Programs for Students

Adventures in Writing (Students)

English classes were boring until the seventh grade. Then Jim met Mrs. Fowler. She taught the true meaning of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. English is simply about telling stories, and who doesn't like a good story?

Jim will hook your audience with stories of the inspiration and perspiration necessary to become a published adventure writer. What is it like to be buried alive for a story? How do you apologize to a cobra? Would you go eyeball to eyeball with a sea monster? He will also introduce you to some of the characters he has met on assignments. There's the man who steers battleships to war–on a pond. Would you like to meet up with dinosaur bandits in the Gobi Desert? How do you interview a prospector while he is holding a gun to your head?

Things your students will learn:

• Techniques used by great writers––which students can start using in elementary school
• Where to put your best material in a story
• How to hook readers so they won't be able to put your writing down
• One of the least used, but most important techniques a writer can use to make a story interesting
• How to use VAKing to bring a story to life
• Why great writers are re-writers
• What it takes to turn words into dollars
• Why writing can be a heck of a lot of fun

Inspire your students with a unique look at English through the eyes of a professional writer.

Jim's writing background:

Jim served on advisory boards for the San Francisco Chronicle's Outdoors in the Classroom Program and the San Jose Mercury News Venture section. He has written hundreds of articles which appeared in such publications as the San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Area Parent News Magazine , San Jose Mercury News, Paddler, Black Belt Magazine, Outdoor Canada, Camping Magazine, and Skin Diver. Jim has received Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism award 3 times for his parenting column which appeared in 35 publications across the United States and internationally. He is also an accomplished technical writer, producing material for Apple Computer, Polymetrics, and Arrowhead Industrial Water. His books include Edible and Poisonous Plants of Northern California; Individual Tactics in Water Polo; No More Nagging, &Nudging; Goal Express! and Memory Smart. His newest book, Camels, Skulls, and Cobras, is now available.