I'm the author of the Rancour Chronicles, Flying Feet, Children of Ruin, The Three Spartans and Spartan at Sea.
I have written book reviews for CM magazine and have taught countless workshops for schools, school divisions, libraries, universities, BCLA, BCTELA, Writer’s Union, BC Writer’s Federation, Canadian Authors Association, Surrey International Writers Conference, BC Raise a Reader, and many after-school programs. From 2006 – 2009, I was the president of CWILL BC. I work in a library, helping to run a recording studio and assisting patrons with digital creative projects.
I grew up in the chilly plains of Manitoba, where I spent much of my teenage years reading comics and playing Dungeons and Dragons. Those hobbies helped me pick up storytelling skills I now use in writing and teaching.
I still play Dungeons and Dragons, but now I also 3D-model, 3D print, and walk my dog when I'm not writing.
Don’t teach writing. Teach a love of creating stories.
Whether your students write contemporary tales or fantasy epics, the popular game of Dungeons and Dragons can make you a better writer. See how modern writers have been influenced by creating characters, maps, and collaborative storytelling to work through tricky plot points!
In this workshop, participants will play and write a modified version of the popular role-playing game, and they will unlock the story hiding within themselves through collaborative storytelling and dice rolling!
At the end of this workshop, your students will have the tools to say goodbye to writer’s block forever and get their novel written and polished.
Not gonna lie. I’m going to talk a lot about Dungeons and Dragons. Right from that time when I was 12 years old and I opened that red box edition of AD&D up to when I participated in the biggest game test ever that then became D&D 5E.
Then, I’ll talk a little about writing, publishers, and how to organize your time when your brain would rather be doing anything but writing.
