2010 Writing Workshops
Read for Life!
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| Royce Buckingham | Dia Calhoun | Patrick Carman | Brenda Cooper | Lorie Ann Grover | Ben Mikaelsen | Deborah Reber | Suzanne Selfors |
Royce Buckingham: Is your idea a movie, a book...or both?
Royce Buckingham writes books and movies and specializes in the translation from one to the other. This workshop will explore writing for the movies and for books and how a writer can do both at the same time!
Dia Calhoun: Fantasy Writing
Dia Calhoun, award winning fantasy author, presents a Fantasy Writing Workshop for 5th-8th graders. She uses the question and answer method and the elements of a fantasy story--magic portals, magic objects, magic helpers, villains, quests, familiars, and the return--to show students how to write fantasy stories of their own. At the end of the workshop, each student will have the beginning of a fantasy story of his or her own.
Patrick Carman: Ideas
Where does an author get his ideas? Mr. Carman will be teaching key writing skills while entertaining students with stories of his childhood and dozens of visuals. Learn to find humor in your daily life. Come join the fun and laugh with Patrick Carman.
Brenda Cooper: Settings & description
Ever wondered what makes the reader feel part of the story? Surround your reader with setting by using distinct sensory details. There’s a big difference between “The cat walked out into the night” and “The black cat’s nails scratched softly on the floor as it passed through the open door into the new-mown back yard.” You can see, hear, and smell the second phrase.
In this workshop we’ll read from some very sensory work, and create some of our own as well. Come prepared to see, hear, smell, and taste your way through some fine fiction.
Lorie Ann Grover: Verse
Lorie Ann will lead the students in transforming a real life experience into a work of fiction written in a verse format. She will incorporate the visual element of collage to reflect the newly written work.
Ben Mikaelsen: Research, Finding the heart of the story
Ben discusses the challenges faced in creating his books. A slide presentation allows a wonderful view inside Ben's research as he tries to uncover the "soul of a story". These experiences include raising a 700-pound black bear, living with the homeless, working with Dolphins, attending Space camp, going undercover with Drug Enforcement Agents and living with the Maasai in Africa. The diversity of Ben's writing and research is what has made his books so appealing to students. This presentation is both informative and entertaining.
Deborah Reber: Creative nonfiction & the art of telling your personal story
An interactive writing workshop that explores the different ways in which teens can write about their lives, featuring out-of-the-box writing experiments, a look at creative ways to journal, and techniques for self-editing.
Suzanne Selfors: Writing fantasy
Do you like to read stories about Vampires? About dark fairies, dragon-slayers, witches and hobbits? If so, then you’re a fan of the fantasy genre. In this workshop we’ll explore the rules of this genre, and some of the best teen lit. it has to offer. You’ll leave with ideas for your own stories.
