Freebies and Short Courses

During a Short Week About Freedom

Hi everyone!

I know we all have a big holiday week to look forward to, and I also have civic duty to perform (I’ve been called to jury duty), so I decided to make this week’s post short and sweet. And hopefully, inspiring.

I’ve built the list of courses and handouts below like a series of stepping stones in a path, so if you are interested in writing for children, this is for you!

Start with my 3 Tips freebie.

Then take a look at my Mini Character Creator freebie to start developing your characters.

Next, if you want to really start writing that book that’s been on your mind since you were a kid (I get it), try the Six Day Story System for an overall understanding of writing a children’s book, or my Perfect Picture Book course if writing a picture book is of particular interest for you.

And follow the above up with Cool Character Creator and Power Plot Planner to find really in-depth exercises to take these particular craft pieces to the next level.

There’s a lot more in my course platform, but if you’re just getting started, here’s my path:

Freebies

First, ICYMI, I have a couple of free downloads now available:

• My 3 Tips to Start Your Children’s Book is an introduction to 3 things you need to know as you start to write: understand the market, clarify your purpose, and build on emotion. This freebie will set you up with definitions and short exercises. Get rocking your children’s book right away!

• My new Mini Character Creator is a short free guide with starting questions and exercises to develop richer characters, and we all need richer characters, right? Find this one here.

Short Courses

And my short courses include:

Cool Character Creator takes the free character creator above to the next level. This inexpensive digital download guides you through more exercises with detailed analyses of character backstory and development. Get that here:

Power Plot Planner is a guide to plot paradigms and structures with exercises to help you develop and plan your plot without the constraints of an outline. Excellent for you pantsers. Find that here:

Perfect Picture Books is my new introductory course for picture book writers who want to dig into the nuances of picture book writing, from language to character to plot and pacing. This course is an affordable five-lesson introduction on writing picture books, with craft instruction on aspects of picture book creation including:

• Picture book narrative arc and structure

• Audience, genre, and theme

• Word use and sentence structure, including whether/when to rhyme

• Page turns and pacing

• The marriage of story and illustration

• Marketplace for picture books and publishing industry

Perfect Picture Books includes video lessons, with handouts and exercises for each lesson.

You can read more about it here, and here’s a link to a short free and informative teaching video that will also get you to a hefty discount on the regular price:

My Six Day Story System is a comprehensive introductory course with handouts, exercises and video lessons on everything you need to know to get started on writing or revising your book, from picture book right up through young adult novel. Here’s the link to read all about it:

Finally, you’ll find all my courses right here:

Have a great holiday, and as always, write on!