Kim Tomsic

Kim Tomsic, author of middle grade novel The 11:11 Wish and the picture book The Elephants Come Home, among others. Ms. Tomsic’s books have been recognized as a SCBWI Crystal Kite Winner for the Southwest Region, New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, Norman A. Sugarman Best Children’s Biography Honor and selected as Junior Library Guild Selection.

Instructor Statement: I am passionate about helping you deconstruct the secret tricks and tips that make a story delightful. Story is like a magician’s act—if you pay careful attention to an author’s sleight of hand, you will discover the hidden doorways that lead to a reader’s heart—passageways that make readers laugh, cry and root for a protagonist. As a class, we will discuss four techniques you can use to inspire readers to root for your hero. We will discuss inciting incidents, story beats, story structure, voice, plot, pace, page turns and more. I believe in sharing honest critiques in a respectful manner, praising the positives as well as helping you find opportunities to hone your craft and make your stories shine.  I want to help you succeed in moving from idea, to words on a page, to polished manuscript. You have a story to tell, and if you are brave enough and persistent enough, those words can develop into prose worthy of publication. But the first step is to have the courage and willingness to show up, to make mistakes, to write badly, to receive feedback and to learn. I’ll encourage you to get one word and then the next on the page without worrying about how they sound, what friends might think, or if the words are even in the right order. If you keep showing up, and you continue shedding self-doubt and you bravely lay down your ideas, eventually the noise disappears and you move from stiff to whimsy, from stilted to flow. That’s when the muse has the chance to reveal her authentic self. The next step is craft and the desire to grow. I am here to speak the truth, to cheer you on and to help you explore opportunities to polish your skills so you can achieve the next stage of your writing journey.