Write to the Beat Workshop
Write to the Beat (No Nay Not That One) Workshop
Irish Dance for Writers
Get your blood pumping and creative juices flowing! Better than any shot of whiskey, tippity-tap your way out of writer’s block with a basic Irish Dance step that will unleash your inner story-teller faster than you can say Slainte!
Write to the Beat (No Nay Not That One) is a 1-hour Irish Dance for Writers workshop led by author, Irish Dancer, and Literary Agency PR Manager, Colleen Oefelein (pen name CM McCoy). This workshop is an offshoot of Colleen’s SELL THAT BOOK, an Author’s Guide to Book Promotion.
In this workshop, writers learn a basic Irish Dance step to get their blood flowing and their gray matter engaged while exploring the story-telling genius of strong verbs and vivid imagery that is Irish music. The session opens with an energetic contemporary Irish song. Participants discuss the strong verbs and vivid imagery that make the story in the song come to life, and then they reflect on their own works in progress, identifying any writer’s block or soggy-middle issues they’re battling. Instead of talking writer’s block to death, authors tippity tap into their right hemisphere and unleash their inner Irish story-teller. The workshop concludes with a cool-down, some laughs, and an Irish music CD giveaway.
Session Marketing Description:
No chairs necessary for this workshop! Get up and get your blood pumping and creative juices flowing! Irish Dancer, author and Literary Agency PR Manager CM McCoy leads a session on Irish Dance and story-telling. Better than any shot of whiskey, tippity-tap your way out of writer’s block with a basic Irish Dance step that will unleash your inner story-teller faster than you can say Slainte!
Colleen’s Bio:
CM McCoy is an Irish Dancer, author and PR manager for Inklings Literary Agency. You can call her Colleen. She’s been Irish Dancing for decades and has won several gold medals in competition and danced in high-profiles Vegas shows. She’s published in YA and has been interviewed by PEOPLE Magazine, appeared on ABC’s 20/20, and booked appearances on Alaska’s local news morning shows. Her debut novel, EERIE, a YA paranormal featuring an Irish Dancer and set in Alaska, was published in Dec 2015 by Omnific/Simon & Schuster. She holds a BS in both Chemical Engineering and German, flies helicopters, and (if you feed her enough whiskey) may just dance on the bar.
Take-aways:
Attendees will learn how to incorporate movement into their writing routine. Writers lead a notoriously sedentary lifestyle. Learning a fun and easy Irish Dance step to break up writer’s block and soggy-middle syndrome is one way to beat that lifestyle into submission. Whether you get up and out of that chair or simply clench your buttocks to the beat, incorporating movement into your writing routine boosts your health and creativity. Colleen also gives away an Irish music CD and a print-out with the Irish Dance step explained.
Colleen’s Other Workshops:
- Reviews 101 – An Author’s Guide to Getting More Reviews
- Queries 101 – How to Write a Successful Query
- Be Your Own Publicist – How to Write and Submit a Press Release
- Pitch Perfect