FREE WORKSHOPS AND CLASS (ON ZOOM) AT THE WRITING INSTITUTE, SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE, NY
ANNOUNCEMENTS (2)
1. Write more words, improve your craft, and submit your work to literary journals during my two, free weekly Zoom writing workshops* with Q&A’s, submission parties to get you published and micro lessons to improve your craft.
Zoom Workshop times: Tuesdays 12 – 1.30 PM ET and Wednesdays 6 – 7.30 PM ET
* Sponsored by the Westport Library, open to all writers from any town or country.
Here’s how the workshop goes: We chat for the first few minutes and then I’ll share some prompts and first lines which people can use, tweak or ignore. The writing time can be spent on new words or world-building, revising, planning – anything at all – doesn’t have to be writing. We write for 30-40 minutes.
Then during the first and third weeks, in the last fifteen minutes of the workshop, I’ll help you submit your writing for publication. Bring the stories or essays you want to submit and we’ll walk through the process together. You’ll leave the session with a list of 15 – 20 markets for your work. Writers (inc. first-timers!) have had multiple pieces accepted for publication using this system.
On the second and fourth Tuesdays, we’ll have a micro lesson on the art and craft of writing. In the last 5 mins, we discuss goals and obstacles (and tips to overcome them) for the coming week.
In each workshop, we apply the principles of loving kindness meditation to our creative process. Loving kindness meditation has many proven benefits including better focus, improved memory and increased productivity.
When? Every Tuesday from 12 pm – 1.30 pm ET and every Wednesday from 6 – 7.30 pm ET
Where? On Zoom
Who? With Tessa Smith McGovern
How Much? FREE (sponsored by the Westport Library in CT, USA, but open to all, whatever town or country you live in.)
I would love to see you at one or both sprints!
Questions? Please email tessasmithmcgovern @ gmail.com
Please note: I email the Zoom links an hour before each workshop so it’s top of your in-box. The email will come from Tessa’s Bloom Writers’ Studio.
2. ‘Learn How to Link Your Short Stories and Memoirs into a Collection with Tessa Smith McGovern’ (ON ZOOM) for The Writing Institute, Sarah Lawrence College (NY):
NEXT FIVE-WEEK SESSION BEGINS 11/1/2022 (SOLD OUT)
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 6:00 PM until Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 8:00 PM EST
Two hour VIRTUAL sessions on Tuesday
6:00pm to 8:00pm EST
Workshop is limited to 12 participants
$470 SOLD OUT
Course Description
A rising trend in publishing is novels-in-stories, otherwise known as linked short stories. If you have short stories or memoirs languishing in a drawer, consider joining this workshop to learn how to link and shape them into a collection. What is a linked short story collection, and how do you write one? Is it the same process as novel-writing, or different? What are the writer’s choices for linking short stories? Is one choice simpler than another? Which method of linking short stories would work best for your writing?
There are many joyous and creative ways to compile a satisfying collection. In this workshop, you will learn to identify how your stories – published or unpublished, typed or handwritten – fit together and how to enhance and deepen the book’s themes. Each class will include in-class exercises to produce new work, time to talk with the teacher about your own work, and prompts for optional at-home assignments.
You will finish these ten-weeks knowing how to combine shorter works into a collection that is greater than the sum of its parts. This process can be repeated with new work as you continue to write your stories in the coming months and years. It is a way to track your own development as a writer and illuminate who you are – and who you can be – as an artist. Individual advice will be given on submitting your finished result for publication or publishing independently. No homework or reading.
Who Should Take This Class?
Anyone with five or more short stories or memoirs who’d like to know how to link them into a collection. Advice will be given as appropriate on writing new stories to shape your collection and we will also discuss elements of craft.
Your Instructor
Tessa Smith McGovern is an award-winning writer whose linked short story collection, LONDON ROAD: LINKED STORIES, received a ‘Featured’ review from Kirkus, is an Amazon best-seller, and a gold medal winner in the 2012 eLit Awards. Her non-fiction book, COCKTAILS FOR BOOK LOVERS (Sourcebooks), is also an Amazon best-seller. Her many publication credits include the Connecticut Review and Equinox, a UK poetry journal archived by the English Arts Council at the Southbank Centre, London. She’s currently writing a contemporary fantasy novel inspired by British mythology and pursuing her MFA in Writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
She is founder and editor of eChook Digital Publishing. eChook won a silver medal in the 2012 eLit Awards and its stories have been read by thousands of readers in 100+ countries.
Tessa is also host, writer and producer of BookGirlTV (BGTV), an award-winning digital channel that promotes books and reading. BGTV has 6 million+ minutes viewed on YouTube and 10,000+ likes on Facebook.”
Testimonials
“The topic of Tessa’s class [How to Link Your Short Stories and Memoirs into a Collection] had always puzzled me. I had written a series of short-but-true stories, but was entirely stuck on how to put them together. That is, until I studied with Tessa. She brought fresh energy, inspiration, and creative ideas to her workshop. The impossible no longer feels impossible, thanks to Tessa. I am 300% glad to have studied with her.” – Ellen Luborsky, Ph.D.
“Tessa was a remarkable teacher, not just of writing in the digital age, but of the art and craft of writing in general. Her vision was timeless and inspired, and her course was truly life changing for me.” – Jeanne Chinard
“Tessa[‘s…] knowledge of the internet, the publishing world, and the steps to successful digital publishing is current and extensive. She has valuable insight into the psychology of writing and writers.” – Jeanette Gould
“Tessa Smith McGovern’s class ‘Writing for Digital Media’ is one of the best writing classes I have ever taken…Tessa’s advice and critique of our writing was unfailingly helpful and supportive. I cannot recommend this class highly enough.” – Florence Reiss Kraut, Author, How to Make a Life (Oct 2020)
Tessa’s class is exactly what I was looking for. Having found it, I could not be more pleased. I feel like I’m continually moving forward toward my goal of publishing a collection. In addition, her guidance and facilitation is such that I feel encouraged on every step of this journey. – Ed Friedman
Tessa McGovern offers me the direction, information, process, and encouragement I need to accomplish the creation of a collection. In addition, the class offers me the companionship of other writers with the same mission. – Rosemary Williams (2nd time taking the class. Tessa’s note: Rosemary has multiple publication credits and has just published her collection!)
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT TESSA
Tessa is founder of award-winning eChook Digital Publishing which won a gold and a silver in the 2012 eLit Book Awards. She is host of BookGirlTV (BGTV) which features interviews with popular authors such as Dani Shapiro, Jane Green and Pulitzer prize-winner Anna Quindlen. BGTV also offers book reviews, craft tips for writers, and has over 6 million minutes viewed.
Tessa was born in England, moved to the United States in 1993, and published her first short story in 1996. She’s currently working on a contemporary fantasy novel with talking animals inspired by British folklore. She lives in CT with her family and their pets: a black lab called Rocky, a Shih-Poo called Lilly, a mini schnauzer called Archie, a RagaMuffin/Persian cat called Rosie (Ru-Ru), and a black and white Maine Coon called Hamish. Hamish, a cat who’s very vocal, is a character in her fantasy novel.
Books
Her books include two Amazon best-sellers: the short story collection London Road: Linked Stories eChook Digital Publishing (British Short Stories category), and Cocktails for Book Lovers, Sourcebooks, Inc (Cocktails/mixed drinks category).
Short Stories
US:
SHORT STORIES: CellStories.net, Connecticut Review, Crack the Spine Literary Journal, Evening Street Review, The Dirty Goat, RiverSedge, Studio One, The Distillery, BCtheMagazine, Happy, Georgia State University Review, Portland Magazine, Verdad
UK:
SHORT STORIES: First Offense, Carillon, Lucid Moon, Equinox Poetry Magazine (archived by the English Arts Council, Southbank Center, London)
Awards
2011 – Silver Medal (Editor), eLit Book Awards, ‘Memoir, Vol. 1’, eChook Digital Publishing
2011 – Gold Medal, eLit Book Awards, ‘London Road: Linked Stories, eChook Digital Publishing
2009 – Winner, Connecticut Press Club Creative Writing, ‘When Janice Bailey Walked’
2005-2008 – Honored Writer, the Annual Ultra-Short Competition of the Binnacle (University of Maine at Machias)
1996 – Honorable Mention, the Abiko Quarterly with James Joyce Studies, ‘Night of Glass’
For more information, please email tessasmithmcgovern @ gmail.com