Suddenly Community College

Dear Students,

Congratulations on your acceptance to Suddenly Community College! Where creativity is the Bedrock of learning. We are looking forward to studying with you this term.

Sincerely,

Professor Suddenly

  • Who: better be you!
  • What: A writing workshop
  • Where: Ferndale public library 222 E 9 Mile Rd, Ferndale, MI 48220
  • When: Saturday, May 16, 12:15-4:30pm
  • Why: Why not?
  • How: thanks to Suddenly Scholarships, tuition is free for all!

How It’s Going To Work

  • Participants arrive at 12:15 for a SHARP 12:30 start.
  • Five guest speakers will give fifteen minute presentations on the writing adjacent topic of their choice.
  • Participants will spend the rest of the afternoon split between independent work and doing five minute one on ones with the speakers to ask questions and get guidance on their projects.
  • One on one sessions are limited to the first 23 participants to sign in. Latecomers are free to listen to the presentations and join in the free writing time limited only by the number of chairs and the Fire Marshall.
  • Participants should come prepared to take notes and have a project to work on during the free writing segment.
  • The library does not permit food, and beverages must be covered. We will have a case of water bottles, and you can bring your own travel cup, covered coffee, etc. There are a variety of cafes and food places in the area if you want to step out for a snack during a break.
  • You should bring whatever you need for note taking during the presentations, as well as whatever you need to work on your project during the independent work period. It wouldn’t hurt to ponder what kind of questions you want to ask the faculty either.

Welcome Faculty!

Gertrude Daly

Gertrude Daly is an experienced writer, blogger, and editor. She writes in a variety of genres and many forms. When she isn’t writing operations and maintenance manuals for work, Gertrude works on many creative projects. She has had a number of short stories have been published in anthologies. She is also constantly working on a new novel, which she ends of hating and tossing to the side.

Place, Plot and Problems: Setting Mistakes that Writers Make

Setting is not just where the story happens. It shapes your characters, plot, and the reader’s experience. This session explores common mistakes writers make with setting and how to fix them. You will learn how to choose details that matter and make setting work harder for your story.

Wesley Teel

Wesley Teel is a teacher of mostly reluctant high school readers and writers, and has seen some things in her decade of teaching. From students who end their essays with “sincerely” and love to tell her what their paper will do (“in this paper I will…”), she has created some comments and strategies to make her life less stressful, and writing less confusing. She writes for both fun and to escape essays, lesson plans, and emails where the entire message is in the subject line.

We Fall in it – Common Pitfalls of Writing

Going over common writing errors we ALL do and some strategies to combat them or edit them out (fill the pit, so to speak).

Katie Spina

I’m an award winning children’s author that’s been writing for publication since 2011. I’ve gone from beginning writer struggling to find my voice to a confident writer unafraid of the red ink. I love building up other writers to find that confidence in themselves.

How to Take Feedback

Writing is a very personal undertaking. But Editing? Editing is a cutthroat gauntlet that will test you to your very soul. How do you ask for feedback to make your story stronger, and still keep your confidence enough to hear what your readers are saying?

Jordan J. Scavone

I have five children’s books (about to be six!) and one urban fantasy novel published.. I’ve been nominated for multiple awards. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, learned a lot, and embraced breaking out of my comfort zone, even if it’s embarrassing.

Pratfalls and Pitfalls: Navigating Being an Independently Published Author

Tips and tricks of navigating the world of Indie Publishing. From escaping your comfort zone, to making mistakes and learning from them.

Joe Crawford

Despite what his family thinks, J. A. Crawford is not a spy and travels the country investigating disaster sites. Before that, he taught Criminal Justice, Montessori Kindergarten, and several martial arts. He divides his time between Michigan, California, and the worlds in his head.

Traditional Publishing, Literary Agents, and You!

In this session, we dissect the process in which I gained my literary agent and became traditionally published! This includes a query letter, your sample pages, and how to know when you are ready to submit!

If you know a place to put posters and would like to help us advertise this event, here is a poster for you!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1woIOg75TXV9OPXQhmuuE2pwDsKebca2v/view?usp=sharing