Mystery enthusiasts unite!
Are you ready to dive into the thrilling world of mystery writing? Whether you’re a beginner or looking to sharpen your skills, this half-day intensive workshop with Patricia Crisafulli is your gateway to crafting compelling whodunnits.
The elements of a good mystery–the inciting incident, the motivations of the antagonists and protagonist, rising tension in the story, and the pacing of the plot’s twists and turns–are crucial in all genres of writing, whether memoir, nonfiction, or genre fiction.
A mystery story is ultimately a hero’s quest where the protagonist faces the unexpected, tests their resolve, and discovers that they are more than they ever imagined.
Join best-selling mystery author, Patricia Crisafulli to learn how to identify the building blocks of your story in this half-day in-person workshop intensive in the delightful Wordcrafters studio.
“Patricia Crisafulli holds us spellbound as her… librarian-protagonist, Gabriela, stumbles onto a mysterious crime scene and is determined to find answers. As Gabriela’s amateur sleuthing leads her into spine-chilling danger, you’ll be up reading until all hours of the morning.”
Why you can’t miss this workshop
In this half-day intensive, Patricia will guide you through the essential elements of mystery writing:
- Who: Learn how to craft protagonists your readers will cheer for and antagonists whose motives are believable as they’re slowly revealed.
- Where: Develop settings so vivid they become characters themselves.
- How: Learn how actions and reactions drive the mystery forward and discover how your protagonist uncovers the clues so the story is compelling and believable.
- Why: Delve into the motivations behind the crime and your protagonist’s drive to solve it.
“If Crisafulli keeps setting… mystery thrillers in Ohnita Harbor (and I hope she will), that fictional little Upstate New York town… will be as famous as Louise Penny’s Three Pines or even Agatha Christie’s St. Mary Mead–and justifiably so.”
Build your mystery masterpiece
This workshop is designed for writers new to the mystery genre as well as those looking to refine their craft.
Patricia will help you:
- Understand the building blocks of a mystery. You’ll learn how they work and how to put yours together.
- Develop plots with twists, turns, and the unexpected.
- Create deep-seated motivations for your characters. You’ll enjoy writing exercises and prompts to help you suss out what’s going on in your protagonist and suspects’ heads and hearts.
- Craft great plot twists of your own. You’ll examine some great ones and learn how to create your own.
What you can expect
- Plentiful writing exercises and prompts
- Time to focus on your writing
- The opportunity to share your work
- A small cohort of like-minded writers
- Camaraderie and community
- Delicious chocolate
Join us for a half-day filled with insightful lectures, hands-on writing exercises, and interactive sharing sessions. By the end, you’ll have the tools and confidence to start or refine your own mystery story.
Saturday, August 17, 2024
1-5 pm
This is an in-person event
Wordcrafters Studio
436 Charnelton St. Ste 100
Eugene, OR 97401
Cost
Access: $112 – if you have limited access to funds
Sustainer: $149 – the actual cost of this class
Patron: $186 – if you have more access to wealth/resources and can support others who need to pay less
Choose the ticket price that best reflects your financial capacity. We trust you to discern your financial situation and your level of need or ability to give to others with less access to wealth. Learn more about our Pay From Your Heart Pricing. If you need further support, please contact us at bewriting@wordcrafters.org.
Wordcrafters members save 10% on this and other events and classes.
Unlock the secrets of great mystery writing. Register today!
Registration deadline is August 15, 2024
HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS
Masks are optional. Please stay home if you’re unwell with any upper respiratory illness.
About Patricia Crisafulli
Patricia Crisafulli (she/her) is an award winning, New York Times best-selling author. Her latest novel is The Secrets of the Old Post Cemetery, released fall 2025 from Woodhall Press. Her debut novel, The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor, published in 2022, followed by The Secrets of Still Waters Chasm in 2023 (both from Woodhall Press). She earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Northwestern University where she received the Distinguished Thesis Award in Creative Writing.
The Secrets of the Old Post Cemetery is the much-anticipated third book in the Ohnita Harbor Mystery series, reuniting readers with beloved protagonist Gabriela Domenici, the smalltown librarian whose accidental sleuthing puts her on the frontlines of death and danger. At the heart of the mystery is The Traitor’s Map–a highly inaccurate spy map from the American Revolution that could be a hoax, a ruse used against the British, or a poor attempt by an 18th century amateur cartographer. When Gabriela assigns the map as a research project to a group of college students, one of them is found murdered on the lakeshore–triggering a spiral of death and deceit that soon embroils Gabriela and the man she loves. The Secrets of the Old Post Cemetery tells a riveting story of emotional complexity as it explores love, betrayal, murder, and a chance for redemption.
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