Workshops
Carolyn speaks and presents workshops at schools, libraries, and conferences. Her presentations include the following:
So you think you can write!—a lecture or workshop dealing with the “basics” of writing, including such familiar commandments as “Show, don’t tell” and “Write about what you know.”
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning—Most of us are familiar with the adage “You never get a second change to make a first impression.” Learn how to create an opening sentence or paragraph that will make potential readers take notice and want to read on.
Build Your Own Monster! In their novel Beautiful Creatures, teacher Kami Garcia and her friend Margaret Stohl followed a suggestion from one of Kami’s students and created a new race of fictional creatures, the Casters. Taking a tip from Garcia and Stohl, Carolyn invites the participants in her workshop to create and develop their very own imaginary monsters—or perhaps gentler supernatural creatures.
Where No One Has Gone Before—a workshop about literary conflict. Participants are asked to imagine an earth-like world with one major difference from earth (Tiny fluttering fairies really exist? The government is run by vampires?) and then to consider what conflicts would arise in such a world.
You Are What You Own! Everything we buy, everything we create, everything we keep, display, or throw away—each of these represents a decision, and decisions reveal character. Participants in this workshop will learn how to depict fictional characters by describing their possessions and surroundings.
Selected Publications
"Thinking: A Neglected Art," an essay that has been quoted and reprinted many time since its first publication in
Newsweek in 1981.
"The Bored Wizard," a short story which won an "Author of the Month" award when it was published in
Highlights for Children in 1985. It was soon reprinted in the
Highlights anthology
Rupert and the Royal Hiccups. "The Bored Wizard" also appears, along with an accompanying audiotape, in
Folktales for Family Fun, published by ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication.
"The Fabulous Royal Junque" in the
Highlights anthology
Easy Nickles, 1995. Collectors of all ages will enjoy this tale of a packrat king, his nephew Peterkin, Pitchit and Sons Trash Removal Service, and Dr. Silvertone, the Royal Auctioneer.
Grammar and Composition, published by Mark Twain Media, 1996 and 2011. This unusual workbook has recently been published in a new edition with all-new illustrations. Readers of this book will ask themselves many questions: Why does Eric's house have a secret room behind the staircase? Can detective Trillby discover why everyone in the royal palace is hanging upside down in mid-air? Can Buffalo Brutus convince the famous film director Sterling Noble to give him the title role in
Hercules: The Strongest Man in History?
Taking Jenny Home, published by New Dublin Press and now available as an Amazon Kindle edition.
Praise for Taking Jenny Home..
"A multilayered blend of suspense, mythology and the supernatural, anchored by a thoughtful, young heroine."
-
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"...I love the characters, the touches of humor, and especially all the Irish lore and poetry. It all seems wonderfully original and mysterious."
-Vicki Grove, member of the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame.
"This is ...the best book I've ever seen submitted to this contest, and the only one I've ever wanted to own."
-Writer's Digest Critique
"The descriptions are vivid and vibrant, and I appreciated the way the author incorporated humor in the story. The suspenseful scenes are well executed as well. The author has done a wonderful job with creating the setting for this story, and her incorporation of Irish mythology is well done."
-Writer's Digest Critique