Naomi offers the following workshops and assemblies for middle school writers in connection with the From Sadie’s Sketchbook Series.
What People Are Saying:
“Naomi connected so well with the kids and made publishing their books seem possible! All of my students left with new ideas for how to organize, write and revise their novels. When a published author tells them how important it is to revise their writing and be open to criticism, they listen.” –Tracy Piombo, Librarian, Hillview Middle School
Writing Workshops:
Each workshop can be booked for 45-90 minutes in length, and is appropriate for groups of up to 2 classrooms of students.
Make Your Mark: Publishing Opportunities for Young Writers
This hands-on workshop covers a variety of publishing opportunities for young writers, and walks students through the process of identifying a possible publication opportunity, formatting their book, adapting their work to fit the guidelines and the basics of submission. Students are encouraged to bring a short story to the session with which to work.
Idea Storm
Sadie’s story began with an idea. But this idea wasn’t created on its own—it came with a whole storm of story ideas! In the Idea Storm workshop participants will dream up a storm of story ideas. Using improvisational theatre games and other playful activities, participants will reflect on their own personal experiences to brainstorm ideas for the genre of their choice. Participants will walk away with a storm of ideas and techniques on developing them into full-fledged stories.
Captivating Characters
Sadie and her friends are so full of personality and heart that they seem real. Develop a cast of unique, quirky characters and use them to tell your own imaginative story. This workshop will use examples of characters from the Sadie’s Sketchbook series to show how to add dimension to characters, as well as show how characters grow in a story.
Assemblies:
These one-hour sessions may be offered to a smaller group for more interactive discussion or to a large assembly-style gathering.
What Kind of Creative Are You?
In this hands-on assembly, I use my own writing process as an case study to present four typical creativity personalities. Then, I guide students through the process of determining which of the four fits their style: the architect, who plans everything ahead of time; the gamester, who likes to play with ideas and brainstorm and always look at things through new angles; the hiker, who travels through a project as though they are on a hike, step by step by step; and the dreamer, who follows a creative fancy wherever it leads.
We discuss the typical ways these personalities plan, draft, and also the ways each type generally finds themselves stuck. The goal is that students discover specific strategies for when they do find themselves blocked. Students will leave the assembly brimming with enthusiastic ideas and thoughts about how to unblock themselves in current and future projects.
A Book: From Idea to Bookshelves
This presentation walks students through the process of the creation of a book from the very beginning of the idea through publication. Young writers will learn about the traditional publishing model as well as various new publishing options, and discuss what makes a book “ready for readers.” The session culminates with tips on how students can build their writing skill toward publication.
