Welcome to The All Day Workshops with
USA Today Bestselling Author
Karen Odden
USA Today bestselling author Karen Odden received her PhD in English from NYU in 2001, writing her dissertation on Victorian literature and history. She taught at UW-Milwaukee, edited for academic journals, and published introductions for Barnes & Noble’s Classics before she turned to writing novels of mystery and romance, all set in 1870s London.
Her fifth, Under a Veiled Moon (2022), an Oprah Daily pick, features Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, a former thief and bare-knuckles boxer, and his love interest, Belinda Gale; it was nominated for the prestigious Lefty, Anthony, and Agatha Awards.
Karen has offered writing workshops for national conferences, libraries, and professional writing groups across the US since 2019. Karen is a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, serves on the national board of Sisters in Crime, and lives in Phoenix, where she loves plotting her stories while hiking the desert.
Join us as Karen teaches us about:
“What is the Why?
Building a Backstory for Nuanced Characters and Authentic Conflict”
Backstory isn’t important only in mysteries. In this workshop we explore how to create backstories for the protagonist and the important secondary characters. Effective backstories make characters unique and memorable, drive the plot forward, and provide opportunities for both interpersonal (character/character) and intrapersonal (character/world) conflict. Using familiar works such as the Harry Potter series and The Queen’s Gambit as sample texts and drawing on the idea of the “personal myth” developed by Dan McAdams, participants will develop “baggage” for the characters in a work-in-progress to bring to the opening pages, or (as some writers describe it) to “the day everything changes.” Then we examine how that “baggage” supports both a compelling plot arc and a meaningful character arc. Participants will be given writing exercises to do during the workshop as well as some to take home.
“Can I Hook You On My Book?
Tips for Writing Effective Query Letters to Agents”
This workshop draws on industry research and interviews with agents including Josh Getzler (HG Literary), Paula Munier (Talcott Notch Literary), and Melissa Richter (Fuse Literary) to provide current advice about the query letter, which is really a genre all its own. Even for established writers, it is a challenge to take a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words that we know and love (and of which we no doubt have sections memorized!) and not only distill it down to fewer than 300 words but to go “meta” on it in a way that will entice an agent. Like a good novel, the effective query letter both tells and shows that you and your manuscript are ready to be represented.
The workshop begins with a discussion of how to find agents to query. Then, we break the query letter into four parts—(1) shape the hook, (2) pitch the book, (3) pitch you, and (4) KISS at the close—and review examples of both poorly crafted elements and more effective ones. The presentation includes “rules of thumb” to help writers avoid pitfalls as well as “instant turnoffs”—elements that cause an agent to set aside the letter. Participants will be shown some successful query letters and will be given Paula Munier and Melissa Richter’s query information.