Writing Mysteries for Middle Grade, Chapter Books, and Series 2018 | Workshops for Children's Authors & Illustrators

Writing Mysteries for Middle Grade, Chapter Books, and Series 2018 | June 17 – June 20, 2018

For writers eager to begin or complete a mystery for middle grade readers.

Children love to cozy up with a good mystery. What they love even more is finding out that the clever characters in Book One have more stories to tell. In this workshop, you will explore the foundations of a stand-alone mystery along with the elements needed to create a successful middle grade or chapter book mystery series.

At the workshop, you will:

Hear lectures by experienced faculty
Have time to write and revise your project
Meet one-on-one with a faculty member for feedback

Lecture topics include:

Developing a protagonist your readers will love
How to conceal clues
Hooking your readers early on
Finding the right publisher to submit your story to
SKYPE sessions with two agents
and more!

Preliminary schedule:

Day 1
Afternoon
Arrivals and check in

Evening
Appetizers & Dinner
After dinner: Introductions

Day 2
Morning
Breakfast
Identify and define the elements and types of mysteries, and why kids love them, Dian
Writing exercise #1: Exploring the First Page: Character and a Promise, Varian

Afternoon
Lunch
Writer Roundtables, 2 groups, Varian and Dian
Skype guest: Doug Cushman (Intro, Q/A, Art Talk)

Evening
Appetizers & Dinner
After dinner: Fireside book signing with Varian Johnson and Dian Curtis Regan

Day 3
Morning
Breakfast
Research, Plotting, and Revision: The tools of a mystery writer , Varian
Writing Exercise #2: Finding Connections and Brainstorming, Dian

Afternoon
Lunch
Free Writing Time/ Office Hours (one-to-one sign ups for informal feedback)
A word from Curtis Brown: Do agents LOVE mysteries? (Skype with Sarah and Steven)
Let’s Talk Series (panel informal discussion with Varian, Dian, and Elizabeth)

Evening
Appetizers & Dinner
After dinner: Q&A, Book signing with Elizabeth Eulberg

Day 4
Morning
Breakfast
Writing Exercise #3: Concealing clues, Varian
Finding Mysteries Everywhere: Chapter Books vs Middle Grade Novels, Dian
Goal setting, questions, farewells

Afternoon
Lunch & farewells