“Eliminate Fleas and Ticks!” is the topic for this month’s Writer’s Roundtable from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Library on Jan. 9.
All are welcome to the monthly event, facilitated this month by Jennifer Brennock, who says, “We all have our own ticks- cliches or common words, over-formalized dialogue perhaps- that we always throw in our work without even realizing how overused they are.”
“Eliminate Fleas and Ticks” will present examples from contemporary literature, and prompts to catalyze discussion of a writer’s own fleas and ticks—the patterns a writer finds themselves unconsciously repeating that reduce the engagement of their reader. Writers should come prepared for short exercises on creating authentic dialogue and reducing cliché.
“This is a playful way for a writer to bring those fleas and ticks to light. And then beat them with the broom into oblivion,” says Jennifer.
Brennock is an MFA candidate at Goddard College in creative writing, an editor of the Pitkin Review literary journal, and volunteer assistant director of the Orcas Island non-profit Artsmith.
She has written for the Jacksonville Review, Joy, and Ashland Magazine. She teaches two classes, “Write like a Photographer” and “Fiction Gym.” This past August she facilitated the Roundtable “Pregnant Pause.”
