SPEAKER CONNECTION: REGION FOUR (Northwest Canada and USA/All Other Foreign Members)

Tami Cowden
E-mail address: tdcowden@tamicowden.com
Website Address: www.tamicowden.com
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Length: Each workshop can be as little as 1 hour, can be expanded with exercises, or the workshops can be combined for half or full day programs.

Craft Workshops

Anatomy of a Scene
Scenes are the building blocks of a strong novel.  Each scene must advance the storyline, but they can do much more: reveal character, increase tension, develop atmosphere, set a mood, and that is just the beginning.  Learn to build your scene from the inside out - starting with the skeleton, adding muscle and tissue, and finally, fleshing it out. 

Beyond Superman: The Eight Hero Archetypes
Create characters that reach out and grab your reader – characters that have built in connections to audiences.  The eight male literary archetypes, found in fiction since humans first began telling stories, will help you develop characters that resonate with your readers’ soul.

Beyond Cinderella: The Eight Heroine Archetypes
Create characters that reach out and grab your reader – characters that have built in connections to audiences.  The eight female literary archetypes, found in fiction since humans first began telling stories, will help you develop characters that resonate with your readers’ soul.

Fallen Heroes - the Sixteen Villain Archetypes
A villain is the hero of his own story – and is every bit as important as the heroic characters.  This workshop examines the motivations of the 16 literary villain archetypes, and shows what happens when heroes and heroines turn to the dark side.  (Best with ½- 2 hours)

From Lust to Love – Achieving Believable Romantic Resolution
In the real world, a lasting romance rarely happens in the few days or weeks over which a romance novel is set.  Yet over and over again we read about the accelerated development of a loving bond between two people.  Why do some books make us happily sigh as we read the last page, while other make us shrug and murmur, “I give it a few months?”   How do writers show the progress of the relationship from lust to love in a believable way?  This workshops outlines the steps in the development of a lasting love relations, beginning with the initial meeting, traveling though mutual respect, then trust, and finally love.

Putting Personality on the Page – Four Steps to Conveying Character
While much is written on ways to discover the nature of your character’s … well … character, we don’t seem to hear too much about is how the writer can convey personality to the reader. This hands-on workshop focuses on four techniques sure ways to help the reader "get" your characters.

Hero v. Villain – Achieving a Believable Antagonistic Relationship
This workshop will help you get out of the trap of the same old/same old: Villain targets Hero, Hero and Villain fight, Hero wins. Instead, you'll learn to show why THIS Hero was THE hero who could defeat THIS Villain.  You'll learn to show why the unique personalities of these people made conflict, and your resolution of that conflict, inevitable.

Promotion Workshop

Speak Out: Using speaking engagements and workshops as promotional opportunities
This workshop will help writers plan and organize  workshops or speaking engagements.  The programs covers choosing suitable topics, organizing the talk itself, developing props, visual aids, and handouts, and planning exercises for workshops.  Discussion of giving online classes is also included.  

Scene and Sequel  or Stimulus & Response (or both for all day)
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1.5 – 2 hours to 4 hours
Basically Scene & Sequel and Stimulus & Response are the cornerstones of writing a page turner. Learning how to use the inherent drama in a story, where to find it, and to make the best use of it can take you from having ‘good parts’ to having a well-written, exciting read. This workshop is geared toward unpublished and RWA Pros. I think of it as the last thing I learned before selling.

Faeries Along the Silk Road and Beyond
Research
Length of workshop: 45-60 minutes
Here's something you may not realize: You can find faeries all over the world, in one form
or another. Here's a trip along the Silk Road and beyond, taking a look at the many ways
these earth spirits can be found, under many different names and many different guises
and in ways that may surprise you.
(Novice)

Starting your Writing Career at the Epublishers
Craft
Length of workshop: 45-60 minutes
You've heard a lot about the electronic publishers -- the good, the bad, the
indifferent. Is it for you? Here's a rundown on how to tell, the differences
between New York publishers and the epubs, and what to expect, and a checklist
to determine whether you should consider them for your novel.
(Novice)

Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga
Research
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Comic books aren't for kids anymore. If you're confused about the differences
between a plain ol' comic book, a graphic novel, and manga, or if you're
interested in finding out how to break in, here's a workshop you should check out.
Includes examples and visual aids, and even a look at online comics.
(Workshop presenter has written comics for DC Comics and an online graphic novella.)
(Novice and experienced)

Submissions Bootcamp
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Have you written a book, and at long last you think you're ready to send it
off to an editor or agent. But you know there are five different parts to a
proposal packet, right? And you know what you've got to do before you send it
off, don't you? This boot camp will make sure you have everything ready for you
to slip into the mail.
(Novice)

Don't fear the Copy Editor
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
If you've hung around with writers at all, you know that the copy editor is
an important part of the publishing process. The careful treatment of copy
editors can make your publishing process painless. A copy editor can tell you how.
(No, not bribery!)
(Novice)

Heroines in Pop Culture
Research
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Before Sydney Bristow and Lara Croft were glints in their creators' eyes,
there were numerous other strong heroines in popular culture to kick butt and get
their men at the end! Some you'll recognize, like Wonder Woman and Emma Peel,
and others you may not, like Honey West and Modesty Blaise. If kickass
heroines are your style, here's an overall view of them and how they evolved from
1941 to 2001.
(Novice and experienced)

Urban Fantasy: or the Scooby Gang Saves the World Again  (90 minutes): What is urban fantasy?  How does it differ from paranormal romance or High Fantasy?  What elements influence the genre? 

Writing Between the Worlds: the Pleasures & Pitfalls of Cross Genre Writing: (90 minutes) Writing cross-genre work--how to market, promote, and discuss your books when they fall between the genres?

Got Magic? A Writer's Guide to Magical Use in Fiction:  (60 minutes) A guide to creating the magical systems for your universe--and how to make them seem real. 

Promotion & Marketing From the Author's Perspective (90 minutes) Guidelines and tips to promotion and marketing once you have the contract in hand.

20 Commandments For Aspiring Authors  (60 minutes) Tips for the beginning writer--what to do, what not to do, when to ignore the rules and how to cope with rejection. 

The Research Notebook From Hell (or A "Type A" Author's Guide To Organizing Your Series Bible)  (120 minutes) A look at how to create a series bible, so that your novels are consistent, your story arcs don't piddle out or blow up in your face, and your characters eyes and hair are the same color in every chapter of your saga.

Getting To Know You: How to Dig into the Hearts and Minds of Your Characters
Craft.
Length: one -four hours, depending
Create riveting, three-dimensional characters using a simple, practical tool that will be handed out and explored in this 1-4 hour, hands-on workshop.

He Shot the Sheriff and I Know Why: Motivating Your Characters
Craft.
Length: one-two hours, depending
Motivating your characters  is key to a writing a strong story. In this one-two-hour hour, hands-on workshop we explore motivation: what it is, and how to develop and use it to create strongly motivated, believable characters.

Developing Your Creative Muscle
Personal Development
Length: one-two hours, depending
Everyone wants to know how writers get their ideas. Are they born with a special gene for creativity? Of course not! All of us are creative in some way, but we may not know how to bring our creativity to the forefront. I like to think we are all born with a "creative muscle", but like any other muscle in our body, if we don't use and develop it, it atrophies.  In this one-hour workshop we will discuss and use simple tools that help develop the creative muscle and keep it supple and fit.

The Great Agent Safari and The Business of Writing

Finding a good literary agent can be a harrowing experience, and often it will take two or more agents before we find one who truly meets our needs.  What we really want is a Great Agent!  Don't settle for less.  Signing with a bad or sub-standard agent is one of the worst mistakes a writer can do for her career.  Learn from Deb Stover's mistakes, and how she finally found the perfect match, and has been happily settled with a Great Agent for more than eight years.