They Live: Believable Characters and Dialogue
With novelist Diane Marquette
Make characters come to life by giving them depth and substance. Write believable dialogue unique to each character in the story and keep the plot moving forward.

Mementos Into Memoir
with poet/memoirist Nancy Mitchell
How many times have we heard “you have to write that down”? Learn to cull the best of your family stories, memories and events, and shape them into a memoir. Bring photos, mementos, and thoughts of family stories and traditions.

Making Music with Words
with poet/songwriter Crabmeat Thompson
Learn creative, right brain thinking as used by great poets from Chaucer to Bukowski to the Grateful Dead!

Giving Shape to Experience: Plotting Your Story
with novelist Cruce Stark
How is a readable story different from a mere listing of events? Plotting! Learn the basic rules to make your stories better.

Turning Documents into Stories
with novelist Diane Marquette
What’s keeping you from writing a bestselling book or award-winning film? Learn how to find timely topics and craft them into fiction or nonfiction works that are sure to find an audience.

Poetry as Memoir
with poet Vanessa Haley
Explore sensory perceptions elicited by family photos and use elements of poetry to shape your memoir. Please bring an old photo to serve as inspiration!

12:30-1:30
Keynote Address by author Lara Zeises

Lunch (don't forget to sign up to have lunch at an author hosted table)

Write Your Book in 9 Minutes a Day
with novelist Maribeth Fischer
No kidding!  A hand-on workshop that will teach you to use writing prompts to start writing the book you’ve always dreamed of writing. If you are overwhelmed with how to begin  project or can't seem to find the time, this fun approach takes the pressure off while allowing you to produce substantial fiction or non-fiction material.

The Story Behind the Story, Part 1
with journalist and Assistant Professor Victor Greto
The real story often begins with a single detail that hints at conflict or tension. Learn the skills in finding the “back story”, which makes the difference between writing that simply conveys information and a compelling story.

The Working Writer Roundtable Discussion with Diane Marquette, Nancy Mitchell, Mary Kennedy, Cruce Stark, and Vanessa Haley
Tips and habits that will keep you writing from those who keep on writing!

How to Write a Murder Mystery
with novelist Mary Kennedy
Whether your tastes run to medical suspense, detective mysteries, or legal thrillers, you’ll find all the tools you need to write your mystery.

The Perfect Scene
with novelist Maribeth Fischer
Scenes are the heart of writing.  Even the quietest moment needs setting, character development, and use of dialog - even if only internal. In other words, the scene must employ the key elements of writing.  Layer upon layer, work with all these key features by building your own scene in this step-by-step workshop.  You will leave the session with a draft of a solid chapter/scene.

Set Design
with poet Billie Travalini
Setting is central to the meaning, tone, and success of many poems from “Harlem” by Langston Hughes to “New Hampshire” by Robert Frost to “A Moment in Troy” by Wislawa Szymborska to “Fayetteville Junior High” by Fleda Brown to “Creamed Corn” by Ted Kooser. By closely examining what role setting plays in each of these poems, you will uncover ways to transform your own poems in ways you never expected.

Start Your Engines!
Roundtable Discussion with Billie Travalini, Maribeth Fischer, Mary Kennedy
All writers have their own ways of writing the first words, the ones that get them moving. Join these authors and find out where it all starts for them.

The Story Behind the Story, Part 2
with journalist and Assistant Professor Victor Greto
Put the information from Part 1 to work as you interview and search for both an image and turning point in a person’s story.

Successful Peer Writers Critique Groups
with Robert Hambling Davis
Valuable tips for organizing and maintaining a successful peer writers critique group, including line-editing, writing summary critiques, and conducting group meetings.