Are you a kid at heart? Got a great idea for a picture book? This course is designed with you in mind! The children’s book publishing market is alive, thriving, and very competitive. So, how do you make sure your manuscript stands out? Let’s explore! By reading and discussing award-winning books and ones that simply touch hearts, we will investigate why and how writing for children is different from—but not easier than—writing for adults. Please bring one of your favorite children’s books to the first class (hard copies or pdfs acceptable). We will sort out the “rules” of picture-book writing as we discern what makes these books work. In addition, we will examine craft tips about writing for children from experts in the field. There will be in-class writing prompts and assignments to complete after class. We will “workshop” (students read and comment on each other’s work compassionately) the writing generated inside as well as outside of class. The focus will be on fiction, but we will also touch on tips for children’s nonfiction. This course is for new writers and/or writers who are new to picture-book writing, as well as those who have written a picture book manuscript but have not yet published one. (Participants may have previously published works for adults.) Through our readings, group discussions, and writing prompts, and by workshopping the writing you generate, you will come away brimming with ideas. You’ll leave the week with a draft manuscript and/or ideas for revising a manuscript you already have in the works. We will also touch on the world of traditional publishing and marketing. (Disclaimer: I have no experience with self-publishing.) In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our week; workshop writing you bring from home. We will do it all!

Have you ever wanted to create a character totally different from your own experience but got cold feet? Possibly because you’ve heard or read the adage that writers should “write what you know.” Toni Morrison, however, famously instructed her students to “write something you don’t know. And don’t be scared, ever.” Myriad writers across the ages have challenged themselves to write about characters quite unlike themselves with regard to race, gender, age, ethnicity, etc.—some more successfully than others. We all possess the right to write about whomever we please. But we must write the truth about these folks despite not having “walked in their shoes.” So, how do we avoid creating characters who are inauthentic—or worse, stereotypes? Author Dani Shapiro says that as writers “we need to know what makes a character unique, nuanced, indelible.” In this brief course we will examine works from writers who have successfully created authentic characters with whom they have little in common. We will explore what type of research is required for this undertaking. We will also look at unsuccessful and inauthentic attempts, deciphering where the writers went wrong. Participants will generate work both in class and out via writing prompts and mini-assignments and will receive workshop-style feedback with instructions on giving feedback with compassion. They will leave the class with clear strategies for developing realistic characters who are markedly different from themselves. New as well as established writers may enroll in this class. They may bring work they want to improve but may also create new work. Everyone will leave bursting with ideas about story and characterization, including a music playlist for one main character. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend; workshop writing you bring from home.