Our Two-Part Workshop format offers a blend of genre-specific intensive instruction (Part I) and more than 35 cross-discipline sessions (Part II). In Part II, July 25-27, 2013, from Thursday afternoon until the closing banquet on Saturday night, you have ample time to network with faculty and other participants, glean information about fiction and nonfiction writing techniques, marketing, and taking your writing career to the next level. There are also agent pitch sessions, query critiques, social media tutoring, networking, writing contests, and more!
Costs
- Part I: Intensive Session – One day, Thursday, July 25
- $125 [Fee also includes: morning refeshments/lunch] if paid prior to April 15, 2013
- $135 if paid after April 15, 2013
- Part II: Thursday evening, Friday & Saturday – July 25-27
- $250 [Fee includes: Friday lunch & evening meal; Saturday awards banquet] if paid prior to April 15, 2013
- $260 if paid after April 15, 2013
- Part I & Part II: Package
- $350 [Fee includes: Thursday & Friday lunches, Friday dinner; Saturday awards banquet] if paid prior to April 15, 2013
- $360 if paid after April 15, 2013
2013 Part II Session Topics
Hank Phillippi Ryan
- All you ever needed to know in an hour! How to plan your Crime Fiction novel – Hank Phillippi Ryan. You have a great idea for your mystery or thriller. Hurray. Now what? Grab pen and paper and prepare to take notes and write fast – because when you leave this high-speed session, you’ll have everything you need to be ready to write!
- There is no Writers Block: 15 ways to jumpstart your writing – Hank Phillippi Ryan. Writers Block? Forget about it. If you’ve ever had trouble with a chapter or scene or sentence or concept – it’s not the dreaded writers block. It’s a signal that you need to rearrange your brain a bit. How? That’s what this session is all about.
- Using TV Techniques to Write a Killer Novel – Hank Phillippi Ryan. Here’s what you need to produce a successful television story: Develop memorable characters. Build suspense. Show conflict. Tell a compelling story. Find justice. Here’s what you need to become a successful television journalist. Never miss your deadlines. Create a brilliant and flawless product every time. Be completely devoted to your job. Here’s the scoop. What you need to write a successful novel are exactly the same things. Hank will divulge the tricks of the TV trade – to help you make your book the best it can be.
- Closing Banquet / Keynote Speaker: Hank Phillippi Ryan, “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me”
John Gilstrap
- Two Paths to a Common Goal – John Gilstrap & Matthew Clemens. No two writers follow the same path to success. In fact, even the definition of “success” is hard to nail down. John Gilstrap and Matthew Clemens came at the challenge from entirely different directions. In this session, they’ll talk about their respective journeys – the successes and the failures. And they’ll answer any questions you may have about what works and what doesn’t.
- Broken Bones, Ballistics & Backdrafts: Technical Stuff That Writers Get Wrong — John Gilstrap. Fiction readers are getting more sophisticated all the time, and it’s a writer’s job to get the details correct. New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap brings his thirty years of experience as a firefighter, EMT, safety engineer and hazardous materials specialist to the classroom in a lively, interactive session to teach the basics of projectile ballistics, fire behavior, how explosives work, and how the human body functions. What actually happens when a person gets shot or stabbed? Do silencers really work? What’s the difference between a fire, a deflagration and a detonation? Was there really another shooter on the grassy knoll when JFK was shot? These and many other questions will be answered. Note: This presentation contains graphic imagery.
- Blood on the Page: Using Research to Create Credible Fiction – John Gilstrap. Bestselling author John Gilstrap writes critically-acclaimed thrillers featuring military tactics and surveillance, but has never served in the armed forces. He writes about crimes and cops, but he’s never served in law enforcement. In this session, you’ll learn how to make minutes of research look like years of first-hand experience.
Barbara Shoup
- The Particular Problems of Critiquing and Revising the Novel – Barbara Shoup. Whether you work with a critique partner or regularly submit your novel to a workshop group, the process of critiquing a novel is completely different from critiquing a short story. Novels take a long time to write, they change as you write them, it’s hard to hold them in your head. And when you finally finish that first draft, how in the world are you supposed to look at it? This class will provide practical strategies for getting the useful insights from your readers, identifying problems in your novel, and creating a list of very specific issues you need to address to bring it closer to the novel you want it to be.
- Historical Fiction – Barbara Shoup. Would you like to live in another time, by way of writing fiction? This class will provide an overview of the practical considerations of writing historical fiction, addressing such questions as: Where do you start? How do you keep your research from overwhelming the story? How true to the historical facts must you remain? How can you create characters true to the standards and knowledge of their time? And more.
- Publishing in a Brave New World Panel: Sarah LaPolla, Roxane Gay, Barb Shoup, Jane Friedman, D.E. Johnson
Colleen Coble
- Layers: How to Raise Your Submission Out of the Slush Pile – Colleen Coble. Editors and agents see the same submissions over and over again. Bestselling author Colleen Coble will discuss her rule of three for layering a compelling novel. If you don’t know what layers are, let alone how to figure them out, join in for a fun discussion as participants will have a layering practice.
- The Joy of Revisions – Colleen Coble. Bestselling author Colleen Coble believes revision is the best part of writing. Getting feedback from your editor or critique partner doesn’t have to be painful. Embrace the joy of revisions and learn the steps to take when tackling a rewrite.
- Romancing the Idea: Coming Up With a New Novel – Colleen Coble. It’s time to start your next novel, but you don’t have a great idea yet. Bestselling author Colleen Coble shares her unique approach to finding story. You’ll leave this fun, interactive class with a fresh dose of creativity that can springboard you to your next novel.
Matthew Clemens
- Two Paths to a Common Goal – John Gilstrap & Matthew Clemens. No two writers follow the same path to success. In fact, even the definition of “success” is hard to nail down. John Gilstrap and Matthew Clemens came at the challenge from entirely different directions. In this session, they’ll talk about their respective journeys – the successes and the failures. And they’ll answer any questions you may have about what works and what doesn’t.
- Dialog: It’s Not Just He Said, She Said – Matthew Clemens. This session will assist you in the writing of realistic dialog and building a scene around what is far more than just the conversation.
- Character: It’s More Than Just A Name On The Page – Matthew Clemens. This session is devoted to creating and developing characters that live on the page, as well as in our mind. We’ll work on building characters that will stick with the reader even after the book is finished.
D.E. Johnson
- Characters You Can’t Forget – D.E. Johnson. Who have you met in a novel that still seems like a friend—or an enemy? The author who created those characters had a plan and executed it well. Award-winning novelist D.E. Johnson will show you how to create believable and compelling characters that draw readers into your stories. This workshop will put you on track to create characters your readers won’t be able to forget.
- Publishing in a Brave New World Panel: Sarah LaPolla, Roxane Gay, Barb Shoup, Jane Friedman, D.E. Johnson
- POV – Who’s Telling This Story? – D.E. Johnson. Point of view is one of the most important decisions a writer has to make and can be one of the trickiest to handle. This fast-paced workshop by award-winning novelist D.E. Johnson will not only provide the tips and tricks, it will have you writing from a unique point of view before the hour is out!
Roxane Gay
- Craft session – Roxane Gay.
- Publishing in a Brave New World Panel: Sarah LaPolla, Roxane Gay, Barb Shoup, Jane Friedman, D.E. Johnson
- What Editors Look For: Writing from an Editor’s Perspective – Roxane Gay.
Jane Friedman
- Lunch / Audience Development: Your Lifelong Career Investment
- Publishing in a Brave New World Panel: Sarah LaPolla, Roxane Gay, Barb Shoup, Jane Friedman, D.E. Johnson
- E-Publishing 101: Using Amazon and Other Major Online Retailers to Publish Your Work – Jane Friedman. This overview of the DIY e-book landscape will help you understand the major players, current strategies, and key challenges of successful self-publishing.
- The Art and Business of Building an Author Platform – Jane Friedman. Writers are often scared or baffled by platform because it’s seen as a marketing and promotion mindset—antithetical to the artist mindset. However, there is a way to approach platform that isn’t about selling, but rather understanding human behavior (including your own!).
Lou Harry
- Thursday Opening Speaker: Lou Harry
- Collaboration: How to make two heads better than one…without strangling the other – Lou Harry. When you’ve written books and plays with ten different co-authors–including some you’ve never met–you learn a thing or two about effectively merging talents. In this workshop, we pair off to explore the act of creative collaboration.
- Character matters: Making your characters pop off the page or stage – Lou Harry. In this workshop, Lou Harry puts on his playwright/novelist hat for a workshop on bringing fictional people to life. The workshop will focus on finding the telling details, what to leave to the imagination, finding the ideal population for your work, and more.
Hank Nuwer
- Putting Storytelling into Your Nonfiction Part 1 – Hank Nuwer.
- Putting Storytelling into Your Nonfiction Part 2 – Hank Nuwer.
- Writing Memoir – Hank Nuwer.
John M. Cusick
- Agent Panel Q&A: Sarah LaPolla, Victoria Marini, John Cusick, Amanda Luedeke, Brooks Sherman: Topics: The 3-minute pitch, query letters, etc.
- Amazing First Lines – John Cusick. Learn to write startling, intriguing, unforgettable openings. Involve the reader with mystery, suspense, and humor. Grab a reader’s, editor’s, or agent’s attention from word one. Featuring examples from YA, pop culture, film, TV, and even…real life!
Amanda Luedeke
- Queries That Work – Amanda Luedeke. Get your foot in the door by learning how to construct a query letter that an agent will actually read. With experience in writing marketing and sales copy for national brands, literary agent Amanda Luedeke unpacks what it takes to write a query that not only gets read, but demands that the reader ask for more.
- Agent Panel Q&A: Sarah LaPolla, Victoria Marini, John Cusick, Amanda Luedeke, Brooks Sherman: Topics: The 3-minute pitch, query letters, etc.
Victoria Marini
- The Perfect Query
- Agent Panel Q&A: Sarah LaPolla, Victoria Marini, John Cusick, Amanda Luedeke, Brooks Sherman: Topics: The 3-minute pitch, query letters, etc.
Sarah LaPolla
- Agent Panel Q&A: Sarah LaPolla, Victoria Marini, John Cusick, Amanda Luedeke, Brooks Sherman: Topics: The 3-minute pitch, query letters, etc.
- Publishing in a Brave New World Panel: Sarah LaPolla, Roxane Gay, Barb Shoup, Jane Friedman, D.E. Johnson
- How to Make a Connection at Conferences – Sarah LaPolla & Summer Heacock.
Brooks Sherman
- Agent Panel Q&A: Sarah LaPolla, Victoria Marini, John Cusick, Amanda Luedeke, Brooks Sherman: Topics: The 3-minute pitch, query letters, etc.
Gary Hensley
- Are You a Professional Writer? Don’t Wait for an IRS Audit to Find Out – Gary Hensley. Attend this session to find out what it takes to be considered a professional writer in the eyes of the IRS. Learn what you have to do now to nail down your professional status and why you don’t want your writing efforts classified as a hobby. This year’s expanded session promises to be the best ever on this challenging issue. Handouts to attendees.
- Basic Taxation for Writers.
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