People keep asking, so I thought I’d assemble this in one place, so I can just send a link. Here’s my current repertoire of writing presentations. Unless otherwise noted, all are prepared to fit into the typical “hour”—meaning 45-60 minutes. Most or all of the longer ones could be abridged to that length if desired.
Topics available almost anytime, on short notice if necessary
These are presentations I’ve prepared and presented at conferences and smaller gatherings of writers. Most of these I’ve presented more than once—in a few cases, half a dozen times in the past two or three years. (If you want to know what, where, and when, check out the Author Appearances section of this page.) I often polish and update a presentation, and I routinely customize it in some ways for a specific setting or audience.
Being a Good Critique Partner—how to give useful critique as an alpha reader, beta reader, or other critique partner or a member of a critique group.
Crafting Authentic Young Character Voices—characteristics of young character and narrator voices and how to write them.
How to Become an Author, Starting Today—All authors are writers; not all writers are authors. Short version: writers write; authors write and publish. Twelve things (the number is subject to change) you can start doing today, if you’re not already doing them, to work toward being an author whose thoughts and creations are out there for others to experience.
It’s (Almost) All in the Voice—on authorial voice (what it is and how to find it) and writing narrative and character voices. One focus is a character’s internal and external voices, when they’re different and participating in the same conversation.
Join a Critique Group for an Afternoon—Presenting your work for critique can be daunting, and not just the first time. So can giving critiques. This session will be 1/3 instruction on giving and receiving constructive critique and 2/3 actual critique group experience. Groups of several participants, with 2-3 instructors per group, will prepare in advance to give brief oral critiques of works-in-progress submitted in advance (8-10 pages of writing, or 5-6 pages for instructors). Written notes and markup are optional but welcome. If critique scares you, or you want to hone your skills or know what to look for in a critique group, this is useful practical experience in a friendly and supportive but serious environment. (a two- or three-hour workshop)
Making It Strange: Defamiliarization—defamiliarization slows reader perception and helps readers to see things differently or see things they’ve learned not to see. It’s what art does inherently, but it’s also a useful tool in the toolbox, and sometimes it changes the world.
Making Promises and Setting Hooks: Crafting Great Beginnings—a 2-hour or 3-hour workshop on crafting great beginnings, looking at many beginnings (including some from the class and one or two from me) and discussing the few things a beginning must do and the many things it can do.
Self-publishing: My Rookie Experience—details on the many necessary steps, from creating my own publishing imprint to marketing.
Worldbuilding? You’ll Need Some Government—a whirlwind survey of basic political theory and comparative government for nonspecialists, emphasizing many possible points of tension and conflict, and how to decide how much government your story needs and which parts.
Writing Short Fiction: Who Should Do It, and When and Why and How—emphasizes why and how.
You Can’t Make a Long Story Short, but You Can Make a Short Story—how to write short stories and what to do with them once they’re written, intended mostly for novelists who want to try short fiction but useful for others.
Topics I’m developing
These are topics I’m scheduled to present somewhere in the near future. In some cases I may be reluctant to present them elsewhere before they’re currently scheduled, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask.
Watching the Greats Work: Close Reading for Writers—We’ll practice reading brilliant texts (for the sake of time, short ones) twice: first as a reader, for effect, and then as a writer, considering how each produces its effects and highlighting the layering of conflicts, tensions, emotions, actions, and themes. Along the way we’ll collect and rehearse set of techniques for writing and rewriting our way to richer, more engaging stories. (prepping for March 2026 EMAA conference)
Writing Faith in Fiction with Depth and Respect—Techniques for writing characters with religious faith. Writing for various audiences about the author’s and others’ faiths; characters encountering their own and others’ faiths; the potential for layered conflict and stakes; seeing beyond dogma to how believers live their lives; and how to write respectfully (of faith and readers) and avoid stereotypes and other pitfalls. Major and minor roles faith might play in our stories, and how and why to ensure we’re telling stories, not preaching sermons, even when faith may be one of our motives for writing fiction at all. A 40-120 minute session. (prepping for March 2026 EMAA conference)
Writing for Contests—I’ve entered quite a few contests and judged several, and, yes, it’s subjective to a degree. Informed by both perspectives—participant and judge—we’ll discuss the benefits of writing for contests and several ways to improve our chances for success. (prepping for April 2026 Pre-Quill)
Writing Life into Your Dialogue—Natural-sounding dialogue comes easily when we converse, but not when we write. In this workshop we’ll discuss tools from the author’s toolbox and practice using them to turn clunky first-draft dialogue into moments that make characters and stories memorable. We’ll do things with punctuation your English teachers may not approve; consider disappearing dialogue tags, when to use the other kind, and what to do in between; explore sentence fragments, internal and external voices, techniques for helping your dialogue sound on the page as it sounds in your mind, and more. (prepping for March 2026 EMAA conference)
Topic(s) I’ve pitched but never developed
. . . because no one has wanted them (yet) . . .
Adding Layers to Create More Powerful Stories—Even short pieces, let alone books, are more engaging with multiple layers. We’ll explore ways to add layers to plot, setting, characters, themes, and emotions, to make our stories more moving and memorable for our readers. We’ll analyze the layers of a very short story by a master and practice creating layers ourselves.
Basic Atticus: Designing Your Book’s Interior—Atticus is the non-Apple world’s answer to Vellum. It’s far cheaper and easier to learn than Adobe InDesign.
Plotting Possibilities: Characters Who Feel Free—Some stories’ outcomes seem inevitable in retrospect, if not fated from the start. Here we’ll explore telling stories another way, where moments and endings feel contingent, not determined, and truth itself emerges from a clash of voices, not a single, authoritative, perhaps authorial voice. For intermediate/advanced writers.
Writing Sentences that Soar—In skilled hands syntax, paragraphing, and punctuation aren’t just ways to put words together. They’re power tools. They can make ordinary prose soar without turning it purple (unless that’s what you want). They can guide our readers along logical and emotional paths we mark for them, adding energy and feeling and controlling pacing along the way. They may not know how we did it or why it works (when it does), but they’ll come back for more. In this workshop, we’ll learn and practice techniques for (once you have that first draft) making sentences, paragraphs, and pages come alive. A 2-hour or 3-hour workshop.
Other possibilities
If you want me to teach or speak on a particular topic that isn’t listed above, please ask. If I have anything to say on that topic and can do so with any credibility, I’m game. So please ask.
I’ve also organized and led boot camps for new writers, presented readings, participated on panels on various topics, and more. I know a number of other writers who are eager to help with such things. So, at the risk of repeating myself, if there’s something particular you want or need, please ask.
Travel, Honoraria, and Expenses
Some conferences pay presenters; some don’t. Most give presenters free admission, or at least offer a large discount. A few provide lodging and may defray other travel expenses. I’m okay with all those options.
Other groups, such as chapters of the League of Utah Writers, usually don’t pay, but some offer a small gift card or pay gas money as a thank-you. If you have the budget for such things, I won’t turn them down. But I don’t need or expect them.
I live in American Fork, and most of my in-person appearances are in Salt Lake County or Utah County, but I’ve lately roamed Brigham City, Logan, Ogden, St. George, and even Denver, mostly at my own expense. I’ll tell you if what you’re asking isn’t something I can do, because of costs or any other reason. And I’ll try to add additional events to help justify longer trips.
I’m comfortable presenting online for groups which meet online, but in person is more fun.