How to Become an Author in 10 Easy Steps. From the idea through the completion of a draft — is that 10 steps? Well, no. Actually that’s just Step One. As they learn the stories behind Eileen’s books, students get their questions answered about the rest of the authoring process, including revision, contracts, editing, illustration, book design, promotion, and finally the arrival of the royalty check. All ages.

Character: The Foundation of Narrative. Good writers know that plot grows out of character, not the other way around. Students learn to create original characters and then use the characters to launch a compelling, well-structured story. (Teachers have fun participating, too.) See a five-day lesson plan outline and study materials. Grades 4-12.

You’re a Poet, and You Know It. Students practice looking inside and outside themselves to find imagery, metaphor, and meaning ... but that’s just the beginning. They then learn to use the poet’s revision tools of assonance, consonance, rhyme, meter, and more to polish first rough efforts into lyrical gems. See a five-day lesson plan outline. Grades 4-12.

Quick Course for Student Journalists. Interviewing, writing, editing, design basics, and ethics. How to launch a successful student newspaper, or improve an existing one. See a newspaper scavenger hunt for students and a business plan outline for launching a student newspaper. Grades 6-12.

YOU Dunnit! How to Write a Mystery. Choose the crime, create heroes and villains, lay the clues -- but don’t reveal the solution until the end. Students learn the not-so-elementary art of finding good ideas, developing a plot, maintaining suspense, and turning it all into a page-turning mystery story. Grades 9-12.

*****

For all programs except How to Become an Author, length is adaptable, from a one-hour overview to a weeklong residency.

Fees, 2007-08:

Per hour   $200
Per day (up to 4 sessions)/same program/same school   $400
Per day, out of area     $500
Per weeklong residency   $1,600

Bonus with weeklong residency — Presentation or book signing at school bookfair in the same school year, no extra charge.

 

Fees do not include travel expenses outside of Wake and Johnston counties.

 

 

Put the Fun Back in Writing. When students develop their own characters from scratch, they gain an exhilarating sense of control over their work. Suddenly, the stories are theirs — a creative challenge, not a chore. In a one-day workshop, teachers learn how to make character creation the first step in storytelling. By getting in touch with their own inner author, teachers discover how they can encourage in students a new enthusiasm for writing and a greater understanding of how favorite authors created the fictional people we all love. Four hours, $500.

Be Your Own Best Editor. Whether you are writing a novel, a dissertation, a freelance story for a magazine, or even a business letter, there are a number of simple (but not always obvious) things you can do to give your work professional polish. This hourlong workshop will show you how to avoid the 10 Mistakes That Scream ‘Amateur!’ One hour, $200, five participants minimum.

‘I Guess You’re Right, Mom’ and Other Myths of Writing for Children. Nothing torpedoes a story faster than unrealistic characters who say things children just don’t say — such as, “I guess you’re right, Mom.” This lively, subversive conference presentation will challenge writers to be bold and honest in portraying children as the devious, mercurial, flawed and incredibly courageous and intelligent beings they are. One hour, $300.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editing — macro and/or micro. Choose the level of editing that meets your needs: 1) Analysis of manuscripts for content, organization, character, clarity, pace, age appropriateness; includes extensive critique and suggestions to improve writing. 2) Copy editing of manuscripts, in preparation for submission, to polish spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, tightness, language. 3) Final pre-publication copy editing and proofreading for self-publishing authors, finessing grammar, spelling, punctuation, typography, style according to The Chicago Manual of Style. $60/hour, $120 minimum.

 

Writing. Brochures, website copy, publicity material, business or personal communications. $75/hour, $150 minimum.

 

New Student Newspaper Consultation. Includes business plan, Adviser’s Guide, How-To handouts for students (hard copy and diskette), on-site teaching/coaching of student journalists, critique of page proofs before they go to press, on-site and e-mail consultation with adviser. $150/hour, $450 minimum (no hourly charge for e-mail consultation).