2008 Schedule of Workshops
Detailed Workshop Descriptions
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
1:00 p.m. Registration
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Peter Meinke - Questions and Answers. Starting with a discussion of the sources, beginning, and completion of a recent poem, this session will then open up to questions and possible answers on any aspect of writing.
Mary Anna Evans - How to Write a Synposis that Won't Make an Editor Sneer. Synopses are marketing tools - they sell your work to agents, editors, and readers. In this hands-on class, learn to make your readers want more. Bring a 75-word synopsis to class for workshopping.
Murray Laurie - And Away We Go! The Travel Writer's Journey. Writing about or visiting a new place sharpens the focus of the journey and turns a tourist into a traveler. Spring your vacations into salable travel articles and feed the appetite of the armchair traveler in all of us. Topics covered will include travel markets, sponsored press trips, and landing travel assignments.
3:15 - 4:45 p.m.
Michael Knight - Intensive Fiction Workshop - Part 1 - Short Fiction Workshop. A short story workshop focusing on Beginnings and Endings, Meaningful Imagery, Dramatic Encounter and Basic Narrative Structure. Participants are encouraged to bring early drafts and stories-in-progress to the workshop. At the very least, bring plenty of ideas. This will be an active workshop, not a lecture, so participants should be prepared to write and revise in class. (Limited to 12 participants each session)
Bev Browning - Writing Humor. Humor is actually a serious business. Entering the dark side to create light moments, we'll explore the complex genesis of laughter and how to trigger it. You'll learn specific techniques for twisting phrases and words to shock, surprise, and delight the unwary reader.
Melanie Almeder - Intensive Poetry Workshop - Part 1 - The Old "I and Thou." How does a writer imagine the reader, the "thou" on the other side of the page? How have poets and fiction writers alike chosen point-of-view and what are some of the opportunities and challenges within those "I and thou" relationships? (Limited to 12 participants each session)
5:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Join us for a reading with Margaret McSeveney, Bev Browning, and Mary Anna Evans. The authors will begin reading at 5:30, and a reception with snacks, coffee, tea, and wine will occur between 5:00 and 5:30.
Free and Open to the Public
Thursday, July 24, 2008
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. - Breakfast
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Peter Meinke - Writing Poems and Short Stories. This workshop will discuss the ways in which writing poems and stories can interact, and how writing in one genre can help writing in the other. Students can bring their own examples, and others will be provided by the instructor.
Mary Anna Evans and Diana Tonnessen - Six Steps to a Killer Query. From those crucial opening sentences to the credentials that must be included at the end, learn the art and craft of writing a successful query letter that's guaranteed to sell your fiction or non-fiction idea to an editor.
Jamie Pachino - Screenwriting - Part 1. Story and storytelling. What makes a good story, how to get to the core of what you want to tell, and how to translate it to the screen. Where do you start? Exercises will be done!
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Michael Gannon - Writing Florida History. Practical help in writing histories of Florida.
Melanie Almeder - Intensive Poetry Workshop - Part 2 - "I wander all night in my dreams." (Walt Whitman) How to writers shape the material of dreams into poems and narratives? We will explore this rich creative tradition, practicing methods writers have used to structure poems and stories from their dreams.
Sarah Bewley - The Protagonist's Journey. What is your story? How do you know who it is you're really writing about? What is the difference between plot and story? These and other mysteries will be answered during this workshop.
12:15 - 1:15 p.m. - Lunch
1:15 - 2:45 p.m.
Katharine Sands - Pitchcraft. Learn the most effective way to develop your summary of the work you're trying to sell, and "pitch" it to an agent.
3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Michael Knight - Intensive Fiction Workshop Part 2.
Margaret McSeveney - Scots Writing - before and since "Auld Lang Syne." Literature and dramatic writing in Scots - past and present, with particular focus on accessibility and authencity of the writer's voice. Writing in local dialects.
Claire Hamner Matturro - Developing Characters that Live and Engage - Part 1. Whether your novel is literary or genre, humorous or serious, whether is it character or plot-driven, your fictional characters must seen real and vivid and must carry the story-line and engage the readers. So, how hard is that to do? And how do you avoid the cliches and one-dimensional characters? Where do you get ideas, and how do you develop character traits that work with the plot and reveal personality? Homework will be to work on a character description which we will refine in the second class.
Diana Tonnessen - Three Essential Questions Every Non-fiction Book Proposal Must Answer. Learn how to prepare a winning proposal by answering three key questions that will help you write an overview of your book, identify your target audience, conduct a thorough market analysis of competing books, showcase your credentials and package your non-fiction book proposal the professional way.
4:45 - 9:00 p.m.
Cross Creek Trip
4:45 p.m. - Bus leaves the Thomas Center for Cross Creek Trip with Murray Laurie as your guide.
Tour the Rawlings Home
Enjoy an old fashioned dinner in the park prepared just for you!
Return to the Thomas Center about 9:00 p.m.
Friday, July 25, 2008
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. - Breakfast
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Ben LeRoy - From Manuscript to Best Seller - Understanding the Publishing Process. Why does it take a year for my book to get on the shelf? Who designs a cover and how are decisions made? Will an editor change my work? These and any other questions you may have regarding the publisher's side of the industry can and will be answered here
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Melanie Almeder - Part Three of Intensive Poetry Workshop - A Poem from Start to Finish. Revision is one of the great challenges in writing. We will examine (and practice) a few tried and true strategies for shaping work and for polishing it. Please bring a piece of rough work (either a poem or a page of prose) and several copies of that piece.
M.C. Finotti - Historical Fiction for Children. We'll look at examples of historical fiction for children form picture books to middle grade and young adult novels. We'll also create a character study in the workshop that just may be a launching point for your next novel.
Eric Butterman - Sports Writing for Serious Money - Part 1. Learn what a good sports pitch contains, the strategy to go from pitch to sale, and how to come up with sports pitches which will sell to non-sport magazines. Homework for Saturday morning session will be to write a pitch which will be read and critiqued.
Jamie Pachino- Screenwriting - Part 2. The business of writing - pitching, getting an agent, getting a job, going through production, getting a "yes", and when to say no.
12:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Benjamin LeRoy, Janet Reid, and Katharine Sands - Agents and Editors. A panel with our two agents and our editor, answering your questions and talking about what it is they do.
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Michael Knight - Intensive Fiction Workshop - Part 3.
Claire Hamner Matturro - Developing Characters and Live and Engage - Part 2. Working in small groups, participants will work on their character sketches - using what they've learned in part 1 - to fit differing plot lines. Feedback from the group and instructor will follow. Bring paper, a good writing pen and a sense of humor.
Carolyn Haines -That Downhome Southern Voice. The function of voice in storytelling can never be over-estimated. Voice is one of the writer's key tools in hooking a reader into a story. Creating a voice that is intimate, personal and compelling is the writer's job. We'll explore some ways to create voice and look at some of the classics where an author's talent works like a magic spell in capturing the reader's attention.
Eric Butterman - Sports Writing for Serious Money Part 2. The art of the tight sports deadline. Wouldn't it be great if you had a week to get in your story on a sporting event? Well, you don't (you're lucky if you have an hour). We'll go over deadline strategies and watch snippets of the Bears-Colts Super Bowl game, all the while pointing out parts of the contest to consider. Homework: Finish up an aticle on the super Bowl game we watched and then we'll read some of them in the next day's class.
5:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Reception with snacks, coffee, tea, and wine will be held
5:30 - 7:30 pm
"What If God Were the Sun?"
Join us for a showing of Jamie Pachino's Lifetime movie!
Open and free to the public.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Janet Reid - Do You Actually Need a Literary Agent? In fact, many people might not, or choose not. Ten things to guide you if you decide to go commando.
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Carolyn Haines -What is Genre? In publishing today, marketing is of vital importance. Publishers need to be able to "tag" a book with a "genre" description, which ends up determining where the book is placed on the shelf in a bookstore. Each genre has specific guidelines, and you have to know the rules to be able to break them. Come and explore the elements of different genres and how one word can change the fate of a book.
Melanie Almeder - Part 4 of Intensive Poetry Workshop - Prosetry. A workshop on writing prose poems.
Eric Butterman - Sports Writing for Serious Money. Part 3. Pitches will be made and critiqued, and more advanced strategy for sports pitch selling: how to turn one client into ten, how to adjust your pitches when you're sending them to clients you already work for.
Murray Laurie - Writing Regional History: Find Your Place in the Past. Put your passion for history to work for you as you chronicle people, places, and events of our common and uncommon heritage. Topics will include tried and true and emerging research strategies and practical proposals for using your interest in regional history to expand your writing career.
12:15 to 1:15 p.m. - Lunch
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Bill Maxwell - How to Write Like a Journalist. Many beginning writers and even some seasoned writers ignore newspapers as a great source for publication. Bill Maxwell discusses and demonstrates how to get published in top newspapers that pay big bucks for well-reasoned, well-written, and entertaining copy, including articles, essays, and columns.
Bev Browning - Memoir Writing Master Class. Few stories are as interesting to tell as the ones you live. The class explores seeing yourself as a character, "casting" your story with other people, and the fine points of writing fiction that apply to the spinning of tales of real life. Whether you're creating a legacy for a beloved family, or plotting a course straight to a publisher, this class will give your work focus, direction, and depth.
Eric Butterman - Sports Writing for Serious Money Part 4. We'll hear some of the articles that were written, come up with extra tips to make the deadline then get into the change of strategy which comes on longer sports pieces with longer deadlines.
Linda Evans - Science Fiction and Fantasy World Building. Learn the critical research and thinking skills needed to create plausible, fully alive worlds. Lessons include creating star systems, planets, alien biologies, languages, religions, technologies (including magic-based ones), and how to apply world-building techniques to the creation of stories.
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Bill Maxwell -How to Conduct and Edit the Q&A Interview. The interview is one of the most effective and reliable tools for getting information and evidence. The Q&A is especially useful because writers let their sources speak for themselves. This workshop demonstrates how to formulate and ask fair questions that elicit engaging answers.
Michael Knight - Intensive Fiction Workshop - Part 4.
Margaret McSeveney - Theater in Motion. Playwriting - Strategies for following the standard advice - "Show, don't tell."
Diana Tonnessen - Writing with Sense(s) and Sensibility. Whether you're writing creative non-fiction or fiction, infusing your prose with sensory details is the key to breathing life into your characters and settings. After studying examples from well-known authors, you'll learn how to harvest sensory impressions from your environment and incorporate them into your work.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
5:00 - 7:30 pm
Staged Reading of "Strip Talk On The Boulevard" by Donna Spector
A staged reading of the 2007 James Sunwall Prize winning play for new comedies. Directed by Esther Biggs. The staged reading will begin at 5:30. A reception with snacks, coffee, tea, and wine will be held from 5:00 to 5:30. Open and free to the Public
Sunday, July 27, 2008
9:30 to noon
Sunday Morning with J.T. Glisson
J.T. Glisson was a neighbor to "Miz Rawlings" and as a young man was encouraged by her to write and draw. His book "The Creek" is about his childhood adventures. "Guardian Angel 911" is a memoir about his early adult years and the frantic efforts of his guardian angel Lucille to keep him out of harm's way.
Join him for a morning of tall tales and remembrances about his life in rural Florida, Europe, South America, and the Far East. There will also be books available to purchase and have signed.