Welcome to the Workshops/Presentations page.

I offer a variety of workshops and presentations. The honorarium varies according to the venue. Contact me via e-mail if you’re interested in setting up a workshop.

  •  Writing Workshops  conferences and writers associations.

  • Presentations  bookstore events, or educational talks for teachers and librarians.

  • Retreats centering workshops designed for a retreat setting 

 

Janet with author Margaret D. Smith and Writer’s Digest editor Peter Blocksom at Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference.

 

WRITING WORKSHOPS 

The Workshop Menu below lists a variety of titles, but there are always new ideas simmering on the back burner. If you’re interested in any of the workshops below, contact me via e-mail. If you’re looking for a writing topic not currently on the list, I’m happy to discuss new workshops to fit your conference needs. One year when a presenter fell suddenly ill at Write on the Sound, I was asked to present a workshop on endings. I scampered to the office, wrote the entire workshop on site, and presented it that same afternoon. (The Muses were definitely on my side that day!) I’m not sure if I could pull off that magic trick again, but the workshop I wrote that day entitled, Ending It All, is still one of my favorites.     

WORKSHOP MENU

Surviving the Writing Life
Do you have trouble finding time to write? Are you dealing with rejection? Tired of riding an emotional “writer’s roller coaster?” Discover survival tips to help you reach your writing goals. You’ll leave inspired and ready to live out your writing dream.

Plot and Passage: Matching Plotline with Character Transitions 
The plot problem often introduces a “worst case scenario” at a particular time in the character’s life. Learn how to create events that will significantly impact your main character. The resulting character conflict will set the story in motion.

Hoop of Fire: Writing Dynamic Scenes
Each scene challenges the writer to develop the storyline and deepen characterization through action and dialogue. Learn how to write with dramatic tension by zeroing in on “the emotional focal point” of the scene.

The Turning Point: Creating Character Change in a Novel
Create a plot that personally impacts your character and forces them to grow. Discover the steps you need to take to bring your character to “the turning point” in the final scenes of your novel.

Note: There are two Turning Point workshops available.
The first is designed for writers of general fiction and genre novels for adult readers with examples from Pat Conroy’s Prince of Tides , Thomas Hardy’s  Tess of the D’urbervilles, Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and Hamlet.  
 The second is designed for writers of children’s and YA novels featuring examples from Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, C.S. Lewis’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Roughing It: Twelve Guideposts Through Rough Draft Territory
Trying to write a perfect rough draft is the quickest way to writer’s block. Learn how to break past first draft fears into first draft flow. Discover twelve ways to let yourself explore, dream and tell the story you really want to tell. 

Who Will Tell the Story?
Determining who will tell the story is one of the most important decisions a writer makes. The main character’s viewpoint usually creates a strong dramatic flow, but some stories thrive when told from an outsider’s view. Learn how to choose the best possible viewpoint to successfully launch your story. 

Voice Lessons: Writing Fiction in the First Person
Having trouble writing in a character’s voice? Do you find first person prose too limiting? Perhaps you haven’t found a character strong enough to sustain the storyline. The character who narrates your novel must be a keen observer with a storytelling style all his own. Come learn the hidden gifts a first person story has to offer. 

Ending It All
By the end of the story the plot problem has been addressed or resolved. The character has reached a new understanding of self and world. Sound difficult? It is! How do you reach this kind of satisfying ending? Learn how to take your tale to its best possible conclusion.

Ordinary Heroes
Readers love stories about ordinary people overcoming the odds and doing heroic acts. Learn the three basic requirements to create an ordinary hero for your novel, and readers will follow your hero to the ends of the earth. 

Speaking of Dialogue
How is character revealed in dialogue? How can you create dialogue that increases story tension? Learn how to listen to your characters. Discover ways to set up dramatic dialogue that engages and informs the reader.

Nemesis
Where would Sherlock Holmes be without his nemesis Professor Moriarty?  Nothing serves the plot better than a good adversarial relationship. This workshop explores “the good guys” and “the bad guys” and uncovers the powerful role this key relationship plays in your fiction.

Story CPR: How to Revive a Failing Story
Have you tried again and again to revive a story? Have you given up and stuffed it in your sock drawer? Well pull it out. It’s not too late. Learn how to resuscitate a dying story using Story CPR.

Ghost Voice: Haunting a Character with a Hidden Past  
“You’ll never amount to anything.” His father said it only once, but once was enough. Now the voice echoed in his head whenever he set out to try something new.  This workshop explores the power hidden subconscious messages play in forming character. At a crucial moment in the story, a character will either fight the “ghost voice” or buckle under the weight of it. Which will it be?

World Building: Creating Believable Fantasy Worlds
Learn the necessary elements to create myth and magic. Explore new worlds. From ecosystems to interdependent life forms, writers learn to create a consistent fantasy setting for their story. Workshop includes an interactive world-building activity done in small groups.

The Rules of Magic: Writing Convincing Fantasy
It’s commonly thought that fantasy stories are easy to write because there are no rules. Just the opposite is true. Fantasy writers understand that the vast freedoms fantasy offers necessitates a strict set of rules. Break the rules and the magic disappears. How can writers learn to create within this paradox? Come explore the rules of magic.

The Power of Place
Create a setting so vivid the reader longs to step into the story world. Every spot on earth has a history going back into primordial time. And every place has its secrets. Learn how to tap into the wellspring of knowledge each place has to offer.

Getting in Character
Can you step inside your character’s skin? See the world through his or her eyes? Those of us who work  on the page can learn a lot from the stage. Discover the actors’ approach to characterization. Learn secrets that will deepen your characters and enrich your fiction.  

Body Language
Much of human communication is done through body language. From small gestures to intense action, learn how to make each movement speak. Write scenes that tell the story through facial expression, gesture and action.

When You Hit the Wall
Has your story or novel come to a crashing halt? Are your plot and characters up against the wall? Well at least you’re not alone. All writers hit the wall at some point in their writing life. Learn tricks five seasoned authors use to get past the wall and back into the story. 

 

PRESENTATIONS: Bookstores, Libraries, Teacher Associations.

The Child Hero
Many readers need to know a hero: not a perfect hero who is accomplished, intelligent and strong, but an ordinary hero who discovers courage by overcoming a difficult situation. Books featuring child heroes pass courage along to the young reader. By traveling alongside the hero in the tale, children learn about ordinary people just like them who:

Face and overcome their fears.

Fail and try again.

Choose to go forward even when the path is difficult.

Change themselves and change the world around them.  

 

Story Is a Doorway to Understanding
What’s the difference between a news story and a novel? How does a history text differ from a historical fiction book? Join Janet Lee Carey as she discusses how fiction opens the doorway to understanding by putting a personal face on events and connecting us with our common humanity. 

Writing Historical Fiction: The Making of MOLLY’S FIRE
How do writers use fiction to bring the facts to life? How does presenting history using vivid characters and storytelling enhance learning? What role does research play in writing historical fiction? Learn the secrets behind the making of Janet’s WWII book Molly’s Fire.  

How Stories Give Us Hope
“When all the doors are shut, and I feel as if there’s no way out, a book is like a window flooding light into the room.” Lecture highlights stories across all categories and genres that encourage us as human beings and bring light into the world. Carey shares short readings from favorite authors and concludes with a discussion on the challenges of writing Wenny Has Wings. “This story is about the death of a child,” says Carey. “Yet writing the book in letter form freed the voice of eleven-year-old Will North. His voice is hopeful and the story is permeated with light because of his near-death experience.” Come discuss how stories can inspire courage and give us hope. Bring your favorite story or novel to share. 

  

 

BOOKSTORE and LIBRARY Presentations for Kids

 
Janet at Parkplace Book Co. Kirkland WA

Ride the Wild Words: Journal Writing Workshop
Do you like to write stories, poems or just scribble ideas on the page? Come join author Janet Lee Carey for a journal writing workshop. We’ll brainstorm ideas, break in a new journal with innovative word games and launch new stories. Blank journals are provided. Just bring your pencil and your imagination and let’s get started!

The Magician’s Assistant: How Readers Help Create the Story
Janet reads and discusses short scenes from her books and other favorite children’s books then invites children to visualize characters and settings. Bookstore presentation designed to make readers aware of their importance in helping the author create the story.

 

 

RETREATS

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. 
                                                                                    - Eden Phillpotts

 Time to get away, center and revitalize your spirit. Janet’s retreat workshops offer a chance for quiet reflection and a deeper connection to the creative process.

RETREAT WORKSHOPS

The Well of Silence:
Much of creative writing is learning to listen on paper. Through music and meditation, this workshop takes you on a quiet returning to the source. Creativity is renewed when we sit beside the well of silence. 

Integrated Writing
Do you write from your mind? From your heart? From your gut? Where do your words come from? Many of us struggle with writer’s block because we’re stuck in our heads, see writing as a purely mental process. This workshop explores the creative resources hidden in your body, mind and spirit. Integrated writing process workshops combine nature walks, yoga, and meditation.