Workshops
Mindy offers both virtual visits and in-person workshops (when State and County COVID-19 restrictions allow). When she is not writing, she teaches at an online high school in the Portland, Oregon area and is very comfortable with virtual workshops and author visits!
Mindy’s student and teacher workshops are popular with libraries, community groups, schools, and facilities for at-risk youth. Workshops may be scheduled for three, two, or one classroom/group session of 45-60 minutes. The workshops include writing exercises and sharing. The sessions often include integration of children’s and young adult literature.
Mindy is a certified middle and high school teacher and is more than willing to work with you on presentation topics which will fit your curriculum needs.
Book Signing at Teen Art Night
School Visit Recommendation from Everett High School Librarian:
My students love it when local authors participate in our EHS Writers’ Café sessions………to my delight, I recently had a former student return to tell me that he had written a book because he was inspired by the personal story that a local author had shared with him at a Writers’ Café. We discussed publishing options and he is considering the ebook path that Mindy had chosen. I can’t praise or thank our local authors enough for spending time with my students! –Deb Payne Everett High Librarian
Young Writer Fan–Ashley
Please contact Mindy for scheduling, pricing information, or to discuss other workshop topics.
Restorative and Social Justice Writing Workshop
This writing workshop is tailored around Mindy’s memoir, Kids in Orange: Voices from Juvenile Detention. It can be tailored to fit middle or high school curriculum dealing with social justice or restorative justice practices. Please contact Mindy to discuss your needs.
Writing the Villains and Other Unsavory Characters
Villains. The characters we love to hate. How do we create these dangerous and unlikeable characters? How far can we push before bad is too bad? Students will learn how motive and backstory can create sympathy for our unsavory character and craft a short story from the villain’s point of view. This is a fun workshop for all ages–kids to adults.
Writing the Five-Minute Food Memoir
Memories of food capture the times we celebrate, life milestones and moments of grief. How can food inspire us to dig deeper into the craft of short memoir and explore voice, style and telling our truth? This class will look at writing short memoir vignettes based around our memories with food. We’ll look at the elements of memoir such as: scene, summary, musing and discover how to revise for brevity. This workshop can be adjusted for all ages.
Tell Your Story: Poetry and Art Journal Workshop for Girls Ages 10-14
You are the hero/heroine of your life. What story are you telling? In this workshop we’ll explore how our hopes and dreams, treasures and secrets, monsters and scars can inspire poetry and art journaling. Learn new ways to write poems and how art journaling can help you express more of your story. Bring your favorite photos, quotes and poems. This is a great workshop for small groups of girls involved in team building, leadership, girl empowerment, and book groups. Parts of this workshop can be modified for class size workshops.
Characters in Children’s Stories (Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult)
In this workshop, we’ll dig into the nuts and bolts of character building including crafting a character’s physical and psychological traits. We’ll write character sketches of both the protagonist and the antagonist. This is a great workshop for schools wanting presentations to different age groups. The workshop can be adapted to meet the needs of all age of learners.
Collage Poetry
Explore the world of poetry through this fun, hands-on poetry workshop. We’ll look at some artistic collages and read poetry written by young people found in poetry books such as Paint Me Like I Am and Tell the World. Then, we’ll write our own poems inspired by quick and easy collages that we create. This workshop works best with small groups in libraries or after school/community based clubs. It would also work well in creative residency week-long settings. This is a great workshop for younger students in elementary grades through middle school, and a fun workshop for April Poetry Month.
Writing the Picture Book
Picture books. They are the most beloved story form of children’s writing. But, how easy is it to write a picture book and how can understanding picture book writing help writers who are working on longer stories? In this workshop, we will discuss how to create a memorable character as well as how to structure a picture book. The workshop includes hands on writing exercises and is perfect for writers and educators who want to better understand how to work with and teach the elements of story. Mindy will also share the process of writing her picture book, FINDERS KEEPERS. (MeeGenius Publishing, 2014).
Writing a Supernatural Story
Ghosts, vampires, surreal stories that scare—come explore the world of the supernatural short story. In this workshop, we’ll look at authors such as Avi’s Strange Happenings, and Paul Fleischman’s Graven Images as we identify elements authors use in creating the world of the supernatural. We’ll try our hand at some writing exercises designed to help you find the ghost lurking in the corners of your stories! This is a great workshop for middle or high school students around Halloween!
Writing From Life: Flash Fiction
Flash fiction. It’s short. It’s fast, and it’s fun. In this workshop, Mindy will lead us through a series of exercises which “mine our memories” for ideas. Then, we’ll take those rich ideas and turn them into pieces of flash fiction. Recommended for grades 8th through high school and/or adult workshops. This workshop is based on Mindy’s experience running a poetry workshop at Denney Juvenile Justice Center. To learn more about the program, please visit our blog: www.denneypoetry.org
Writing Personal History Stories Do you have a family tale you love to recount? Or how about a travel adventure or a story of overcoming? In this workshop, we’ll dig into your favorite family story–those ones you want to preserve for future generations. This is a great kick-off workshop for those wanting to write memoir and can be used as inspiration for writing for children.
Revision
Seeing Our Stories Again and Again-Revision. The word no one likes to hear. But without revision, we do not have strong stories. In this workshop, students will explore revisions in a story including how to shift point of view and tense, revise for structure, and revise character. This workshop draws on Mindy’s ten-year process in writing and selling her middle grade novel, Stained Glass Summer.
Please contact Mindy for scheduling, pricing information, or to discuss other workshop topics.