Spread Light • Spark Possibilites

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Spread Light • Spark Possibilites ✹

Spread Light • Spark Possibilities

✹

Spread Light • Spark Possibilities ✹

Calling all Superheroes

Unleash the Power of Revision

Coming Soon!

How to Sing on Paper

The traditional ways of revising don’t work for everyone. And if they don’t work, we often think that means there’s something wrong with us, instead of realizing that the systems we’re using don’t work for us. But what if you could revise in a way that makes the most of how you think, learn and process information?

In this 9-part class you will learn the unique approach to scene revision that I created using a musical score. This highly flexible and visual system will help you to see the structure more clearly, stage manage the characters, get clear on the subtext and inner motivations of your protagonist, antagonist and secondary characters, track your plot, and more. Both a printable PDF and an interactive digital template of the Score Chart used in this process are included.

Quotes About Course

Straight up genius

“This was straight up genius…. Shay’s outside-of-the-box thinking has completely reframed how I think about the layers of storytelling.”

This method is brilliant

“This method of mapping out a story using an orchestral score is brilliant. Great information, and I really appreciated the handout that has everything clearly explained and labeled, including the musical symbols key for anyone who might not be familiar with them.”

Highly original

“This highly original and inventive presentation gave me a great deal to think about…. Just as a conductor is able to see, at a glance, what every instrument is playing at every instant, and how they all interrelate, this notation system allows us to break down a scene and see, at a glance, what every character is doing and saying, when they are entering or exiting a scene, how they are grounded in and using the physical space, how subplots are playing out, and how pacing and tension are increasing or decreasing.

I have enjoyed using this notation system with my own work!”

About Me

As a mixed-race Indigenous woman with autism I have struggled to figure out who I am and where I belong for most of my life, and my work reflects this journey. I was 38 years old the first time I identified with a character in a book, and it was the most powerful reading experience I'd ever had in my life. I chose to become a writer at that moment, so more people like me could find themselves reflected in stories. Now I write to heal, inspire and light the way for others, expanding what readers believe is possible. I have an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from VCFA, and am an active member of the Rocky Mountain SCBWI and The Writing Barn’s Courage to Create program.

I love to crochet almost as much as I love books, and I combine these two passions in the work I do to support the children on my grandfather's reservation. I have sent hundreds of handmade items (hats, scarves, mittens, shawls, blankets) and hundreds of books. Because of the extreme poverty on the reservation, books are precious and rare. There are no bookstores or libraries, and limited Internet. I am dedicated to sending as many crocheted items and books as I can, because every child deserves the chance to be warm and to fall in love with reading.

When not arguing with dragons, I love to write about them

What I’m Working On

Stories from the heart

Emily competing on floor

Flipped

Leap into the picture book, FLIPPED, inspired by the true story of a young girl with autism named Emily whose biggest dream is to become a competitive gymnast. She is crushed when her physical therapist tells her it’s impossible, but Emily refuses to give up. As she works relentlessly towards her goal she tumbles onto ways to use her autistic abilities—her love of repetition, acute powers of observation and single-minded drive—to overcome all challenges.

Emily succeeds because of her autism, not in spite of it.

The Silver Feather

Shastia always knew her mom was hiding something, a secret that felt old and dark with sharp edges. But when sparks unexpectedly shoot out of her fingers, destroying the computer lab, she realizes the secret is more dangerous than she thought. Still reeling from her mom’s recent death, and missing a father she never knew, her world explodes when she discovers her mom was an elf. Half elf and half human? She has no idea who she is anymore. Driven by guilt and a desperate need for connection, she sets out to rescue her human father, the only family she has left, from the powerful fairy who has enslaved him. If they survive, then maybe she can forgive herself for her mom’s death, and finally have a place where she belongs. (Upper MG grounded fantasy with hi/low appeal.)

Empire Of The Gods

Dia is a feisty teen determined to prove her worth in spite of being the only god without magic. But when her father asks, with his dying breath, for her to protect the humans, only her deep drive to make him proud gives her the strength to make that promise. After all, humans were just slaves, hardly better than animals. Nevertheless, she follows his last instructions, and in the process discovers the community of free humans that he had created. As she gets to know them, and even starts falling in love with one, she sees how wrong she had been about the humans, and herself. She realizes that worth has nothing to do with having magic or being a god. In the end she risks her life to work with the humans, fighting against her own people, to stop the gods’ out of control civil war before they destroy everything. (Young YA fantasy, perfect for upper MG kids wanting to “read up.”)