A Talk with Maria V. Snyder

Tags

GLVWG "Write Stuff", Writing Conference, Writing Conferences

Maria V. Snyder is a fantasy and science fiction author best known for her New York Times best-selling Study Series. She’s written five other series, including the Glass Series, the Healer Series. Her books have won numerous awards.

Maria will be the Keynote Speaker at this years Write Stuff Writers Conference. She will also be presenting half-day seminars on Thursday and Friday afternoon, and two one-hour sessions on Saturday. GLVWG member Donna Brennan asked Maria a few questions about the sessions and seminars she will be presenting at the conference.

Donna: One of the sessions you will be teaching will be on serial writing. I noticed that characters in one of your series often show up in another. Is this typical when writing a series?

Maria: That happened with in my Study and Glass series. They are both set in the same world. The Glass books are a spin-off from the Study books. After I wrote the first three Study books, I was burned out with writing about those characters and wanted to start something new. My editor really loved the world I created, and she liked the one minor character, Opal, the glass magician. I was in the middle of telling her why I couldn’t write about Opal when an idea for a story popped into my head! From that one idea, I wrote three Glass books.

That frequently happens with long series of books. Authors will switch to other characters in the same world in order to bring in a fresh perspective. After several books, it becomes harder and harder to find new problems for your characters and for them to continue to change and grow over the course of so many books! Plus, there’s always the danger of going into the “realm of the ridiculous,” also known as “jumping the shark.” 

Donna: When you wrote your first book (which won the 2006 Compton Crook Award for Best First Fantasy Novel), did you plan it as series or did the characters just not want to leave you alone after the book was completed?

Maria: Poison Study was supposed to be a stand-alone fantasy novel. When I finally found a publisher for the book, they wanted a sequel. It was easy to change the ending and write a second book. When I finished that one, I knew there was still another book to complete Yelena’s story.

Donna: Another of your Saturday sessions is about how an independent bookstore works. Why is this kind of information useful to an author, and how can we use that knowledge to help sell our books?

Maria: Independent bookstores can be a wonderful resource to authors. They have loyal customers, and some host book clubs and events. It’s important to know how they operate so when an author has a new book out (or even with their backlist), they can approach a bookstore about getting their books on the shelves and perhaps doing an event at the store. Booksellers appreciate when authors understand how difficult it is to be a small business and are willing to accommodate them. 

Donna: On Thursday your seminar is about creating believable villains. Is there a trick to giving our villains depth? How different is that from giving our heroes depth? 

Maria: It’s not much different than giving your protagonist depth. Villains need goals, motivation, and conflict. But you also need to look at what set them on their path and other factors so your villains are well-rounded characters.

Donna: Your Friday session is about audio books. Is the audio book market different than the print or ebook market?

Maria: Yes, it is much different. Audio book listeners are frequently multi-tasking while listening. The narrator is just as important as the author so finding the prefect narrator is key. It’s also quite a process to produce your own audiobook. I’ll also be discussing the pros and cons of keeping your audio rights or selling them to your publisher.

Donna: If the target audience is different, how does that affect the way we market our books?

Maria: Knowing your target audience is the most important aspect of marketing. You need to know where your readers are in order to reach them. For example, if you’re writing YA, then your readers are on their phones, watching TikTok videos. For middle grade readers, school visits and library programs are important.

Donna: I know you will be giving the keynote address on Saturday, but the conference website doesn’t tell us the topic. Can you give us a hint of what you’ll be talking about?

Maria: The title of my address is “Navigating This So-Called Writer’s Life.” I talk about how expectations and perceptions about a writing career don’t always match up to what actually happens. That there are surprises waiting around every corner, and writers need to be flexible in order to preserver. 

Donna: Thank you very much, Maria, for your time. I look forward to all I can learn from you at the conference.

Maria: You’re welcome! I’m looking forward to the conference. It’s always inspiring and motivating when I spend time with other writers talking shop!

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This year’s Write Stuff Conference runs March 23-25 at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel. Registration is still open! 

Interview with Maria Snyder

Tags

GLVWG "Write Stuff", Writing, Writing Conference, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft

Maria Snyder is the Keynote speaker at this year’s Write Stuff conference. She’s also doing two half-day workshops at the conference. Here is an interview with Maria by GLVWG member Donna Brennan. Register for the conference here.

An Interview with Keynote Speaker, Ben Wolf

Tags

GLVWG Program Speaker, Reader Engagement, Splickety Publishing, Storytelling, Writer's Conference, Writing, Writing Flash Fiction, Writing through Adversity

We introduced Ben Wolf our Keynote Speaker for the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ , March 21 – 23, 2019, in our WordPress Blog – January 14. On Thursday, he kicks us off with Into the Deep: An Advanced Study of Speculative Fiction. On Friday, he’ll engage conference attendees in a discussion on The Three Pillars of Storytelling. Saturday, Ben will conduct seminars on Backstory: Your Secret Weapon to Engaging Readers, and Writing Flash Fiction that Sells.

Don’t miss his keynote speech during Saturday lunch, Writing Through Adversity.

GLVWG member, Joe Fleckenstein, took some time to ask Ben a few questions.

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In an interview with Geeks under Grace in 2014 you mentioned that you very much favored Frank Peretti’s writing and, in fact, you read his book The Oath at least a half dozen times. That’s saying something. What was it, specifically, that you admired in Peretti’s writing that you found so enthralling? Would it be fair to say there’s a similarity to some degree between Peritti’s style and what is to be found in your Blood for Blood?

Frank Perett’s writing captured my imagination at an early age. In part, it was some of the first “grown-up” fiction that I was exposed to, so the level of intrigue, drama, and even violence in his stories grabbed me and didn’t let go. The main reason I read The Oath so many times is that its high concept is brilliant, yet simple, and it is flawlessly executed. I can’t say much more about it without giving away a major plot point, so go read it and you’ll see what I mean.

With regard to my own writing, Blood for Blood did feel Peretti-esque, I think, in some ways. It has a dark feel to it (like much of Peretti’s work does, especially his earlier works), and I think I deal with that darkness in a unique way which is something Peretti does frequently as well. My latest novel (at least at the time of this interview), a sci-fi/horror story called The Ghost Mine, sways less toward Frank Peretti and more toward Robert Liparulo’s style of thriller storytelling. I’d say that in recent years, Robert Liparulo has usurped Frank Peretti as my favorite author.

Splickety, the flash fiction magazine you edited, is scheduled to close down. To what do you attribute the closure? Has the interest in flash fiction peaked? What’s the future for flash fiction? Are you personally finished with flash fiction?

I will always love and continue to write flash fiction stories, and flash fiction has such fantastic value as a tool to learn how to write better fiction. The closure primarily comes as a result of me realigning my priorities in publishing. For years, I ran Splickety to offer new authors a path to professional publication. Those publishing opportunities with Splickety helped me develop a career teaching at writers conferences nationwide and freelance editing for other authors.

Over the last year, I realized that though I had succeeded in the conference scene and in freelance editing, I was doing a poor job of pursuing my own personal dreams of becoming a multi-published, full-time author. So I took a hard look at what I would need to do in order to move toward that actual goal of writing full-time, and I realized that had some considerable changes to make in order to get that to happen. Unfortunately, shutting down Splickety is one of those changes.

Your proclaimed genres are Christian and horror. Christians say “love thy neighbor as thyself” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” How do you rectify these positions with a character bent on, say, using a stiletto on someone’s kidney? Will the real Ben Wolf stand up?

This is a great question, and I’m so glad you asked it. How do Christianity and horror go together? I’ve given a lot of thought and had a great many discussions about this over the years. It’s a complicated discussion, and there is no one right answer, but I’ll give you my thoughts on it as succinctly as I can:

A read-through of the Bible reveals plenty of horrific things happening–both natural and supernatural. People are brutally killed, demons torment humans, God opens up holes in the ground to swallow people whole and sends serpents to bite them and strikes people down for touching the ark of the covenant–the list goes on from there.

Are these “good” things? Not really. But the authors of the Bible included them for a reason: to show how horrific life can be, specifically with the intention of drawing a comparison between a life walking with God and a life separate from God. As I said, this is a huge discussion, and I don’t want to ramble on forever, but suffice it to say that horror as a genre or as a feature in any other genre (I’m working on a dark fantasy series as we speak, for example) is an excellent tool that an author of any stripe can use to their advantage to convey a message and tell a great story. And furthermore, I am not the same as my characters; I have a mind of my own, and they’re fictional beings. So they can stab kidneys with stilettos all day long, but it really gives no indication of who I am as a person.

Sidebar: One of the sessions I’ll be teaching at the conference is an extended presentation on Horror and how to wield it effectively. We’ll have plenty of time for discussion about this topic in more detail there, so I encourage any interested folks to sign up for the conference so we can delve deeper into the darkness together.

At the upcoming GLVWG conference, you may expect to have a variety of aspiring writers in attendance. There will be writers who do explicit sex, a few who do YA, those who do pieces with a religious bent. No doubt, others too. Do you have a common set of recommendations, advice, or taboos you might pass along to this varied group?

Yes. The key thing that I’ve learned over the last year is that you MUST know your audience. You must know what they like to read and what they expect to find in the books they read. 

A lot of writing advice out there states something to the effect of “write the story of your heart and find an audience for it.” There’s a counterculture of primarily independently published (aka self-published or “indie”) authors who start by identifying their preferred audience and then writing books that will energize and excite that audience.

Many of those indie authors are making six figures a year writing. I know a handful of them, and I know a couple who are making seven figures a year using this strategy. So if your goal is commercial success, then choose a ravenous target audience in a genre that you’re interested in writing, read a lot of best-selling books in that genre so you can identify what elements readers are looking for, and then craft a story that will satisfy readers’ appetites accordingly.

Every wannabe writer at sometime in his or her life will think about using an agent. What is your experience with agents? There will be agents at the conference. Do you use an agent? The same agent for the different pubs? Experiences with agents are always of interest. What’s yours?

I’ve had two agents thus far, and now I am technically agent-less. A good friend of mine is a top agent in the industry, and he has informally offered to send anything out for me whenever I want him to, but right now, I’m focused on indie publishing because it is likely going to be the quickest and most lucrative path for me.

Please note that this is a decision I came to based on a lot of publishing experience (I spent seven years chasing traditional publishing and not getting anywhere) and working with two agents prior. I’m not at all saying it’s the right path for everyone–some of my closest friends are traditionally published authors who are making a living off of their writing.

The key thing to understand when working with an agent, at least from my perspective, is that no one will ever care more about your book than you. Therefore, you are in most ways the best person to sell it. A good agent should have connections to the folks you want to get your book in front of, and a great agent will have a solid understanding of your genre and the readership for your writing as well as some sales ability. Truly excellent agents are rare, just like top-notch folks in any industry, and thus they’re harder to land.

At the end of the day, the only thing any author can control is the work that they themselves do on their writing and on their career. So work to achieve new levels of productivity, quality, and imaginative storytelling so as to improve your chances whichever route you choose to take.

Tell us about your human side. You write a lot about blood. Does the sight of blood bother you? When you give blood, do you watch the needle go in or do you look the other way? Could you butcher and clean a chicken?

I’m on the fence with blood. A little blood here and there in real life is fine. A lot of blood and I do start to get queasy. I’m not big on needles, but I got a tetanus shot and a blood draw a few weeks ago, and I watched the whole time. In crisis situations, I tend to handle trauma pretty well, so I would think that if someone’s life were on the line, I could probably throw up real quick and then do whatever I could to help the person in need. I also practice Brazilian jiu jitsu, so I’m comfortable choking people and manipulating their joints.

With that said, I’m generally a peacemaker rather than a person who seeks out physical confrontation. Though I can probably hold my own in such a conflict, I would prefer to avoid it. Butchering a chicken doesn’t sound like the worst thing ever, and animal blood doesn’t gross me out quite so much. I field-dressed a pheasant once, and I don’t really eat vegetables, so in the apocalypse, I guess I’d find a way to do what I had to do in order to survive–chickens or otherwise.

We, of GLVWG, will be looking forward to seeing you in person and to hearing you speak about one of our common, favorite topics: writing.

I’m really honored and excited to have the chance to join you!

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Ben is the founder and owner of Splickety Publishing Group, the publisher of three flash fiction magazines. He has edited, written, and/or published over 100 published works and has taught at 40+ writers conferences nationwide.

Ben currently has one novel on the market, The Ghost Mine, a gripping sci-fi/horror novel sure to thrill you and chill you late into the night. Ben has also published a children’s book and will be publishing the first books of a nine-book fantasy series in early 2019. You can find his books on Amazon.com.

You can find Ben at benwolf.com or follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and on Facebook.

 

Ben and his wife Charis Crowe (who sometimes is his presentation partner) live in ­­­­­­­Iowa with their children. Charis is also presenting at the conference, and you can read Charis’ interview on our WordPress Blog – February 27.

 

 

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Article by Joe Fleckenstein

Joseph E. Fleckenstein, active GLVWG member for nine years and club treasurer for two years, has published over 35 items. The list includes technical papers, online courses, and 22 short stories in ezines and print magazines. In 2015 CRC Press published his technical book Three Phase Electrical Power. His novel The Kurdish Episode will soon be available at Amazon. Additional bio particulars are available at his website www.WriterJEF.com.

Meet Ben Wolf – Keynote Speaker for the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ 2019

Tags

GLVWG Program Speaker, Reader Engagement, Splickety Publishing, Storytelling, Writer's Conference, Writing, Writing Flash Fiction, Writing through Adversity

 

Article by Joe Fleckenstein

 

At the 2019 Write Stuff Writers Conference™, GLVWG is proud to present Ben Wolf as our keynote speaker. On Thursday, March 21st, he will kick off the conference with the topic: Into the Deep: An Advanced Study of Speculative Fiction. Speculative fiction rules today’s popular culture in books, movies, and TV shows. Learning the ins and outs of the various genres is absolutely essential for writers who intend to compete in a saturated yet hungry market.

This extended workshop delves deep into speculative fiction and its sub-genres and will discuss the conventions, philosophies, types, standards, and other key elements that help define the genre.

So strap on your blaster, mount your dragon, and fly with us into the depths of the weird and wonderful world of speculative fiction.

Friday morning, Ben will begin the day engaging conference attendees in a discussion on The Three Pillars of Storytelling.

Saturday, he will present two sessions, Backstory: Your Secret Weapon to Engaging Readers and Writing Flash Fiction that Sells.

At the Saturday Luncheon, he will speak on “Writing Through Adversity.”

Life is a tyrant. It demands constant attention from us, throws fits seemingly at random, and never seems to let up. It’s unpredictable, precarious, and oftentimes rude.

But we as writers can’t let life get in the way of our goals–not if we mean to achieve those goals. Award-winning author, publisher, and editor Ben Wolf has been through the wringer more than once in his life as a writer. In fact, he’s been through hell so many times that they keep a room open for him.

But in spite of that, he still manages to get words on the page, pursue publishing deals, edit for freelance clients, and coach other authors on their projects as well. In his keynote address, Ben will share the un-killable drive that propels him forward even when every aspect of life tries to hold him back, and he’ll offer strategies and encouragement to attendees to help them capture that same driving force for their own writing careers.

Who is Ben Wolf?

Ben is the founder and owner of Splickety Publishing Group, the publisher of three flash fiction magazines. He has edited, written, and/or published over 100 published works and has taught at 40+ writers conferences nationwide.

Ben’s debut novel Blood for Blood won the 2015 Cascade Award and is characterized as “bold…with nonstop tension.” His debut children’s book, I’d Punch a Lion in His Eye for You, won the 2016 Cascade Award. In his spare time, he practices Brazilian jiujitsu (where he tries to choke out his friends).

Ben currently has one novel on the market, The Ghost Mine.

The Ghost Mine is a gripping sci-fi/horror novel sure to thrill you and chill you late into the night. If you’re a fan of Ridley Scott’s Aliens, you’ll love this book.

“A snappy, fun, wild ride from hell! Wolf’s knockout novel brings all the sci-fi intensity of Ridley Scott’s Alien movies together with a Michael Crichton style thriller. When space colonization goes wrong in The Ghost Mine, it means a long, nail-biting night of sheer reading delight! Positively unputdownable!” – Brandon Barr, USA Today Bestseller and author of the Song of the World Series

In addition to The Ghost Mine, Ben has also published a children’s book and will be publishing the first books of a nine-book fantasy series in early 2019. You can find his books on Amazon.com.

Ben and his wife Charis (who sometimes is his presentation partner) live in ­­­­­­­Iowa with their children. Charis is also presenting at the conference, and you will get to meet her in our next blog.

You can find Ben at benwolf.com or follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and on Facebook.

 

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Joseph E. Fleckenstein, active GLVWG member for nine years and club treasurer for two years, has published over 35 items. The list includes technical papers, online courses, and 22 short stories in ezines and print magazines. In 2015 CRC Press published his technical book Three Phase Electrical Power. His novel The Kurdish Episode will soon be available at Amazon. Additional bio particulars are available at his website www.WriterJEF.com.

The GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ — The Grand Event

Tags

Ben Sobieck, Bob Mayer, Jane Cleland, Matt Betts, Richard White, Tabitha Lord, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Courses, Writing Craft

 

 

Day 3 Main Event on Saturday, March 24, includes 20 Workshops, Agent/Editor pitch sessions, Marketing Consults, plus lunch and Keynote address with Bob Mayer, Bookfair, Flash Literature Writing Contest, and Door Prizes.

PLEASE NOTE: The printed Presenter/Room Map you received at registration for Saturday has changed. The updated map is below. Each room will have a sign as well.  

 

Jane Cleland

Richard White

Ben Sobiek

Matt Betts

Tabitha Lord

 

Announcements in Lehigh Room 7:30 AM – 8:20 AM

Agent Pitches and Marketing Consults will run concurrent to workshops. Advance registration required. Please check you appointment times upon registration.

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Saturday, March 24, Overview 

Lunch with Keynote Address by Bob Mayer 

Book Fair, Flash Fiction Contest

Door Prizes announced during Book Fair (must be present to win)

 

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Morning Sessions Syllabus

 

8:30 – 9:30 AM

 

 

In the Muhlenberg Room

Agent Panel

Moderated by Suzanne Mattaboni

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Agents will share insights, guidelines, and ideas for writers. These agents will also meet with participants to hear pre-scheduled pitches throughout the day.

 

In the Cedar Crest Room

Using Metaphors to Add Richness and Texture to Your Work

Jane Cleland

Metaphors are, according to Aristotle, a sign of genius. Certainly, they are more efficient and economical than ordinary language; they give maximum meaning with a minimum of words. In addition, metaphors are generous to readers by encouraging interpretation. In this workshop, we’ll put four approaches to creating metaphors to work—whether you write fiction, non-fiction, memoir, or poetry, you’ll develop rhetorically sound images that communicate emotion on a multi-layered level.

 

In the Lafayette Room

Make History with Your Writing!

Matt Betts

Learn about the exciting genre of alternate history and find out what it takes to change the world in your novel. Discover the importance of research, the consequences of toying with time, and how to foster believability. Then take those ideas to a practical level when we spin the “Wheel of History” during the session and ask attendees to re-imagine the outcome of actual events.

 

In the Moravian Room

E-Pub, POD and the Future of Publishing for the Writer

Bob Mayer

Publishing is changing exponentially, not linearly, and today’s writer must be aware of these changes to succeed. This workshop is designed to help authors navigate through the latest information on various forms of publishing options and the state of the industry. Traditional, ePublishing, Print on Demand, self-pub, vanity, and more. We will cover the advantages and disadvantages of these venues to help you, the writer, decide what’s the best choice for you and your work. This is not a nuts and bolts tech class, but a strategic concept of the future of publishing and what it means to writers. We will discuss numbers, royalties, formats, and lessons learned in all areas.

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9:45 – 10:45 AM

 

In the Cedar Crest Room

Tabitha Lord

So You Want to be an Indie Author

Independent publishing is no longer a path of last resort. For many authors, it’s a business decision, and an exciting one at that. As an independent author, you will be responsible for your story content, your brand and platform, and your marketing and sales. What makes a successful indie? For whom is this a viable choice? Let’s talk about the pros and cons of this path to publishing, and consider what your first year as an indie author might look like.

 

In the Muhlenberg Room

Writer Beware Part 1

Richard White

Publishing has never been so easy and so dangerous at the same time. This presentation will help writers identify what makes a publisher or an agent desirable or undesirable and help them identify the red flags that identify undesirable outcomes in the publishing industry. Part 1 will focus on traditional publishing.

 

In the Lafayette Room

Steampunk: Eveything Old is New Again

Matt Betts

Have you heard the word “Steampunk” thrown around for years, but never knew what it was? Now is your chance to get a quick and painless tutorial on gears, goggles, and giant airships. Find out how to use the genre to create your own unique worlds and enhance the excitement of your next story.

 

In the Moravian Room

The Military for Writers

Bob Mayer

An introduction to the military from conventional warfare, through Special Operations, the War on Terror, weapons of mass destruction and insight into the men and women who make up our armed forces—all tailored for the writer who might need research in this area.

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11:00 AM – 12:00 Noon

In the Cedar Crest Room

A Marathon, Not a Sprint: Long-Term Marketing Strategies for Indies

Tabitha Lord

Indie authors have to think beyond their book’s release in order to implement an effective marketing and sales strategy. From platform-building to pre-orders, from back-lists to book tours, let’s talk best practices and creative strategy for getting your book into readers’ hands.

 

In the Muhlenberg Room

Writer Beware Part 2

Richard White

Publishing has never been so easy and so dangerous at the same time. Part 2 will focus on self-publishing and the cottage industry that has sprung up to separate the self-publisher from their cash. Remember, writing is an art – publishing is a business, so get to know both sides of the coin before launching your latest work into the world.

 

In the Lafayette Room

The Rhyming Dead: Horror Poetry

Matt Betts

Wait. Horror poetry is actually a thing? Yep. So is science fiction and fantasy poetry. Come get a brief history of speculative poetry, hear a few examples, and check out the markets that might even bite on your vampire, alien and zombie poems. Learn it all from an instructor who somehow made it into The New York Times with his zombie poetry.

 

In the Moravian Room

Weapons in Fiction

Ben Sobieck

Firearms, knives and other weapons play an outsized role in fiction. Critical plot points often hinge on the way characters use them. Unfortunately, much of what’s depicted in pop culture is misleading at best and flat out wrong at worst. Here are the shortcuts to getting these important story elements correct, the myths to avoid and top tips from the author of “The Writer’s Guide to Weapons: A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction.”

 

 

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12:00 – 12:45 PM      Banquet Lunch

12:50 – 1:30  PM      Dessert – Keynote Speaker – Bob Mayer 

I Will Make It Work

“Being an author requires a unique mindset; what other people label madness. I’m still standing after three decades and still quite mad and will share some techniques on how to sustain a writing career.”

 

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Afternoon Sessions Syllabus

 

1:30 – 2:30 PM

 

In the Cedar Crest Room

Editing: Soup to Nuts

Tabitha Lord

For many authors, the editing process is a daunting one. But a well edited manuscript can mean the difference between a book that’s ready for the world and a document that sits in a drawer collecting dust. Let’s talk about the different parts of the editing process, and how to successfully find and work with an editor. We’ll then spend some time discussing the goals of a developmental edit, and share techniques that will help make the editing process efficient, effective, and satisfying.

 

In the Muhlenberg Room

Enter The Hobbit: Writing Realistic Fight Scenes

Richard White

This presentation is designed to help writers design realistic fight scenes for inclusion in their stories. While there’s no substitute for the real thing, writers do not have to have multiple black belts to be able to make their audiences believe they know what they’re talking about. As with anything, a little experience, a knowledge of where to do your research, and a whole lot of imagination can take an author a long way. This workshop will provide authors of multiple genres ideas and resources to help add that little touch of reality into their fiction.

 

 

In the Lafayette Room

What is a Media Kit?          Why do I Need One?

Matt Betts

You want to create a buzz about your books, but the morning TV shows aren’t calling? Your publicity plan may be missing a crucial element. Explore the components of a media or press kit, find out how to put one together, and find out how to use it effectively.

 

In the Moravian Room

Writing Inside a Franchise

Ben Sobieck

In the era of digital publishing, collaboration is key. Writers can piggyback off of each other to provide the kind of synergy that once was reserved only for publishers and the well-connected. Franchising a series is a practical way to leverage self-publishing success so that one plus one equals three. Here’s how to do it.

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2:45 – 3:45 PM

 

In the Cedar Crest Room

Balancing the Busy:  A Crash Course on Time management

Tabitha Lord

As Indies, we’re responsible for all aspects of our project, from the first word on the page to a marketing and sales plan, and everything in between. Some of us are balancing family life and a day job as well! How do we stay productive, healthy, and inspired amidst all the business? How can we maximize our time and make sure we’re attending to our priorities first? Let’s talk about time management in a guilt-free, supportive environment.

 

In the Muhlenberg Room

World Building 101

Richard White

This presentation is designed to help writers design and create realistic worlds and help them avoid common mistakes. Working from the premise of outside in, the participants in this presentation will help create a small island continent step by step.  Along the way, we’ll show how your initial drawings will shape terrain, governments, militaries, and the economy of your world. Presented by the author of Terra Incognito – A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, World Building 101 should help fantasy, science fiction, alt-history, and even historical fiction authors create worlds people will believe could (or could have) existed.

 

In the Lafayette Room

The Art of Distraction:  Using Red Herrings to Create Suspense

Jane Cleland

A red herring is a “false clue,” used by writers the way magicians use sleight of hand—the goal is to distract readers from what’s really going on. When done well, red herrings add complexity to plots and intrigue to stories. Red herrings fall into three broad categories: Human Nature (including the halo and devil effects); Details (including the ones readers miss); and Expertise (including trusting those characters with specialized knowledge). You’ll learn how to weave red herrings into your narratives, allowing you to increase suspense as you create engaging and ingenious puzzles.

 

In the Moravian Room

Using WATTPAD to Build a Writing Career

Ben Sobieck

Reading is no longer an insulating experience. Social reading apps, such as Wattpad, are changing the way readers consume content. They’re also expanding opportunities for writers. This presentation will review how social reading works and the ways it can accelerate your writing career.

 

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3:45 – 5:00 PM

 

Socializing

Contest Winners, Door Prizes (Must be present to win)

Book Fair — All published GLVWG members are eligible to participate in the book fair, provided a reservation was made in advance with Book Fair coordinator, Jerry Waxler.  Detailed instructions for selling books at the Book Fair can be found HERE.

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5:00 PM — Conference closes

Check this website in the next couple of days, where we’ll post pictures of the conference and a special section highlighting the Flash Fiction contest winners.

 

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Article by DT Krippene – Social Media Chair

 

An Interview with Bob Mayer

Tags

Cool Gus Publishing, Novel Writing, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Conferences

Bob Mayer is a New York Times bestselling author of over sixty books, including “Eyes of the Hammer” and the CEO of Cool Gus Publishing  www.coolgus.com.

The 2018 GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™  is proud to present Bob Mayer as our keynote speaker. On Thursday, March 22^nd, he will guide attendees through A ONE DAY NOVEL WRITING SEMINAR. The presentation begins with the original idea and heart of a story, developing plot and character, working with point of view and, in conclusion, pulling everything together to sell your book and the business of writing.

Friday and Saturday, he will present topics on Write It Forward: From Writer To Successful Author, E-Pub, POD and the Future of Publishing for the Writer, and The Military for Writers. Saturday, he will speak at our luncheon I Will Make it Work.

GLVWG’s Bernadette Sukley does the honors of interviewing Bob.

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Bernadette: Your first book, “Eyes of the Hammer” debuted in 1991, but at what age did you start writing?

Bob:  The key was that I was a voracious reader as a child. I read everything I could get my hands on; growing up in the Bronx; I’d bike to the local library. When I’d read through that, I biked further to the next nearest library. I’d take the subway to Manhattan to the main branch, guarded by Patience and Fortitude, the two lions.

At West Point, I wrote a psychology paper that was supposed to be a study of some historical figure, so I picked the protagonist of Pink Floyd’s The Wall and turned it in, inside the LP. Then I also wrote a short about a young man arriving at West Point in the mid-1800s based on some diaries I read in the archives. In the military I wrote lots of orders; also the Gettysburg Battle Staff Walk for the JFK Special Warfare Center.

But I jumped right into novel writing with a book in 1988. Technically, it wasn’t my first book published, but it was called Dragon Sim-13, based on a mission my A-Team had done.

Bernadette: A favorite author(s)? Why?

Bob:   A terribly unfair question. There are so many. I believe Stephen King said, “read writers who you aspire to be like.” Great writers. Not so much the literary canon, as I really doubt Ulysses was the best book of the 20th Century. Sorry. I heard enough drunken Irishman stories growing up. Off the top of my head, there’s Kate Atkinson, Larry McMurtry, Michael Connoly, Richard Russo. I read a lot of non-fiction. Currently devouring American Lion by Jon Meacham. I’ve read all of Pat Conroy’s books, which are an intriguing study in plotting and prose. He has operatic plots, way over the top, but when Jimmy Buffet can set your words to music, you can write any damn thing you like. We used to live across the Intracoastal from Dafuskie Island, the setting in The Water Is Wide.

I like authors who combine great characters with intriguing plots. I’m not a fan of books that I need to read four times and write a paper on in order to try to figure out what they meant. That’s not good writing in my opinion. I can grasp what Hemingway meant the first time. He was direct and to the point.

Meet Bob Mayer – Keynote Speaker GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ 2018

Tags

Cool Gus Publishing, keynote speaker, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Courses

At the 2018 Write Stuff Writers Conference™, GLVWG is proud to present Bob Mayer as our keynote speaker. On Thursday, March 22^nd, he will guide attendees through A ONE DAY NOVEL WRITING SEMINAR. The presentation begins with the original idea and heart of a story, developing plat and character, working with point of view and, in conclusion, pulling everything together to sell your book and the business of writing.

Friday and Saturday, he will present topics on Write It Forward: From Writer To Successful Author, E-Pub, POD and the Future of Publishing for the Writer, and The Military for Writers. Saturday, he will speak at our luncheon I Will Make it Work.

Bob Mayer is a New York Times bestselling author of over sixty books and the CEO of Cool Gus Publishing  www.coolgus.com. He holds the distinction of being the only male author on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll.

Bob Mayer resides in Tennessee with his wife and their two English Yellow Labs, Cool Gus and Sassy Becca.

To read more on Bob, click on the following links:

• Home – bobmayer.com
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Mayer_(author)
• Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorbobmayer/

 

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Article by Dawn Sooy –  Conference Chair 2018 GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™

Dawn is a multitasker with the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, fulfilling the duties of Secretary when needed and Conference Chair for the 2018 GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™.

A native of Eastern Pennsylvania, Dawn has plenty of experience with the best and worst four seasons have to offer. Armed with a Computer Science degree, she worked in the tech industry until 2012. She’s married to a great guy and between them, have four children, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. As an animal lover, she volunteers at the local animal shelter, sneaking in treats for the four-legged residents.

Too full of energy to even consider a rocking chair, with an insatiable itch to write, Dawn published six short stories, the most recent, “Love Knows No Boundaries,” featured in the GLVWG anthology, Write Here – Write Now. She is currently working on a full-length novel titled, “From The Darkness,” scheduled for publication in early 2018, with plans to publish a horror anthology later in the year.

You can find Dawn on:

• Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DawnMSooyAuthor/?pnref=lhc
• Website: http://dwstrange.com/dawns%20world/

GLVWG Write Stuff™ Conference Schedule – Saturday, March 25

Tags

Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Conferences, Writing Courses

7:00 a.m. Check-In table opens
Pick up registration materials at the check-in table

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Seminar Syllabus for Saturday, March 25

Kathryn Craft

An Interview with Michael Hauge

Tags

Plotting, Story Mastery, Storytelling, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Conferences, Writing Fiction

GLVWG’s Geoffrey Mehl, interviewed Michael Hauge, keynote speaker, special seminar and master class instructor for The GLVWG WriteStuff Writer’s Conference™, March 23-25, 2017 .

Michael is a story and script consultant, author, and lecturer who works with writers and filmmakers on screenplays, novels, movies, and television projects. He has coached writers, producers, stars and directors for every major film studio and network. He is also the best-selling author of Writing Screenplays That Sell and Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read. He has presented lectures and workshops to more than 70,000 writers and filmmakers around the world. In the words of Will Smith, “No one is better than Michael Hauge at finding what is most authentic in every moment of a story.”

Hauge’s Six-Stage approach to story structure divides any successful story into setup, new situation, progress, complications and higher stakes, retreat and final push, and aftermath. These stages are divided by five key turning points: opportunity, change of plans, point of no return, major setback and climax. For a more detailed explanation of his approach, go to this article on his website: STORY STRUCTURE: The 5 Key Turning Points of All Successful Screenplays

Michael Hauge Keynote Speaker at Write Stuff™ Conference 2017

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keynote speaker, Michael Hauge, Story Mastery, Writer's Conference

Planning to attend a writing conference next year? Looking for the perfect coach who can help you understand a Three-Part Story Structure and The Hero’s Journey?

At the GLVWG Write Stuff™ Writers Conference 2017, March 23-25, none other Michael Hauge, will be the conference Keynote speaker.

Michael is a Hollywood insider, who coaches writers, producers, stars, and directors. You like Will Smith? Will Smith likes Michael Hauge. Big stuff. He also knows his “hero’s journey,” being buddies with Christopher Vogler (The Writer’s Journey.)

Mark your calendar for the last weekend in March (23-25.)

http://www.storymastery.com/story-expert-michael-hauge/