Hi there, most of you know about “hooking” the reader in with your initial hook, consisting of a quest, a goal, or a problem to solve. In other words - what are the stakes for your main character that forces them out of their comfort zone? Riotous humor, exquisite language, and characters that we care about are also great motivators to keep a reader hooked. In this Workshopping Webinar, we're going to drill down
further into techniques like: 

• Showing rather than telling
• Using active not passive voice
• Characters we care about or are curious about
• The stakes of leaving home
• The lure of gorgeous language

We'll look at some brilliant examples of those first 50 words before...

Learning about Vivian Kirkfield's fab contest

Diving into doing makeovers of your work

Playing with some prompts to create original First 50s

And finishing with some FABULOUS prizes

Of course, after learning how to make those first 50 words outstanding, you have to follow through with a brilliant middle and ending. But if you start with the right first 50 words it will help guide you through your manuscript. And trust me, we’re going to help you with this.

Come experiment using fun, heartful, soulful, or adventurous fiction and nonfiction prompts and your own story ideas.

We’ll also be doing makeovers for some submitted samples of your first 50 words that will help make your story more marketable and act as a guide throughout your manuscript.

Co-taught/led by Dr. Mira Reisberg and awesome Martin Literary Senior Agent, Jen Newens, you’ll feast on this learning smorgasbord complete with handouts and worksheets, live and recorded feedback, fun writing prompts and PRIZES!!! YAY! 

About Dr. Mira - AKA the Fairy KidLit Godmother, Coach Mira, the Picture Book Whisperer, the KidLit Whisperer, and the KidLit Yoda (yes, with her track record of helping talented hard-working students, she’s really been called all of these things). Dr. Mira has earned a BFA in graphic design, an MFA in Painting and Digital Arts, and a PhD in Education and Cultural studies with a focus on Children's Literature. She's also a former university professor, a former agent, and a former acquiring editor and art director, and a multi-published author/illustrator from the olde days, all of which helps her help her much- loved amazing students.

Publishing leader Jen Newens has been an author, editor, and after a seven-year stint as publishing director at West Margin Press, an Ingram Content Group company, she is now the Senior Managing Agent at Martin Literary where she seeks fresh, original voices. She is excited to be co-leading this workshop and helping new talent.

Sign up below for this fabulous free event, which will also be recorded.  Please make sure to opt-in with your confirmation email so we can send you follow up information.