I have spoken at numerous conferences and workshops, most notably for SCBWI (both national and regional conferences), Heartland Writers for Kids and Teens, OYAN summer and winter workshops, AWP national conference, and Vermont College of Fine Arts. Listed below are the titles and topics of my most recent presentations and workshops.
Lectures
Make the Reader Your Accomplice: Luring readers to take part in storytelling actually deepens their personal connection with our work and gives them a more memorable experience. Grab your senses, memories, and imaginations and learn how to Aid and Abet your way to a more captivating story. P.S. And you get to color in a giraffe!
Filtering Action through Emotion: Why do your action scenes so frequently read like stage directions–necessary but flat–no matter how often your hero screams? Time to grab your action scenes and shove them through a filter of emotion. You’re gonna like what’s on the other side.
Enter the Outlier: By taking the position of “other” the outlier acts as a bridge between author and reader—a conduit to place, time, and emotion. Together we’ll look all three types…no, wait…there are four…and we’ll discuss how outliers work, why outliers work, and how to maximize an outlier’s potential in your work.
Middle Grade v. Young Adult Fiction: It’s more than getting your driver’s license! Learn about the surprising differences and even more surprising similarities between Middle Grade and Young Adult readers and the manuscripts they love. With insight into head space and hormones, you might finally figure out what kind of book you’re writing!
Not All Those Who Wander are Lost: Allowing ourselves to play is crucial to the creative process. We’ll look at word games, drawing, music, field trips, and exercise and learn how these breaks from Butt In Chair spark creativity, keep the imagination limber, and actually help us focus on writing the book!
Redeeming your Villain: Without the antagonist, there is no story. But how do you make sure your Big Bad isn’t so big and so bad that they are unbelievable? Crafting memorable villains means gifting them with just the right amount of horror and just the right amount of humanity.
Scrivener 101: It may be the most powerful writing tool you aren’t using. We’ll take a hands-on approach to tackling this software and taming it.
Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in more details or topics. I’m always adding new presentations.
Workshops
1 hour
- Social Media 101 – Brand yourself
- The Subtle Art of Self-promotion
- The Fine Art of Agent and Editor Stalking
1 – 2 hours
- Sweet Tweets – It’s Time you Got It! A hands-on walk through of twitter
- Friend your Facebook – the Making of a Fan Page (hands-on)
3+ hours
- Scrivener – Basics to Advanced (hands-on)