Bring Angela to your Next Event!
I hold a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children/Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and BA in English from Brigham Young University. I've visited over 50 schools since my debut in 2009. I've published with Penguin, a big six publisher, and experimented with the indie route--ebook, blog and print. Sing me to Sleep won the Best Books 2011 Award for YA Fiction and was a 2010 Goodreads Choice Nominee. I regularly judge contests and critique for conferences. I'm experienced speaking in many venues--from classroom to auditorium. I'm qualified to teach/speak on any aspect of writing to adult and student audiences of all ages. The following overview of my presentations will give you an idea of what I can personalize for your event. Contact me for rates. I do not charge for public library programs and understand conference honorarium limits. Any of these presentations can be adapted to a live online Skype visit with your group.
Free Book Club Discussion
I'm delighted to visit your personal, library, or school book club (in person or Skype) that reads any of my novels. Get your questions ready. I'll answer them all.
Catch the Wave: Writing YA
Since Stephanie Meyer's phenomenal success with TWILIGHT, everyone wants to ride the YA wave. But YA doesn't follow the same rules as adult books. I spill industry insider secrets to writing a young adult novel an editor will want to buy. As a group, we'll jump into the skins of teen characters, brainstorm the plot of the next best seller, and get scribbling a scene. Session includes a dialogue-driven free write.
This workshop was presented at Tucson Festival of Books 2011 and is adapted from my popular, teen-tested, "Write What you Know" school visit presentation.
This workshop was presented at Tucson Festival of Books 2011 and is adapted from my popular, teen-tested, "Write What you Know" school visit presentation.
Writers ToolKit: Techniques from the Pros (especially for teachers)
I open my writers’ toolkit and demonstrate professional techniques adapted for the classroom (K-12) to motivate students to write what they know, fear, believe, dream and love. Every author has favorite
techniques that trick the subconscious into unleashing the wellspring trapped
within and capturing it on the page. I demonstrate how brief, brainstormed lists can help students plumb inward and break all they’ve ever seen, heard, read, learned, dreamed or loved into “pieces of knowing.” Then I demonstrate how students can look outward, enhancing what they know using poet Julie Larios’s concept of “drifting.” The session culminates in a free-write conversation drawing on both kinds of pieces so students can create their own story or free verse mosaic.
This is a new presentation that will be presented at NCTE's National Convention, November 2012, with fellow authors, Kathi Baron and Nancy Bo Flood.
This is a new presentation that will be presented at NCTE's National Convention, November 2012, with fellow authors, Kathi Baron and Nancy Bo Flood.
Getting Digi With it - Digital Storytelling (more for teachers)
Writing Cayman Summer, the final volume of the Storm saga, day-by-day, scene-by-scene, post-by-post on my blog, using daily criticism, encouragement and input from readers was the most dynamic writing experience I've ever had. I share my journey and suggest ways teachers can apply the concept of online digital storytelling in the classroom.
This is new discussion to be presented at NCTE's National Convention, November 2012.
This is new discussion to be presented at NCTE's National Convention, November 2012.
Write from your Inner Truth (but don't wreck it)
Jane Yolen says stories must be based on a writer’s inner truth. But, doing the very thing Jane Yolen tells us and our heart urges us to attempt can lead to errors that turn your fiction into something you didn’t intend--propaganda rather than fiction. When I was trying to do this and making an awful mess of it, I turned to Katherine Paterson’s work, artistic and critical, for advice. Katherine has always been public about her faith and is not shy about discussing how it impacts her work. Hallelujah! I studied her and that study became the basis of my MFA critical these. I share my discoveries and get participants to delve into their own inner truth with brainstorming and free-writing exercises.
This lecture/workshop is designed for college students and writers of all ages. It was presented at SCBWI-AZ's annual conference, Vermont College of the Fine Arts, Brigham Young University creative writing classes, and Writing for Children and Young Adults workshop. It is suitable for college classrooms, writing groups, conferences, and public library programs.
This lecture/workshop is designed for college students and writers of all ages. It was presented at SCBWI-AZ's annual conference, Vermont College of the Fine Arts, Brigham Young University creative writing classes, and Writing for Children and Young Adults workshop. It is suitable for college classrooms, writing groups, conferences, and public library programs.
Tidal Wave: YA Today (especially for librarians)
How I got swirled up in the world of young adult literature--and the books that got me there. An exploration of the world of young adult literature, especially for librarians.
Presented at ALA-AZ's Annual Conference
Presented at ALA-AZ's Annual Conference
Brainstorm your Prose into Shape: Revision 101
I'm a line-editing maniac. My critique buds love me for it. And it works. Another one of my pals just signed with an agent. In this session, I share creative techniques that will make your prose pop off the page--a brand new take on self-editing. It doesn't have to be a nasty chore. Learn to tighten, expand, and play with your words like a kid in the sandbox. Includes a free-writing experience inspired by a reading from Sing me to Sleep. Can add punctuation basics if needed.
This is a new workshop based on a popular blog post on my liv2writ blog.
This is a new workshop based on a popular blog post on my liv2writ blog.
The Art of the Cut: Everything I learned from a New York Editor
By the time I sold TAKEN BY STORM it was seriously over weight--closing in on 90,000 words. My editor wanted me to cut a third of the novel. Yikes. Some of my favorite scenes and chapters got the ax. In this lecture, I define seven reasons a scene must go: dribble, tension killers, an embarrassment of riches, pet projects, timeline compression, weak versus strong, and editor detestation.
This is a new workshop based on a popular blog series and soon-to-be ebook.
This is a new workshop based on a popular blog series and soon-to-be ebook.
Plot Challenged? Hero's Journey to the Rescue
I swear by Vogler's The Writer's Journey to shape all my plots--from historical to fantasy to contemporary teen romance to middle grade sci-fi adventure. Best book on plotting ever. In this workshop, I give you an overview of the 12 Hero's Journey stages with examples and tips so you can doctor your plots, too.
Presented at SCBWI-UT's monthly meeting.
Presented at SCBWI-UT's monthly meeting.
Get them Talking: From Dialogue to Scene
The biggest mistake beginning writers make is page after page telling a story rather than showing the reader a story in scenes. Scenes? Yikes. How do I do that? Easy. Just get them talking. Scenes are merely dialogue with stage direction. Free-write a page of dialogue then edit it to perfection or bring your first chapter for intensive revision.
Developed for Red Mt. Writers Annual Retreat.
Developed for Red Mt. Writers Annual Retreat.
Gleaning from Reality to make Characters Breathe
Write what you know? Bleck. When I was younger, I detested this age-old advice to writers. What did I know? Would anyone really want to read about a pig farm in a tiny town on the Idaho edge of Washington? And the grumpy Mormon girl imprisoned within its walls? Write what I know? Yuck. I was too busy fleeing to even consider that. I am positive, “Write what you know,” gave me writers' block for decades. But when I found myself with a mandate to create, what did I do? I went home.
I don’t want you to experience decades of writers block or end up writing a horrid self-absorbed tale that is great therapy but lousy art, so I pass this adage on to you with a twist, a cautionary tale, and my favorite techniques for inspiring realistic characters with what you've gleaned from your own reality.
Presented at ANWA's National Conference, 2011
I don’t want you to experience decades of writers block or end up writing a horrid self-absorbed tale that is great therapy but lousy art, so I pass this adage on to you with a twist, a cautionary tale, and my favorite techniques for inspiring realistic characters with what you've gleaned from your own reality.
Presented at ANWA's National Conference, 2011