It's been a busy conference year, and the next two months are the busiest of them all. I'll be attending conferences and giving workshops in both Florida and Texas in September and October.
If you're looking for some serious in-depth novel tweaking, try my full-day "Bringing Your Novel to Life" workshop in Gainesville, FL.
Gainesville, FL: FL-SCBWI Boot Camp Workshop (full day)
Saturday, September 21
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Members: $85, Non-Members: $115
Saint Leo University
4650-B NW 39th Place
Gainesville, FL 32606
My Workshop: Bringing Your Novel to Life
Great novels blend skilled writing with compelling storytelling, using a multitude of techniques to draw readers in and make them love the book. These techniques work together to build immersive story worlds, creating characters readers love, settings they want to live in, and stories they can’t put down. In this workshop, writers will learn techniques to bring a novel to life for readers. Use point of view to show, not tell, and draw readers in without info-dumping; find the best ways to describe the setting and build a world; tap into the emotions of the characters and use those emotions to drive the plot and deepen the story; and how all these techniques work together to build a novel.
What to bring: Bring your work-in-progress and your favorite note-taking tools.
Target audience: MG and YA authors of all experience levels
FL-SCBWI is also doing workshops all across the state, so if novels aren't your thing, check out what else they're offering that Saturday:
Tampa Bay: Picture Books—It’s in the Numbers with Ethan Long and Gladys Jose
Orlando: Creating Picture Books with Loreen Leady
Jacksonville: Stock Your Storytelling Toolkit—From Picture Books to Novels with Fred Koehler and Sarah McGuire Koehler
For those in the West Texas area, I'm doing two novel workshops--one on planning and developing your novel, and the other on revising your novel. So no matter where you're at in the process, there's something to learn.
Midland, TX: Permian Basin Writers' Workshops
October 12-13
Midland College, F. Marie Hall
Midland College, F. Marie Hall
Midland, TX
Planning Your Novel in Ten Easy Steps: Writing a novel can be a daunting process, but a little planning can go a long way to making that process easier. Even predetermining a few key turning points in the story can keep writers focused, whether they prefer to outline every scene or pick a story direction and write toward it. In this workshop, writers will learn how to create the critical elements of a novel’s plot, how to use goals, conflicts, and stakes to build a story and develop characters, and how to approach a novel in a way that will make it easier to write and be more marketable to agents, editors, and readers.
Revision Readiness: How to Revise: Revision is part of writing, but sometimes knowing where to start can be overwhelming. It can be even harder if you need to trim down a large manuscript or change a major storyline. In this workshop, writers will learn how to approach their revisions with a plan, focusing on macro, medium, and micro issues to tighten their novel on a layer by layer basis. They’ll also learn how to mentally approach revisions, and how to strengthen their story from the top down.
My Workshops: Planning Your Novel in Ten Easy Steps and Revision Readiness: How to Revise
Planning Your Novel in Ten Easy Steps: Writing a novel can be a daunting process, but a little planning can go a long way to making that process easier. Even predetermining a few key turning points in the story can keep writers focused, whether they prefer to outline every scene or pick a story direction and write toward it. In this workshop, writers will learn how to create the critical elements of a novel’s plot, how to use goals, conflicts, and stakes to build a story and develop characters, and how to approach a novel in a way that will make it easier to write and be more marketable to agents, editors, and readers.
Revision Readiness: How to Revise: Revision is part of writing, but sometimes knowing where to start can be overwhelming. It can be even harder if you need to trim down a large manuscript or change a major storyline. In this workshop, writers will learn how to approach their revisions with a plan, focusing on macro, medium, and micro issues to tighten their novel on a layer by layer basis. They’ll also learn how to mentally approach revisions, and how to strengthen their story from the top down.
At the end of October, I'm back in my hometown of Fort Lauderdale, FL with the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America teaching all about scenes and sequels. This is part of an all-day event with multiple authors and presenters, so it's a great day of learning and improving your novel (more details on the other presenters to come).
Fort Lauderdale, FL: All Write: Jump Start Your Novel
Saturday, October 26, 10am - 3pm
The Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (FMWA)
Nova Southeastern University
3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
The event is free and open to the public.
Scenes are the building blocks of a novel, but they don't always unfold the way we want them to. In this workshop, you'll learn the mechanics of scene and its troublesome partner, the sequel, and how to use this pairing to drive your story. You'll also learn how to develop scenes and weave them together to build strong and focused plots, as well as what to do when you story grinds to a halt and you don't know why.
Hope to see some of you at these events!
Fort Lauderdale, FL: All Write: Jump Start Your Novel
Saturday, October 26, 10am - 3pm
The Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (FMWA)
Nova Southeastern University
3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
The event is free and open to the public.
My Workshop: Understanding the Scene: The Engine of Your Story
Scenes are the building blocks of a novel, but they don't always unfold the way we want them to. In this workshop, you'll learn the mechanics of scene and its troublesome partner, the sequel, and how to use this pairing to drive your story. You'll also learn how to develop scenes and weave them together to build strong and focused plots, as well as what to do when you story grinds to a halt and you don't know why.
Hope to see some of you at these events!
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