About this Event
Join us for The Ampersand Review's first October Writing Series with award-winning author Sydney Hegele.
Sydney will lead us in a two-hour workshop titled "The Great Unsaid: Subtext, Distance, & Implication in Fiction Writing." Employing subtext in our work is a delicate task. Too little, and we have “on the nose” dialogue, our characters’ traumas sensationalized for shock-value. Too much, and "reading between the lines” becomes more work than our story is worth—our plot lacks stakes, our setting has nothing to anchor it, and our characters have no lives beyond the page. Through a series of generative writing exercises, participants will learn how to effectively use what is left unsaid to create evocative descriptions, realistic dialogue, higher stakes, and better plot pacing, inviting readers to become active participants in the world of their work.
**Writers should please bring a notebook and pen
Sydney Hegele (they/them) is the author of Bird Suit (Invisible Books, 2024) and The Pump (Invisible Books, 2021). They are the winner of the ReLit Literary Award for Short Fiction, and a finalist for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature and the Trillium Book Award. Their essays have appeared in the Toronto Star, Catapult, Electric Literature, and many others. Their essay collection Bad Kids: A Polyphony is forthcoming with Invisible Books in 2028. They live with their husband and French Bulldog on Treaty 13 Land (Toronto).
Please note that this event will be taking place in room B222 in the B-wing of Sheridan College's HMC campus in Mississauga.
Event venue & nearby stays
Sheridan College Hazel McCallion Campus, 4180 Duke of York Boulevard, Mississauga, Canada
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