Jacqueline Sheehan

Emotionally nuanced, conflicted and believable characters are perhaps the number one ingredient in successful stories. Since readers engage with narratives primarily through the people who inhabit them, it's crucial that as writers, we understand exactly what makes our characters tick. Spend the morning with psychologist and bestselling author Jacqueline Sheehan, uncovering your characters' deepest desires and fears, giving them believable obstacles and fascinating flaws that will make them more complex and compelling. Writers will be led step-by-step through character development tools, from brainstorming to list-making to creative prompts that utilize human psychology to build characters that emotionally engage readers. Bring writing implements and a desire to go deep! 

This workshop will be held in-person. Click HERE for more information. 

Real estate agents understand a fundamental principle that many aspiring writers overlook: where we reside powerfully impacts every single aspect of our lives. So why is setting the most underutilized tool in our writers' toolboxes?  Master storytellers know that a well-conceived and developed setting does so much more than set the stage for our characters and plot. A great setting engages readers sensually, orients them in time and space, intensifies theme, pacing and conflict, and creates atmosphere and subtext. Without a meaningful and well-developed setting, our characters exist in a liminal space that leaves the characters (and our readers) disconnected from the story.  Yet so many writers overlook the importance of place, or over-describe a setting without understanding its true meaning and potential. In this morning workshop, we will learn how to supercharge our stories settings, exploring the key ingredients for settings that work, and reviewing the most common setting mistakes writers make. 

This workshop will be held online. Click HERE for more information. 

Using seven key guidelines, we will spend the morning exploring and strategizing the practical and emotional resistance to writing that gets in our way. Experimenting with some writing prompts, we'll air out negative voices and self-sabotaging behaviors, chart practical solutions for prioritizing our goals, and design a plan for a positive and achievable writing practice.

To regiester or find out more information click HERE.

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Whether you are writing a novel or memoir, short stories or essays, great story-telling requires both a working knowledge of craft and permission to experiment and play… In this 8-week workshop, writers have the chance to generate fresh work while honing individual craft skills. Each week, we will pinpoint a new craft area to enhance your work–voice, pacing, character motivation, world-building, and more. We'll experiment with these skills in one long writing, or two shorter writings, followed by sharing and supportive feedback.

To register or for more information, click HERE.

Master storytellers know that a well-conceived setting does so much more than set the stage for our characters and plot. A great setting can engage readers sensually, orient them in time and space, intensify pacing and conflict, create atmosphere, nuance and subtext. In this morning workshop, we will explore the superpowers of our settings, understand the key ingredients for settings that really work, and learn how to avoid the most common setting mistakes writers make.

Click here to register.

Master storytellers know that a well-conceived setting does so much more than set the stage for our characters and plot. A great setting can engage readers sensually, orient them in time and space, intensify pacing and conflict, create atmosphere, nuance and subtext. In this morning workshop, we will explore the superpowers of our settings, understand the key ingredients for settings that really work, and learn how to avoid the most common setting mistakes writers make.

This workshop will be online.

Click HERE for more information.

Editors and agents often say that if there are no stakes, there is no story. But what are 'stakes,' and how do you create them in your writing? In this workshop, writers will learn to up the ante in their narratives by increasing the internal and external conflicts acting upon a character. In-class writing exercises will help us explore what's at risk in our stories and why, and give us tools to amplify the tension.  Spend the morning with best-selling author Jacqueline Sheehan, discovering how to keep readers on the edge of their seats!

This workshop will be held in-person at Writers in Progress with an online option. 

Click HERE to register. 

Skilled storytellers understand the importance of capturing the emotional nuances that drive narratives and bring characters to life. The most memorable characters are driven by powerful forces of motivation that won't let them rest and keep readers turning the pages. In this one day workshop, writers will create more compelling characters by revealing their fears, desires, and dreams with authentic detail. A writer does not have to become a psychologist, but a writer can learn to make use of psychological foundations to understand and challenge their characters.

Through exercises, examples, writing and feedback, we'll learn how to enhance emotion and story with powerful sensory images and specific detail.

To register or for more information click HERE. 

Most writers have a good sense of their story's beginning, and they might even know the end, but it's the saggy middle that can bog down the works. In fact, the middle is every bit as important as a compelling first page and transformative ending! In the mid-section of a story, the main character makes choices and confronts obstacles that alter the course of events. The middle is where the stakes have to rise and the true grit of your character is revealed. In this half-day workshop, we will explore the essential elements–such as conflict, rising action and causality–that make the midsection of your story riveting enough to propel readers all the way through. Participants will leave with an assortment of craft tools and a plan for how to tighten the center of their stories!

This workshop will be taught in-person and online!

To register or for more information, click HERE.

Lorrie Moore once said that, "for the writer, the facts of life are like ingredients in a kitchen cupboard." The cake we make is the story we end up telling. "That," she says, "is how life and art are related…" No matter what we write, our experiences, observations perceptions and inclinations are the greatest inspiration and fodder for our work. In this weekly generative workshop, writers will receive a series of prompts to help them tap into their deepest material and move them into a sustained period of writing. Afterward, we'll have the opportunity to share our work and receive thoughtful feedback from the group. Handouts include weekly craft lessons!

This workshop will be held online.

Wednesdays, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.; 10-week session begins the week of July 20th

To register or for more information, click HERE.

Where would Harry Potter be without Voldemort and Hermione? Or Scout without Dill and Boo Radley? The role of secondary characters is not just to populate your story, but to drive it forward. The people close to your protagonist can be antagonists—characters who create conflict for your main character—or they can be allies, who assist the main character's journey. Spend the morning with best-selling author, Jacqueline Sheehan, sharpening the conflict in your story through that crucial, mysterious energy between characters.

Go to Writers in Progress for more information. 

Research and Backstory are essential ingredients in narrative—they bring authority, authenticity, and depth to a story. But making those fascinating facts work for you and not against you is tricky. In this morning workshop, we discuss the best sources and practices for research, and how to distill enough backstory into our pieces to lend authenticity, without making them dull.

Go to Writers in Progress for more information. 

The most memorable characters are driven by powerful forces of fear and desire. But how do you reveal your characters' psychology through the action of your story? In this half-day workshop, Jacqueline Sheehan, New York Times bestselling author and psychologist, shares tools and techniques for applying basic psychology to character development, and uncovering your characters' psyches through the things they do and what they say.

Go to Writers in Progress for more information. 

Research and Backstory are essential ingredients in narrative—they bring authority, authenticity, and depth to a story. But making those fascinating facts work for you and not against you is tricky. Research can lead down a rabbit hole of evermore-tantalizing tidbits of information, bogging down process and product. Backstory is research's evil twin, occasionally turning into an information dump that can overshadow plot. In this morning workshop, we discuss the best sources and practices for research, and how to distill enough backstory into our pieces to lend authenticity, without making them dull.

For more information and to register:  

Writers in Progress

Emotions are the key to crafting compelling characters. But what if your character can't express his or her feelings? Skilled writers must learn how to capture, on the page, emotional nuances that the characters themselves aren't even aware of. The good news is that there are multiple ways to reveal emotions that your characters don't know they're feeling. In this workshop, writers will experiment with nonverbal indications of emotion. Through exercises and examples, we'll learn to move beyond the smile or frown to more subtle, specific and telling character details. We'll also explore using physical aspects of a scene—using movement—to amplify our characters' feelings, as though they are actors on a stage.

For more information go to Austin Batcave.

Emotions are the key to crafting compelling scenes and winning a readers' sympathy. But how do we access our characters' emotions without telling the reader how they feel? The sensory details that infuse our lives—the smell of a favorite meal; the texture of a loved one's skin; the sound of gun firing; the heat-prick of fear or arousal—these things add richness, nuance and believability to our writing. As skilled storytellers, we must learn how to capture, through sensory detail, the emotional nuances that drive our narratives and bring our characters to life. Through exercises, examples, writing and feedback, we'll learn how to enhance emotion and story with powerful sensory images and specific detail.

For more information and to register go to Writers in Progress. 

Join Jaqueline, in person, at Writers in Progress, for a workshop "What's the Worst that Could Happen?"

They say that what doesn't kill your character makes her, well, more interesting, but it's hard to see your characters suffer. In order to create a compelling story, though, you have to let your characters fail. Spend the morning with a best-selling novelist and master plotter, learning a myriad of tools for getting your characters into the kind of trouble that feels inevitable, but not gratuitous.   

For more information or to register go to Writers in Progress. 

Join Jaqueline for an online workshop "The Psychology of Strong Characters", hosted by the Burlington Writers Workshop.

The most memorable characters are driven by powerful forces of motivation that won't let them rest and keep readers turning the pages. Create more compelling characters by revealing their fears, desires, and dreams with authentic detail. A writer does not have to become a psychologist, but a writer can learn to make use of psychological foundations to understand their characters and intensify writing. We will use writing prompts to experiment with the psychology of the body and taking characters past their edge of comfort.

Register Here.

Join Jacqueline to for a workshop "Character Need and Desire" hosted by Writers in Progress. 

We know that our protagonist must have a strong desire and that desire must be thwarted by an equally powerful challenge. We've been told this countless times. But your character's obvious external desire is not necessarily the most important thing driving the narrative. In order for our hero to transform, there must also be an internal story that reflects an underlying psychic wound or flaw.  We can call these external and internal desire lines, or story A and B. In this ½ day workshop, we will look at clear examples of these internal and external plots in published works and learn tools for defining and developing our own characters' inner needs and outer wants.

For more information or to register go to Writers in Progress. 

Join Jacqueline for a workshop "Pathway to Plotting" hosted by Writers in Progress. 

Is your book a collection of scenes or is it a well-structured story? Great scenes can be so satisfying to write, but a book is more than a collection of moments strung together, no matter how perfect those moments may be. This workshop will teach writers how to build a pathway forward for their main characters with a fifteen-beat sheet which is widely used by screenwriters. In this three-hour workshop, we will learn all fifteen beats (or plot points), then experiment with writing a few, taking us to a midpoint in our stories. 

For more information or to register go to Writers in Progress. 

Join Jacqueline for a workshop "The Magic of Dialogue" hosted by Writers in Progress. 

Effective dialogue should work on several levels at once, advancing the story, revealing your characters' hearts, minds and backstories, and intensifying the conflict to keep readers riveted. But how do we write dialogue that does all this while also sounding believable–especially when real speech can be so clunky?  In this half day workshop, bestselling novelist Jacqueline Sheehan will guide writers in learning essential tools for generating speech that will fire up your narratives.  Come ready to experiment and have fun! 

For more information or to register go to Writers in Progress.

Join Jacqueline for a workshop on Research and Backstory, hosted by Writers in Progress. 

Research and Backstory are essential ingredients in narrative—they bring authority, authenticity, and depth to a story. But making those fascinating facts work for you and not against you is tricky. In this morning workshop, we discuss the best sources and practices for research, and how to distill enough backstory into our pieces to lend authenticity, without making them dull.

For more information or to register go to Writers in Progress. 

Where would Harry Potter be without Voldemort and Hermione?  Or Scout without Dill and Boo Radley?  The role of secondary characters is not just to populate your story, but to drive it forward. The people close to your protagonist can be antagonists—characters who create conflict for your main character—or they can be allies who assist the main character's journey. Spend the morning with best-selling author Jacqueline Sheehan sharpening the conflict in your story through that crucial, mysterious energy between characters. 

Saturday, June 27, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ($75) Register Now

Come join Jacqueline for a morning of writing in our bright and beautiful studio! After a short warm up and a variety of inspiring prompts, writers will engage in a sustained writing period. At the end, we'll share our work and receive supportive feedback. A great way to jumpstart your writing and connect with local writers!

Sunday July 5th, 2020 9:30-12:30 Writers In Progress

Open to all! Suggested donation: $10.

Register Here

Join Jacqeline vitually for a reading with Writers in Progress faculty. Jacqueline Sheehan, Susanne Dunlap, Tzivia Gover, and Cathy Luna will ready September 10 at 7 p.m. RSVP by emailing emily@writersinprogress.com to receive the Zoom link!

Backstory is crucial when it comes to creating characters whose actions and emotions engage the reader. But the reader doesn't need to know every detail of a character's history, and sometimes backstory can turn into an information dump rather than driving the narrative forward. In this workshop, writers will look at techniques for uncovering their character's unique backstory, determine which pieces are essential to the story, and practice ways to incorporate those pieces without dragging down the plot. 

Saturday, September 26, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Register Now

Come join Jacqueline for a morning of writing in our bright and beautiful studio! After a short warm up and a variety of inspiring prompts, writers will engage in a sustained writing period. At the end, we'll share our work and receive supportive feedback. A great way to jumpstart your writing and connect with local writers!

Sunday July 5th, 2020 9:30-12:30 Writers In Progress

Open to all! Suggested donation: $10.

Register Here

Editors and agents often say that if there are no stakes, there is no story.  But what are 'stakes,' and how do you create them in your writing? In this workshop, writers will learn to up the ante in their narratives by increasing the internal and external conflicts acting upon a character. In-class writing exercises will help us explore what's at risk in our stories and why, and give us tools to amplify the tension.  Spend the morning with best-selling author Jacqueline Sheehan, discovering how to keep readers on the edge of their seats!

Saturday, October 10, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Register Now

Jacqueline Sheehan, will speak about her newest book, The Tiger in the House, at the Storyteller's Cottage in Simsbury on Thursday, March 14 at 7pm. This novel is a fast-moving domestic drama that sheds light on schizophrenia, the foster care system, and the scourge of heroin trafficking and addiction. Jacqueline's will feature a book discussion and signing, followed by a light reception. Admission is $5.00. 

Book now at The Storyteller's Cottage

Jacqueline talks with the Granby Book Club at Granby Free Library about her newest book THE TIGER IN THE HOUSE.

Women Reading Aloud, directed by Julie Maloney, will return to the Jersey Shore for another stimulating weekend. Stay in a Victorian inn located just one block from the ocean. Wraparound porches frame the two spacious guest houses. Think about your writing goals as you stroll the beach in the early morning. Engage in the camaraderie of WRA as you balance community with solitude. Review and reflect. Join us for a nurturing experience on every level. Write. Read aloud. Listen. Take time for yourself.
Women Reading Aloud
This retreat is sold out, but there is a waiting list.

Join Jacqueline at the enchanting Storyteller's Cottage for a workshop on the psychology of strong characters. 

The most memorable characters are driven by powerful forces of motivation that won't let them rest and keep readers turning the pages. Learn to apply basic psychology to the development of your characters. Create more compelling characters by revealing their fears, desires, and dreams with authentic detail. A writer does not have to become a psychologist, but a writer can learn to make use of psychological foundations to understand their characters and intensify writing.

Register Here!

Research and Backstory: Two Trouble Spots in Fiction
At Writers in Progress, Florence MA
Research and Backstory are essential ingredients in fiction–they bring authority, authenticity and depth to a story. But making all those fascinating facts work for you and not against you is tricky. Research can lead down a rabbit hole of ever-more-tantalizing tidbits of information, bogging down both process and product. Backstory is the evil twin of research, occasionally turning into an information dump that can overshadow plot. In this all-day workshop, we will discuss the best sources and practices for research, and how to distill just enough into our stories to lend authenticity without making them dull. We will also explore and practice ways to blend in backstory organically, without weighing down the plot.
To register, contact Dori Ostermiller .

Join Jacqueline in beautiful Wolfeboro New Hampshire for the 35th annual Book and Author Luncheon at Bald Peak Colony Club on June 1, 2018.

Join Jacqueline and Patricia Lee Lewis for a writing and yoga retreat in Cumbrae, Scottland. See Patchwork Farms for more details.

Join Jacqueline for a half day workshop at Writers in Progress. You can register for the Workshop, Plot is Character, here!

Jaqueline will be hosted by the Torrigton Book Club to discuss her newest novel, TIGER IN THE HOUSE. 

Join Jacqueline and Debja for a half day workshop on movement to facilitate writing. No experience necessary, just a willingness to explore!

For more information or to register contact jac.sheehan@comcast.net

Join Jacqueline at Write Angles Conference, one of the longest running premeir conferences for writers in Western Mass. Jacqueline will be on a panel about writing the ins and outs of historical fiction. 

Find out more about Write Angles here!

Reading with three other local novelists.

Join Jacqueline and Patricia Lee Lewis in Villa Sumaya for a writing and yoga retreat. Go to Patchwork Farms for more information.

My first reading in Guatemala, at the very place that inspired my book, THE CENTER OF THE WORLD. Come to Villa Sumaya for a reading, discussion and some tasty Mayan treats.

Join us for an evening to enjoy author Jacqueline Sheehan's experience in Guatemala during the writing of her Book, "The Center of the World," which takes place during the Guatemalan Civil War. Adventure, intrigue, love and family fill the pages; at the end you are begging for the next chapter! Looking forward to discussing this amazing book around a women's dinner.

Dinner is $15/person + gratuity and family style. If you RSVP "GOING," we will expect you and make food accordingly. All food is Ayurvedic with GF ad Vegan options. Our friend Jess is gracious enough to host us in her garden at Stela 9 .

Book Launch for TIGER IN THE HOUSE at Broadside
Books in Northampton.

Come celebrate the publications of Jacqueline's newest book!

Jacqueline joins high school readers from the area for a day of writing.

Jaqueline is the featured reader at Writers Night Out. Open mike followed by Jacqueline.
The Basement, Northampton MA

Jacqueline will be reading and signing books at the conference.

Jacqueline discusses THE TIGER IN THE HOUSE with the Odyssey Book Group at Odyssey Books .

Guest Writer for Women Reading Aloud with Julie Maloney. SOLD OUT

Research and Backstory: Two Trouble Spots in Fiction
At Writers in Progress, Florence MA
Research and Backstory are essential ingredients in fiction–they bring authority, authenticity and depth to a story. But making all those fascinating facts work for you and not against you is tricky. Research can lead down a rabbit hole of ever-more-tantalizing tidbits of information, bogging down both process and product. Backstory is the evil twin of research, occasionally turning into an information dump that can overshadow plot. In this all-day workshop, we will discuss the best sources and practices for research, and how to distill just enough into our stories to lend authenticity without making them dull. We will also explore and practice ways to blend in backstory organically, without weighing down the plot.
To register, contact Dori Ostermiller .

Jacqueline reads with Patricia Lee Lewis at the Gallery of Readers. Neilson Library, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
4pm

Jacqueline reads at Print Bookstore in Maine with Ellie Meeropol and Randy Sue Meyers.

Join Jacqueline and Patricia Lee Lewis for a writing and yoga retreat in Cumbrae, Scottland. See Patchwork Farms for more details.

Join Jacqueline at Southbury Library for a reading and discussion of TIGER IN THE HOUSE.

Jacqueline reads from THE TIGER IN THE HOUSE at Odyssey Books with Ellie Meeropol and Randy Sue Meyers.

Join Jacqueline, Ellie Meeropol and Randy Sue Myers at Belmont Books for a reading and discussion of their newest books!

Join Jacqueline at Boswell's Books in Shelburne Falls, MA for a reading and discussion of her new book TIGER IN THE HOUSE.

Come to the lovely S. White Dickinson Memorial Library of Whately for a reading and discussion of TIGER IN THE HOUSE.

Come to Wellfleet Library for a reading and discussion with Jacqueline and Ellie Meeropol about their books TIGER IN THE HOUSE and KINSHIP OF CLOVER.

Join Jacqueline Sheehan, Meghan Evans and David Michaels at the UCONN B&N Bookstore for an evening of readings!

For more information go to ROAR Reading Series .

Research and Backstory: Two Trouble Spots in Fiction
At Grubstreet in Boston, MA
Research and Backstory are essential ingredients in fiction–they bring authority, authenticity and depth to a story. But making all those fascinating facts work for you and not against you is tricky. Research can lead down a rabbit hole of ever-more-tantalizing tidbits of information, bogging down both process and product. Backstory is the evil twin of research, occasionally turning into an information dump that can overshadow plot. In this all-day workshop, we will discuss the best sources and practices for research, and how to distill just enough into our stories to lend authenticity without making them dull. We will also explore and practice ways to blend in backstory organically, without weighing down the plot.

To register, go to Grubstreet .

The Westhampton Library book group will meet to discuss TIGER IN THE HOUSE. Jacqueline will be there to answer questions and sign books.

Wednesday September 27th, Strawdogs Author Showcase at Forbes Library Northampton, MA, 7 pm

Join Jacqueline, Dick Bently, Michael Goldman, Tzivia Gover, Richard Wayne Horton, Jan Maher, Leslea Newman and Elaine Reardon at Forbes Library for a showcase of Western Mass writers.
For more information go to Strawdogs .

Jacqueline teaches a day long Research and Backstory workshop at Writers in Progress.

Research and Backstory are essential ingredients in fiction and narrative nonfiction–they bring authority, authenticity and depth to a story. But making all those fascinating facts work for you and not against you is tricky. Research can lead down a rabbit hole of ever- more-tantalizing bits of information, bogging down both process and product. Backstory is research’s evil twin, sometimes turning into an information dump. In this one-day workshop, we’ll discuss the best sources and practices for research, and how to distill just enough into our narratives to lend authenticity without making them dull. We will also explore and practice ways to blend in backstory seamlessly and organically, without weighing down the plot.

To register, contact Dori Ostermiller .

Join Jacqueline at Southbury Library in Southbury, MA for an author talk about her newest book THE CENTER OF THE WORLD. Jacqueline will read from her book and answer questions from the audience. There will be a book signing at the end of the event.

Jacqueline will kick off the Summer Reading program at S. White Dickinson Memorial Library. 202 Chestnut Plain Road, Whately, MA 01093

Join Jacqueline for a reading of her new book at Maynard Library. 77 Nason Street, Maynard, MA.

Sea Girt, New Jersey.
Women Reading Aloud, directed by Julie Maloney, will return to the Jersey Shore for another stimulating weekend. Stay in a Victorian inn located just one block from the ocean. Wraparound porches frame the two spacious guest houses. Think about your writing goals as you stroll the beach in the early morning. Engage in the camaraderie of WRA as you balance community with solitude. Review and reflect. Join us for a nurturing experience on every level. Write. Read aloud. Listen. Take time for yourself.
Women Reading Aloud
This retreat is sold out.

Saturday, April 9, 2016. 4 pm. Join Jacqueline, Elli Meeropol, Marianne Banks, and Suzanne Strempek Shea for a discussion of using Massachusetts in their fictional settings. White Square - Fine Books & Arts, Easthampton, MA.

Enfield, CT
Come hear Jacqueline read from her new book, THE CENTER OF THE WORLD at Asnuntuck Community College in the Strom Conference Room. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by Freshwater Literary Journal, the Asnuntuck Diversity Committee, and the American Association of University Women.

Come listen to Jacqueline read from her new book THE CENTER OF THE WORLD at Odyssey Books in South Hadley, MA.

Come celebrate the publication of Jacqueline's new book THE CENTER OF THE WORLD at Broadside Books in Northampton!

Jacqueline will attend the Tribute Gala as a featured author. The Gala supports retired and retiring military and contract dogs. The event is Saturday, November 14, 2015 from 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM at the Four Points by Sheraton, 1 Audubon Road, Wakefield, MA 01880

Experience the best of Guatemala at Villa Sumaya on the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlan with Jacqueline, Patricia Lee Lewis and yoga instructor Jane Mortifee at their writing and yoga retreat February 7-14, 2015.

Click here for more information or email Jacqueline at jac.sheehan@comcast.net

Creating Characters That We Love to Hate
Where would Harry Potter be without Voldemort? Gatsby without Buchanan or Atticus without Bob Ewell? Great bad-guys are just as important (if not more so) to good stories as protagonists. In fact, antagonists are often the most memorable characters in literature, without which, many best-selling stories would cease to exist. If your antagonist isn’t fully realized, your story will undoubtedly suffer. But what is an antagonist, exactly, and how do you create one that is not only a great foil but also a compelling and three-dimensional character in her own right? Spend the day sharpening the conflict in your fiction through that crucial, mysterious energy between protagonist and antagonist.
Saturday, November 8th, 10:00am-5:00pm at Grub Street headquarters, Boston.
Click here for more information

Workshop: The Psychology of Strong Characters
The most memorable characters are driven by powerful forces of motivation, forces that simply won’t let them rest and that keep readers turning the pages. Jacqueline Sheehan is a New York Times bestselling author and a psychologist who applies basic psychology to all of her characters. In an atmosphere of exploration and support, you will create more compelling characters by revealing their fears, desires, and dreams. We’ll use a series of writing prompts that will challenge our characters to take actions to reveal the white hot core of your story. It’s a tall order, but it’s what all good stories are about.
Saturday, November 1st, 10:00am-5:00pm at Grub Street headquarters, Boston.
Click here for more information

Character vs. Plot: Can’t Have One Without the Other
At Writers in Progress, Florence MA
What’s the real difference between a character-driven story and one that’s plot-based? And is one type of story better than the other?
Characters are the actors on the stages of our plots, but how we define characters will also determine the plot. Or is it the other way around? Should plot be the force that moves and defines our characters? If you’re confused, you’re in great company with many writers. Come spend the day exploring the intricacies of this ages-old debate, and learn some valuable tools for weaving your characters’ motivations seamlessly into the storyline, and ultimately strengthening both!
To register, contact Dori Ostermiller .

Creating Characters We Love to Hate with Jacqueline Sheehan
Workshop Saturday May 17th, 9:30-12
Writers In Progress, Florence, MA
Where would Harry Potter be without Voldemort? Gatsby without Buchanan or Atticus without Bob Ewell? Great bad-guys are just as important (if not more so) to good stories as protagonists. In fact, antagonists are often the most memorable characters in literature, without which, many best-selling stories would cease to exist. If your antagonist isn’t fully realized, your story will undoubtedly suffer. But what is an antagonist, exactly, and how do you create one that is not only a great foil but also a compelling and three-dimensional character in her own right? Spend the morning with sharpening the conflict in your fiction through that crucial, mysterious energy between protagonist and antagonist.
Click here for more information

Conversation and reading with Jacqueline
Thursday, May 1, 2014, 7- 9 pm at Chapel Street Congregational Church
185 Chapel Street, Lincoln, RI

Experience the best of Guatemala at Villa Sumaya on the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlan with Jacqueline, Patricia Lee Lewis and yoga instructor Jane Mortifee at their writing and yoga retreat February 1-8, 2014.

Click here for more information or email Jacqueline at jac.sheehan@comcast.net