And I Quote…
“I’ve never heard the concepts of conflict, character and story explained so neatly and convincingly.”
StoryCraft participant
“You have such a talent for catching the small details as well as the big picture.”
Manuscript critique client.
“Exceptionally engaging, knowledgeable and inspiring.”
Writing From Life student.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Upcoming
Sunday, March 19, 2 to 4pm.
Writing from Life
for the Royal City Literary Arts Society. Members and non-members welcome.
Details at their website, along with other information about their activities.
Saturday, March 25, 1 to 3 p.m.
STORYCRAFT (On Zoom)
Story is at the very heart of human experience, and integral to fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and even some poetry. In this workshop you will explore the elements of story, and learn how to incorporate them into your own work to create compelling reading.
By donation – minimum $10 by eTransfer to loispeterson@hotmail.com. (Please include your email address in the message field.)
Space is limited. Sat. March 25 1pm by Zoom.
Proceeds of registration fees will be donated to Volunteer Nanaimo
I present in-person workshops through community centres, conferences, writing groups, etc.
And I also offering customized ZOOM presentations
for writing groups, wherever in the world they are.
Contact me for information.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS:
- How We Talk and Write About What We Do – for the 2022 Volunteer BC BCACG Conference
- NOW AVAILABLE AS A FREE Zoom presentation to non-profit agency staff and volunteers (min. 6). Contact me for more information or to book the workshop.
- Writing From Life for Vancouver Island Elder College
- Down the Rabbit Hole – Writing for Children & Youth for Vancouver Island Elder College
- Canadian Children’s Book Week virtual tour of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick
- Vancouver Readers and Writers Festival ‘Writers in the Schools’ partipant
Travel Writing for Vancouver Island Elder College - Writing Memoir Poetry for Writers on Fire Rejuvenate Your Creativity event.
- ADVANCED Writing From Life for Vancouver Island Elder College
- Writing From Life for a Pentiction Writers’ group
- Getting the Word Out Communications workshop for Nanaimo YouthCan 2020
- VIU Elder College – Writers’ Toolbox; Writing From Life
- FREE Writer’s Zoom room online presentations: Reverse Outlining, Point of View, Developing Ideas, StoryCraft Summer 2020
- Marketing Your Writing – a fundraiser for Literacy Central Vancouver Island Feb 2020
- Writing From Life for the Vancouver Island University Elder College, Parksville (fall 2019) and Nanaimo (winter 2020)
- Research Strategies for Fiction and Nonfiction – for the Federation of BC Writers Spring Festival, 2019
- Reading from My Alphabet Life (a teen novel in verse) at Vancouver’s Twisted Poets Literary Salon
- Writing From Life: VIU Elder College at Parksville
- People Watching: Characterization and Point of View for Port Moody Library
- Using Desire to Fan the Flames of Fiction for SFU Southbank Writer’s Studio
- Reverse Outlining for Port Moody Writers
I can develop a specific workshop to meet your needs, or offer the following:
- Down the Rabbit Hole: Writing for children and teens
- Fundraising in General and Grantwriting in Particular
- Getting Started, Keeping Going: Motivation and craft skills for newer writers
- Story, Plot and Theme: Strategies for getting to the heart of fiction and narrative nonfiction
- Memoir – Your Story, Your Way
- Research for writers
- Reverse Outlining: A novel plotting tool
- To Market, To Market: Tools and strategies to help you find the right home for your writing
- The View From Here: Getting a grip on point of view
- Words at Work: Effective writing skills for small business and non profits
- Voice Lessons: Developing a distinctive voice in your fiction
- Writing From Life: Using your own life experiences as ‘fodder’ for fiction, poetry and nonfiction
My regular rates range from $150 – $600 per session depending on venue, number of participants, organization, travel time and other factors.

Previous clients include: Vancouver Island University Elder College, York House School, Surrey School District 36, Simon Fraser University Southbank program; Surrey International Writers’ Conference; New West Lit Fest; Royal City Literary Society; University of BC Creative Writing Program; Mission Writers and Readers Festival…