Louise Abbott offers writing workshops for elementary and secondary school students through the Writers at School program and for CEGEP students through the Writers in CEGEPs program. In March of 2010, for example, she worked with students at Champlain College and at the Bromptonville Secondary School. To find out about the content of her workshops, see Writers at School and Writers in CEGEPs.
In the fall of 2010, Louise gave a workshop for the Quebec Writers' Federation (QWF) titled "The Art of the Profile: Defining Character in Non-Fiction."
Tuesdays, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (October 5 to November 23)
"He is tall, and has the wholesome good looks of the nice one in a boy band, with wide-set eyes, a trace of freckles, and dark spiky hair that, even by day, sometimes bears a dusting of the glittery makeup that he wears to certain performances."
Rebecca Mead on composer Nico Muhly, The New Yorker
The profile is a popular genre of non-fiction that can be as original and perceptive as the writer who pens it. It is most often interpreted as a biographical sketch—"a concise rendering of a life through anecdote, incident, interview, and description," as an anthology of New Yorker profiles explains. But the life portrayed need not be individual. It need not be human, either. A writer can produce a profile of a community, for example, or of a racehorse. What every profile has in common, however, is that it defines the character of the subject.
"The Art of the Profile" is a workshop designed for those who are motivated by an intense curiosity and a desire to produce fresh modes of expression in profile writing. Participants will gain an understanding of the elements of a profile and learn how to research and craft profiles of varying lengths. There will be in-class writing exercises, as well as handouts to be read between sessions.
