The 2017 Write Stuff Writer’s Conference™, hosted by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, has come and gone. Once again, our resident photographer, Joan Zachary, took pictures during the March sessions.
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Thursday, March 22, we held a full day workshop with bestselling author, Bob Mayer. In his seminar, he guided attendees through all the steps to develop an original idea, create characters, establish point of view, create setting, manage dialog, and how to go about selling our works in today’s market.
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Friday Morning, March 23, Bob Mayer focused on the challenges in the business of writing; researching a story project, POD, and the future of publishing.
In the afternoon, Jane K. Cleland conducted a session on Mastering Suspense, and Managing Structure & Plot.
Dan Krippene, Social Media Chair for GLVWG, offered a one hour presentation on how writers can use Pinterest to connect with others and enhance author brand.
Early Friday evening, Dianna Sinovic moderated GLVWG’s annual Page Cuts Critique Session, which gave participants an opportunity to have a short piece of their work critiqued by three panelists composed of writers and agents.
Richard White, Tabitha Lord, Veronica Park
Friday ended with a welcome reception where participants had the chance to network with presenters, agents, editors, and other conferees.
Conference Chair, Dawn Sooy, spoke about the group’s 25th anniversary, and founding member, Peggy Adamczyk, reflected on GLVWG’s history through the years.
GLVWG member and professional magician, Arjay Lewis, entertained the event with amazing displays of prestidigitation.
Of course, no conference would be complete without a visit from ‘Samuel Clemmons’ (aka Charles Kiernan).
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The main event for GLVWG’s 2018 Conference encompassed a busy day with six presenters on subjects for self publishing, weapons in fiction, time management, steampunk, writer beware, and ways to improve writing.
Those not attending the first morning session, had the chance to hear the latest publishing industry trends from a panel of Agents and Editors, Sheree Bykofski, Noah Ballard, and Amara Hoshijo.
After introductions by GLVWG’s President, Keith Keifer, and Conference Chair, Dawn Sooy, our conference keynote speaker, Bob Mayer, gave an upbeat talk on “I Will Make It Work”, encouraging writers to find their passion and mine it. He also had us laughing with stories of his military days in the Green Berets.
Following the day’s last sessions, winners were announced from the Flash Fiction Contest (of which the winner’s entry will be posted on the blog at a later date). Bernadette Sukley conducted the raffle for the many door prizes available at the conference.
Bernadette Sukley
The day ended with a book fair, where participants could purchase signed copies from authors and presenters.
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Our thanks to Joan Zachary for providing the conference photographs.
We hope to see you next year at the GLVWG Writers Conference 2019.
Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group 