Hurray! I’ll be teaching again at the Book Passage Children’s Conference in Corte Madera. June 15 to 17. Check out the video and find out what this amazing conference can offer you! Looking forward to seeing many children’s book writer and illustrator friends in June.
Mina Witteman – author | editor | translator | teacher creative writing
Posts from the “Children’s books” Category
BAY AREA AND MARIN WRITERS! I still have spaces available! On Saturday, May 5, I will teach a daylong plot revision intensive. I have space for eight writers with a finished draft of Middle Grade, Young Adult or adult fiction. Intensive: A PLOTTER’S PARADISE — GOING DEEP Day and time: Saturday, May 5, 2018 – 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Location: North Berkeley Costs: $150 (includes tea, coffee, cookies and lunch) To sign up, please, send me a message through the contact form below and I’ll reserve you a seat. First come, first serve! This daylong intensive is for writers, who have a full draft of their MG or YA ready or almost ready. First draft, second draft, final draft……
Tagged: Berkeley, Creative Writing, Intensive, Plot, Writers Workshop, writing workshop
A sneak preview of the fourth Boreas book: Boreas en de vijftien vrienden! The cover isn’t final yet, but I am pretty sure it will be as exciting as the first three Boreas books. Pub date is set for early September this year, right on time for the Dutch National Children’s Book Week.
Today, I visited the clipper Stad Amsterdam, a tall ship from the Netherlands which is currently moored at the San Francisco Embarcadero. Quarter Master Frank van Wamelen and Captain Andi Manser welcomed Boreas and me aboard their ship, where I presented them with copies of the three Boreas books for the ship’s library to entertain crew and guests during long ocean crossings. So, from now on, Boreas will sail the seven seas aboard the Stad Amsterdam, too! Next destination is Mexico. I am excited and so is Boreas. And the Captain and the Quarter Master? They can’t wait to start reading the books! Here are some pictures: Of course, I hurried back home to finish Boreas 4 which will come out this fall.
The San Francisco North and East Bay region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators had asked me to teach a workshop on plot for their Contra Costa County Meeting in Walnut Creek. Sixty people signed up, all children’s writers eager to hone their writing skills and improve their craft. Now, I love teaching, but when the room is filled with people who simply love what they are doing, people who are dedicated to and persevering in their dream to become better writers, my heart leaps. Yesterday was such a joyful day. I set out to show how plot structure formats — and there are so many out there that a web search brings you 3.000.000 results in 0.76 seconds! —…
Sat. March 3, 2018 2 – 4 pm, Contra Costa County Meeting, Plotting with Mina Witteman! Date/Time Date(s) – 03/03/2018 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Location St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 1924 Trinity Ave – Walnut Creek, CA 94596 The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators San Francisco North and East Bay Region Contra Costa/Alameda County Presents: A PLOTTER’S PARADISE Featuring: Mina Witteman Please join us for a presentation on plotting by the plot master herself, Mina Witteman, at our latest SCBWI meeting in Walnut Creek. Mina’s plotting class is for picture book and middle grade/ YA authors. She will demonstrate the techniques required for all genres. Come prepared with paper and pencil to get the most out of this class. Refreshments will…
Tagged: Creative Writing, East Bay, Mina Witteman, Plot, SCBWI, Walnut Creek, writing workshop
This week was the start of a new chapter in my life. I recently obtained a visa for the US, a so-called artist’s visa that identifies me now as an alien with extraordinary abilities in writing children’s books. Needless to say I am super excited at this opportunity to spread my children’s books wings. But it’s also a life-changing leap into uncharted waters and I feel like the little ones in the picture below. Intimidated by the dark around them, you can see them think: are we going in or… I’m that little one at the end of the rudder. I made my choice and went in. These next years I will be exploring and navigating these, to me, uncharted waters. I’ll be enjoying Californian life, too. Let myself be lifted…
