ICYMI: Nonfiction Workshop with Mary Cronk Farrell

Last Wednesday, dozens of SCBWI-WWA writers (and illustrators!) attended a special workshop, Talking with the Dead… and Other Secrets to Writing Nonfiction for Today’s Readers, presented by award-winning author and former journalist, Mary Cronk Farrell.

Mary started out by sharing an uplifting message for all of us:

“Story has made us who we are, and story can save us.”

But is nonfiction "story?" Indeed! Great nonfiction always comes from the heart, and kids often tend to seek out nonfiction specifically.

Mary shared some interesting data about how our brains our changing thanks to the internet. Whether this is good or bad can be debated, but what matters most is that we use this knowledge when we're writing in order to grab, and keep, the attention of our readers.

Mary then broke down how some of the big nonfiction award winners from 2016 succeeded in doing just that. She analyzed each of the following titles:

• March: Book 3 by John Lewis
• Animals by the Numbers by Steve Jenkins
• Some Writer! by Melissa Sweet
• Samurai Rising by Pamela S. Turner 
• Giant Squid by Candace Fleming 
• I Dissent by Debbie Levy

She also talked about how to research and find the necessary details to bring our stories to life, including primary source documents and interviewing people, and how to synthesize a huge pile of information down into a coherent story arc.

It's not easy, but if you're following your passion and pursuing a story that matters to you, it will ultimately be worth it--to you AND to your readers!

A huge thank you to Mary for venturing over the pass to share so much of her knowledge and expertise with us! If you haven't yet, be sure to check out some of her fabulous nonfiction titles. You won't regret it!

Seattle City of Literature Workshop

Seattle City of Literature and the Office of Arts & Culture present Racial Equity and the Literary Arts Part Two: Implicit Bias September 27, 2016 1:30pm-5pm Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall 600 Fourth Ave Seattle, WA 98104   There is no cost to attend, but space is limited. Please RSVP to secure your spot. We hope that you can join us! About the workshop   Racial Equity and the Literary Arts: Implicit Bias will encourage participants to challenge the impact of racial sterotypes and implicit bias. Through video, interactive exercises and storytelling, participants will examine how these unspoken and often unconscious stereotypes create barriers to genuine relationships and influence our attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs about one another. In response to feedback from our first session, this workshop will be even more interactive, and will include the opportunity for participants to create a personal action plan. About the facilitator Dr. Caprice Hollins, co-founder of Cultures Connecting, LLC, received her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Multicultural and Community Psychology in 1998. She became licensed in Washington State in 2000 and has over 20 years of experience teaching graduate courses,  working with historically marginalized populations, researching, studying, and facilitating race related conversations. Her experience includes opening and directing the Department of Equity & Race Relations for Seattle Public Schools, developing and implementing district-wide and school-based training, while utilizing her background in psychology to assist district leaders and staff institutionalize change to promote equity and social justice. Dr. Hollins also works  as a part-time core faculty in the department of counseling at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.

Thank you to the Office of Arts & Culture for their generous support of this initiative! This event is the second of three half-day workshops meant to help Seattle's literary community begin to talk about race, and to build equity. Want to participate but can't attend the first meeting? Let us know, and we'll make sure to include you in further updates about this initiative!

Racial equity in the literary arts: free workshop

This might be of great interest to our members. Please note the RSVP. This takes place
next weekend, and it is free of charge. Space is limited. RSVP to: rsvp@seattlecityoflit.org

 

Set your writing goals with Stasia

Here's something that doesn't come around every day: a FREE workshop, with one of the most inspiring writers around - Stasia Ward Kehoe!


Stasia, an author of the praised YA novels AUDITION and THE SOUND OF LETTING GO, will be giving a 2-hour workshop at the Woodinville Library this Saturday entitled, "Planning Your Writing Year." If you're interested in joining her and setting some goals for your projects, here are the details:

WHEN: THIS Saturday, SEPTEMBER 12 from 10:30am-12:30pm
WHERE: Woodinville Library


To register, please click HERE!

(Did we already mention "FREE"?)

Book it with Wendy!

Bookmaking Workshop with Wendy Wahman

 

When:  Saturday, August 8th

Where: Mockingbird Books: 7220 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle    /   206.518.5886
Time:  1-3pm
Cost:  $5
Ages:  7 & up
Limit 20 participants, please email  info@mockingbirdbooksgl.com to reserve a spot.

Let's make an 'Insight Book' together.  What's an Insight Book? It's art and writing, collage and doodling. It’s improvisation with yourself. You start with nothing in mind, then a line or color triggers an, ah ha! and you put that down. One line (written or drawn) leads to another.

Anyone can make one. Non-artists surprise themselves by making art.
When you’re done, you a hold a book in your hands. Your book. Your insights.

Creativity strengthens your brain by exercising the associative muscles of your mind Plus it’s really fun – but I don't have to tell you guys.

World-building with Janet!

WORLD-BUILDING WORKSHOPS: 

FROM ELVES TO ALIENS 

 

With YA Fantasy Author Janet Lee Carey

Are you creating worlds for fantasy novels, sci-fi novels or games? Considering terrain, ecosystems, beings, cultures, societies, and languages? There’s a lot to cover, but when you design a world from a central theme, adding history and conflict, you create the tension your story world demands. Come to this dynamic PowerPoint workshop, and be ready to discuss ideas and do an interactive world-building activity.

April (THIS WEEK!)
World Building Workshop
Date: Friday April 24, 2015
Time: 1-3 PM
Location: Meeting Room, Mukilteo Library, 4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd. Mukilteo, WA 98275

May
World Building Workshop
Date: Saturday, May 23, 2015
Time: 1-3 PM
Location: University Bookstore, Bellevue, 990 102nd Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Sign up at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1360728
Price includes workshop, refreshments, handouts and a signed copy of In the Time of the Dragon Moon, choices of other books by Janet Lee Carey or How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card.

Fiction Magician Deb Lund

"Abracadabra" isn't just a word in the beginning of the dictionary. Our very own Inside Story maven, picture book author, and teacher Deb Lund has developed a magic card deck designed to help your story find its way into the world. With extensive motivational prompts and tips, Deb's Fiction Magic will push you toward your writing goals. In her presentation next weekend, Deb will talk you through her tricks and help you apply them to your own work. Bring your manuscripts, your outlines, your laptop, or a single idea. Let Deb work her magic, and you're on your way!

SATURDAY, MARCH 28 from 2–3:30pm at the Mukilteo Library

Brand yourself

Check out the Graphic Artists Guild lunchtime workshop on "Your Brand, Your Way" with Susan Straub-Martin, which will be held November 19, 2014, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Consider yourself a brand, a commodity. What would you like people to know about you? In this workshop, identify who you are as a brand, write a brand statement, and start crafting materials such as a business card or social media image.

The event will take place at the Seattle Design Center, 5701 6th Avenue South, 98108. Get tickets here.

Making the (Middle) Grade: Essential Elements of the MG Novel with Brianne Johnson

Writers House agent Brianne Johnson shared a talk with us last Friday afternoon about writing middle-grade novels. She discussed plot, character, voice, beginnings, and theme in middle grade, using examples from some of her clients' books, The League of Beastly Dreadfuls and The Only Thing Worse than Witches, as well as from Harry Potter, A Single Shard, and Matilda.

She started out by sharing Aristotle's definition of plot, "the change of good fortune to bad, or bad fortune to good." Then she said there are three basic types of plots: conflict, mystery, and/or lack. A middle-grade novel may have one, two, or all three of those plot types, but each plot must have its own complete story arc (stasis, inciting incident, escalating complicating events, climax, resolution). 

Some of the most common problems she sees with character are in the dialog. Her advice? "Read it out loud!" She also recommends using the worksheets and checklists in Cheryl Klein's book, Second Sight, for both plot and character development.

Some common themes in middle grade that she discussed in the workshop include challenging the status quo and learning that not all adults are kindly caregivers looking out for their best interests. "You can be really dark in middle grade," Brianne said, "but at the end of the day… there does need to be hope." She ended her presentation with this quote from Richard Peck: "A children’s novel ends not with happily ever after, but at a new beginning, with the sense of a lot of life left to be lived." 
Finally, we had time to read some of the attendees' first pages aloud and discuss as a group what was and wasn't working in each of the pieces.

— Reported by Laurie Ann Thompson