AUTHOR | WRITING COACH | SPEAKER  

CHOCOLATE LOVER | OVERALL ENTHUSIAST

Kim briggs, author

Kim Briggs grabs her audience by the throat and doesn’t let go until each attendee possesses a firm grasp of the topic she is presenting. As a high school English teacher, Kim uses interactive activities to engage even the most reluctant of students. She trained under public speaking expert Peter Jacobi, and she continues to push her presentations whether keynote speaker or workshop leader to the next level of interaction and audience excitement. Below are just a few topics Kim has presented. She’s always game to try new topics and willing to work with you to tailor her presentation to meet your audience’s need. Contact her to set up an event near you! 

It’s All About Character: The Character Interview
Powerful characters steal the hearts of the readers and lead them through the story. A weak, non-developed character doesn’t inspire anyone. Go on a shopping trip with Kim to develop your characters to the best of the ability, and once your purchases are made, she’ll show you how to bring those characters to life.

Novel Nuts & Bolts Round Table 3-Part Writer Event
Dig into your completed manuscript with Kim Briggs, the author of the Starr Fall series.

Through Round Table Format, you’ll focus on your manuscript with Kim and the other attendees to figure out what’s working, what isn’t, and how to make it the best manuscript it can be. You’ll also work on your query letter, comp titles, and who you should submit to.

 Get In. Get out. 
A Flash Fiction Workshop
Flash Fiction. The shortest of short story forms. 100 to 1000 words. A snapshot. A scene. But a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end.

Sounds easy right? Wrong. When every word counts, every word needs to propel the story forward. Every word is vital.

Participants will engage in interactive exercises and writing prompts focused on a theme to be announced the day of the workshop. Participants should possess an active imagination, an intense desire to write, and come ready to tear into some flash fiction.

 By the end of the two hour intensive, each writer will leave with the makings of his or her own flash fiction, along with a list of flash fiction contests and publications specifically tailored to teen writers.

 Hit the Ground Running Workshop
From the vomit draft to the final draft, there comes a time in the editing process when writers need to cut the passive writing and hit the ground running instead.

Through the examination of well-known pieces of Young Adult Fiction including excerpts from Hunger Games, Divergent, Harry Potter, Eleanor & Park, and Looking for Alaska, participants will figure out why these first pages grab the reader by the throat and won’t let go.

 Participants should possess an active imagination, an intense desire to write, and a familiarity with at least one of the above mentioned young adult novels.   Participants may bring a Work-in-Progress, but it is not a requirement of the workshop.

 By the end of the two hour intensive, each writer will leave with a firm understanding of what makes an attention getting first page, and the makings of his or her own Hit the Ground Running First page.

 Writing Swoon-Worthy Scenes
What would a YA novel be without swoon-worthy romance? Without racing pulses, burning eyes, and those tiny, accidental, brushes of the hand that make readers go weak in the knees?

Whether your genre is contemporary, science fiction, dystopian, fantasy or mystery, if you’re writing a young adult novel, romance you’ll likely have romance woven into your story.

In this two hour intensive, we will examine swoon-worthy scenes in well-known YA novels, Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, along with a few other surprises. We’ll figure out just what makes these scenes swoon-worthy.


 Look Once, Look Again
Critical Analysis in Children's Literature
Once thought the stuff of babes, children's literature now serves as a place to discover the intricacies of our world. Kim Briggs will discuss strategies for uncovering both self and world connections in children's books. She will explore both classic and contemporary pieces from picture book through young adult novels.

 By bringing a critical lens to children's books, participants will understand the visual and cultural dimensions present in each work we cover.