2024 Prose Writing Workshop Series with Darcy Rhyno
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Overview
Do you enjoy writing? Want to sharpen your writing skills? Are you working on a novel or short story? A play or script? A children's book? Got a family history or memoir you want to get started? Or maybe you have a piece of writing you want to rework, polish and try to publish? Just wanna improve your writing for work or correspondence? Whatever your interest in writing, this workshop could be just what the (Word) doctor ordered. You'll learn how to improve your descriptive writing and how to build characters. You'll learn about plot, word choice, tone, flow and dialogue. You'll see how writing fiction and non-fiction require similar techniques and skills. Through small group interaction, you'll learn by sharing and discussing work in a safe, encouraging environment. I'll offer private consultation about your work through which you'll learn your strengths and how to build on them. In addition to any personal writing pursuits, you'll learn from in-session activities, short presentations I'll make on specific topics, a series-long project and personal coaching. By the end, you'll have something that brings you satisfaction and perhaps even publication. |
Workshop Details
Sundays 2-4 pm or Mondays 6-8 pm (tentative) Sundays January 14, 29 Mondays: Feb 5, 26 March 11, 25 April 8, 22 May 6, 13 6-12 participants. (Fewer and we'll have to try another time. A dozen is the cutoff.) Fee: $295/person Participants can apply to the Shelburne County Arts Council for support. Their Community Arts Fund is open to applications from all artists in all genres for a wide variety of activities and needs, one of which is participation in arts workshops like this one. Click here to find out more. I'm a working travel writer, so if I get called away, I'll add another session at the end of the series. Same goes for any cancellations due to bad weather. |
About Me
I'm a writer and a teacher. At university, I completed a BEd, then a Masters in Adult Education, as well as a BA and MA in literature. I've taught ESL in Europe, adult literacy in workplaces, high school English and 16 years of university graduate courses. I've published six books (two each of novels, short story collections, travel books) and had plays produced for radio and stage. I'm a member of TMAC, SATW and WFNS and I'm part of Writers in the Schools. I write about travel, the environment, culture and people. My column has appeared in every issue of Saltscapes Magazine for the past 17 years. I wrote the Frommers travel guide to the Maritimes and I'm one of four writers of the next Lonely Planet travel guide to the Atlantic Provinces. My articles (and photos) have appeared in The Toronto Star, Canadian Geographic, BBC Travel, Atlas Obscura, the Chronicle Herald, Saltscapes and many others. My travel work has won many awards, most recently the Best Cultural/Historical Feature Award for Canadian travel writers in 2022 (below.) If you'd like to read a little of my work, click on a few of the links on my travel page of this website. |
LATEST books by darcy rhyno
NEW- Not Like the Stars At All: Czechoslovakia Diaries by Darcy Rhyno
A deep dive into daily life in post-communist Czechoslovakia of 1990, this book is based on the diaries of Darcy Rhyno from his time there as a teacher. He lived and worked in a small town just months after the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He gets to know the daily lives of adult students and develops intimate relationships with them and their families. As a backdrop, Czechoslovakia is a country in transition politically and economically, a country that will soon disappear from the world map as President Vaclav Havel leads his people out of decades of communist rule and as the USSR slowly extracts the Soviet military after 22 years of occupation. At the edge of town is a compound that houses military equipment and a Soviet occupying force larger than the population of the town itself. The writer's time in the town parallels the USSR's preparation for departure and the country's efforts to recreate itself as a western democracy. All this he observes from his room in the zamek or rural chateau that overlooks the town square.
A deep dive into daily life in post-communist Czechoslovakia of 1990, this book is based on the diaries of Darcy Rhyno from his time there as a teacher. He lived and worked in a small town just months after the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He gets to know the daily lives of adult students and develops intimate relationships with them and their families. As a backdrop, Czechoslovakia is a country in transition politically and economically, a country that will soon disappear from the world map as President Vaclav Havel leads his people out of decades of communist rule and as the USSR slowly extracts the Soviet military after 22 years of occupation. At the edge of town is a compound that houses military equipment and a Soviet occupying force larger than the population of the town itself. The writer's time in the town parallels the USSR's preparation for departure and the country's efforts to recreate itself as a western democracy. All this he observes from his room in the zamek or rural chateau that overlooks the town square.
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In this dark fantasy of loyalty and betrayal, of inner strength and survival, the Sun Children must face their worst fears as their loyalty is stretched to breaking in order to save themselves and the rest of humanity from certain destruction. This is a book for children of all ages, especially those in upper elementary.
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FEATURED AWARD WINNING STORY
WINNER - Best Cultural/Historical Feature - 2022 TMAC Awards
"Walking Around in a Poem: The Grand-Pré Church turns 100"
WINNER - Best Cultural/Historical Feature - 2022 TMAC Awards
"Walking Around in a Poem: The Grand-Pré Church turns 100"
Fiction / Travel / Columns / Features / Plays
For over 30 years, Darcy's been writing in many genres for many outlets. His work has been produced for radio and the stage. He's been published in dozens of magazines, newspapers and websites. His award winning fiction and non-fiction has appeared in anthologies. He's written two collections of short stories and two novels for children. He's a columnist with Saltscapes magazine and a professional travel writer/photographer.
