Kathleen Baldwin enjoys speaking to groups and organizations on several topics:

For Writers:

~No Banana Peels Please! Writing Humor with Style and Finesse

    What is humor?  Learn the secret ingredient underneath humor and how you can capitalize on it to make your writing richer.  Are there different types of comedy?  Yes, explore which aspects of humor writing come most naturally to you.  Do I have to be funny to write humor?  No, understanding the mechanics of comedy allows a writer to incorporate genuine humor into the story, satisfying humor that readers will remember long after they’ve finished reading your book. As part of the learning the components of humor attendees will develop a comedic character.
        [Workshop given at Dallas Area Romance Authors and at Frisco Fiction Writers]

~The Great Critique Group Experiment.

    Most writers attend at least one critique group during their career and sometimes several. This is one of the most powerful forces for good or evil in our industry and very seldom does a group come with an instruction manual. What really works? What doesn’t? What are the danger signs? Identify the earmarks of successful groups.
    [Portions of this lecture were given at RWA National in 2003 under the title: Critique Groups: Pods of Destruction or Allies for Success? After further study, I’ve discovered some new concepts.]

~The Creative Life:  Taming The Depression Beast!   
    Successfully minimizing the emotional swings inherent in a writer’s life.   

    Writers are sensitive people, most struggle with the manic nature of the creative ego; muses hibernate, rejection notices wound, deadlines overwhelm... 

    And yet, there are some writers who manage the emotional ups and downs and live happy lives despite the tendency toward depression and insecurity.  What are their secrets?   Ten simple, easy to implement, tools that can make the writing life happier and more successful in the long run.

General Interest:

~Education Reform
    It grieves me to say it, but we are destroying our most valuable resource--the minds of our children. The United States spends billions of dollars on our educational system and yet we sag to embarrassing levels (25th in math) when compared to students in other countries.
    I propose we do something radical: stop teaching school the way it has been done for the past two centuries. Move the educational system into the modern world--start using what works: inundation and individualization.
    This is the land of innovation! Together we can devise an educational system that will blow the socks of the rest of the world--and it wouldn’t include twelve hour days, 6 days a week, like they do in Korea. It would be smarter, not longer. Implementing a few critical changes would be fairly easy. Convincing fearful structuralists to let go of the status quo--now that’s hard. So let’s start with three simple changes...

Articles:

Write Fresh
    A short article explaining Kathleen’s Magic Idea Jump-Starter, a fun technique to stimulate creativity. Reprinted with permission from The Quizzing Glass.
        [PDF document will require Adobe reader.]

How Romance Affects your Marriage--Intriguing Statistics!
    This is a fun little handout from a lecture I gave to a predominately male audience.
        [PDF document will require Adobe reader.]