This workshop is broken into two parts. Can register for full day for $80 or half day $40. If attending half day can choose either morning or afternoon.

Morning:  

n this half-day workshop, Pat Miller will show you how to tackle the Big Three of writing nonfiction: getting and organizing your idea, researching, and writing with a mentor text. She will share her techniques for finding and expanding an idea kids will want to read about. Writing nonfiction is easier with a mentor text, and Pat will show you how to find the one that fits your project, and how it can help you write. Last, she will show you how research can be successful, even addictive!

If you think nonfiction is boring or overwhelming, Pat will change your mind and equip you with the tools you need to get started on your first—or next–nonfiction project.

Afternoon:

In today’s competitive market your picture book text has to be “Just Right” to catch an editor’s eye. Each and every word counts. Whether your manuscript is in rhyme or in prose, the words you choose can be the difference between “Not Quite” and “Just Right”—a rejection or a contract.  

In this workshop, Penny will give pointers for using poetic techniques to create vivid imagery and lyrical language, while being aware of the important balance between story and language. Through examples and exercises, she will show how the use of simile, metaphor, personification, repetition, alliteration, and rhythm can create stories that have that re-readability factor that all writers strive for.