Friday Writers Conference Schedule
9:00 Michael Morris Joe Gisondi
10:00 John Dufresne Brad & Darlyn Kuhn
11-12:30 Lunch & Keynote by Susanna Daniel
12:30 Susanna Daniel Signing
1:00 Roy Peter Clark Jennie Jarvis
2:00 Terry Griffin Cecilia Milanes
3:00 Peter Meinke John Henry Fleming
4:00 Robin Lippincott
5:00-5:30 Book Signings
Lecture Titles & Descriptions
Michael Morris: “Creating Characters Who Stand the Test of Time”
The workshop will focus on character development, capturing oral history and research for fiction, with an emphasis on the historical genre.
Joe Gisondi: “Finding Bigfoot & Developing Scenes”
Gisondi, author of Monster Trek: The Obsessive Search for Bigfoot and a professor of journalism, traveled to eight locations across the country, trekking into swamps, mountains, state parks, and remote woods with people in search of bigfoot as well as fame, fortune, adventure, and shared camaraderie. In this session, he’ll show you how to develop scenes before, during and after you’ve spent time in a locale through research, interviews and observations.
John Dufresne: “How to let the necessity of plot guide your writing.”
Brad & Darlyn Kuhn: “Bookstores & Beyond: Marketing in the Age of Amazon”
Learn how to brand yourself and sell your work from two writers who make a living at it.
Susanna Daniel: “My Fictional Floridians: Point of View and Narrative Shape”
An author’s choice of point of view not only helms a narrative, but determines how that narrative will be imagined by the reader and how it will make the reader feel. Susanna Daniel will discuss how point of view shapes character, structure, and language in each of her three novels, and how to access the most vivid, astute, and compelling point of view in your own work.
Roy Peter Clark: “Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer”
Based upon a book by that title, Roy Peter Clark will reveal the secrets of the writing process, from nuts and bolts to special effects to blueprints for stories to useful habits. These tools are proven to spark an immediate improvement in your prose.
Jennie Jarvis: “Crafting the Character Arc”
Many writers think that, just because they have their basic structure in place, their stories are destined to succeed. The problem with many narratives, however, can often come in those places between the plot points. While many books on the craft of writing state that characters need to be three dimensional and change, a beginning writer isn’t always sure how to turn these rather conceptual ideas into something a bit more concrete. Join award winning author and professor Jennie Jarvis as she details a step-by-step practical guide for beginning writers to use in order to ensure they create characters both dynamic and engaging.
Terrell Griffin: “From Self-Published Author to Number One National Best Seller: The Art and Craft of Writing a Mystery Novel”
Cecilia Milanes: “Our American Lives: Fact/Fiction/Film and Craft”
Peter Meinke: “The Writing Life: Habits, Attitude, Luck and Poems”
Join Florida Poet Laureate Peter Meinke as he reads various poems “about” writing, talks about his writing habits, and describes his experiences during a long career.
John Henry Fleming: “Storybrain: What Recent Discoveries in Neuroscience Mean for Fiction Writers”
For the first time, thanks to recent scientific developments, we’re getting a real-time look at how the brain responds to stories. The results are fascinating and surprising; what do they mean for fiction writers? How might our new understanding of the brain influence the craft of fiction? In this session, you’ll learn new ways of thinking about your stories and gain craft advice to help you create a vivid and meaningful experience in the minds of your readers.
Robin Lippincott: “A Good Title is Not Hard to Find”
As a teacher of fiction writing for many years, it has been my experience that a lot of writers aren’t very good at titling their work, and yet the significance of a compelling title that fits cannot be underestimated. In this lecture, I’ll examine why titles are so important, and also some guidelines by which to avoid bad titles, as well as how to create effective and meaningful titles. Along the way, we’ll look at some good (and even great) examples, as well as some bad ones.
For Book Festival dimension and registration, click on link given above.
Map and Directions
FWA 2015 Short Shorts Mini-Conference
Phil Jason Reviews Books 