Banish "insalubrious emphasis" and write from life; Geist offers two writerly workshops

Geist magazine is offering two writerly workshops in Vancouver on the weekend of June 2 and 3. The one is Writing from Life with Mary Shendlinger, a writing and publishing teacher and co-founder and senior editor of the magazine. The other is The Art of the Sentence, with Geist publisher Stephen Osborne. Each is $50; together, they're $75.The workshops are from 1-4 at the Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street.

• Writing from Life is a workshop "for the emerging writer, the seasoned professional, and everyone in between who is writing (or thinking about writing) a memoir, true story, or personal essay."

• The Art of the Sentence "offers practical tips, handouts and copious examples on how to liven up your writing by using strong verbs and precise language, and how to spot trouble by rooting out excessive modifiers, insalubrious emphasis and weak constructions. You're guaranteed to leave the workshop with at least one great sentence."