Capstone Press will deliver books for school visits at 50% off the retail price. Please contact customer service at Capstone with the date of my talk and the number of books you'd like to order.

Author Visits at Schools and Libraries for grades 2-8

All my workshops are designed to be about forty-five minutes, but can be expanded by adding writing exercises. I bring a power point presentation for each, but do a lot of interactive discussion with the kids. I prefer smaller groups, but I'm able to do large groups as well.

I typically come to a school for a full day, and deliver four workshops in different classrooms or groups in the library or media center. For a full day, my fee is $1000 (in Massachusetts) and $1500 for out of state, plus expenses for travel and accommodations. Contact me to discuss options and pricing for partial days.

See below for a menu of workshop titles.

All workshops align with Common Core Standards and state curriculum frameworks for English Language Arts and Literacy.

Painting Pictures with your Words (for kids)
Using interactive play and writing prompts, kids will learn how to make their characters and settings come alive.
This workshop can be tailored for any grade from 2nd to 7th. Younger kids will spend more time in activities, while older kids will use the tools learned to write some short narratives.

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Writing Nonfiction (for kids)

I have written books on everything from astronomy to ancient history. During this session I talk about the creation of these fascinating books, from first draft to final product! I talk about writing, revising, the publishing process, and everything in between. Nothing is off the table. Bring your curiosity & questions!



Creating Memorable Characters (for kids)

Using kids' own experiences and characteristics, we'll create interesting and unique characters that will come alive in short stories, novels, and other narratives.

World Building: Setting in Creative Writing (for kids)

Using the five senses to create a time and place, kids will walk away brimming with ideas for new settings and worlds for their writing.

Plotting in Creative Writing (for kids)

Kids will walk about knowing more about story structure, examples of plot type, and outlining. They'll find out whether they are plotters or pantsers in their own writing.

Writer's Toolbox (for kids)

Love adventure? Mystery? Wizards? Do you love to write your own stories? Whatever you love to write, you need to write! During this session, we'll talk about reading, writing, plotting, creating interesting characters, critiquing, writing prompts, rhetorical devices, and more. Bring a pencil and your imagination.

This workshop is the combination of the previous three in a longer, more intensive block of time.

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Workshops for Adult Writers Workshops and Conferences

Querying: Hook, Line, and Slam Dunk

When it comes to Querying, you cannot think too far outside the box. There are certain standards that apply universally. However, it is possible to make your query letter stand out from the rest of the slush pile and tailor it to target the agent of your dreams. Get the inside scoop about querying from Author and query expert Kristine Carlson Asselin. The session will show you queries that work (and why!) and help you perfect the elements of your query. In this seminar, you will not hear vague advice you will get tangible tips to create an effective, concise query letter.

Writers Toolbox: Show and Tell, Reinventing Your Scene

Have you ever been told that you “tell” too much in your writing; that you need to “show” more? What does that even mean? Join me as I share specific examples from published books to demonstrate how to infuse your writing with more detail and pull your reader into your story. Come prepared to write as we workshop our own writing samples. You'll never be accused of "telling" not "showing" again!

Introduction to Writing for Children

In this workshop, participants will learn the basic framework for starting a writing career in children’s literature from one author’s perspective. Participants will leave with a comprehensive reading list, a hand-out of recommended websites and writers’ blogs, and an action plan for how to get started in the writing industry. Intended audience: beginners.

Acknowledgements:
Thanks to Kim Norman for linking my name to her Authors by State website (http://authorbystate.blogspot.com/). You can find out more about Kim here: http://coolschoolvisits.com