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Teen Writers Program
In
order to encourage young people to take advantage of
this unique opportunity to learn from published authors,
we offer a special rate of $75 for teens (13 to 19 years
of age). Teen-specific classes are offered Session 1 and
2. The last two sessions, teens can choose
from any workshops offered.
NEW THIS YEAR!
We’ll have a
special “teen table” at the Friday evening reception,
Saturday morning breakfast, and Saturday lunch with a
conference helper to make sure you get to meet the other
teen writers at the conference, help you find your way
around the Cuesta campus, and answer any questions you
might have during the conference.
Teen Writers
Program
Conference Fee: $75
(For Teens - 13 to 19 years old)
Return
to
Conference Fees Page to register once you have
your workshop #'s handy
(Choose Teen Writers Fee from Fee List when registering)
See the
Schedule of Events for the
full conference lineup!
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Workshop Session 1: Friday 7:30 to 9 p.m.
118WC.309 Writers Workout –
Sherry Shahan
(Teen Writers Program)
In this interactive workshop I’ll share tips for
creating intriguing plots and shaping realistic
characters. We’ll also explore techniques for taking a
personal experience and turning it into page-turning
fiction. Optional writing exercises will be offered.
Workshop Session 2: Saturday 9:00 to
10:30 a.m.
218WC.309 Poetry’s Nefarious Plot to Rule the
World –
Thalia
Chaltas
(Teen Writers Program)
Poetry is everywhere! We’ll gather ‘good’ poetry and
expose ‘bad’ poetry usage from the world at large, in
advertising, the news, and entertainment, as well as
books. Verse affects the masses! How can you use
poetry techniques to improve what ever it is you
write? You don’t have to be a Poet to control poetry’s
clout! Strange and powerful writing exercises
included. (Despot License not required.)
Workshop Session 3: Saturday 11:00 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. (Choose one)
311WC.309 Your Writing Isn’t Art—It’s a Job:
Building Your Toolbox
– Christian Moerk
If you want to make a living as a writer, you need the
tools for the job. In this class, you’ll build that
toolbox. You’ll find out: how to create a "skeleton" in
the form of a chronological synopsis; the importance of
layering in details in act one that you can pick up
later; how to write realistic dialogue, the secret to
creating satisfying openings and closings to your
chapters; when to stay inside your chosen genre and when
to step outside of it; and much more.
312WC.309 What to Do When Your Muse Ain't Moving
You –
Katharine
Sands
You love it when it’s working. When your writing flows.
When your characters are, well, in character. When your
pulse is quickening and your plot is thickening. But
what about creative blocks? You hit a wall—thud. You
have no words, literally no words, and the blank page
yawns before you. Now what? This class will show you how
to get up and running again.
313WC.309 Word Play and the Self-Editing Process
–
Thalia Chaltas
How do you choose words when you edit your writing? Are
you using the best expression for the job? Let’s
find ways to be creatively specific about word
selection. A playful variety of physical explorations
and writing exercises will ignite the dusty ol’ sparkler
in your editorial brain.
314WC.309 Picture
Books: More than Fuzzy Chicks –
Sherry Shahan
The two oldest forms of storytelling -- words and images
-- merge together in picture books. Together we’ll
explore the various genres within this popular category,
including nonfiction, which receives prestigious awards,
starred reviews and appears on best-of-the-year lists.
Optional writing exercises will be offered.
315WC.309 Elemental
Odes and a Love Poem or Two –
Lisa Coffman
With Pablo Neruda as guide, this workshop looks at poems
that praise a (seemingly) simple element or moment of
daily life. We’ll read and discuss how Neruda and other
writers ignite poetry out of things often overlooked or
taken for granted. Readings will be drawn from Neruda,
Galway Kinnell, Sharon Olds, Issa, Yehuda Amichai, and
others. We’ll discuss how these writers shake free of
predictable language and find the new in what seemed
familiar. Look for a few love poems to be thrown in,
too.
316WC.309 Make Money
with Books, eBooks and Other Information Products
–
Stephanie
Chandler
As a non-fiction writer, you can use your skills to
generate income by selling information products. In this
class, you will learn how to create and promote books,
e-books, special reports, audio programs, seminars,
teleseminars and more. If you are already an author of a
non-fiction book, there are many ways these products can
enhance your publishing career and generate revenue.
Come learn the secrets of leveraging the Internet to
make more money from your expertise and writing skills.
317WC.309 Point of
Narration (PON) vs. Point of View (POV) –
Charlotte Cook
How does point of narration make for a successful and
popular read, and why don't you know more about this? So
why and when does a distant omniscient narrator work,
and when do or don't commercial possibilities of a
manuscript overwhelm the originality of the material?
This entertaining and interactive workshop has
successfully reoriented many writers into reworking a
manuscript that then gets far greater agent and
publisher response.
318WC.309
The High Concept: Distilling Your
Book into a Pitch that Pops
–
Amy
Burkhardt
Whether using it in a query letter, a book
proposal, or a face-to-face pitch, the "high concept" is
crucial to hooking an agent or editor. It may seem
unfair and downright impossible to compress several
hundred pages into two sentences, but it must be done -
and done well - if you want to see your book in print.
Come participate in a discussion about what the "high
concept" is, why it's important, and how to create one
that stuns.
Workshop Session 4: Saturday 2:15 to 3:45
p.m.
(Choose one)
411WC.309 Add Humor to
Your Writing –
Gene
Perret
Any manuscript—book, article, essay, or whatever—can
benefit from a touch of humor. One agent once told me
that if he could find just one laugh per page, he could
practically guarantee a sale. Humor does many things for
your writing: it demands attention, it highlights your
outstanding points, it helps the reader retain your
message. This seminar teaches you how to look for
humorous ideas and to convert those to comedic
text. We’ll also deal with writing humor per se, such as
monologues or humorous articles, and how to add just a
sprinkling of humor to any piece of writing you do.
412WC.309 Screen & TV
Writing: Thinking in Pictures –
Thomas B. Sawyer
Visual storytelling
that works for
novels, stageplays or screenplays: TV and film writing techniques will make
you a better storyteller. This class includes how to
create vivid, memorable characters and put the right
words in their mouths. Learn how to “direct” your actors
(even in novels), pacing, structure, economy, subtext,
when to get into your story and scenes—and when to get
out—and much more, taught by someone who’s been there.
413WC.309 Publishing
Short Fiction
–
Kirsten Menger-Anderson
Finding a home for your short fiction can be a
lengthy and frustrating process. In this workshop, we'll
discuss strategies for publishing short fiction in both
print and online journals. We'll also look at how to
prepare work for submission and how to track
submissions, as well as what to expect after a story has
been accepted for publication.
414WC.309 Creating
Complex Characters –
Leslie Lehr
On the page, characters need to be especially complex,
not only to pull the reader in, but also to act in ways
that drive the plot, making the story both urgent and
believable. In this seminar, we’ll identify different
types of characters and then do class participation
exercise classes to break down all the elements that
real people have—many that we may not see at first
sight.
415WC.309 Life
Treasures: Introduction to Memoir –
Susan Browne
In this workshop, we will explore some key elements of
memoir: vivid characters and settings. We’ll write two
to three in-class exercises, then share our writing to
discover the story and possible themes. This workshop
can also inspire those who wish to work on shorter
personal essays.
416WC.309 The
Emotional Heart of Young Adult Novels –
Sherry Shahan
Can the novel in verse do something traditional prose
novels can’t? Is it, in fact, more suited to
scrutinizing the secret inner lives of teenagers? We’ll
explore this popular genre and experiment with poetic
techniques that will help us improve our prose writing.
I’ll also discuss techniques for turning a personal
experience into fiction for adolescent readers.
417WC.309 Riveting
Writing: How to Pitch, Publish and Platform –
Katharine Sands
Whether they’re meeting with you or reading your pitch
letter, literary agents want to be impressed. They need
to determine the answer to two pressing questions: Why
you? Why now? Publishers and agents need to know from
the get-go why your book appeals to readers and how much
built-in media interest the book has; the biggest
buzzword in the media and publishing world is
"platform." In this hands-on workshop, a New York
City-based literary agent takes participants
step-by-step through the getting-published process,
focusing on fundamental guiding principles behind all
successful authors.
418WC.309 Creating an
Authentic Time and Place –
Christian Moerk
Many period-based novels strive for authenticity but
instead deliver excruciating "Bow, yield, kneel!"
dialogue that pulls you out of the story. In this
seminar, we'll look at examples where the writer has
successfully navigated the pond of bottomless period
clichés and come out alive with a wonderful, believable
tone. How do they do it? How can you create characters
that live in their own skin, yet do what you want them
to? How much period is just enough? What details are
used, and which are discarded? How do you create
narratives that move forward from specific characters'
point of view rather than using merely the conventional
omniscient third person narrator? And what are the
pitfalls once you fall too much in love with a certain
tone?
Return
to
Conference Fees Page to register once you have
your workshop #'s handy
(Choose Teen Writers Fee from Fee List when registering)
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