Jonathan Maberry

Workshop Descriptions and Dates

THRILLS AND CHILLS 

Join me for a BRAND-NEW workshop: Thrills & Chills with NY Times bestseller JONATHAN MABERRY

April 23, 10am - 1pm PST (1 - 4pm EST) via ZOOM

The Art of Writing and Selling Horror Fiction: Scary is back and even the big publishing houses are gobbling up novels for the mainstream audience. This workshop covers a lot of ground, from research, to writing, to finding markets to sell your spooky tales. Included in the program: Cultivating Suspense; Pacing and Tone for Horror; Building the Perfect Beast; Research for Horror Fiction –from Folklore to Science; the Psychology of Fear; Terror vs Horror; Character Creation for Horror; Setting and Place; Crafting and Sustaining Fear; Subgenres of Horror; Finding Markets for your Horror Fiction; How to Talk about Horror with the Public; and more.

A set of notes will be made available to all participants.

$50. (To enroll make a PayPal payment to jonathan_maberry@yahoo.com  

** Proceeds benefit women’s shelters & the ASPCA

Please include your full name and the best email address to use in order to send the Zoom link and class information.

WRITING FIGHTS AND ACTION SCENES

Well-written fights and chase and action scenes can turn a book into a red-hot page-turner…but they have to be done right. 

Join NY Times bestselling author and martial arts expert Jonathan Maberry (former bodyguard, 8th-degree black belt jujutsu master, and former expert witness for murder cases involving martial arts) for a no-holds-barred workshop on how to write believable and riveting fight and action scenes. 

Included in this program are: choreographing an action scene; understanding what is possible (and what’s not!); myths and misconceptions about unarmed combat; and much more!

ART OF THE PITCH

Join NY Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry for a class on THE ART OF THE PITCH. We’ll cover query letters and verbal pitches for novels, novellas, comic books, and specialty projects. And we’ll discuss how to make book pitching FUN instead of frightening!

ACT LIKE A WRITER

“Those are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others.”
- Groucho Marx

If you’re going to meet an agent, do a book signing, give a talk, interview, or any other real-world, face-to-face event as part of your writing career, an author needs a public face that has to be authentic, consistent, and compelling. A reader’s trust in an author is based on the fulfilled promise of the author’s brand. While readers buy individual books, their loyalty rests with the author. In today’s uber-connected world, an author becomes a public figure in an instant, and being ready for that moment is essential. ACT LIKE A WRITER provides tools, strategies, and insight for creating an authentic, consistent, and compelling author’s brand.

Developed by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry and actor/author Keith Strunk, this workshop focuses on how to be a celebrity even if you’re not famous yet.  Discover your public persona that draws people to you and your words through fine-tuning your own personal style as a public presenter, interview subject, and reader/interpreter of your own work. You will learn how to build a brand that creates trust and builds loyalty among readers.

PITCHPREP WRITERS WORKSHOP

“Be great in act, as you have been in thought.”
-- William Shakespeare, King John

Crafting a pitch that perfectly captures the heart, power, and poetry of your work is perhaps as daunting as writing the work itself.  Writers’ conferences provide the opportunity to pitch directly to agents and editors.  The right pitch connects the vision of your imagination with the reality of the marketplace to start a conversation that leads to publication. All this in less than two minutes!

Pulled from the popular ACT LIKE A WRITER program developed by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry and actor/author/producer Keith Strunk, this workshop focuses on how to draw agents and publishers to you and your words with a face-to-face pitch that taps your own personal style to create an authentic, consistent, and compelling message that stimulates curiosity and conversation about your work.

WRITING DIALOGUE THAT WORKS

“The character of a man is known from his conversations.”
--Ancient Greek comic dramatist, Menander

In Hamlet, Shakespeare advises the actor to “suit the action to the word, the word to the action.”  Sounds simple enough, but it’s the writer who must first heed Shakespeare’s advice. WRITING DIALOGUE THAT WORKS explores the tools needed to create honest, compelling, real dialogue that drives your story and brings your characters to life through their words.

THE AUTHOR AS THE STORYTELLER

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”
 -- Mark Twain

Readers expect an author that writes a good story can tell a good story.  Whether it’s from your book, your life, or your imagination, an audience wants you to engage them with your words.  This workshop explores the essential elements for telling a good story, reading an excerpt of your work, or sharing a bit of slightly re-written history.

BEING A COMPELLING PUBLIC READER

“In the tale, in the telling, we are all one blood.”
-- Ursula K. Le Guin

This hands-on workshop explores the essential elements for presenting a compelling public reading of your work.  The workshop draws elements of the actor’s craft distilled into easily understood tools for breathing life into your readings and leaving your audiences enthralled with your words and wanting more.  Participants will have the opportunity to prepare and read a cutting of their work in the workshop with direction from the workshop leader.

PRESENTATION SKILLS WORKSHOP

All the World’s a Stage (and where the Hell’s the exit?)

When thrust upon the public stage, your success is dependent upon understanding three main components driving the presentation: the venue, your content, and your delivery.  This workshop provides hands-on discussion and practice of the tools used to master all three components with focus on techniques for managing nerves, structuring content, and improving delivery.

Keith Strunk is an actor, author, teacher, producer, and partner in Interlude Group LLC, a company specializing in effective interpersonal communication and presentation.  His work experience includes teaching at Rutgers University and Ursinus College, film and video production in NY and regional markets, freelance writing, and corporate training and development.  He is co-founder and Managing Director of River Union Stage, a professional Equity Theater based in Frenchtown, NJ, and a founding member of The Liars Club.

Keith holds an MFA in Theater from Rutgers University.  An award-winning scriptwriter, he has written a variety of scripts for both corporate and artistic venues including a stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol.  He is the author of Prallsville Mills and Stockton and The Delaware River Scenic Byway both from Arcadia Publishing, and “What Lies Between” in the LIAR LIAR Short Story Anthology available in print and audiobook formats. Corporate clients have included Chase Automotive Finance, King Pharmaceuticals, Medco Health Solutions, New York Board of Education, Nurture Nature Center, Princeton University, Prudential Financial, and Sika Corporation.

He's presented at numerous conferences including The Philadelphia Writer’s Conference, The Write Stuff Conference for the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers, and the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York.  Keith’s workshops cover a range of subjects and include an interactive performance-based program for 4th and 5th grades in Shakespeare produced through River Union Stage and in its 19th year of operation.