Simon Rose's Blog, page 217

Totalitarian Architecture of the Third Reich @ Dark Roasted Blend

Check out my article at Dark Roasted Blend, entitled Totalitarian Architecture of the Third Reich
Fascist and communist governments in the first half of the twentieth century both created monumental architecture, largely to intimidate their people and showcase the regime's strengths. In a totalitarian system such as existed in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, the government attempted to control every aspect of daily life. It used architecture to some degree to achieve this, to firmly establish its authority leaving no doubt as to who was in charge. One of the chief aims of Nazi architecture was also to reflect the beliefs of National Socialism, celebrate the German national identity and glorify the idea of the master Aryan race.
Dark Roasted Blend is among the finest locations online to find the weird, the wonderful and the fantastic, crammed with great articles, stunning photography, plus fabulous new content appears daily.

Writing and Publishing Your Children's Novel - University of Calgary, Saturday, February 26

[image error] Each year, the Continuing Education department at the University of Calgary serves over 20,000 lifelong learners and offers thousands of courses taught by more than 1,000 instructors – all experts in their fields.


Writing and Publishing Your Children's Novel - Saturday, February 26 This workshop deals with getting started as a writer for young readers and the subsequent path to publication. You will examine the writing process from initial concept through to the finished manuscript, including how to turn ideas into stories, story structure, developing characters, the creation of outlines and the importance of editing and revision. You will also examine ways to research publishing houses where you can submit your work, cover letters, synopses and sample chapters.
Learn more about the Writing and Publishing Your Children's Novel workshop and how to register here

Writing Children's Books - Classes for Adults in Calgary with Chinook Learning Services

The Calgary Board of Education provides adult and continuing education through Chinook Learning Services. This winter, I am pleased to be offering the following classes in Calgary.
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Writing Children's Books - Mondays, February 7 to March 21Examine the writing process from initial concept through to the finished manuscript, including how to turn ideas into stories, the creation of outlines, story structure, character development, the role of research and the importance of editing and revision, as well as examine ways to research and submit to publishing houses.
Register now at Chinook Learning Services.

Study Guides and Classroom Resources

Each of my novels can provide teachers with a wide variety of ways to explore projects in the classroom with their students and study guides for The Alchemist's Portrait, The Sorcerer's Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic's Tomb can be found here on my website. The study guides are by no means exhaustive and teachers are always welcome to use the books as they see fit. The Fun Stuff and Puzzles page features word searches related to the text and character names in each novel, plus teachers can access the Super Scavenger Search where the answers to a series of mind boggling questions are hidden in different pages all over my website. Class sets of books are always available from me directly at discounted prices, depending on the number of books ordered.

The Extraordinary World of Ex-Libris Art @ Dark Roasted Blend

Check out my article The Extraordinary World of Ex Libris Art, 
at Dark Roasted Blend.


Ex libris, meaning 'from the library of', or 'from the books of' is a Latin expression attached to the art form of bookplates. These are stamps or labels that appear inside books to denote ownership, and range from the simple to the decorative and elaborate, to the obscure or even bizarre and surreal.
Dark Roasted Blend is among the finest locations online to find the weird, the wonderful and the fantastic, crammed with great articles, stunning photography, plus fabulous new content which appears daily.

Beyond Belief: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy for Younger Readers Part One - This week's teleclass at the Children's Writer's Coaching Club.

[image error] Join me on January 19 at 7 pm, Mountain Standard Time,
at the Children's Writers' Coaching Club at the National Writing for Children Center. 
In this month's class, entitled  Beyond Belief: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy for Younger Readers Part One, we explore science fiction and fantasy writing for young readers, looking at where ideas come from when creating science fiction and fantasy stories, the importance of accurate research, the need to create plausible plots and believable settings and scenarios for your stories and how to gear your story to the age of your potential readers.

Registration is available here for this class and you can also obtain copies of archived teleclasses. Check out the Children's Writers' Coaching Club today.

Virtual Author Visits by Video

Children are almost always inspired when they meet a real life author or illustrator, but it may not always possible to have an author visit your school. However, why not put technology to work for you? Now you can arrange a virtual author visit via video using Skype. These can be conducted with large groups in a library or gym or with individual classes. You can get an idea of what a virtual visit looks like by viewing the video below, or by checking out the videos on my website or on YouTube, in which I talk about my books, my workshops for adults and schools, plus my various services for writers.
Ideally, in preparation for a virtual author visit, students should have read at least one of my books prior to the visit, but can also familiarize themselves with my work by undertaking the Super Scavenger Search. You may also wish to download the word search puzzles related to each novel. Study Guides and Classroom Resources are also available for all my novels. Each book can provide teachers with a wide variety of ways to explore projects with their students and class sets of books are available.To host a virtual author visit, you will need to download Skype, which is available for both Windows and Macintosh, and have a webcam. Mac users may also be able to set up a virtual author visit using iChat.
You may contact me directly at sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com for details on technical requirements and all about exactly how a virtual author visit works. A technical run through a few days prior is also advisable, to ensure that everything runs smoothly on the day of the visit.

Author in Residence Program for Schools

For my Author in Residence program, I can be at your school for a week or longer. This allows me to cover certain topics in much more depth than would be possible during a regular author visit. We can also look at working with the students on a specific project.A week in residence can be designed however you would like, to best meet the needs of the students. Here's what a week could look like, based on a school where I spent five days working with students from grade one through seven. However, this is just an example and I am very flexible and happy to discuss your schools unique requirements with you.K/1/2 Story CreationThis highly interactive presentation explores story structure relating to the creation of a well-defined beginning, middle and end. Using a series of seemingly unrelated objects, students participate in creating a story in what is always a lively and fun filled session. Although this exercise is done as a group, afterwards students are so enthusiastic that they want to create their own illustrations to go with the story and expand on the narrative that we have created together. In the weeks after my visit, some schools have added the children's pictures to the story, as they create their own books and design covers for them. These have often been displayed in the classroom or sent home to parents.Grade 3 Fantasy Realms and CreaturesIn two sessions, we discuss the elements of fantasy and the many creatures and characters that inhabit the fantasy realm. In The Emerald Curse, the main villain has created monsters in his laboratory, combining some of the most fearsome creatures on earth. Most students are very familiar with monsters and strange creatures from mythology, books and movies and really enjoy the workshop where they get to invent their own unique mythological creature along with its powers, enemies, diet, habitat and the fantasy kingdom where it lives.Grade 4 SuperheroesThe Emerald Curse involves a young boy who is propelled into a strange comic book dimension, to save his grandfather, the world's greatest comic book artist and writer. The novel was influenced by the comic books and superhero adventure stories I read whilst growing up. In two sessions, we explore the superhero genre, before students create their own superhero, complete with costumes, powers, secret identity, headquarters, friends, family and one or more archenemies. They are also encouraged to draw their creation and some may even write a short story.Grade 5/6/7 Time Travel, Historical Fiction and Writing StrategiesThe Heretic's Tomb, The Sorcerer's Letterbox and The Alchemist's Portrait are time travel stories. These sessions look at where ideas come from and how writers turn them into stories. We examine how history has served as inspiration for authors and filmmakers and learn about the importance of historical research. Students will then invent their own time machine or device, paying attention to detail and to the need for authentic historical settings. We also explore how to write gripping fiction and cliffhanger endings.Grade 8 The Shape of Things to ComeThe events described in The Clone Conspiracy may be science fiction, but cloning has become very much science fact in recent years. These sessions examine how much technology has developed in the last one hundred years, how the pace of change has rapidly accelerated in recent decades and challenges students to contemplate what types of technology we may expect to see in the century to come.Grade 9 People Plotting: Creating Memorable CharactersWithout people there is no plot and characters are at the heart of any story. In these workshops, we explore where writers get ideas for the people in their stories, the many methods of creating strong characters and how to use descriptive language to build them. Students invent their own unique characters and also learn how to write effective and engaging dialogue for their creations.The time frames for each session above were calculated to accommodate the school's schedule and the number of students in each group. Grades one and two had one session each, while I worked with the remaining grades on two separate occasions. Your school may be entirely different and you may also want to cover alternate topics. You may also prefer to combine classes together in the library, for example, instead of having presentations take place in individual classrooms. However, the above scenario is merely a guideline as to what a week in residence could look like and I am very happy to discuss your school's unique requirements with you.Contact me directly for details of fees and availability for Author in Residence at info@simon-rose.com.

Listen to Author Readings at simon-rose.com

[image error] People are always interested in hearing an author read from their own work. Children in particular, especially those who have read and enjoyed the novels, are usually captivated when an author reads from their own book during a personal appearance at a school, library, literary festival or other event. 
Here on my website, you can listen to interviews and readings from The Alchemist's Portrait, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic's Tomb, recorded on Calgary's CKUA radio network, plus a reading from The Sorcerer's Letterbox, recorded during my appearance at the Winnipeg International Writers Festival.

Online Writing Workshops for Children and Young Adults

[image error] With my Online Workshops for Children and Young Adults, through a series of e mail assignments, details of which are available here, we explore where ideas come from and how to turn them into stories, basic story structure, plot development, creating characters, developing dialogue and more to help develop writing ability. A set of workshops can be started at any time. Following registration, all assignments are sent by e mail and are completed at your own pace, to be sent to me by return e mail. There is no time limit and participants may take as long as they wish to complete their full set of workshops.
Check out Online Workshops for Children and Young Adults today.