Orlando Word Lab

This is a writing workshop that meets on the 4th Wednesday of every month at the Winter Park Library. We focus on learning a new technique or method each month. A guest speaker will share a sample of their work and then give a writing prompt for everyone to follow.

We'll all write for 30 minutes, and then share our work with others, and receive helpful suggestions about what to improve. Bring your laptops, tablets, a notebook and pen, and a willingness to learn.

It's frustrating for beginning writers who want to hone their craft, but aren't given much direction beyond "write every day," and "read a lot." Most so-called writing secrets are nothing more than "write good stuff," which is completely unhelpful. Wouldn't it be great if there was just one list of tips you could follow?

This month, we will look at different writing secrets professionals use to produce tight, interesting content and break them down into simple steps everyone can use to improve their own writing. We'll learn how to cut out unnecessary language, harness metaphors, and which grammar rules you should ignore.

We'll look at some unusual advice that every professional writer knows, why inspiration is the downfall of many writers, and one trick that will cut years off your learning curve.

Erik Deckers has been a professional blogger and ghostwriter since 2009. He is the co-author of Branding Yourself, No Bullshit Social Media, and The Owned Media Doctrine. He published his first humor novel, Mackinac Island Nation, in 2019, and his second, Whither, Utopia, came out in December 2025. Erik has been blogging since 1997, and a newspaper humor columnist since 1994. He has written several radio and stage plays, and numerous business articles. Erik was the Spring 2016 writer-in-residence at the Jack Kerouac House in Orlando, FL, and is now on their board of directors.