Unlock your imagination! Use art prompts and follow the 3-Act Structure, widely used by screenwriters and novelists, and put pen to paper and unleash that thriller, sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, or romantic short story. Learn about setup, confrontation, and resolution. Start with a nugget of an idea, reel in the reader with a hook, then take them to that climactic moment and resolution. In this 75-minute class, author Joanna Vander Vlugt will share tips about writing that first lumpy porridge draft, making dialogue believable, ramping up the action, and creating magic with rewrites. Writing and learning to critique will take place in class.

Please bring a notebook, pen, and your imagination

Tuesdays, May 5th- 26th, 2026

9:15am - 10:30am

About Your Instructor:

Joanna Vander Vlugt is an author and illustrator. As a teenager, she drew charcoal portraits and wrote mysteries. Now, she uses Copic markers to illustrate motorcycles and graphic novels. Joanna’s short mysteries have been published in Canadian and American anthologies, and her motorcycle illustrations have been purchased worldwide.

For inspiration for her three romantic thriller novels, Joanna draws upon her 13 years’ experience working in the prosecutor’s office and 10 years working in the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. She has served on the board, and is a member of Sisters in Crime-CW and the Crime Writers of Canada. As well, she is a regular judge for the international short story competition Writing Battle. Joanna is currently working on her fourth thriller novel