MWW Fall One-Day Conference

Hands-on workshops on EDITING & REVISION, or NaNoWriMo BOOTCAMP!

Midwest Writers Workshop’s Fall One-Day Conference is Saturday, October 5, 2019, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Ball State Alumni Center, 2800 W. Bethel Ave., Muncie, Indiana. The cost for this one-day MWW Fall program is $155 and includes coffee (all day!) and lunch.

We are offering TWO tracks of workshops for this MWW one-day conference to encourage you to move forward with your writing, take the next step, and improve your writing. TRACK 1 includes hands-on workshops on EDITING and REVISION. You can choose from three workshop sessions: Manuscript Makeover: Nonfiction, The Writing Life, or Revising Your Fiction. You will spend the day with the instructor and other writers who share your interest.

Or you can choose TRACK 2, an all-day workshop: NaNoWriMo Bootcamp! Participating in NaNoWriMo again this year? First time? Always meant to, but just never seemed to kick it in gear in time? This Bootcamp has the sure-fire inspiration and advice you need to make it happen this year. Prepare for November’s National Novel Writing Month with hands-on workshops on character development and plot. Your chances of drafting an entire novel increase exponentially when you spend some time preparing yourself for the journey ahead.

Track 1: Editing & Revision Workshops OR

Track 2: NaNoWriMo Bootcamp

TRACK 1:

Holly Miller: Manuscript Makeover: Nonfiction -- Send us the first eight pages of your nonfiction work in progress by Sept. 18. Instructor Holly Miller—author of 15 books and more than 2,500 published articles—will edit your pages and use them to show strengths and weaknesses and to illustrate revision techniques and strategies for improvement. Writing exercises and marketing tips will round out the jam-packed (and fun) day. Send pages to midwestwriters@yahoo.com subject line Manuscript Makeover Nonfiction
Larry Sweazy: The Writing Life -- That unfinished book is sitting in the drawer because you don’t have time to finish it. Life got in the way of your dream so you set it aside, promising to get back to it someday. Regardless of where you are on your path to fulfilling your writing dream, whether you write novels, short stories, or screenplays, you will encounter roadblocks, time drains, and the lack of energy and desire to finish what you started. This is an intensive workshop that will help you focus on the time you need to write your masterpiece. This class will offer exercises, practical advice on where to find ideas, time management tips, and step-by-step guidelines that will encourage you to put writing at the top of your to-do list. The techniques taught in this class will apply to all genres and types of writing, and will prepare you to send your work out into the world. Bring a laptop or pen and paper and be prepared to write…with the clock ticking.
Lucrecia Guerrero: Revising Your Fiction -- You've brought your creativity to bear and have completed a work of fiction. Now, it's time to turn the analytical brain, and polish your little gem until it shines. Bring your short story or novel chapter of up to fifteen pages. You are the one who will be revising your own work, so it's important that you learn revision techniques. In this workshop, you'll apply revision exercises to your own writing and receive feedback on the results. You'll be reviewing the whole story, from the overall picture, to the protagonist's motivation, down to the particular phrase or word. Print out at least one double-spaced hard copy of your manuscript in addition to bringing a copy on your favorite device. Come prepared to write and be a part of a supportive writing community!

TRACK 2:

Sarah Schmitt: NaNoWriMo Bootcamp -- To prepare you for the fast moving and creative energy of NaNoWriMo and writing an entire novel in 30 days, these hands-on workshops include Character Development and Plot, and how to keep editing to a minimum. Your chances of finishing a first draft of a novel in November are greatly improved if you prepare in October.

SCHEDULE:

9:30 am – 10:00: Registration

10:00 – 10:15: Welcome

10:15 – 11:45: TRACK 1:

Holly Miller: Manuscript Makeover: Nonfiction
Larry Sweazy: Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Lucrecia Guerrero: What’s It All About?

TRACK 2:

NanoWriMo – Character Development Workshop / Sarah Schmitt -- Does your character's eye color matter? Does he or she resent authority? Why? Character development is imperative for any story. This hands-on workshop will look at how a character's past influences their actions in the present and where inspiration can be found to create a character as unique as the student writer. As a group we will develop a character to use in the second part of the boot camp. The remainder of the time will be used for each participant to begin developing their own characters.

11:45 am – 12:45 pm: Lunch/social time

12:45 pm – 2:00 pm: TRACK 1:

Holly Miller: Manuscript Makeover: Nonfiction
Larry Sweazy: Finding Time to Write
Lucrecia Guerrero: The Big Picture

TRACK 2:

NaNoWriMo – Plot / Sarah Schmitt -- Building on the work done during the Character workshop, this session will focus on plot. Again, we will, as a group, plot on an entire story using Blake Snyder's Save the Cat format. We'll go through each of the fifteen beats as we craft an entire story line with just a genre.

2:15 – 3:00 pm: TRACK 1:

Holly Miller: Manuscript Makeover: Nonfiction
Larry Sweazy: The Publishing World Deconstructed
Lucrecia Guerrero: A Closer Look

TRACK 2:

NaNoWriMo - Writing to Revise Tips / Sarah Schmitt -- Creating an entire novel in 30 days means writing fast and keeping the editing to a minimum. In this session, learn how to satisfy your editorial brain while letting your creative side stay in the driver's seat. Time permitting, there will be a Q&A session at the end.

3:15 – 4:15 pm: PANEL with all faculty: Larry Sweazy, Lucrecia Guerrero, Sarah Schmitt, Holly Miller

4:15 pm: Send off (with reminder of Agent Fest, March 13-14 & July 23-25, 2020)