Saturday Workshops
South Coast Writers Conference - 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday Workshops will be held at Gold Beach High School.
Come prepared to write and learn. Some workshops will have time for writing and reading of participants’ work. Workshops are limited to 25 students and cost $60 before January 31, $70 after. Please indicate a first and second choice on the registration form.
SESSION 1 - 9 am - 10:30 am
A. Picture Book Principles - Judy Cox
Learn the techniques and tools of writing the picture book text, including types of plots, characters, and age-level appropriateness. Learn to think like an illustrator even if you can’t draw, and how to storyboard your text.
B. How to Plan and Organize a Memoir or Family History Book - Merritt “Biff” Barnes
A professional book editor demonstrates how to plan a book that is based on research and materials you have gathered. The seminar will provide comparisons between chronological, biographical and topical methods of organizing the book’s contents. You will consider which elements to include, the scope and length of the book, and the best style for your audience. Learn how to organize your research into a table of contents that makes sense to you and your reader.
C. Putting the Wild Spirit in Your Poetry - Linda Barnes
What can you learn about the next step in your creative path by communing with the natural world? This poetry workshop will introduce you to three writing exercises designed to assist you in identifying, clarifying, and articulating the guidance of your animal spirit.
Through the use of visual images and brief ecological information about American animals, writers will practice putting the messages of the natural world to work in their creative lives and their poetry. Ample time for writing and sharing will be provided.
SESSION 2 - 10:45 am - 12:15 pm
F. The Big Picture: Essential Story Structure - Johnny Shaw
It doesn’t matter how beautiful the prose of a book is if the story falls apart. In this workshop, we will break down classic structure and apply it to the construction and telling of a story.
We all know that a story must have a beginning, middle, and end. But what exactly does that mean? What determines when the beginning is over and the middle has begun? When does the middle become the end? A nuts-and-bolts discussion of classic story structure.
H. Approaching, Understanding and then Getting your Songs Across - Lauren Sheehan
We will work in a supportive group format, sharing songs and/or texts of songs and the responsibilities of also sharing our honest responses, positive reactions and couching any suggestions in a constructive, helpful light. Singers and writers of all abilities are welcome and different levels of abilities and experiences will be ideal.
Goals and discussion/focus points may include:
1. Identifying what our songs are about and/ or what they are trying to express and explore.
2. Considering how the form serves the evolvement of the content.
3. Considering how the musical elements serve or don't serve the text and if it matters.
4. Exploring the roles of the singer vs the writer?
5. Brainstorming how to find musicians if one is a writer but not a singer?
6. Considering song writing as tool for personal development vs creating art ready to share with an audience. BOTH are perfectly legitimate awonderful, but different.
Songwriters should bring 1-3 songs or even bits/phrases/concepts of inspiration We can work with any level of completeness. Singers should come prepared to sing, bring a guitar or chord charts. written music or what ever will allow us to hear your song in the workshop.
You do not need to be a performer or even a developed singer - although those skills are welcome, too!
J. Writing the Essay: Daring to Share Yourself With Readers - Bob Welch
How to weave your life into your stories as a means of unlocking universal truths in your readers.
Essays come in many forms, among them the personal essay. As the writer of more than 3,000 such essays, Register-Guard columnist Bob Welch shares what connects with readers: being real, being timely and being funny. An essay, says Welch, should, above all, move the reader in some way: make him or her laugh, cry, think, get angry, something. And he'll share how you do that.
SESSION 3 - 1:30 pm - 3 pm
K. Nuts and Bolts of Writing for Children - Judy Cox
Do you want to write a children’s book or story? Do you know how many pages a picture book is, or how to determine the grade level of your story? This workshop will cover the basics of writing for children—genre, reading and interest levels, how to plot using “three steps to a story”. Explore characters, setting, plot, and voice. Find out what editors really want, and other marketing tips. The instructor is an award-winning author of children’s picture books, novels and short stories. Bring paper, pens, and your imagination!
Resource: How to Write a Children’s Book and Get It Published by Barbara Seuling
M. Approaching, Understanding and then Getting your Songs Across - Lauren Sheehan
We will work in a supportive group format, sharing songs and/or texts of songs and the responsibilities of also sharing our honest responses, positive reactions and couching any suggestions in a constructive, helpful light. Singers and writers of all abilities are welcome and different levels of abilities and experiences will be ideal.
Goals and discussion/focus points may include:
1. Identifying what our songs are about and/ or what they are trying to express and explore.
2. Considering how the form serves the evolvement of the content.
3. Considering how the musical elements serve or don't serve the text and if it matters.
4. Exploring the roles of the singer vs the writer?
5. Brainstorming how to find musicians if one is a writer but not a singer?
6. Considering song writing as tool for personal development vs creating art ready to share with an audience. BOTH are perfectly legitimate awonderful, but different.
Songwriters should bring 1-3 songs or even bits/phrases/concepts of inspiration We can work with any level of completeness. Singers should come prepared to sing, bring a guitar or chord charts. written music or what ever will allow us to hear your song in the workshop.
You do not need to be a performer or even a developed singer - although those skills are welcome, too!
O. Tell Well: How to Describe and Inform - Elizabeth Lyon
Readers skip description and editors slash out "information dumps." So how do you tell well? The old maxim "show don't tell" is only half the skill you need for a finished and, more importantly, satisfying story. Narration—all forms of telling, including information, character description, setting details, thoughts, emotions, and more—is a huge part of writing. We'll go over examples, and you'll receive guidelines for when and how to narrate that will save future hair-pulling and nail-biting.
SESSION 4 - 3:15 pm - 4:45 pm
P. Three Minutes – What Fiction Writers can learn from Screenwriting - Johnny Shaw
Named for the common filmmaking idea that any scene over three minutes in a movie is considered a “long scene,” this workshop will look at various aspects of the craft of screenwriting and how they can be applied to the writing of fiction.
Covering everything from story structure and scene construction to character and dialogue, the lessons from one medium bring new insight into another.
R. Putting the Wild Spirit in Your Poetry - Linda Barnes
What can you learn about the next step in your creative path by communing with the natural world? This poetry workshop will introduce you to three writing exercises designed to assist you in identifying, clarifying, and articulating the guidance of your animal spirit.
Through the use of visual images and brief ecological information about American animals, writers will practice putting the messages of the natural world to work in their creative lives and their poetry. Ample time for writing and sharing will be provided.
T. Metaphors Be With You: How to Paint With Words - Bob Welch
It's almost a cliche to say "show, don't tell," but how do you actually do that? Award-winning author and columnist Welch shares how to incorporate the senses into your writing through metaphors, similes, description and more. He will discuss how to make your writing come to life: by dipping from the well of the five senses, by grabbing a reader emotionally instead of explaining something and by describing scenes such as Laura Hillenbrand's opening paragraph in Seabiscuit that draw you in so completely that you forget all about the writer because you're immersed in the story.
