Looking for a dynamic speaker for your conference, book club, school or writers’ retreat? Aaron is available. Contact thedevlinator@yahoo.com

Writing Craft

The Body and Soul of Writing: A Boot Camp for Writers Young and Old
Overview: In this full-day workshop, we will begin with the body of writing: story arc, character arc, voice, theme, and the ever-important first chapter. But how can we have a body if we don’t have a soul? Overcoming our fear and self-doubt is all about the soul and finding the courage to create.
About the Workshop: This is a two-part workshop. In the first part, we’ll start with the basics: how to craft a story, how to create believable characters, and how to open your book with a first chapter that grabs the reader’s attention. We’ll also discuss the premise of the story because that will be critical in how you talk about your book to industry experts as well as friends and family. In the second half, we’ll go into what keeps most people from writing books. Writing can be a lonely, agonizing process full of self-doubt and self-recrimination. How can you continue to write when no one believes in you, not even yourself? Past demons can rise up and strangle your creativity right when you need your muse the most. Through a unique application of the 12 steps of recovery, you will get the courage to create and the passion to follow your dream of writing fiction.

The Dance of the Divine: Where Story Arc and Character Arc Meet
Overview: In the very best stories, characters who grow and change move us even as the plot catapults us into overwhelming drama. We turn the page to see what happens, and after the dragon is slain, the characters continue to haunt us. In this workshop, you will learn how to use plot to build characters and how to use characters to build plot. For truly, when authors do this well, it is the dance of the divine.
About the Presentation: After going over examples of various story structure models, we’ll delve into how story structure can also support character arcs. At the same time, the events of the story should stem from the characters: what they most need to learn, what they most fear, what they most desire. In this way, we craft the story to bring out the best (or worst) in our characters and this will also move the story along.

Writing Inspiration

From Whining to Writing: Courageously Creating While Overcoming the Odds
Overview: In this motivational talk, you will learn to find the inspiration to write when every bone in your body just wants to flee, eat ice cream, and watch TV. Starting with the problem, artistic angst, we will move to the solution–self-discipline, inspiration, and the belief that writing is a sacred act.
About the Presentation: No one is buying books. The industry is shrinking. People smarter than you are e-publishing. And writing is hard enough without all the stress of trying to get published. Pondering the creative process as well as the idea of publication can freeze us in our tracks. But there is hope. Writing books and telling stories is an ancient art form that is a part of being human. People will always read, but the idea they will read YOUR work can seem like a pipe dream. It isn’t. We can change lives, you and I, simple writers struggling to string words together.
Through the personal stories of the presenter as well as real-life examples from other authors, you will learn how to ignite the creative fire in your soul and write courageously.

Writing Success Through the 12 Steps: Unleash Your Creativity, Break Writer’s Block, and Ease Artistic Angst Using the Tools of Recovery
Overview: In this workshop, you will be led through the 12 steps of addiction recovery and learn the power the 12 steps have for removing blocks, turning action into inspiration, and reducing the terror writing (or even the thought of writing) can cause.
About the Workshop – Writing can be a lonely, agonizing process full of self-doubt and self-recrimination. How can you continue to write when no one believes in you, not even yourself? Past demons can rise up and strangle your creativity right when you need your muse the most.
About the Presentation: We will begin with the first step, powerlessness and unmanageability. But even when things are darkest, there is the fire of hope that can be re-kindled in the heart of every writer. By unraveling the tangled knots of your artistic history, and by working with other writers, you can remove blocks and find serenity. We will discover together common character defects that prevent artists from creating and habits that limit ability. Learn time-management skills and mind-management skills that foster positive attitudes and can be applied in concrete ways to help you become the writer you were meant to be. Through the personal stories of the presenter, you will see how you can maximize your creative energies and live peacefully with your writing.

Learn more about The 12 Steps to Artistic Success workshop and read the blog series from the beginning.

Marketing for Writers

Sell It Like It’s Amway: Using Network Marketing Techniques to Sell Your Books
Overview: While controversial, the success of Network Marketing companies gives testimony to the power of selling products to the people you meet in your normal, everyday lives. Some of these techniques can be used to sell your books to your family, friends, neighbors, and random ninjas that may drop from the ceiling. Whether you are a published author, or if you are just beginning to query, you need to know what it takes to sell your book and sell it well.
About the Presentation: From the must humbly self-published e-print author to the New York Times bestseller, part of the business of writing is working it like a business. And businesses require selling. And selling is hard. But not sharing. The best salespeople are those that know the difference between selling and sharing. This interactive workshop will explain the difference using real-life examples, role-play, and personal stories from the presenter. Forget about the thousand-dollar weekend sales trainings. Come and spend 60 minutes with Aaron Ritchey and you’ll be able to sell ice-cubes to Tahitians. Or Eskimos.