Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: How Conflict, Setbacks & Emotional Upheaval Can Make Your Writing Come Alive
"This was incredible."
- Katherine A.
"Such a compelling presentation! I could listen to you for hours! Your stories and illustrations inspire me to add darkness to my writing. Thank you so much for a gorgeous presentation!"
- Jennifer B.
"Every minute was worth it."
- Sue W.
From this moment of searing darkness, tinged with the imagery of a brutal act yet to come, unfolds one of the most beloved of all children's books, E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.
Wilbur's remarkable journey through lightness and dark culminates in the unforgettably poignant moment of the dying Charlotte leaving her friend with these words:
These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever.
Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur—this lovely world, these precious days…
Now, imagine if...
...E.B. White looked at his manuscript and thought "No, this is far too dark for children to read" and edited his story in a simple and happy tale of a talking pig and his barnyard friends.
Would Charlotte's Web have become a beloved and immortal classic that stays with its readers decades after reading it?
Would it even be remembered at all?
There are myriad reasons why children's writers resist giving their work the full spectrum of human emotion and experiences:
- Fear that children can't handle any type of darkness
- Not knowing how to tell what's "age appropriate"
- Fear of being judged ...and many others.
But mostly, it comes from not truly appreciating what children's literature is, and what it can be. And what its readers need and deserve from those who create it.
To write beautiful, emotional, poignant and impactful books that can change the course of a child's life, you MUST understand this:
There is lightness and dark in this world, and children deserve a complete picture of what it means to be alive.
Parents fight, people you love get sick, bad people do bad things.
As a writer, if you are determined to ignore the dark moments of life that every childhood includes, you will cheat your readers of the joy and hope that journeys from darkness to light provide.
It's time to start writing the full spectrum of life's experience.
In this exclusive workshop, award-winning author/illustrator Violet Lemay will teach you how to create the kinds of stories that stay with readers for a lifetime.
Stories that embrace the light and the dark of being a child.
Stories that can resonate from one generation to the next.
Meet Violet Lemay, an insightful and empathetic illustrator and author whose career spans more than 50 books, and includes work with HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, duopress and many others.
As inspiration for her work, Violet calls upon real-life events — both dark and light — from her own life, and the lives of those around her. It's resulted in some truly extraordinary books.
Written with the support of Alithia's parents, this touching story has resonated throughout the publishing world, sweeping the Children's Book Council's Favorite award categories (Children's Favorite, Librarian Favorite & Teacher Favorite for grades 3-5).
Kirkus Reviews stated it simply: A young artist and her art live on in this tender, heartfelt book. We must remember.
"I loved your presentation and the concept of the need for the darkness. I am also a visual artist and writer, and experience in painting the need for the dark. Wonderful session."
- Miki C.
"That was fantastic information from the heart and so deeply moving. Thank you so much!"
- Sue H.
In this comprehensive class you'll learn:
- How darkness is a powerful type of conflict, and how conflict is necessary to drive plot.
- How darker conflicts and plot elements add drama, tension and emotion to a story.
- The categories of dark conflicts, such as emotional darkness, situational darkness, societal darkness.
- How to face down your fears about including dark moments in your work.
- The skills to know how much and what kind of darkness is age-appropriate, from picture books through young adult.
- How to write about real-life experiences (including your own) that help young readers make sense of the event, process it and gain some skills to deal with it in their own lives.
- Techniques for leading your readers into the light, focusing on joy, growth and wisdom.
- Which books and authors to study to learn the importance of darkness, and the correct way to present it.
...and much more.
By the end of your time with Violet, you'll have a true understanding of what dark conflict is and why it's appropriate to use in children's books for all ages, how to use darkness as a way to serve the story and the reader, and how to find uniquely personal takes on dark events to add light to a child's world.
You'll also get a PDF handout to accompany the session that you can refer to while on your journey.
Your Instructor
Violet Lemay's career as an an illustrator and author spans more than 50 books, and includes work with HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, duopress, 'Magination Press, and Michael Sampson Books. As an editorial illustrator, Violet contributed art to hundreds of magazines and newspapers.
Parents Magazine featured TummyTime: Happy Baby as #4 in their "20 First Baby Books You'll Both Love" in 2019. In 2020, the Chicago Public Library included Library Babies as one of their best books, and School Library Journal included Babies Around the World in their "50 Children's Books that Celebrate Diversity". In 2022, Readers Digest ranked Babies Around the World #4 in their list of the top 100 children's books of all time! Let's Be Friends (HarperFestival/2021) won BookFest's first place award for diversity in children's books and Firebird's board book award.
Violet's latest book, Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, celebrates the life and art of a young victim of the Uvalde tragedy.
Written with the support of Alithia's parents, this touching story has resonated throughout the publishing world, sweeping the Children's Book Council's Favorite award categories (Children's Favorite, Librarian Favorite & Teacher Favorite for grades 3-5).
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Violet and her family became globe hoppers when they moved to New Zealand for her husband's job. From there they moved to China, and then to Malaysia. If she’s not at her desk writing or drawing, she’s probably at the library, reading.
"I could listen to you for another hour and a half, thank you, wonderful presentation and I can’t read to read all your books!"
- Audrey A.