Upcoming Events
3/16: COlorado Book & Arts festival. More here.
3/18: BIRD IS THE WORD - A steam day for Girl scouts
*For finished “Progressive Stories” go here.
4/13: COlorado teen lit conference. More here.
*I’ll be doing a breakout class on “Crafting the Creative College Essay.”
4/14: GIRLS in STEM workshop, tattered cover bookstore in littleton
*For finished “Progressive Stories” go here.
4/28: CO BOOK Award finalist readings, bookbar in denver
5/3: Excel Academy Literacy Day, arvada
6/6: Author talk at catamount ranch & club
school and Club visits
Susan loves speaking with students at schools, clubs, bookstores and libraries and would thrilled to speak at your event. Fill out the form below if you’re interested in booking Susan.
Available presentations
From Science to Storytelling - Susan shares her adventures studying science (from training planaria and studying terns, to traveling deep in the ocean on a submarine for hydrothermal vent research), while explaining why she studied science even though she knew she wanted to be a writer, how science and writing are similar (it all comes down to stories), and how science fuels her writing today. She gives a peek into the science behind Crow Flight, touching on the incredible intelligence of ravens and crows, and the fascinating world of computer modeling.
40 Rejections or Bust: A goal of failing - As a recovering perfectionist, Susan talks about the challenges of learning to write well. From writers’ groups with good but overwhelming input, to the steady stream of rejection letters that comes when querying agents, Susan shows how to work through failure and flip it on its head. She dives into the science of why embracing failure is key to success in any field - from writing and science, to business and sports - and shares her success story of becoming a published author, a goal she reached by making failure the goal.
The Nuts & Bolts of a Writer’s Life - Susan pulls back the curtain on a writer’s life and gives insight to what she does - and doesn’t do - every day. Not surprisingly, these tips and tricks can be helpful for any career - even that of a student! Includes: journaling out the junk, setting ‘low entry points,’ consistency that’s efficient, encouraging curiosity, trying out others’ techniques while finding (and trusting) your own path, collaging, sticker charts (!), finishing a messy first draft (after all, done is better than perfect), encouraging others, and realizing it is not a competition.
Available workshops
Crafting the Creative College Essay: The essay can be a dreaded part of the college application process. But it doesn’t have to be. In this workshop, Susan shares tips for writing a college essay that hooks the reader from the first line and is completely, truly you. An added bonus: don’t be surprised if you can apply these tips to all of your creative writing.
Creative Writing 101: Susan has tried all of sorts of methods for writing books and walks students through a few of those, all while answering those tough questions such as, ‘How do I start?’ And, ‘How do I keep going?’
Finding Stories in Science: Science textbooks might sometimes seem bland, but science isn’t. In this workshop, students look at a scientific topic with new eyes and end up with a poem of their own.
An inside look at Computer Modeling: Modeling large systems is complex. But with NetLogo, a free multi-agent programmable modeling environment, students can get an inside-look at flocking behavior, predator-prey relationships and more.