Upcoming Young Writers Workshops

I am thrilled to let you know about an opportunity for young writers that will be offered beginning the second full week of January. Please feel free to pass this on to any young writers you know who might be interested in being a part of a group writing project.

Two young writers workshops will run for 6 weeks with 2-hour sessions each week, held at a local coffee shop or cafe. Together, the group will brainstorm and write a novella over the course of 6 weeks. Details on each group:

INKLINGS
Ages 9-12, Beginners
Wednesday mornings, 10-Noon
Einstein Bros. Bagels
Begins January 12, 2011

INKAHOLICS
Ages 13-18, Intermediate-Advanced
Saturday mornings, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Panera Bread (S Carefree & Powers)
Begins January 15, 2011

Cost is $65 for the entire 6-week workshop. Students will have the option of purchasing a final, printed copy of the novella after the workshop ends.

If you have any questions, or if you're interested in attending a workshop--great! Shoot me an email (mangycat (at) gmail (dot) com) to let me know. I'll answer your questions and/or we can talk about forms of payment at that time.

Thank you for taking the time to consider these workshops for you or the young writers in your life.

Blessings on your week!

RAFL-LOL Blog Design

My friend Donita asked me to spruce up her literacy advocacy blog, RAFL-LOL, which is an acronym for "Reading Aloud For Literacy - Lots of Learning". Blogger has some fantastic template backgrounds these days, you just have to find the right one and give it a few tweaks to personalize.

At that point, all they need is a special header graphic to complete the scene. So this is what I came up with for Donita:



Check out the blog here.

Esthetic Revelation (New Shop)

My husband suggested that I create a Cafe Press store to sell some graphics and art and stuff. I created this tonight using an account that I (apparently) started in 2007. Weird!

Anyhoo--I named it Esthetic Revelation to simply signify that it is a store of creative awesome. You can see it here. Once I have a few more exciting things on there, then I'll put a proper link or widget or something in the sidebar.

Two ideas I had for this store:

1. Utilize the incredible artistic skills of my friend Legolas so that we can go in on this side venture together. She and I will come up with the ideas. She'll create the original art, and I will do the legwork of posting it to the store. She has the talent and creative ideas, but no desire for such things as marketing; I have creative ideas and knowledge of marketing, but not nearly the amount of artistic talent she has. We should make a happy team.

2. I had an idea of making t-shirts that tell a story. That is, a small piece of a short story would be creatively laid out on a t-shirt design (or whatever other product you wanted it on), and it could stand alone or make even more sense when paired with other designs. Sounds like a unique idea to me--now I just have to find the story.

I don't expect this to be a huge source of income, but it's a way to get my designs out there and possibly make a little extra income. You never know...

Tutoring for Young Writers

Improve your writing skills through unique one-on-one sessions that focus on developing your own stories, your own words. Learn the basics of grammar, punctuation, syntax, and more, while learning how to write a compelling page-turner at the same time.

Ages
Students ages 8-18 are accepted; boys and girls; all levels of experience.

Methods
We can either work through your existing written novel or you will receive writing assignments to bring to our sessions.

We will go through your piece together, line by line, and work to punch it to its highest potential. Along the way, you will learn how to correct problem areas as we encounter them in your own writing.

In this way, we will use our time more effectively, covering only the topics that need to be covered, and barely touching on that which you have already mastered.

Journaling may also be suggested for additional writing practice.

Locations & Times
Sessions are held online via Skype (audio only), so a strong, reliable internet connection is required.

Colorado Springs area students can meet face-to-face in a coffee shop or cafe setting for our sessions. It's an incredibly cozy (and yummy) atmosphere to learn.

Times are flexible and can be discussed on a per-student basis.

Complimentary Consultation
Prior to our first session, we will meet via phone or Skype for a 15-20 minute conversation about your goals and what you would like to accomplish during our tutoring sessions.

A writing evaluation can be discussed at that time as well.

Rates & Billing
Session rate is $35/hr and includes:
- 2-way conversation time during the hour
- editorial/writing/submission instruction
- writing critiques (length per session is dependent on skill level)
- writing assignments/prompts for short stories (if desired)
- 5 emails (not to exceed 30 minutes) per week of Q&A between sessions

I will come to each session fully prepared, having read whatever we are going to be working on, ready to discuss and instruct.

Tutoring sessions must be paid four (4) sessions in advance.

Questions?
Contact me directly at mangycat (at) gmail (dot) com.