KEYNOTE SPEAKER
JACQUELYN MITCHARD
SATURDAY LUNCH
If a workshop you want is Sold Out, please indicate that this is your first choice on the registration form, and we'll put you on a waiting list. Cancellations have already occurred that have made it possible to juggle schedules and get participants into their first choice.
Friday, March 14, 2008
10:30 - 12:30
A. WORKSHOPS
1. Write-Brain Warm-ups ~ Bonnie Neubauer [SOLD OUT]
The best way to get into a conference frame-of-mind is to leave your left brain in the locker room and flex your write-brain by doing warm-up exercises. In this hands-on workshop you will sprint through exercises designed to jog your creativity and build your momentum muscle. You will also learn how to become your own trainer so that you will never get stuck on the writer's block treadmill. (You might not turn writing into an aerobic activity, but you certainly will get your brain pumping!)
2. Writing Down the Funny Bones (Mixed Genre) ~ Marian Fontana [SOLD OUT]
Whether you are writing plays, novels, one person shows, screenplays or poetry, nothing is more rewarding than being able to make someone laugh. Finding comedy in even the most serious writing can add a different level of depth and meaning to your work. In this workshop we will do exercises that develop character, a sense of place and more, using the universal language of humor.
3. Pitch Perfect: ~ Lauren Mosko [SOLD OUT] will be Repeated Saturday morning
Writers of both fiction and nonfiction must learn how to boil down the most important elements of their story and craft the perfect pitch for either a face-to-face meeting with an editor/agent or for use as the first "hook" paragraph of their query letter. Participants will learn what makes a successful pitch, be given some real-life examples of pitches that work, then actually write a pitch (or revise one). Participants will have the opportunity to practice pitching each other to get feedback and if time allows, can pitch to the class to get feedback from everyone.
4. Blogging for Writers ~ Louise Crawford
Blogging has become an essential tool for authors when promoting a book. It's also a great outlet for writers and journalists who want to get their writing out into the world and command an audience of thousands. Whether you want to create an author's blog, a news blog, a personal blog, a place blog, or a special topic blog, this workshop will get you started. You don't need to be a computer geek to be a blogger, but you do need to understand some blogging basics. In this workshop, you will learn how tot start a blog, as well as everything else you need to know. Most importantly, you will learn how to attract a large audience of readers.
5.What Remains: The Shape of Story ~ Sheri Reynolds [SOLD OUT]
What happens when a writer tries to tell the same story in a different form? What disappears, what remains, what stays the same? How does the dramatic form of say, a play, create narrative opportunities that the form of a traditional story does not? Why do some narratives only work in certain forms? And most importantly, how does the writer determine what the right form is? The goal will be to arrive at a better understanding of why narratives have the "shapes" and forms that they do.
6. "Deadline time already???" ~ Fay Jacobs
In this workshop, discuss the ins and outs of keeping up with a weekly humor/opinion column. Where do the ideas come from, how does one take the personal, political and often ordinary and make it funny and, week after week, how can the writer keep the columns from sounding the same?
7.The first pages: Leslie Pietrzyk, Instructor
Most writers know that they have to "hook" their reader from the start of the story or novel, but how exactly do we do this? What, in other words, are the elements that make a great beginning to a story or novel? In this workshop, explore ways to strengthen your opening pages so that they are, as writer John Dufresne says in The Lie That Tells the Truth, "full of intimation and assurance, the intimation being that here are characters who have something remarkable to tell us-you've never met people quite like these-the assurance that something surprising and unusual, something you just won't believe, is about to happen. Beginning/Intermediate
B. CONVERSATIONS & MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS
1. Weaving Your Own Red Carpet ~ Mary Kay Zuravleff
A heaping portion of practical advice from this author on writing matters, including when and how to get an agent, ways to keep writing while parenting and holding other jobs, how to get useful criticism, how to ask for help and from whom, and how to promote yourself.
2. Self Publishing: ~ Richard LaMotte
In just under three years and with no prior experience in publishing, Richard LaMotte, author of Pure SEA GLASS: Nature's Vanishing Gems (the book that inspired our conference), not only self-published and marketed this book, but to date he has sold well over 50,000 copies, the book has been featured in numerous national magazines and newspapers, and in 2006 it won First Place non-fiction in Writer's Digest 13th Annual Self-Publishing Book Competition. So successful has Richard been, in fact, that he and his wife, Nancy, have established their own publishing business and are now publishing books for others. Richard's story is a perfect example of how self-publishing truly can be a viable commercial option for those who have a niche book or a book that can't seem to get the attention it deserves from a major publisher. In this discussion, Richard will discuss the process of successful self-publishing, from the initial concept or idea to the actual marketing of the final product. Crucial to this discussion will be Richard's advice about what to think about before attempting to publish-who is your audience, what are your goals for the book, what can you do to package the idea more successfully-as well as warnings about what NOT to do.
3. Manuscript Review (Poetry) ~ John Hoppenthaler
D. WORKSHOPS II: 2:30- 5:15
1. Writing Beautifully About Ugly Things (Nonfiction) ~ Tom Horton and Mark Reutter [SOLD OUT]
Whether writing about an oysters' search for "good thick slime" or about sewage treatment plants; whether writing about the steel mills or railroads, writers must find a way to make the subject compelling to the reader. In this workshop look at how nationally recognized journalists, Tom Horton and Mark Reutter, use a plethora of literary techniques to write beautifully, often lyrically, about subjects many would define as "ugly."
2. Songlines ~ Randy Lee Ashcraft
Aboriginal Australians once believed that you could map a landscape by the songs you sang as you walked it: Songlines. So it is in our own lives, with songs often marking the events and stories and people that matter most in our histories. Songs come from everything, everywhere: An overheard line of dialogue, a detail from childhood, a conversation with your brother, even a Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes letter-any of these, all of these, might be just what you need to start writing a song. Of course, it sounds much easier than it is, but there are many techniques and tips to help song writers find the best structure for their songs, create catchy and compelling "hooks," craft lyrics and finally, set words to music. Writers in this workshop will explore all these elements in the process of writing, from start to finish, their own song. Beginning/Intermediate
3. Walking the Tight-Rope: How Good Dialogue Creates High Drama ~ Robert Bausch [SOLD OUT]
This workshop will explore the uses of dialogue in building a story or chapter; how to create tension, sharpen character and set the scene for high drama in either a chapter or a story. Students will be asked to confront the challenges of making dialogue work, and will learn the six basic things dialogue can do, as well as techniques for writing sharp, memorable conversations between fictional characters.
4. The Function of Rhyme (poetry) ~ Michael Waters
"I learn by going where I have to go," wrote Theodore Roethke. This workshop will focus on the integrity of the poetic line-its resonance, its insistent music- & the function of rhyme in both traditional & free verse, but will also consider any aspects of craft raised by participants' poems. We'll hone our critical vocabulary so that any proffered criticism will be precise & useful. Exercises will be designed for the individual. Workshops are lively affairs & your active participation will be encouraged. Participants should email one poem (not longer than a page) to Maribeth (mbfischer1@verizon.net) by March 1.
5. Narrative Poetry ~ Dave Smith (Intermediate/Advanced)
Narrative poetry, perhaps the oldest genre of poetry, is poetry that tells a story, and often uses literary elements such as plot, character, conflict and climax, that are more often associated with stories rather than with poems. What then distinguishes a short story (assume the language is precise and lyrical) from a narrative poem? In this workshop with a "master of the narrative poem," discuss these differences by looking at examples of narrative poems, both from other distinguished writes and from participants (Participants should submit one narrative poem to mbfischer1@verizon.net by March 1.
6. The Art and Craft of Screenwriting ~ Khris Baxter [Sold Out]
This workshop geared toward the beginning or intermediate screenwriter, surveys the entire screenwriting process: idea, story, structure, character development, scene construction, and screenplay formatting. In short, the fundamental tools to begin writing a feature-length screenplay. Participants are encouraged to bring a short synopsis (one or two paragraphs) of their screenplay idea. No previous screenwriting experience is required.
7. Places, Everyone! (Setting in Literature) ~ Liam Callanan [SOLD OUT]
"Your fiction must have an atmosphere because without it your characters will be unable to breathe." -Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction.
Conveying an effective, evocative sense of place in your fiction is really a matter of detail: lots of detail. But how much detail? Which detail? That's the difficult part. In this workshop, we'll discuss good ways to go about developing place in your work.
E. CONVERSATIONS & MANUSCRIPT REVIEW: 2:30 - 3:45
1. Manuscript review (nonfiction)~ Jennifer Storm
2. Manuscript review (poetry)~ Jim Harms
3. Manuscript review (novel) ~ Marisa de los Santos [SOLD OUT]
4. Biography of a Novel: From Novelist to Agent to Editor to Bookstore to Reviews Flip Brophy, Candice Furhmann, Mark Gompertz, Carolyn Parkhurst, Doug Stewart, Moderator: Mike Fischer
What is the process from start to finish of getting a book written, published, in the bookstores, and reviewed? Follow the life of a novel through its many stages of development, hearing from those responsible at each step of the way as they usher the book on toward success.
5. Passionate Imagination: Writers Over Fifty Editors and Writers from Passager (literary magazine)
Join us for a conversation about finding community, writing, publishing, and the creative imagination. The editors of Passager, a journal dedicated to promoting the work of those over 50, will host this panel along with writers published in the journal.
F. CONVERSATIONS 4:00 - 5:15
1. So You hate Your Mother: Writing & Confession
Michael Blumenthal, Shara McCallum, Jennifer Storm, Kim Dana Kupperman, Dustin Beall Smith
Sure, we all know that good writing should transcend therapy, should be more than just a cathartic release of emotion. And yes, as many writers have said, it's not the experience itself that matters but what we do with that experience in terms of our writing. We know. Or do we? Isn't all writing at some level confessional? What are the qualities that allow one writer's essay or poem about childhood abuse or the death of a parent to be confessional while another's is called "literary," even "important?" And what are the ethics of telling these stories to begin with, of using others' experience as "material" in our own work?
2. Marketing Boot Camp
Louise Crawford, Franklin Parrish, Richard LaMotte, Leslie Pietrzyk Lauren Mosko, moderator
195,000 books are published each year, only about 1700 get reviewed (a number that is growing smaller), and most books have a shelf life that is, as one editor commented, shorter than the shelf life of milk. Getting publicity for your work is often the most difficult and discouraging thing a writer has to do. Whether you are self-published, published by a large commercial press, or about to be published, you must, as a writer, know how to market your own work. This involves much more than giving readings or making oneself available for book signings. Marketing your book often being begins with marketing yourself and starts long before the release date. It involves such things as creating a "brand," having a website, blogging, sending out mailings, designing your own advertising, writing press releases and more. In this workshop learn what you must do in order to survive in the publishing world.
SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2008
I. WORKSHOPS 10:15 - 12:30
*Forget about grammar and spelling and just write, write, write! (ages 10-15 )
In this writing workshop you will be given permission to forget (almost) everything your language arts teachers have taught you about grammar, outlining, paragraphs, spelling, and other rules of writing. Instead, you will focus on keeping your pen moving until the timer stops as we do all sorts of fun writing exercises.
1. Once Upon a Line: Narrative Poetry for Beginners ( poetry) ~Erin Murphy
In this workshop, we will explore the ways in which elements from fiction writing (tension, dialogue, flashback, etc.) can be incorporated into poetry. Each participant will complete a poem during the workshop.
2. The Line Break of Desire (Poetry ) ~ Shara McCallum (Intermediate to advanced)
In this workshop, we'll discuss the relationship between the sentence (the basic unit of prose) and the line (the basic unit of poetry). Looking at examples of poems-"formal" & "free," lineated & "prose"-will help us to understand the range of possibilities for employing the "line break" in our own poems. Our goal in this session will be to understand how the line functions in poetry in two principle ways: first, as a sonic or aural device, one that creates pleasure in the listener and establishes the metre or rhythm of the poem; second, as a rhetorical device, one that poets use to sustain, draw attention to, or undercut the larger desires and aims of the poem. We will begin the session with a discussion of the history of the line in contemporary poetry, move to an exercise in crafting "line breaks," and touch briefly on the question of what happens when we remove the line entirely-as in the "prose poem." A handout, containing the poems for discussion, will be available ahead of time.
3. Who's in Charge Here? Gaining Command of Your Prose (Editing) ~ Bill O' Sullivan [SOLD OUT]
The way you use your words should always serve your story. Emotional truth can go only so far if your writing is verbose, flat, vague, or just plain ungrammatical. In this workshop, an editor, essayist, and writing teacher will talk about common impediments to sharp, alive, clean prose, such as word repetition, reliance on adjectives and adverbs, cliches, awkward attribution in dialogue ("Shut up," he frowned), and telling versus showing. We'll talk about grabbing readers at the start so they'll want to read on. (This is not a crass, "unliterary" concern; after all, no one is required to read past your first sentence.) We'll also discuss simple tricks, such as paragraphing and section breaks, that can have a surprising effect on everything from pacing to transitions to readability. Through exercises, short readings, handouts, and Q&A, you'll gain skills to catch missteps in your writing and improve your ability to self-edit so that your work can make the best first impression possible. Open to both nonfiction and fiction writers. Reading - or rereading - Strunk and White's The Elements of Style (less than $10 in paperback) in advance is strongly recommended.
4. Building Character: Get to Work! (Fiction) Mary Kay Zuravleff [SOLD OUT]
If Americans are increasingly working longer hours, why aren't fictional characters? There are plenty of teachers, writers, and writing teachers in novels. What stories could be told by characters in other occupations? In fact, the workplace is often where a character feels the most tension between her ambitions and accomplishments. The office is also a place to expose how a character wishes to be perceived versus how he is truly perceived. In this workshop, explore how to build dynamic, conflicted, and compelling characters by imagining what they do, where they work, and ways these choices can be used to create drama and expand plot.
5. History of Places (Nonfiction) Mark Reutter [SOLD OUT]
Places, like people, not only hold memories and carry secrets; not only have personalities as well as reputations, but they also change and grow, wear masks and put on disguises, try to hide from their past - or cling to it. In this workshop, Mark Reutter will explore ways to think about, research and write about the history of places and give concrete examples of how some of the masters (Mark Twain, H.L. Mencken) created a sense of place.
6. The Ninth Letter: Developing Persona in Autobiographical & Personal Essays ~ Kim Dana Kupperman
[SOLD OUT]
"The essayist arises in the morning and, if he has work to do, selects his garb from an unusually extensive wardrobe: he can pull on any sort of shirt, be any sort of person, according to his mood or subject matter-philosopher, scold, jester, raconteur, confidant, pundit, devil's advocate, enthusiast."
-E. B. White, "Foreword," Essays of E. B. White
This workshop will examine the elements of craft involved in fashioning the persona, the first-person narrator of autobiographical or personal essays. Through readings and in-class writing exercises, participants will explore the many permutations of the I-from conversationalist to memorialist to witness-that distinguish the first-person singular as a complex persona with authorial voice.
7. Juxtaposition: Writing and Collage ~ Leslie Pietrzyk
Get a fresh view on your fiction and/or creative non-fiction through the imaginative use of collage and found objects. This hands-on, exercise-intensive workshop is appropriate for beginners looking for inspiration and for intermediate writers who might be feeling a bit stuck with their project...and everyone in-between! Participants are requested to bring lots of paper/pen AND one small object from their favorite room in their house/apartment.
8. The Art of Making a Scene ~ Dustin Beall Smith [SOLD OUT]
It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it. Anais Nin
The most provocative personal writing-be it fiction or nonfiction-results when the writer first engages the reader by creating vivid scenes. In other words, when he or she shows rather than tells the story. This workshop will draw on excerpts from short stories and narrative essays to illustrate the process of grabbing the reader's attention and holding it. Through in-class exercises, participants will explore strategies for inhabiting a scene from the first-person perspective.
9. Pitch Perfect: ~ Lauren Mosko
Writers of both fiction and nonfiction must learn how to boil down the most important elements of their story and craft the perfect pitch for either a face-to-face meeting with an editor/agent or for use as the first "hook" paragraph of their query letter. Participants will learn what makes a successful pitch, be given some real-life examples of pitches that work, then actually write a pitch (or revise one). Participants will have the opportunity to practice pitching each other to get feedback and if time allows, can pitch to the class to get feedback from everyone.
10. The Story and the Song (song writing) ~ Randy Lee Ashcraft, Kent Schoch, Stuart Vining
Both participants and professional songwriters will take turns responding to themes that occur in songs-everything from having a broken heart to being in prison to getting drunk to honoring a parent--by playing a song that addresses that theme. Moderated by Terry Plowman, each performed song will be followed by light-hearted critiques, suggestions and comments geared toward illuminating the strengths and weaknesses of the lyrics in each song.
J. CONVERSATIONS & MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS 10:15- 11:25
1. Manuscript Review (nonfiction)~ Jennifer Storm
2. Manuscript Review (poetry)~ Jim Harms
3. Who Is Our Audience Anyway: The Role of the Literary Journals
Rob Spillman (Tin House), John Hoppenthaler (Kestral), Michael Waters, Flip Brophy, Mark Drew (Gettysburg Review), Jamie Brown (Broadkill Review)
Both traditional and online literary journals are flourishing, and the mail is full of manuscripts, SASE's, rejections, and acceptances. But in an age of proliferating blogs and information saturation, who is actually reading them? Has their role changed in this world of white noise in
which we now live? And how can you as a writer sift through the overload and determine which journals you should read -- and in which journals you should be trying to publish?
4. What does it mean to be an American Writer? On Game Shows, Virginia Beach, Basketball and Suburbia
Michael Blumenthal, Dave Smith, Carolyn Parkhurst, Sheri Reynolds, Liam Callanan, Mark Gompertz, Mike Fischer, moderator
Novels, poems and stories, based on Game Shows or a sexual scandal between a female teacher and a student; drug abuse, Virginia Beach, a Beach-Beer Drive through in Nags Head, North Carolina, Poker Games, Confederate Soldiers, Dancing to Smokey Robinson on the night Martin Luther King was shot, learning to play basketball, suburbia..... Is there such thing as an "American" writer? How, if at all, are we shaped by the place from where we come and the nation in which we live? How does living in American in the 21st century influence what we do and don't write about, and why is it necessary (or is it) for writers to understand the tradition from which they write?
5. The Art of Laugher (or How to Be Funny) Marian Fontana, Erik Hedegaard, Fay Jacobs
It's one thing to write about a funny situation, but how do writers create humor in prose that isn't necessarily about a humorous subject? At what point do they decide to use humor in their work and why do they decide this? Is humor just a device to "lighten things up?" or does it serve other purposes? What are the risks, if any, involved adding a comic touch, and are there any subjects that off-limits when using humor? Whether discussing current events, interviewing a celebrity, even writing a memoir about 9/11, the writers on this panel all use humor in their working various ways and
K. CONVERSATIONS & MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS 11:25-12:35
1. Manuscript Review (nonfiction) ~ Marian Fontana
2. Manuscript Review (nonfiction/humor) ~ Fay Jacobs
3. Flying By the Seat of Your Pants-Or not? Erik Hedegaard and Tom Horton
We don't typically expect our poets to write detailed outlines of their poems no matter how complicated the subject matter with which they wrestle, but we do, it seems, often expect this from journalists working on longer stories or articles, and it's a question often asked of novelists and memoirists: to outline or not? Those who do outline seem more responsible, and certainly more efficient, but is this really the case? And of course the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants types often posit that outliners limit themselves, taking the fun out of the "discovery-part" of the writing process and inhibiting true creativity, but this isn't necessarily so, either. In this discussion between both kinds of writers, debunk the myths of each "camp" and come to a better understanding of the merits and costs of both processes of writing.
4. Writing and Morality: Where, If, Anywhere, Should/Do the Two Meet?
Michael Blumenthal, Michael Waters, Bob Bausch, Elissa Schappell, Candice Fuhrman; Moderator Mike Fischer
Does being a good writer also require being a "good" person? What obligations, if any, does the writer have to the universe of morality and ethics? To the protection of those who-- in "real" life-- he loves? To the world of politics and human relations at large? Should "art" be the writer's highest calling-- or might it be something else?
5. Literary Magazines 101: Rob Spillman
Rob Spillman, founder of Tin House Magazine and publisher of Tin House Books, will host a casual and intimate conversation with participants who are eager to learn the nuts and bolts of submitting to literary magazines.
Limited seating so participants will truly be able to have a conversation with Rob, asking questions, seeking advice, and getting an inside look at how the literary magazine world works and why aspiring writers should submit to them.
M. CONVERSATIONS & MANUSCRIPT REVIEW: 2:15 - 3:30
1.Manuscript Review (Poetry) ~Erin Murphy {SOLD OUT]
2.Manuscript Review (query letters) ~ Lauren Mosko [SOLD OUT]
WORKSHOP The Sensual World (nonfiction) ~ Anne Colwell (this will most likely run past 4:00)
We take in the world through our physical bodies--the texture of sand as we walk the beach, the smell of an evergreen, the sound of trucks roaring past on a highway--yet all too often in our writing, we describe this world as if
were not in it--or of it. Inadvertently our remove keeps the reader at a distance from both the story being told and the emotions it evokes, for our truths are often found through our sensual relationship with the world. In
this workshop, explore the use of the other senses in your writing in an effort to explore alternate ways of seeing and understanding your subject. Participants should bring with them 3-5 photographs, cards, or pictures that
are meaningful to them, a scent that is meaningful (this may mean going to the store and getting a sample of the cologne/perfume that a beloved wore/wears . . . or other ideas: fresh flowers, pine cones, leaves,
uncleaned seashell, baby's blanket, husband's sweater, etc); anything with a texture they like, and something to write in/on.
3. "A Hard Days Work: Writing About Work" Louise Crawford, Erik Hedegaard, Mark Reutter, Rob Spillman, Mary Kay Zuravleff
Once upon a time, the 8-hour work day and the forty-hour work week was the norm. No more. Study after study shows that Americans are increasingly working longer days and working more days. In this sense, who we are is increasingly a matter of what we do. Much of our unique knowledge, our way of looking at the world, our individual experiences ,are deeply embedded in our working lives. At the same time, ways of working and entire stores of knowledge are being lost as the kind of work we do continually changes. Writing about work, then, is another way of writing about the times and culture in which one lives. But how can we translate this often very specific experience into compelling narratives that will appeal to a wide audience? In this discussion, writers will talk about how to write about the work experience, in either fiction or nonfictioin, in a compelling and dynamic way no matter what kind of work is involved: working in a steel mill, acting in Hollywood or fishing for a living, being a full-time mom, even designing refrigerators.
4. Writing the Region Tom Horton, Dave Smith, Liam Callanan, Bill O' Sullivan, Kevin Fleming,
Terry Plowman, Moderator
What does it mean to write about a specific region (in fiction, nonfiction or poetry), whether that region is comprised of the eastern shore of Maryland or Virginia, a specific neighborhood in Baltimore or Washington DC, a small town in Alaska? How do writers go about finding what Alexander Pope once called "the genius of the place," those essentials of what makes a place unique? How well do writers have to know the places about which she writers and what is the writers' obligation to the people who live in these places.
5. The Short and the Long of it: Flash Fiction, Short Stories and Novels Nathan Leslie, Leslie Pietrzyk, Marisa de los Santos
What is the difference between the above categories beyond the number of words and pages? How does the writer determine if his story is really a novel, his novel really a story, his story better told as flash fiction? Is character development less important in flash fiction? Page-turning tension not as crucial in the short story? What stylistically changes when the writer is working on flash fiction verses when she is working on a novel? In this conversation the writers will discuss these questions as well as share the way they approach these various writing tasks.
N. CONVERSATIONS: 3:45 -515
1. Manuscript Review (fiction/nonfiction)~ Mark Drew
2. The Truth About Publishing: Advice from Agents and Editors
Getting a book published by a large commercial publisher or even a reputable small publisher has become increasingly difficult, though certainly not impossible. In this frank and honest discussion, with plenty of opportunity for questions, renowned agents, along with senior editor, Mark Gompertz, from Simon and Schuster editors will tell it straight: What to do, what not to do, and what the chances really are for an unknown first-time writer to break into the publishing world.
3. Writing Real Women: The Case Against Chick Lit ~ Marisa de los Santos, Mary Kay Zuravleff, Carolyn Parkhurst, Sheri Reynolds.
Increasingly, books geared toward women (who buy significantly more books than men)depict these women as thin (of course) with glamorous Sex-in-the-city careers; if these women have children, the children are precocious and lovable (Oh, there might be a rebellious teen, but nothing drastic) and the moms themselves are supermoms. If they are unhappily married, they always find good-looking, wonderful, creative men with whom to date after the inevitable divorce. Rarely do these women struggle with weight or caring for aging parents or passionless marriages; rarely do they work as librarians or real estate agents or insurance adjusters or store managers or nurses....Rarely do they worry about the housing market or read the newspaper or care about world events. Why is "chick-lit" so popular these days and how do writers who want to realistically portray the lives of women compete for both readership and sales in an industry that will not publish an author twice without significant "numbers" (book sales)
SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2008
Q. WORKSHOPS 9:30 - 11:30
Coffee light breakfast & Booksignings at Browseabout Books (8:00 - 11:00)
1. Take Ten ~ Bonnie Neubauer
It only takes ten minutes a day to keep your writing momentum in flow. When you are in between projects, the best way to keep up your momentum is to do writing exercises. In this workshop you will get to try your hand at many different fun and off-the-wall exercises. You will also learn how to generate your own exercises so that no matter where you are, whether stuck in traffic, in line at the bank, or shopping at the Dollar Store, you will always be able to make the most of your time and also get in your ten minutes every day.
2. "Deadline time already???" ~ Fay Jacobs
In this workshop, discuss the ins and outs of keeping up with a weekly humor/opinion column. Where do the ideas come from, how does one take the personal, political and often ordinary and make it funny and, week after week, how can the writer keep the columns from sounding the same?
3. The Art of Making a Scene ~ Dustin Beall Smith [SOLD OUT]
It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it. Anais Nin
The most provocative personal writing-be it fiction or nonfiction-results when the writer first engages the reader by creating vivid scenes. In other words, when he or she shows rather than tells the story. This workshop will draw on excerpts from short stories and narrative essays to illustrate the process of grabbing the reader's attention and holding it. Through in-class exercises, participants will explore strategies for inhabiting a scene from the first-person perspective.
4. Story and Structure ~ Khris Baxter [SOLD OUT]
Screenwriter William Goldman was once asked what the three most important elements of a screenplay were, to which he replied, "Structure, structure, structure." Structure is the presentation and tracking of a dramatic problem through resolution. This workshop will examine two approaches to story and structure: The Three-Act Paradigm and The Hero's Journey. We'll examine examples from film and popular fiction, and look at ways to apply these timeless principles to your own work. Open to writers of all genres.
5. The Art of Ambiguity: Writing Effective Flash Fiction ~ Nathan Leslie
In this workshop, we will address how to write an effective work of flash fiction, by exploring various types of this ever-important form, focusing on the crafts of concision, focus, purposeful ambiguity, and characterization.
6. The Ninth Letter: Developing Persona in Autobiographical & Personal Essays ~
Kim Dana Kupperman
[SOLD OUT]
"The essayist arises in the morning and, if he has work to do, selects his garb from an unusually extensive wardrobe: he can pull on any sort of shirt, be any sort of person, according to his mood or subject matter-philosopher, scold, jester, raconteur, confidant, pundit, devil's advocate, enthusiast."
-E. B. White, "Foreword," Essays of E. B. White
This workshop will examine the elements of craft involved in fashioning the persona, the first-person narrator of autobiographical or personal essays. Through readings and in-class writing exercises, participants will explore the many permutations of the I-from conversationalist to memorialist to witness-that distinguish the first-person singular as a complex persona with authorial voice.
7. The Second Layer: Memoir & Reflection ~ Michael Blumenthal
In every memoir, there is the story of what happened and there is the story of the writer's attempts to understand what happened. This search for meaning or understanding is as crucial to the memoir-perhaps more so-than the actual events being described. Too often, however, this "second layer" is absent from memoir. In this workshop, discuss and explore the ideas and techniques involved in creating that "second layer."
R. CONVERSATIONS & MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS
1. Manuscript Review (fiction)~ Carolyn Parkhurst [SOLD OUT]
2. Brainstorming Session: Marketing Your Book ~ Richard LaMotte
How can writers of niche books, books that will appeal to a specific and perhaps limited audience, market that book so that it can reach as broad a spectrum of people as possible? What choices might they consider in the actual design of the book, what changes might they make in the written content to appeal to more people, and how, once the book is published, can they get their book the attention it deserves? Bring your specific book ideas to this discussion where Richard LaMotte, a highly successful self-publisher with nearly three decades of marketing experience will help you brainstorm ideas for a creative marketing plan.
3. Magazine Publishing Tool Kit: What You Need ~ Bill O' Sullivan & Terry Plowman
Writing a feature for a commercial magazine is very different from writing a feature for a newspaper or writing a creative essay for a literary journal. Magazine features have unique requirements that writers must understand before submitting a story. And unlike submitting work to literary journals or newspapers, magazines typically require that writers query them first. But how does the writers who has not yet broken into the world of magazine publishing go about doing this? What does it mean to pitch a story, what are the chances of having an editor respond to your pitch/query if you don't have significant publications and what can you, the writer, do to better your odds of success?
4. Poetry Round: Anne Colewell, Jim Harms, John Hoppenthaler, Shara McCallum, Erin Murphy
Join professional poets in this "round" as they take turns reading poems that connect thematically to a subject randomly chosen by participants. A great way to hear different voices, styles, and perspectives on like subjects; participants will be invited to join the round as well.