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The GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ – Day 1

21 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by dtkrippene in GLVWG Conference Schedule, Write Stuff Writers Conference™

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Bob Mayer, Cool Gus Publishing, GLVWG Program Speaker, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It’s finally here.  Day 1 of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writer’s Group Write Stuff Conference™ begins tomorrow Thursday, March 22. Starting us off is NYT bestselling author, Bob Mayer.

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

Bob Mayer 2

 

Thursday March 22 Session Overview

 Includes Lunch and Writers Café

Day 1 Summary Graphic copy

 

Morning Session Syllabus

 

The Original Idea: The Heart of Your Story and Key to Selling Your Book

Can you say what your book is about in 25 words or less? This is essential to writing a tight book and then selling it.  We’ll discuss ways to find and state your original idea so that you stay on course while writing the book and an approach with which you can excite those you tell your idea to when trying to sell it. Conflict drives your story.  Not only must conflict escalate throughout the entire novel, every single scene must have conflict in it. The Conflict Box is an effective technique for focusing your story on the protagonist, antagonist, their goals and finding out if you have the necessary conflict lock.

Plot and Outline: The Events of Your Story Part 1

  • Narrative structure is a baseline craft for a writer to understand.
  • The creative process before the actual start of the book
  • The elements of narrative structure with examples from film clips.
  • The exciting opening that grabs the reader through the escalating conflict to the climactic scene and ending with the resolution
  • Discussion with emphasis on hooks, the remote-control effect, building suspense, and having satisfying endings.

Plot and Outline:  The Events of Your Story Part 2 and Introduction to Character Part 1:

The most critical component of a novel is character.  How do you go from flat two-dimensional characters to vibrant three-dimensional ones? Templates to develop characters and the concept of character arc and change will be discussed. These include profiling, psychological frameworks to show character arc and change.

 

Afternoon Session Syllabus

 

Introduction to Character Part 2 (Continued from morning session)

Point of View, Setting, and Dialogue goes beyond just first person, third person and omniscient voices. The point of view you write in is your voice as a writer and often the issue lies deeper than simply a mechanical device. For example, voice dictates what you can say about your characters and what you can’t. It also sets you apart from others and makes you distinct. Setting is not just where, but also when, and can help set your story apart from others.

The Creative Process for Writers

Why do we write? How do we write? How do we create something out of just our minds? The longer I’ve been writing for a living, the more I’ve been focusing on process. It’s unique for every writer, but the most important aspect of what we do. We have to understand how our minds work, how we create, how we process idea, story and put them into our writing. A topic rarely covered, but I’ve found it’s the most fundamental thing a writer needs to understand.

Selling and Marketing Your Book

Should you go traditional or self-publish? Which is better for you? What should you do to succeed on either path? In the quickly changing world of publishing it’s often confusing to know what to do. The benefits of various paths will be discussed as well as ways to market books, regardless of path chosen.

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Thursday 6

And don’t forget Writer’s Cafe at 7:00 PM, where you get an opportunity to practice your pitch, or share the first page of your story to others.

 

Article by DT Krippene – Social Media Chair

 

An Interview with Bob Mayer

04 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by GLVWG Write Stuff™ Blog in Keynote, Write Stuff Conference Presenter, Write Stuff Writers Conference™

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

Bob Mayer 2

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 22nd, 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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Bob Mayer Book

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.

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

26 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by GLVWG Write Stuff™ Blog in Keynote, Write Stuff™ Conference

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

Bob Mayer

At the 2018 Write Stuff Writers Conference™, GLVWG is proud to present Bob Mayer as our keynote speaker. On Thursday, March 22nd, 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 Sooy Bio

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/

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