing dilemmas and reveal the mysteries of revision and self-editing. The programs are individually tailored, and include editorial guidance on an excerpt of your novel-in-progress, story, or narrative nonfiction project. Each course can be completed in two to four sessions. Choose the one that best corresponds to the current stage of your writing project, or explore several.
There are two delivery options: one-on-one, via correspondence and conversation—or in-person, in a small group of fellow writers (limit of four). The one-on-one, correspondence version of these courses offers completely personalized guidance and discussion. The in-person course offers both shared discussion and individual editorial guidance. In-person sessions will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia unless otherwise arranged.
The courses
How it works
To reserve your place in a course, simply email with a range of preferred starting dates. We'll go from there.
Before the first session, you'll have the option of sending an excerpt from your current writing project and/or questions about your manuscript or challenges in your writing practice. I’ll design the course and select readings in response to your queries, and prepare editorial guidance based on your manuscript excerpt. The goal is to eliminate barriers to progress in writing and revision, build confidence, and develop new craft skills. You should come away feeling that you’ve levelled up as a writer.
To reserve a start date, inquire about course fees, or for more information, please email Valerie.
There are two delivery options: one-on-one, via correspondence and conversation—or in-person, in a small group of fellow writers (limit of four). The one-on-one, correspondence version of these courses offers completely personalized guidance and discussion. The in-person course offers both shared discussion and individual editorial guidance. In-person sessions will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia unless otherwise arranged.
The courses
- First Draft. Getting started, establishing a writing practice, and discovering the story. Three sessions.
- Revision. Revision fundamentals, character and scene development, and creative exploration. Three sessions.
- Self-editing. Sentence structure, cadence, and flow; narrative conventions; and basic copyediting. Two sessions.
- Craft Conundrums. Strategies to manage the subtle, complex, or elusive late-stage challenges of point of view, plot, structure, or other narrative elements. Two to four sessions.
How it works
To reserve your place in a course, simply email with a range of preferred starting dates. We'll go from there.
Before the first session, you'll have the option of sending an excerpt from your current writing project and/or questions about your manuscript or challenges in your writing practice. I’ll design the course and select readings in response to your queries, and prepare editorial guidance based on your manuscript excerpt. The goal is to eliminate barriers to progress in writing and revision, build confidence, and develop new craft skills. You should come away feeling that you’ve levelled up as a writer.
To reserve a start date, inquire about course fees, or for more information, please email Valerie.
Workshops
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Classes
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Seminars
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