Schedule for August 6th, 2016

Schedule for August 6th, 2016

8:30 - Registration

8:50 - Welcome


9:00-9:50

Writing Professionally - Learn how to put your developing writing skills to work by writing from home. Internet Marketing is a must-have for any company and competent, creative writers are needed to create the content that will make one business stand out from the others.You'll learn the basics of blog post writing, basic SEO principles, and where to go to get paid to write. Mandy Bradshaw


YA Fantasy  Karen Hoover

Scrivener (two hours)- This class will focus on Scrivener for Windows. (Mac users should be able to follow along, but the class will be Windows-specific, and will not answer Mac questions.) Come with the 30-day free trial from Scrivener downloaded to your laptop to get the most out of this class! We will take your project from beginning to end, starting with how to properly set up the binder and ending with how to format for ebook. Lindzee Armstrong

Action Scenes  POW! How to Write Action Scenes that Pack a Punch
From fighting to writing—learn to visualize, then narrate, action scenes that come alive. Ali Cross

Launch That Book! - Learn from a bestselling author how to send your baby into the world with the best chance of success. We'll discuss hard vs. soft launches, social media, giveaways, book blogs, and more. Rebecca Rode



10:00-10:50

Helping Readers Suspend Disbelief - As writers, we don’t have a whole lot of control over some things. We don’t know who our readers will be, their ages, life experiences, or other things like that. But what we do have control over, is what we put into our stories. Getting readers to buy into a story and believe it so that they will continue to read and enjoy it all the way to its conclusion, can be a tricky thing for an author. This class will offer several pointers for authors on what they can do to help readers immerse themselves in their stories, believe in the plot and characters, and have good memories of the story long after the last pages are read. Loralee Evans


Getting Inside the Head of a Middle Grade Kid - For anyone wishing they could jump into an 8-12 year old’s head to write MG, we’ll talk about the five elements kids crave in an MG novel, what should be important to your MG protagonist, how to have your MG characters respond emotionally, and what your main character needs for MG readers to root for them. Peggy Eddleman


Scrivener (continued) - Scrivener, from start to finish! This class will guide you through every step, from setting the project up to formatting it for an ebook. Lindzee Armstrong

Writers Do Yoga - This class targets all types of writers, at all levels. One of only a few of its kind in the country, this workshop is part relaxing yoga class part creative writing workshop. Learn basic poses and breathing and meditation techniques to relax the body, engage the mind, and cultivate creativity. Yoga work is mingled with unique writing exercises to get words on the page. Lots of fun and inspiration. No yoga experience necessary. Teri Harmon

The Missing Piece: Emotional Structure - Many stories have all the right technical elements, but they fall flat because they're missing a critical piece: emotional structure. Learn how to braid it all together to create a riveting yet emotionally satisfying novel readers will want to read again and again. Rebecca Rode


11:00-11:50

Polishing a Rough Draft - Have you finished a first draft of a novel and aren’t sure what to do next? Are you looking to self-publish or submit to a publisher, but you're afraid your diamond in the rough just won’t make it past the slush pile? Polishing Your First Draft covers topics such as hook and conflict, paragraph and sentence editing, as well as character editing and using beta readers. This class will teach you how to eliminate passive voice, frequent phrases, and vague characters that could annoy your future readers and potential agents. Robin Glassey

Increasing Online Presence - "It's not your reader's job to find you. It's your job to be where your readers are." —Kimberley Grabas
In this class we'll cover WHERE to be and HOW to present yourself online, so that your target readers can easily find you and your books. Karlene Browning

Writing With Young Children...You CAN be Productive. Lost in the world of changing diapers, mediating arguments, and making macaroni and cheese, it often seems impossible to follow our writing dreams until the kids are older. But you can start being productive with your writing right now! This class will cover strategies to maximize the free time you do have, and discuss ways to carve out time for writing where none seems to exist, from someone who knows how. Lindzee Armstrong has published eight books in the last two years while being a stay-at-home mom to twin boys who haven't even started kindergarten. Lindzee Armstrong

Folklore of the Scottish Highlands - Come explore ancient legends and deep-rooted beliefs that flourished in historical Scotland. From Witches to fairies, make your writing come alive which details and facts that will leave your readers dying to know more. Willow Scot

The WriteJUICY Book Outline - Outlining your story is one of the most important elements of a bestselling book, but it’s one area in which many writers struggle. Bridget developed WriteJUICY to help authors around the world to tell inspiring, compelling and juicy stories. This is especially helpful for non-fiction and memoirs, but also helps with fiction, too, so that you don’t put your reader through a proverbial “time warp” that distracts readers. Instead, you have a beautifully structured book that your readers can’t put down! Bridget Cook-Burch


12:00 – 1:00

Lunch and Announcement of contest winners

1:00-1:50

Perfecting Point of View - What is point of view really, and what are the rules for sticking with it? Avoiding head hopping, examining the character's thoughts and feelings, and seeing the world through totally different lenses are all covered in this class. Tristi Pinkston

Pretty in Print - Using Microsoft Word, you'll learn all the tips and tricks to produce the prettiest print book without going insane. Ali Cross
Marketing Cheap - Get your book marketing done with little to no money! Learn about reviews, interviews, blogs, free advertising, social media, book trailers and more! Don't get left in the dark! These simple marketing ideas will bring you back into the light! Kathryn and Douglas Jones

The Parent Problem in Middle Grade - In every MG book, the protagonist has to be the one to solve the problems. But how do we keep the parents (or other adults in the book) from stepping in to fix the really hard things? We’ll talk about ways to keep the kids running the show, stepping into danger, and being the heroes, whether their parents are anywhere from absent to awesome. Using examples from well-known MG books, movies, and tv shows, we'll talk about the many different ways you can get the adults out of the picture long enough to have your main characters save the day (and get themselves into a little trouble along the way). Peggy Eddleman

Food in Writing C Michelle Jefferies

2:00-2:50

Villains and Anti-heroes Ann Hunter

Romance Kirsten Osbourne

Don't Tell Me What to Feel: How to Write Deep Point of View - What is it about some books that pull you in so far that before you know it, you hear birds chirping and discover you've been up all night? Learn about deep point of view from popular books, then we'll discuss several levels of shallow (toe dipping) to medium (wading) to deep (hot tub, baby!) POV and how to apply them.
Rebecca Blevins

Writing Groups 101 - An in-depth breakdown of the three stages of a writing group: Create, Nurture, and Grow. Discover how you can take your writing from a solitary activity and harness the motivation and growth that comes from working in a group. Terra Luft
Cozy Mysteries - The elements that go into writing cozy mystery, how to create your detective, and how to make your books into a series with staying power. Tristi Pinkston

3:00-3:50

PG Writing - How to keep your writing clean in an R-rated world. Can you write a YA novel without swear words and gore and still make it compelling and suspenseful? Nearly every good novel has a little romance. How can you get your readers to root for a relationship without adding steamy love scenes? I'll give you the ABC's on how to get hearts racing and minds reeling without all the dirt. Robin King

Book Covers and Illustrations - Basic art direction and help with composition with book covers and illustrations. Jared Salmond

Creating a Writing Environment - Whether you need music or complete silence, you have a set way to have your environment when writing. We will go over the importance of having a space where you can concentrate full on writing. Michelle Johnson

Concentrating on Commas - The proper way to use this most confusing of all punctuation marks. Examples of correct and incorrect comma usage, practice sheets for participants, and grammar rules taught in a fun and informative way. Tristi Pinkston

Setting Up Your Business Michael Glassford

4:00-4:50

When Your Mojo Is Lost and You Can’t Seem to Find it - If you’ve chosen to be a writer, chances are it’s because you love it. So why is it so hard to get yourself to write sometimes? We’ll talk about all the things that stop you— from life stuff, physical things, distractions, writer’s block, and all the fears that get in the way— so you can find your mojo again and get back to doing what you love.
Peggy Eddleman

Art Rachelle Hearn

Indie Marketing/Cross-Promotion - This will include cross-marketing, good websites to use, how to use Facebook efficiently, best days to publish, how to price to meet the needs of your fan base, etc.
Kirsten Osbourne

Making Every Word Count (Flash Fiction) - Where short stories limit the number of words an author may use, make every word count. Go hands-on with practice techniques and learn why this skill is vital.
Jenna Eatough

The Use of Firearms in Writing C Michelle Jefferies


5:00 - Q&A with Kirsten Osbourne

5:30 - Book Signing!!