| Source: Children Come First http://www.childrencomefirst.com/ferguson2006aug.shtml Workshops All through my childhood I talked nonstop to my parents, my four sisters, and to my dolls. I always loved communicating but never wanted to commit my thoughts to the page. To me ideas were fluid and needed to be unfettered by pen and paper. That conviction dogged me throughout my adolescence and well into adulthood. But when my oldest daughter was less than thrilled at the announcement of the upcoming birth of my second child, I decided to comfort her on paper. THAT NEW PET, a picture book, was born right along with my son and so was my desire to write. A good bit of the energy I once flung around in spoken words is now committed to paper. As I travel to schools across the country, I see many students whose own communication stops exactly where mine used to: in talking to friends. I try to convert them. If there is a satisfaction beyond my own storytelling, it is in the opportunity to stoke the writing fire in others. The fun of creating characters and words is catching, and the rewards are permanent. It's a joy to receive letters from children who've felt as if they've met Cricket in CRICKET AND THE CRACKERBOX KID, or were scared by the twists and turns of the mystery novels, or were moved by the beauty of the parks featured in the National Park Mystery Series my mother and I co-write for National Geographic. When they connect back to me, I feel as though I'm spinning stories for an ever-widening circle. |
Alane Fergusen and Joan Arent hosted a day of education, entertainment and enlightenment on August 5, 2006. Alane taught the skills needed to write a children's picture book. She taught structure and content and divided her time out per person. Participants who wanted more of an in-depth critique brought only one manuscript to the session. Those who wanted a more general critique, brought several stories. "The way we did this was during an eight hour day, minus lunch, divided by the number of authors. It was up to each person to decide how he/she wanted to divide up their time!" Alane said. The workshop was limited to 10 people and the cost was $100 per person. 
Alane Ferguson