Rosanne has presented workshops at SCBWI conferences and retreats in several regions. She has participated in and moderated panels at the NCTE conference, the AWP conference, the NYPL Literary Salon, and the Portland Book Festival. She has been on the faculty of the Fishtrap Summer Workshop and taught in Portland State’s Masters in Book Publishing program.
Her adult workshops:
Character and the Seven Deadly Sins is a workshop on creating emotionally resonant characters using the seven deadly sins as a framework for understanding human conflict and motivations at the deepest level. This works well as a 45-60 minute large group presentation. It can also be presented as a 2 hour hands on writing workshop with time for generation of new scenes and sharing of work.
Finding the Gold in your Story Setting A richly developed setting is integral to most award winning novels and many best selling books. Developing the setting of your story can make the character voices sharper, the action more vivid, and the plot complications more realistic. This workshop will cover ten techniques for researching and writing a compelling setting for your story.
Revising Novel Length Fiction Every writer has that bottom drawer manuscript—a diamond in the rough that just needs a little something to bring out its best qualities and give it the edge in a competitive marketplace. This workshop will help you look with fresh eyes on a full manuscript and consider a range of possibilities to strengthen the plot, clarify the characters’ voices, enrich the setting and develop the theme. Participants will come away with an understanding of the underlying structure of their story, a scene written from an alternate point of view, a list of potential new plot complications based on the stetting of their story, a list of potential new plot complications based on the theme of the story, a map for a potentially different structure for the story. This is a hands on workshop. Participants should bring the text of a finished (or nearly finished) novel and be prepared to analyze their own work in depth. It is best done in a 90 minute session or two hour long blocks.
STORY–the howl of the human pack This is more of a keynote type speech, the story of how I went from a child who hated writing to a best selling author. It’s not a prescription or a formula for success, only a window into how one person with no connections gradually built a career out of writing heart-felt, not-at-all-commercial middle grade fiction that eventually included multiple best selling books, translated into dozens of languages. It’s about the power of story to transform your life and the value of writing community.
Rosanne also does week long writing workshops that cover the mechanics of writing and revising a novel in detail. She has taught at the Summer Fishtrap workshop and online at the Loft Literary Center.
To arrange a workshop contact Rosanne.