Category Archives: Conferences and Retreats

Upcoming ANWA Conference and Why I Can’t Attend

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ANWA (American Night Writers Association) is holding a terrific conference in a few weeks. Here is some information, including a list of faculty and classes:

19th Annual ANWA Writers Conference
“Writing at the Speed of Life”

American Night Writers Association
will hold its 19th Annual Writers Conference
in Phoenix, Arizona on February 25 & 26, 2011, with

SPEAKER Chris Stewart

Author of “The Great and Terrible” fiction series, The Fourth War,
Missionary Miracles: Stories and Letters from the Field, and other works
Make the ANWA Conference your two-day Writer’s Getaway. Come to the Friday afternoon and evening workshops, and spend the rest of the evening at the “Meet & Greet,” where you will rub shoulders with the agents, editor, and authors. Enjoy the heated pool and jacuzzi, then wake up refreshed and ready for a great day at the conference. Hotel room discount is available if you book by February 2, 2011.

  • Laurie Schnebly Campbell, author of Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams and noted teacher of online courses
  • Chava Cannon, award-winning singer-songwriter and member of BMI
  • Elana Johnson, author of Possessions, and query letter guru
  • Cecily Markland, owner of Inglestone Pubishing, editor of The Beehive Newspaper, and a published author
  • Angela Morrison, author of YA novels Sing Me to Sleep and Taken by Storm
  • Kelly Gottuso Mortimer, agent and owner of Mortimer Literary Agency
  • Carolyn Murphy, the Family Tree Gal
  • Janette Rallison, national YA author who has sold over 700,000 books, including My Double Life, Just One Wish,My Fair Godmother, and Revenge of the Cheerleaders
  • Kirk Shaw, editor at Covenant Communications
  • Kelly Sonnack, agent from Andrea Brown Literary Agency, who specializes in all types of children’s literature, including picture books, and middle grade and young adult novels
  • Chris Stewart, best-selling author of The Great and Terrible series, and other books
  • Conrad J. Storad, award-winning childrens author of Don’t Call Me a Pig (A Javelina Story), and Rattlesnake Rules

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Here is a taste of the class list for the 2011 ANWA Writers Conference. Friday workshops are interactive and hands-on. Titles of classes that will be presented twice are followed by an asterisk (*). More class titles will be added later.

  • Writing A Killer Query Letter (Friday Workshop)
    Elana Johnson, author of Possessions, and query letter guru
    Every submission, whether for a publisher or a literary agent, starts with a query letter. You can craft a query letter that will hook an editor or agent to request more material in just a few steps. Bring your one-page query letter to share, receive feedback, and leave this two-hour workshop with a killer query letter that will generate requests.
  • Sonoran Desert Tales—Making Nonfiction Fun for Young Readers (Friday Workshop)
    Conrad J. Storad, author of Don’t Call Me a Pig (A Javelina Story), and Rattlesnake Rules
    To become a better writer one must write. Then write more.
  • Pitching to Agents, Editors, and Publishers (Friday Workshop)
    Elana Johnson
    So you think you want to pitch to an agent or editor? You don’t need a 90 mph fastball, just a clear picture of how to talk to another human being about your book. Come learn how to say all the right things in all the right places that will impress an agent or editor enough to generate a request.
  • Read Me A Story—Reading Aloud to Cultivate the Art of Listening (Friday Workshop)
    Conrad J. Storad
    The art of listening is an acquired one. It must be taught and cultivated gradually—it doesn’t happen overnight.
  • A Match Made in Heaven: Finding the Right Publisher and Convincing Them It’s So
    Kirk Shaw, senior editor at Covenant Communications, Inc.; and freelance editor for David R. Godine, Publisher; Northwestern University Press; and other publishers
  • Avoiding Childish Mistakes When Writing for Children
    Kelly Sonnack, agent from Andrea Brown Literary Agency
    What are some of the mistakes writers make when writing for children, and how can you avoid them? What are the things that make editors and agents cringe and stop reading? Kelly will discuss the pitfalls to avoid when writing your children’s book.
  • How to Start a Book and Get it Finished
    Laurie Schnebly Campbell, author of Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams and noted teacher of online courses
    For writers anywhere in the process from imagining a book to completing the final chapter, this class looks at how, when and why to start writing, roadblocks and solutions along the way, and what to do after reaching The End.
  • Block-busting: Putting the Joy Back in Writing
    Laurie Schnebly Campbell
    At some point, almost all writers suffer from the inability to tell the story they want. Part of writer’s block is a lack of joy in the process, so counselor Laurie Schnebly Campbell looks at the causes—including exhaustion, boredom and fear of success—and the benefits of this block. Take home new awareness of what works for you, and renewed inspiration for returning to the craft you love.
  • Perils of Publishing: Extreme Makeover—Editing Edition
    Kelly Gottuso Mortimer, agent and owner of Mortimer Literary Agency
  • Write What You Know: Gleaning from Reality to Make Characters Breath *
    Angela Morrison, author of YA novels Sing Me to Sleep and Taken by Storm
    Gather, delve into, and create using Angela’s favorite techniques to turn what we know, love, learn, and yearn for into living characters to populate our scenes.
  • Beginning Songwriting For The Versatile Writer In You
    Chava Cannon, award-winning singer-songwriter and member of BMI
    Calling all story-tellers! Did you know that songwriting is story-telling set to music? After this 1 hour class, you too will have the skills to write a song. You will learn basic song formatting, do’s and don’ts and how to get started. Pre-requisite: NONE. No musical skill required, just the willingness to step outside the “Novel” box. Come join in the FA LA LA and add songwriting to your resume.
  • Editor and Agent Panel
    Kirk Shaw, Kelly Sonnack, Kelly Gottuso Mortimer, Cecily Markland
  • Topic: Family and Personal History Writing *
    Carolyn Murphy, the Family Tree Gal
  • Topic: Dialogue *
    Janette Rallison, national YA author

So how come I won’t be there? Unfortunately, I’ve got shoulder surgery scheduled three days before (a partial tear of my left rotator cuff) and there’s no way I’d be able to handle luggage at the airport, let alone lug all the books around that I’d probably want to buy.

But, hey! That doesn’t mean you can’t! There’s no better place to find an agent or a publisher than at a writer’s conference. Register now at a discount by going here.

Originally posted 2011-01-18 16:54:09.

Writer’s Contest for LDS Women

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For those of you who may be interested and fit the parameters:

Segullah: Writings by Latter-day Saint Women is pleased to announce its annual writing competitions in the genres of personal essay, poetry, and fiction. Segullah welcomes unpublished entries which address any subject in harmony with its mission: to publish insightful writings which explore life’s richness and complexity while reflecting faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Entrants must be female members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Entries will be judged by Segullah editors. Winners in each category will be awarded $100. Deadline is December 31, 2010. For more information, visit http://journal.segullah.org/contests/.

By the way, Segullah also puts on a terrific one-day writer’s conference each spring in the Salt Lake area. I attended last year and found the presentation on essays particularly enlightening.

Originally posted 2010-11-01 10:01:49.

One Last Bit About the Retreat

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For those of you who are still not sure it’s worth your while or money to head up to the far northwest corner of Washington for a two-day writing retreat, here’s a list of all the classes and presentations packed in to those two days:

Thursday Evening:

“Joy in the Journey: The Road to Publication (Or Overcoming the Agony of Rejection)” by Janette Rallison

Friday:

“First Movies, Then Records, Now Books: Publishing’s Paradigm Shift and What It Means for Writers” by yours truly

“Finding Your Inner Matroyshka: The Six Stages of a Writer” by Liz Adair

“Cutting Off Your Baby’s Toes: Tips on Self-Editing” by Linda P. Adams

“Query Letters–Your Next Big Challenge” by Terry Deighton

“If I Can Do It, So Can You: My Experience in Self-Publishing” by Victoria Boothe

“The View From the Checkout Stand, A Bookstore Owner’s POV” by Chrisy Cope

“Ho-hum to Hilarious, How to Put Humor Into Your Writing” by Jane Still

“The Why and How of Blogging” by Monique Leutkemeyer

“Noah’s Story Arc: Building a Watertight Plot” by Christine Thackeray

“Fabulous Free Verse: Unleash Your Poetic Self” by Lara Niedermeyer

“Writing in Spite of Family and the Universe: Organize Yourself to Write” by Kersten Campbell

“See It/Hear It: Writing Believable Dialogue” by yours truly

“Careening Down the Road to Publication: What I’ve Learned on My Journey” by Ann Acton

“Screenwriting 101: Basics for Beginners” by Christine Thackeray

“How Can We Serve? Devising Literacy Programs for Presentation to Local Relief Societies” by Liz Adair

“How to Relive High School Forever: Writing for the YA Audience” by Janette Rallison

Saturday AM:

“Escaping From the Slush Pile” by Janette Rallison

Now, obviously, everyone couldn’t attend every class, so you had to pick and choose…but there was definitely something for everyone. And I haven’t even mentioned Terry’s Grammar Quickies, the terrific Get Acquainted activities by Marylou Bailey, the morning and evening yoga stretches led by Lara Nedermeyer, the singing led by Bonnie Harris (who’s due to give birth in about a week, by the way), the Critique Group led by Wendy Jones (who also took the awesome group photo below), the plotting and writing exercises, and the concluding meeting where we got to share how we felt about the whole experience.

It really was like Girls Camp…only for writers! Think about coming next year.

Originally posted 2010-10-15 10:04:47.

The Great Northwest (Writers Retreat)

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I’m still re-acclimating to regular life five days after returning home from a terrific, writerly get-away up near Deception Pass in the northwest corner of our beautiful state. I wish I had taken more pictures but, truthfully, I was too uptight to take in the scenery much until the last day when I no longer had to worry about presentations. Still, here’s a view from the main lodge’s balcony:

I was the first to arrive out of 32 women–all LDS writers who belong (or may soon belong) to ANWA (American Night Writers Association). We feasted on two days worth of classes, workshops, and presentations–particularly those of visiting YA author, Janette Rallison–arranged by Liz Adair and her local Round Tuit ANWA chapter…and some terrific food arranged by Ann Acton.

A big thanks goes out to Terry Deighton for the location (Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory). It seemed more like a first-class lodging facility than a science lab. I believe everyone was in agreement–we want to come back next year! Everything–the accommodations, the food, the presentations, even the spirit of the event–was like Girl’s Camp for Writers…only with nice comfortable beds and showers! And the facility can accommodate many more. So if you’re an LDS woman who writes, mark your calendars now for the weekend after General Conference in October, 2011.

As for my presentations, I plan on sharing bits and pieces of “Publishing’s Paradigm Shift” here on my website over the next several days. I’m going to post my other presentation (“See It/Hear It: Writing Believable Dialogue”) in several parts over on my blog.

Originally posted 2010-10-14 12:57:46.

Interested in Self-Publishing But Don’t Know How?

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A group to which I belong, Indie Author Hub, is kicking off its first writer’s conference in June, and I’m a presenter (on Dialogue). If you’ve ever thought about writing a book and getting published without jumping through all the hoops necessary in traditional publishing, this is the conference for you! Or if you know others with those same aspirations, spread the word.

It will cover the nuts and bolts of writing, actual book creation (both print and ebook), marketing, the business of writing, and more…and it only lasts one day, all for only $59.

The keynote speaker will be NYT Bestselling Indie Author, Amy Harmon, and we’ve scheduled 21 different classes.

So think about joining me at the Courtyard Marriott in Provo, Utah on Saturday, June 7th, beginning at 7:30 a.m.

To register and get more details, go to IndieAuthorHub.com.

Indie Conference Ad Color

Originally posted 2014-04-10 06:00:14.