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SUMMARY:Translating Quebec Fiction
DESCRIPTION:Curious about literary translation? This eight-week workshop is an opportunity to experiment with translating contemporary French-language fiction from Quebec in a supportive setting where we will discuss the challenges and possibilities of different texts in translation together as a group. \n\n\n\nEach week\, participants will take home a short excerpt from a work of fiction to translate from French to English. We will then discuss and workshop our translations together during the following session. We’ll work on texts that pose a variety of different challenges in translation\, such as cultural references; jokes; regional slang and Québécismes; the inclusion of other dialects\, accents\, or languages; period-specific dialogue in historical fiction; experimental prose; and rendering voice in a first-person narrative. \n\n\n\nThroughout the workshop\, we will also think together about audience\, adaptation\, research\, and the role and responsibility of the translator\, and we’ll look at examples of existing translations to see what we can learn from different approaches. In our final session\, we’ll take a look at the process of translating a book for publication\, from choosing a project to writing a pitch to working with a reviser. \n\n\n\nNo previous translation experience is necessary for this workshop\, but participants should be comfortable reading and analyzing texts in French in order to write their own English translations.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/translating-quebec-fiction/2026-04-08/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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SUMMARY:Sustaining Dramatic Tension in Long-form Fiction (Wednesdays)
DESCRIPTION:The feeling of losing an audience is one of the most terrifying experiences a theatre actor can have. With fiction writing\, the relationship to the reader is far less immediate but\, I would argue\, no less important. The energy created in the first pages of a novel begins a relationship between an author and her reader and must be tended throughout for the relationship to flourish. \n\n\n\nStories were spoken aloud long before they were written down. The ability to convey information in compelling packets is innate to all of us\, as important to human survival as hunting or farming. From the 911 call to a teen’s excuse for why their homework is late\, we are in a near constant state of story-making. But how to hold your reader’s attention for 300+ pages? \n\n\n\nThis workshop proposes to look at long-form fiction’s rules of craft through the lens of theatre to breathe new and exciting life into familiar concepts. It is open to writers at all levels; all aspects will be explained and explored in depth. Writing exercises and selected reading will supplement in-class discussions. \n\n\n\n\nWeek #1: Dramatic Tension – What is it? How is it created?  How is it sustained? From the actor’s toolkit: actions\, objectives\, obstacles\, tactics\, and super-objectives.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeek #2: Unity of Action – We will look at Aristotle’s definition of action and Shakespeare’s use of verbs to see how every action in every chapter of your novel is contributing to the larger overarching action of the novel.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeek #3: Causality – How to discern if a chapter or scene is following the scene before it out of necessity. When a novel is propulsive\, you can be sure the author understands causality.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeek #4: Character and the importance of contrast of characters.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeek #5: Show Don’t Tell and the actor’s version of this famous writing rule: acting is visual first.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeek #6: Language\, Diction\, and Tone – Style choices\, syntax\, and the nitty gritty at the line level.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeek #7: Writing Constraints as maps. How writing constraints allow you to access the buried treasures of your subconscious and still find your way back to your core ideas.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeek #8: Know Your Writing– Michael Crummey\, Toni Morrison\, and Louise Erdrich are three very different writers\, but they are each completely and consistently themselves. Who are you as a writer? Participants will be asked to bring in a longer sample of writing than for previous workshops. Through positive constructive feedback\, we will use the elements we have learned as a guideline to get a sense of where each writer’s strengths lie\, and what in their voice or style makes them uniquely themselves. \n\n\n\n\nExcerpts (2-4 pages) from the following works will be provided: The Poetics by Aristotle\, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch\, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell\, Self-Help by Lorrie Moore\, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders\, Beloved by Toni Morrison\, Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich\, True Grit by Charles Portis\, Foster by Claire Keegan\, Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood\, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy\, Room by Emma Donahue\, Tell Me Everythi
URL:https://qwf.org/event/sustaining-dramatic-tension-in-long-form-fiction-wednesdays/2026-04-08/
LOCATION:QC
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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