The Writer's Workshop @ Authors Publish

Not only is John Claude Bemis a talented author and enthusiastic teacher, he also is empathetic and acknowledges the confusion and doubts that writers often face. His lectures (video and text) are filled with helpful information and charged with humor—an excellent combination. I learned so much in four short weeks and enjoyed the discussion with John and the rest of the class. Highly recommended!

John Claude Bemis's workshop, 'Writing for Young Readers' was time and money well spent. He covered every aspect of writing for this genre. Step by step he led us through the writing process and then finished off with how to get agents, editors and publishers to look at our manuscripts. He gave plenty of examples and answered all our questions. I highly recommend this course and Mr. Bemis.

I truly enjoyed John Claude Bemis's online class on “Writing for Young Readers.” His warmth and willingness to help are matched only by his knowledge of the craft and of current children's literature. The format was very user-friendly, and I especially liked the engagement with other class members on the platform as well as the choice to complete assignments on my schedule. The text was to the point yet written in a relaxed manner, very accessible. My only critique is that I would have liked another video or two from Mr. Bemis as his enthusiasm and encouragement is most evident in that medium.

I loved this class with John because it applied to my current writing project. Rather than random assignments, John was focused on the work we were already doing and how to refine it. So many invaluable insights into the world of getting published and what it takes. I cannot say enough things about the detailed feedback he gave to my assignments. John is so generous and willing to help. Thank you for a great experience.

I learned so much from this class. John is an excellent instructor and provided much needed suggestions. I highly recommend it!

I really enjoyed this course on writing for children. John was very friendly, helpful and encouraging, and clearly had a good deal of expertise. There was a broad range of information included on writing techniques and also on getting published.

Thank You for Your Magic Words And for Awakening My Child A Review by Suzanne Burgoyne Before signing up for John Claude Bemis’s Writing for Young Readers course, I sent for four of his novels from Amazon. From what I had read about John’s novels, I’d gotten the impression that he used some strategies similar to ones that appealed to me: basing his narrative on a fairytale or mythological structure and finding new possibilities in the original story. I adored his tales, and discovered that my assumption was correct when I read his novels—and also when he gave me feedback on two of my short stories. On the first story, “The Perfect Princess,” he said, “I love how you subverted so many fairy tale tropes.” He saw clearly what I was doing, including which fairytale I was subverting: “This is a fun play on the Rumpelstiltskin story!” Of course, things about that fairytale were personally meaningful to me, embedded in the first line of my story: “There once was a proud papa who couldn’t stop bragging about his perfect daughter.” As John points out in his lessons, there are truths in fairytales and legends. The second story I submitted to John, “Hippia Huckabee’s Chucklebeans,” began with my delight in alliteration: “Hippia Huckabee lo-o-o-ved chucklebeans. Tasty, chewy, gooey, chunky, crunchy, munchy chucklebeans. As long as she munched chucklebeans, Hippia Huckabee never frowned. Never groaned, never griped, never growled.” John’s encouraging feedback: “Your language is so playful! Young readers will love all that.” John’s feedback on my submissions was not only encouraging, it was insightful. He pointed out some ill-used rhymes and ways to deal with that problem, as well as other ways to improve my writing. But his critique sparkled with positive reactions and made me feel that continuing to work on the story was a worthwhile endeavor. John’s videotaped and written suggestions are full of insights that led me to think about aspects of writing for children I hadn’t considered before, ideas such as “when readers encounter characters doing things they wish they could do, it empowers them.” I like empowering people, which is why I studied Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed and founded an interactive theatre troupe that portrayed social justice issues: race and gender and health and the like. I could use stories I write to help empower children, too. John also gave us useful exercises, one of which I found particularly inspiring: a list of 10 things that appeal to me and 10 experiences I’ve had. I enjoyed revisiting experiences and dreams and starting to think about stories that might emerge from those true and imaginary happenings. Or better yet, from combining the real and the imaginary, such as summer puddles full of tadpoles that transform into itsie bitsie toadsies. I just re-read those lists and want to return to them in search of story seeds. He also gave us a list of questions to which we might respond when wondering if our story is ready to submit: for instance, do I know who my protagonist is? Is my protagonist the character in the story who changes the most? I also like the question he suggested: “What is it about your story that captivates you?” I think the child I used to be is still alive within me, and that child reawakens when I read a story I’ve written that calls out to her. Or a story someone else has written that calls out to that child who lives in fantasy. John recommended current children’s books we should read, and named books about writing for children he thought we’d find valuable. Among the books about writing for children that John proposed was Gail Carriger’s The Heroine’s Journey. I ordered it from Amazon and am looking forward to reading it. I have, of course, read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. I also took lots of notes about the online suggestions he gave us. I’ll need to come back to them to remind myself of the new ideas that inspired me. Or maybe I’ll leave the images simmering in my subconscious until they emerge into fully-grown children’s stories. Not least of all, John is very kind and personable, a friendly man with a sense of humor and concern for his students as people. He gave us two “office meetings” which a number of his students attended. I’m rather a shy person, so I didn’t offer much conversation at the first meeting in the first week of class. But by the office meeting during the last week, I had gotten to feel comfortable enough with John to ask him questions which combined the personal and the literary, such as why he hasn’t published the third volume in the Out of Abaton series. No, I won’t tell you what that reason is. You’ll need to take John’s workshop and ask him yourself. You’ll be glad you took the workshop. By the way, I’m particularly interested in writing for children (I took lessons in acting in children’s theatre, starting when I was eight). So now that I’ve retired from teaching theatre in higher ed, I hope to keep in touch with John as I continue to work on my art and craft. . . . . Suzanne