Speaking Engagements
Workshops and Lectures on Writing
Concrete Craft Skills
My goal in every workshop and lecture is to have attendees take away concrete craft skills they can immediately apply to their own writing. My workshops have a generative element, offering real-time practice and exploration.
My lectures explore when and why you might want to use a particular craft technique, examine different use cases from exemplary mentor texts, and offer specific, actionable ways to practice the skill on your own and incorporate it into your creative work.
I’ve presented at both regional and national writers’ conferences, and offered teen workshops in both conference and school settings.
Anne-Marie Strohman
Experienced presenter and teacher on the craft of writing
Speaking Topics
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To make emotions real to readers, writers need to go beyond the stereotypical eye roll or shrug. Often the tools for making more effective choices already exist in a rough draft. Manuscripts are peppered with objects and character interests that can be used strategically to communicate a character’s emotions to the reader–and make the reader feel them too.
Through exercises based on a current work-in-progress, writers will learn how to use metaphors and objects as concrete expressions of emotion and develop a range of options to incorporate into their work.
45 minutes
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Hope. Devastation. Longing. Jealousy. Rage. Joy. Our characters may feel any number of emotions, and as writers we need to communicate those emotions to readers. Ultimately, though, we want our readers to go on an emotional journey of their own. Readers may feel outrage alongside the main character, or they may feel pity or empathy at a character’s explosive anger. Guiding a reader’s emotional journey can be tricky, but you have a secret superpower in this process: your own emotions.
In this workshop, we’ll start with a brief look at how the body and brain work together in our experience of emotion. Then we’ll practice different techniques to communicate character emotions and evoke feelings in readers. We’ll also discuss how to leverage your own emotional experiences to create impactful scenes and stories.
90-minute or 2 hour workshop, including time for writing exercises.
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Power up your stories by writing short!
Flash fiction (under 1000 words) and Micro fiction (under 50 words) compress stories into their essence. All you need is a hook, some happenings, and a twist. You’ll create characters that live in your readers mind from a single detail. And flash fiction allow for experimental approaches. Writing short fiction can help strengthen your writing in any form or genre.
In this workshop, you’ll learn tips and tricks for writing short and revising shorter, and you’ll generate two pieces of short fiction.
90-minute or 2 hour workshop
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Co-presented with Erin Nuttall.
Reading work aloud is a part of an author’s professional practice. We guide authors toward emotionally impactful readings through scene selection and preparation, document preparation, and how to practice and execute for both online and in-person events.
40-minute presentation, with possible 10-minute add-on for exercises.
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An exploration of the ways that craft and emotion work together in creating art, with practical tools for deepening scenes and characters and time for writers to reflect on their relationship with craft and emotion.
40-minute presentation.
Anne-Marie is happy to prepare custom presentations. If you have a specific topic in mind, let her know when you fill out the form below.
Past Events
KidLit Craft Workshop, “Making Emotions Concrete,” March 2025
Design Tech Charter School, “Creating Layered Characters by Putting Emotion on the Page,” Creative Writing Workshop, October 2024
Woodside Priory School, Teen Flash Fiction Workshop, April 2024
SCBWI SF North and East Bay, Oktoberfest faculty, “Making Emotions Concrete,” October 2023
SCBWI SF/South, Scholar in Residence, Oct 2022-April 2023. Final workshop, “Evoking Emotions on the Page--and in the Reader’s Heart,” April 2023
Central Coast Writers Workshop, Teen Flash Fiction Workshop, Oct 2023
SCBWI SF/South, Webinar, “Connecting with Your Audience through Emotionally Powerful Readings,” with Erin Nuttall, January 2021
SCBWI Illinois, Webinar, “Connecting with Your Audience through Emotionally Powerful Readings,” with Erin Nuttall, October 2020
American Night Writers Association Conference, “Connecting with Your Audience through Emotionally Powerful Readings,” with Erin Nuttall, September 2020
VCFA Grad Presentation, “How to Prepare for a Reading,” with Erin Nuttall, July 2020
VCFA Graduate Lecture, “Technical Mastery and Artistry,” July 2020
SCBWI SF/South, Webinar, “Reading for Craft,” January 2020