Fees for the Early Bird Session are $50, over and above Conference Registrations Fees. This year both a Published and General Session will be offered. Both Sessions will be held on Thursday, September 18, 2008.
Enrollment is limited, so sign up early!
2008 Early Bird Sessions - (optional)
EB TEMPLATE
Early Bird Session
Level: E (Published Early Bird)
Title: Moving from Mid-list to Best-seller Hosted By: Allen Arnold (Publisher, Thomas Nelson Publishing) Status:
Description:
Thursday, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Moving from Mid-list to Best-seller
Requirement: At least two published novels.
Explore the leading factors that lead to bestseller breakthroughs - as well as forgettable mid-list madness. Session includes results from exclusive class participant survey on the contributing factors and mindsets involved in the author / publishing house process.
Early Bird Session
Level: A-E (General Early Bird Session)
Title: Deep Editing Power Hosted By: Margie Lawson Status:
Description:
Thursday, 8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Deep Editing Power is a combo master class, covering some topics from both Empowering Characters’ Emotions as well as Deep Editing. If you want to learn how to add psychological power to your writing, this is the course for you!
Participants will learn: 1. The EDITS System: Learn the EDITS System and how to take it deeper. See the interplay of patterns on the page and analyze what’s needed to strengthen the scene. 2. One Sentence Analysis: Go deep. Analyze a few sentences and learn how to make your writing soar. 3. The Five Question Scene Checklist: From spotting missed opportunities to rating pages, you’ll learn how to deep edit to create a stellar scene. 4. Four Levels of Powering Up Emotion: Strengthen your skills. Learn these four levels of writing emotion and when to apply them to add power. 5. Deep Editing Tips: Learn back story management, power lines, SAPS, throw-away words, cliché twists, back loading, tautologies, emotional hits, and writing fresh. 6. All About Style, Adding Rhetorical Power: Explore the use of 25 rhetorical devices and learn how to jump-start tension in first chapters, add power to your turning points, and make any scene more compelling. 7. Motivation Reaction Units: Learn how to write stimulus/response patterns for maximum emotional impact.
CONTINUING EDUCATION SESSIONS
As part of your conference registration options, you will be given the choice of one Continuing Education Session track to follow throughout the conference agenda. Each Continuing Education Session will consist of four parts.
As you review the options, you will see that each class is marked with a Level. These Levels are a tool to help you determine which classes will be most beneficial FOR YOU. So read the definitions below, and then grab your highlighter to mark the workshops and sessions you most want to attend. Also notice that Level E classes have requirements the presenters have set for attending those classes. All other classes are open to anyone; the tracks are merely to help you determine the type of instruction to expect.
Level Definitions
Level A:
Writers who are starting out, who have attended 1-3 conferences, have completed 0-3 manuscripts, and are getting a handle on the publishing industry would benefit most from these classes. Classes will cover the basics elements of novel and proposal writing as well as how to submit finished manuscripts, and meet agents and editors.
Level B:
Writers who have been studying the craft for a while and have become strong writers, are receiving some requests for full manuscripts, but are getting rejected and haven't acquired an agent will benefit from this track. Classes will delve deeper into strengthening the elements of a good manuscript and proposal as well as help identify the areas a writer needs to improve to help advance his/her career.
Level C:
Writers who have gotten requests for complete manuscripts with revisions from agents and editors, and have possibly made it to committee but are still receiving rejections will benefit from these classes. Your writing is strong, you're ready for publication, editors and agents are watching you, but that elusive contract has not yet been offered. In these classes you will learn the next step to publication as well as continue to strengthen your prose and publishing knowledge.
Level D:
Writers who are published or recently contracted will get the most from these classes. You're still struggling with balancing your life with your new writing career and trying not to be stressed while meeting deadlines. Classes will also cover organization, marketing, public relations and speaking, and the business side of writing.
Level E:
Published authors with several books will benefit most from the community of writers gathered in these classes. While the main goal of these workshops is to learn about craft or marketing in a new or improved way, it will also be a gathering place for published writers to exchange ideas.
Please review the options below and have your selection in mind prior to completing the Conference Registration Form.
2008 Continuing Education Sessions - (you may choose one of the following)
WORKSHOPS TEMPLATE
CE Session - 1
Level: A
Title: Avoiding the Slush Pile: Basic Steps for Strengthening your Novel Hosted By: Deb Raney & Tammy Alexander Description:
Award-winning and bestselling novelists Deborah Raney and Tamera Alexander share their insights for how to get your manuscript past the slush pile and into an editor's or agent's eager hands. Writing a compelling novel isn't easy, but there are basic elements that, once mastered, make a big difference in getting your manuscript noticed.
As writing critique partners, Deb and Tammy will share personal examples (successes and failures), as well as examples from CBA and ABA bestsellers. Together they will show you how to avoid the most common writing mistakes they see when critiquing manuscripts: POV glitches, telling vs. showing, misuse of adverbs & adjectives, dialogue errors, weak setting, starting in the wrong place--and much, much more.
CE Session - 2
Level: B
Title: Deepen Your Story And Grab Readers Hosted By: Gail Martin Description:
Dynamic, realistic emotion and deep POV bring characters to life, making them compelling and believable. Use setting to deepen characterization and set mood, then add these great characters to a realistic plot with a dynamic middle, and you'll have a novel that grabs readers. This workshop will help to broaden your natural ability to make your stories more powerful and to enhance your unique writer's voice.
This continuing workshop will provide techniques to make emotion real by drawing from experience and understanding human nature. Emotion will arise from deepening point-of-view (POV) through creating revealing introspection and dialogue along with presenting realistic and consistent action/reaction.
Conferees will also learn techniques to avoid a sagging middle and how to use setting to not only enhance sense of place but to give insight to characterization by using metaphors, analogies, and motifs.
CE Session - 3
Level: C-E
Title: Advanced Fiction Writing: Writing the BIG Story Hosted By: John Olson Description:
This comprehensive writing course covers four main areas: discovering and developing BIG ideas (high concepts), structuring compelling plots using BIG story drivers, creating BIG characters, and elevating your writing to make it more powerful and emotive.
Not only will students learn the theory behind these story elements, but they’ll also receive practical techniques and tricks they can apply to their own writing. Topics include:
The concept of high concept Elements that make stories BIG Selling your concept Storyboarding Story drivers Plot and structure Using scene structure to drive story Pacing Writing in the shadows Advanced character development tricks Using description to reflect character Making your scenes more immediate Making your dialog whetter Mixing up moods Emotive writing techniques Etc.
NOTE: After teaching a new writing technique, John likes to demonstrate its use by editing real-life writing samples in front of the class. If you’re planning to attend the Advanced Writing Class and are willing to have a small portion of your manuscript anonymously edited (and hopefully improved) in front of the whole class, please send John a 20 page writing sample. Contact information is available at www.litany.com.
CE Session - 4
Level: E
Title: Taking Your Career to the Next Level Hosted By: James Scott Bell Description:
Career planning for the long term novelist. Covering trends, marketing, agents, editors and the art of "keeping on."
Requirement: a) Two published novels, listed on amazon.com (the second novel only needs to be listed as coming out). OR b) One novella (stand alone or in a collection) and one novel, listed on amazon.com (the second, as above, need only be listed as coming soon).
Novels must be 50,000 words or over.
CE Session - 5
Level: A-E
Title: Police Procedural Hosted By: Mark Mynheir Description:
Have any elements in your books that deal with police? Then this workshop is for you. Come and learn from this experienced officer and novelist how to get the details and procedures right in your books.
