While books on the writing craft can be immensely useful, workshops are a different kind of experience. I’ve sat through many of them myself, and I’ve found the most effective ones both (1) present new techniques on a particular aspect and (2) help me apply those techniques to my own work-in-progress in the moment. My workshops are usually one hour long, and they target a single, specific topic and include real-life examples, with revisions. There is a complete slide deck for each, and they all have take-home worksheets to help you apply the techniques to your own work afterward.
Contact Karen for more information.
Karen’s Workshops
“What is the Why?”: Building a Backstory for Nuanced Characters and Authentic Conflict
Crafting Secondary Characters: Beyond Friends, Foils, and Foes
Can I Hook You on My Book? Effective Query Letters to Agents
Finding True Unique Voices for Your Characters
Finding Your People: Developing Your Community of Practice as an Author
Praise for Karen’s Workshops
“With extraordinary and original content, clear delivery and obvious skill, Odden demonstrates the master storyteller is also a master instructor.”
-Sisters in Crime Grand Canyon Writers
“Karen’s presentation kept my pen scribbling notes, and my mind scrambling to attach the personality types and functions to my own cast of characters. … A subplot I had been fumbling around with suddenly took on shape and emotional significance after listening to her presentation.” -Kathryn Helstrom, Vice President, Tulsa NightWriters
“Karen is an amazing teacher. She takes complex concepts and breaks them down so they are easy to understand. I enjoyed this class [on backstory] so much the first time Karen presented it that I signed up and took it again. It was even better the second time. Taking this class changed the way I approach my writing.” -Diana Georgelos
“I truly found this to be one of the best query workshops I’ve taken. Karen Odden’s workshop, “Can I Hook You on My Book,” is the perfect choice for anyone contemplating querying agents. She breaks the process down into easy steps, and her examples of bad and good query letters are excellent. Don’t send your query until you take this course!” -Jeanne Lyet Gassman, author of Blood of a Stone
Karen has a wealth of knowledge about story structure, character development, and the publishing industry. Her critique and targeted feedback of the first 20 pages of my manuscript was invaluable and helped me figure out a better place to start my story, refine the main character arc, and define the story question. Karen asked helpful questions that gave me the space to dig deeper into my main characters while considering my own goals for the novel. I would recommend working with Karen on any aspect of your manuscript. She is a delightfully warm human and a joy to work with! -April Jernberg, Women’s Fiction Writing Association
About Karen
Karen received her Ph.D. in English literature from New York University and subsequently taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her first novel, A Lady in the Smoke, was a USA Today bestseller and A Dangerous Duet and A Trace of Deceit have won awards for historical mystery and historical fiction. Down a Dark River introduces readers to Inspector Michael Corravan, a former thief and bare-knuckles boxer. The sequel, Under a Veiled Moon was recently nominated for a Lefty Award. Karen lives in Arizona with her family, and she loves to hike the Sonoran Desert. Read More