The choice of a word can make all the difference. The flow of a line or the length of a sentence can alter how a reader experiences an idea, a character, or a twist and turn of a plot. We talk so much about our words, but we don’t always dive into the hows and whys of the choices we make. This month, we’re going to talk about the power of the particulars and how word choice influences style, rhythm, mood, and the total effect of our communications. Ready to make the most out of every sentence? Join us in July for hands-on craft tips and advice from professional wordsmiths, who tackle fiction, journalism, non-fiction, poetry, songwriting, and business communications.

Date: Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Time: 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm (Meet & Greet at 6:00; program starts at 6:45)

Location: Firehouse Theatre 1609 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA, 23220

Price: $12 – Members; $15 Non-members ($5 for students)

SPEAKERS

Lily Garay

Lily Garay is a creative with a passion for production, singing, and writing. She loves serving her community through artistry and hopes to bring inspiration and hope through her work.

Lydia Nitya Griffith

Lydia Nitya Griffith has published four books and released a kids yoga DVD. She has been in business for nearly twenty years offering a variety of services from Chinese Astrology and Feng Shui Consultations to a myriad of yoga programs. Lydia’s first book, A Child’s Journey into Yoga, was published in 2014 and takes readers on a journey with a young girl as she learns to grow up living the principles of yoga. In 2015 Lydia created the first Satchidananda Ashram Yogaville Coloring Book to introduce families and children to Yogaville and to the founder and spiritual leader, Sri Swami Satchidananda. This summer, Lydia released her latest book, a true gift for anyone who is a spiritual seeker or lover of yoga, a collection of inspiring newsletter articles from the past eighteen years along with poetry, Musings from the Mat: Inspirations and Poetry.

John Mills

John Mills built his reputation on disrupting convention and pushing clients outside of their comfort zones, where he believes great opportunity is waiting. From copywriting and strategic planning to user experience design and new product development, he spent the last twenty years helping brands create emotionally-engaging stories.

John’s client experiences include a wide array of international, national and local brands such as Goldman Sachs, Finlandia, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Discover Card, Oreo, Xfinity, BetterMed Urgent Care, Virginia Commonwealth University and Resort Hotel Association.

Outside of work, John sits on the boards of the RVA Street Art Festival and Trinity Episcopal High School. He also enjoys coaching baseball, basketball and soccer, playing guitar and suffering through an occasional round of golf.

Mary Miley Theobald

Mary Miley, historian and author of five mysteries set in the Roaring Twenties, began her fiction career with The Impersonator, winning the Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel award. A graduate of William and Mary, she worked at Colonial Williamsburg and taught history at Virginia Commonwealth University for many years. For getaways, she retreats to her Virginia winery where everything she does would have been illegal during the Prohibition era.

MODERATOR

Kris Spisak

With degrees from the College of William & Mary and the University of Richmond, Kris Spisak began her career as a college writing instructor; however, after years in the classroom, she transitioned to professional writing and editing. Helping writers sharpen their craft was the driving force behind her book, Get a Grip on your Grammar: 250 Writing and Editing Reminders for the Curious or Confused (Career Press, 2017), and the creation of her writing program, Grammartopia. Kris is on the JRW board and is also pursuing the publication of her first novel. You can find Kris at kris-spisak.com.

JRW is grateful to O\’Hagan Meyer for their generous support of this month\’s Writing Show.