Teaching

Sherry teaches courses in writing and editing, both independently and through the Oshawa Senior Citizens Centres. She is also a part-time professor in the Communicative Disorders Assistant Program at Durham College, where she teaches Adult Neurogenics and Rehabilitation Disorders, Anatomy & Physiology, and Voice & Stuttering.

WRITING & EDITING COURSES/WORKSHOPS:

  • Magazine Writing: This course covers the entire magazine process including: how to find markets, where to get ideas, how magazines work, how to write a query letter they’ll READ, what to do when they say YES, how to research your topic, how to find experts and interview them, how to work with editors, how to structure your article, how to edit your own work, how to get paid.
  • Lifewriting: Learn to mine for memories, capture your memories on paper, turn the facts of your life into stories, research your stories, create a timline, find your voice, set the scene, breathe life into your characters, create authentic dialogue, polish your work and get published.
  • Writing Chapbooks: Write! Design! Sell! Learn, step-by-step, how to write your own chapbook, design the look, and then self-publish using home-made materials. A chapbook is a collection of your writings: poetry, short stories, essays, memoirs – anything you like. It’s the ultimate creative opportunity for all writers.
  • Creative Writing: Have you always wished you could write stories, real or made up? This course will gently guide you through the process of writing short stories with intriguing plots, sympathetic characters, believable dialogue, evocative settings and much more. No experience necessary, just a desire to have fun and be creative!
  • Self-Editing: Does your idea of second-draft writing consist of a mad search for typos and running SpellCheck? Writers don’t need to learn to do the work of an editor — that’s best left to editors. But all writers — hopefully! — write a second draft prior to submitting their work for editing. This one-hour mini-workshop will cover the key steps to follow during second-draft writing, to make your work more engaging and “readable.” Lessons learned can be applied to short or long prose.