Unravelling Time: Writing Historical Mysteries (virtual) with donalee Moulton

Take a step back in time to unravel the secrets of the past and craft a compelling story today.

This workshop is designed for mystery writers exploring historical settings, historical fiction authors looking to add suspense, and anyone fascinated by the art of historical mysteries. You’ll learn the ground rules for writing historically rich mysteries: how to balance accuracy and creativity, avoid common research pitfalls, and weave historical context seamlessly into your narrative. We’ll explore the art of storytelling that goes beyond a mere recounting of facts, delving into how to bring history alive with mystery, suspense, and authenticity.

Whether you’re crafting a cozy whodunit set in Victorian London, a tense spy thriller during WWII, or a historical drama with a suspenseful twist, this workshop will give tips and tools to make your story both entertaining and historically sound while maintaining the page-turning pace of a mystery.

About the instructor: donalee Moulton‘s first mystery novel was Hung out to Die (2023). Her historical mystery, Conflagration! (2024), won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee’s “Swan Song” was one of 21 stories selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime and was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. Her short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada. Her other short stories have been published in numerous anthologies in the US and the UK. donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist as well, having written articles for print and online publications across North America, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. donalee is also the author of The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and  Meaning What You Say.

Recommended experience level: New and emerging fiction writers (About recommended experience levels)

Participant cap: 12

Location: Zoom

Dates of 4-week workshop: Tuesdays, Feb 25 + Mar 4 + Mar 11 + Mar 18, 2025 (7:00pm to 9:00pm Atlantic)

Registration for 2025 General Members: $169

Registration for non-members: $234 (includes 2025 General Membership in WFNS)

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Simultaneous Submissions

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) administers some programs (and special projects) that involve print and/or digital publication of ‘selected’ or ‘winning’ entries. In most cases, writing submitted to these programs and projects must not be previously published and must not be simultaneously under consideration for publication by another organization. Why? Because our assessment and selection processes depends on all submitted writing being available for first publication. If writing selected for publication by WFNS has already been published or is published by another organization firstcopyright issues will likely make it impossible for WFNS to (re-)publish that writing.

When simultaneous submissions to a WFNS program are not permitted, it means the following:

  • You may not submit writing that has been accepted for future publication by another organization.
  • You may not submit writing that is currently being considered for publication by another organization—or for another prize that includes publication.
  • The writing submitted to WFNS may not be submitted for publication to another organization until the WFNS program results are communicated. Results will be communicated directly to you by email and often also through the public announcement of a shortlist or list of winners. Once your writing is no longer being considered for the WFNS program, you are free to submit it elsewhere.
    • If you wish to submit your entry elsewhere before WFNS program results have been announced, you must first contact WFNS to withdraw your entry. Any entry fee cannot be refunded.

Prohibitions on simultaneous submission do not apply to multiple WFNS programs. You are always permitted to submit the same unpublished writing to multiple WFNS programs (and special projects) at the same time, such as the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program, the Emerging Writers Prizes, the Jampolis Cottage Residency Program, the Message on a Bottle contest, the Nova Writes Competition, and any WFNS projects involving one-time or recurring special publications.

Recommended Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) recommends that participants in any given workshop have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the following definitions used by WFNS.

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and writing for children and young adults) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

For “intensive” and “masterclass” creative writing workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca