Writing Workshops

 

            Writing Workshops 

                        for  Students 

 

 

 Write On!  

 

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     Designed to help students enjoy learning the craft of writing, this workshop will have your students painting pictures with wors and at the same time take the stress out of assess.  with an emphasis on fictional narrative and creative writing, these fun, interactive hands-on activities will put your students on the "write track" for the statewide writing assessment test.      

   

     1) Hook  (students will write a 2-3 sentence hook)

         a) setting/place

 

    2) Problem

         a) conflict

         b) challenge

         c) something out of the ordinary

     3) Plot/Action

 

     4) Solution/Climax

 

     5) Wrap Up/Ending

      The above  is the frame work or skeleton of your story.  Now it’s time to put some flesh on it.  I share tips and techniques and have several hands-on, interactive exercises:

   

1) Vivid Verbs and Colorful Words

 

2) Onomatopoeia     (listen for the sound in the poem)

     3) Hyperbole                           (poem)

 

     4) Fire Up the Senses  (students close their eyes and hear, taste, smell, feel (tactile) and see  in their mind different phrases.) 

 

      5) Emotions

 

      6) Dialogue/Dialogue Tags 

 

      7) Revisions  (“words to avoid” song)

 

Students will then revise their hook with what they have learned.  They will finish their story that evening.

 

Fee: $195    Time: 1 hour 

 

Personal Narrative

     1.Personal Narrative Organizer 

       a. hook sentence(s)

            b. setting/time

         c. lead events/main event/subsequent events

         d.  wrap-up/take away

See creative narrative above for all other topics covered.

    Fee: $195  Time: 1 hour
   

 

typewriter

Adults Writing for Children Workshop

If your dream is to become a children's author, then this nut and bolts approach will get you well on your way. Topics covered include the basics of writing (hooks/ beginnings, character development, plot, sentence and story structure) as well as manuscript format, query letters, submission strategies, publishers, editors and agents. It's a thorough, concise overview of the bunny-eat-bunny world of writing for children!
Fee: Minimum $500 Time: 6 hours, 9:00a.m.-3:00 p.m

Let the Games Begin:
For unpublished writers wanting to break into the magazine market or anyone who warms to a challenge. Games and puzzles - an overlooked publishing opportunity.
45-60 minutes

First Page, Lasting Impression:
Send a first page by (DATE) and find out if your manuscript will make it out of the slush pile. Diane is a former submissions reader for Peachtree Publishers in Atlanta. Limit 10 first pages per session. (One of my most popular workshops.)
45-60 minutes

A Picture Book is Worth a Thousand Words or Less:
It takes more than just vivid verbs and colorful words to get your picture book manuscript plucked from an editor's slush pile. With a focus on structure, learn the necessary components of picture book writing and what editors are looking for. (This is another popular workshop.)
45-60 minutes

A Potpourri of Poetry:
How to write poetry that wiggles the funny bone, warms the heart, and wows the editor.
45-60 minutes

What's the Meter With You?:
Is there no reason in your rhyme? Do you stumble and fall over your iambs and dactyls? Are you stressed-out over unstressed syllables? This workshop covers the necessary components for writing GOOD rhyming picture books. (Another popular workshop. My first picture book, Bus-A-Saurus Bop won a 2004 Children's Choice Award.)
45-60 minutes

To Market, To Market to Sell Your First Book:
The average picture book goes out of print in five years. Learn how to successfully promote your book BEFORE and AFTER it is published and ensure multiple printings.
45-60 minutes