Assembly — Classroom Visit — Writing Workshop
Mark has a very unique story about how he went from a public school science teacher, to a research physicist, to finally, an internationally published New York Times best selling author.
It is a GROWTH MINDSET talk about all the failures I had to endure (and there were a lot of them) before I ever saw any success as an author.
Alyssa Whitcher, Maple Ave Middle School Librarian — Saratoga Springs, NY
My presentations –
As you’ve probably guessed, I’m Mark Cheverton. I’ve written 24 action/adventure novels set in the digital realms of Minecraft for kids ages 8-13. My books have been published in 31 countries around the world and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller’s list, and are probably in your school
Over the years, I’ve conducted many workshops and school visits, teaching students about my many failures, but also teaching storytelling pedagogy to kids from grades 4 to high school. And as I expected, these young writers are able to digest these writing McNuggets and apply them to their own creations.
I would love to share what I’ve learned about writing with your students. Below are some of the talks I’ve given, but the strange path that led me to becoming a full-time author is by far the most popular. I hope I can bring these talks to your school. You’ll see some of the presentations I’ve done at schools and workshops below:
How I Became an Author
This is by far my most popular presentation. In it, I discuss my many failed attempts at becoming an author. Finally, I found success with my first Minecraft novel, Invasion of the Overworld. This is a Growth Mindset talk that has motivated many kids to write their own stories.
Story Brainstorming
This talk goes through the process I use when I’m starting a new book. The blank page is a terrifying thing to an author, and this workshop, with it’s multi-page organizer will walk kids through how to come up with an idea for a story.
Strategies in Storytelling
Authors use specific strategies in the development of their novels to increase tension, develop meaninful characters, create effective dialogue . . . This talk with discuss the strategies I use when I’m writing a novel.
Show don't Tell
Showing instead of Telling is always a challenge not only to your writers but for old grey-beards like me. I’ve learned many strategies that other authors use and have added them to my own collection. Showing instead of telling is a skill that takes practice, but with specific techniques, any young author can start making their story come alive for their readers.
Additional topics can be presented upon request.
Pricing
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Send Mark an email
We can discuss your needs, class size, number of presentations you want . . .
Email me for availability.
What They’re Saying
Customer Testimonials
Mr. Mark Cheverton has inspired hundreds of students in our school district as well as inspiring me as a writing teacher. When I met Mark four years ago, I was struggling with how to motivate my fourth and fifth graders to write. Even though I had taught for over twenty years, I needed a spark to get excited about the writing curriculum. I am so thankful to have been able to partner with him. Mr. Cheverton is full of ideas, is amazing with kids, and is reliable in every way.
Mark Cheverton is not only a New York Times Best-Selling author he is also a visionary that is full of motivating ideas to get kids writing. His writing videos are published on his website and they are free and easy to access. As a writing teacher, I am able to conference with one student while the other students work independently. They often access Mark’s videos to help them in their writing when I am not available.
Skyping with Mark is one of the highlights of the students’ year. He gives them so much valuable information, but then he is open and patient when they have questions for him. When students send their stories to Mark, he responds to every single one of them. He gives them a compliment and then gives them ideas to make their story better. This motivation has been the turning point for struggling writers. They cannot wait to send their stories to Mark and get a note back from him.
Mr. Cheverton has been reliable in every lesson, meeting, and project. We have made four books together out of my students’ writing. This lifelong keepsake would never have been possible without Mark’s vision and assistance. He was available to help at any time and he is always quick in his responses. I always knew he was an email or Skype call away.
I highly recommend Mark Cheverton to work with any school that needs a spark for their writing program. Our school board, administration, and community have been so impressed with the work that our students are doing in writing after working with Mark. He has truly been an inspiration to all of us!
My name is Ember and my son, Eli is in Mrs. Holl’s 5th grade Language Arts class at Louisville Elementary in Louisville, NE. Eli was introduced to Mark Cheverto and his work last year when he was in the 4th grade. At the time, Eli was into Minecraft, so he was naturally drawn to Mark’s work. Mark has been providing writing guidance to Eli over the last couple of years.
Eli enjoys the skype calls/emails from Mark and has gained a lot of writing knowledge from him. Eli describes Mark as funny, entertaining, and helpful. Mark has helped Eli understand the sequencing of his stories and how to grab the reader’s attention and sustain it throughout. Mark has also taught him the meaning of writer’s block and how to overcome it. He also reads all of the kids’ stories and provides feedback. I find that very impressive and I know that has been a huge motivational factor for Eli.
Eli has a wild imagination and loves to write fiction stories. He has been writing a class story since the beginning of the school year and his current word count is at 13,260 words! He is using many of the techniques taught by Mark and is flourishing as a young writer. I feel Mark’s passion for writing and teaching has contributed to Eli’s love of writing and for that I’m thankful.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Mark for giving the students this AMAZING opportunity to learn from you. This has not been an easy year for our kids but when they heard that they were going to be meeting and learning from a New York Times Bestselling Minecraft author, it was incredible to see the smiles on their faces and excitement in their eyes! Every week the kids truly enjoyed hearing from you and receiving personal advice from a published author about their stories. I greatly appreciate the professionalism, planning and content you put into your presentations. Your ability to explain and model your process, step-by-step, and all of the planning sheets you provided us with was the clear instruction that the students needed to take their action adventure writing to the next level! The students had so much fun as they learned from you and they felt special having access to and reading your short stories! We all can’t wait to work with you to turn their stories into a published book!!! I HIGHLY recommend any school reaching out to Mark if they are looking for an author to motivate and inspire their students to love writing and encourage them to want to write more. This has been an incredible experience for my fourth grade students that they will always remember and they will be able to draw upon these writing tips forever! Thank you once again.
We all know, kids who do more writing end up better readers. And, we also know, kids who get to choose what they read will read more often. Well, I say let kids choose what they want to write about, they’ll write more than you expect, I’ve seen it. Let’s work together to get kids writing!
