Workshops / Speaker

Suzette Martinez Standring, Speaker
Workshop Presentations

Planners, choose a program topic.

Use Self-Hypnosis as A Writing Tool

A popular and memorable writing workshop! Suzette will share a safe, guided imagery exercise designed to relax writers into a creative mindset. Writers will mine a memory for five-sensory details, emotional resonance, and a universal lesson, all the winning components of memorable writing. A relaxed mind is the most creative tool. Suzette was certified in hypnotherapy in 1990, and uses self-hypnosis exercises to enhance her own writing process, which led to national syndication and book authorship. If you feel it, you can convey it.

The Art of Column Writing

Columnists and bloggers, whether the topic is lifestyle, humor, religion, politics, travel, family or whatever focus, the goal is the same: to persuade and engage the reader. Discover how Pulitzer Prize and other award winning writers use facts, emotional resonance, and five-sensory zest to make their writing stand out.  Discover Pulitzer Prize winning elements, how choice of words subconsciously affects readers, how to become a go-to resource, writing about topics for which you are not an expert, dealing with hate mail, and so much more. Suzette does a powerpoint presentation based on her award winning book, The Art of Column Writing.  Attendees will take away the basics of column writing as well as uncommon strategies used by successful columnists of different genres.

The Art of Opinion Writing

“I never thought of it that way.” It's what you want a reader to say! The extraordinary writers among us have sparked national conversations and transformed society. Opinion writers who have won the Pulitzer Prize and journalism’s highest awards have done so by pioneering new frontiers with vivid storytelling, originality, and being very, very brave. Apply their hard-won strategies to make your own work memorable in a reader’s mind. Discover ways to make your viewpoint persuasive.  This workshop is based on The Art of Opinion Writing, which is used in national journalism schools, and won a First Place in the 2015 New England Book Festival.

Write A Memory as a Gift…Or For Publication

For those who love to write, it starts with a memory. Everyone recalls a childhood experience, a transformative moment, a memorable person, or maybe something the dog once did. Write a 500-700 memory as a unique gift to loved ones that will be cherished for years. A well-written personal experience could lead to publication. Suzette served as the writing consultant for We Remember When, a 2011 memoir compilation, written by the residents of the Fuller Village Senior Residences in Milton, MA.  The contributors had never been published before and Suzette's job was to inspire and guide them to pen their memories, surprising memoirs from World War I, the Great Depression, World War II and more. The publication proved to be a sold-out success.

Email Suzette Standring for more information: suzmar@comcast.net

 Speaking and Conference Presentations:

  • The School of American Thanatology
  • Grub Street, Inc. (Boston)
  • The National Society of Newspaper Columnists
  • The Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop
  • The Scholastic Press Association
  • Boston Private Industry Council
  • Jewish Genealogical Society of Boston
  • The New England Newspaper and Press Association
  • Bath Path College Writers Day
  • The Cape Cod Writers Association
  • The Florida Writers Association
  • The Will Rogers Writers Workshop
  • Leading Age Conference
  • The Forbes House Museum
  • Boston University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Northeastern University
  • DePaul University
  • UMass Worcester, Graduate School of Nursing
  • The Clark County Women's Prison (IN)
  • Massasoit Community College
  • Bunker Hill Community College
  • Curry College
  • Quincy College
  • “The Hive” at Brown University
  • The Fuller Village Senior Residences (MA)
  • Unquity House Senior Residences (MA)
  • The Milton (MA) Public Library
  • The Newton (MA) Public Library
  • The Providence (RI) Public Library
  • GateHouse Media/More Content Now
  • Eight Cousins Bookstore (Falmouth, MA)
  • Milton Adult Education (MA)
  • The Canton Catholic Women’s Club (MA)
  • The Milton Woman’s Club
  • Rotary Clubs