Jeanette Windle – Journalist, Political/Suspense Novelist, World Traveler

Tags

Jeanette Windle, Writing, Writing Articles, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Non-Ficion, Writing Workshops

Jeanette Windle

Award-winning author and journalist, Jeanette Windle, will be at the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™, “2020 Vision”, on Saturday, March 14, at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center.

Jeanette will hold three craft sessions: 

Using the Six Senses Purposefully

A Story to Tell – Your Own or Another’s

The A to Z of Writing a Sellable Article

** Scroll Down for Details **

Biography:

As daughter of missionary parents, award-winning author and journalist, Jeanette Windle grew up in the rural villages, jungles, and mountains of Colombia, now guerrilla hot zones. Her detailed research and writing is so realistic that it has prompted government agencies to question her to determine if she has received classified information. Currently based in Lancaster, PA, Jeanette has lived in six countries and traveled in more than thirty on five continents. Those experiences have birthed 16 international intrigue titles, including bestselling Tyndale House Publishers release Veiled Freedom, a 2010 ECPA Christian Book Award and Christy Award finalist, sequel Freedom’s Stand, a 2012 ECPA Christian Book Award and Carol Award finalist, and Congo Dawn, 2013 Golden Scroll Novel of the Year, the political/suspense best seller “CrossFire” and the Parker Twins juvenile mystery series.

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Saturday March 14, 2020

Using the Six Senses Purposefully

Bring Your Storytelling Alive! Fiction or non-fiction, effective telling of the story is what transports your reader into the world you want to share. And this is done most effectively through the six senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, and that all-important sixth sense of the writer–emotion. Bring pen, paper and creativity because this will be a hands-on exercise.

A Story to Tell – Your Own or Another’s

Non-fiction biography is the bread-and-butter of freelance writing. Whether writing your own memoir or someone else’s life story, this workshop will walk you through the practicalities of breaking down, organizing, and weaving into story form a compelling life narrative. Not writing a full book? Principles apply as well to the personal experience short story/article.

The A to Z of Writing a Sellable Article

Where to find material or choose a topic? What makes an attention-grabbing lead and headline? What to include and how to organize? A great conclusion or just petering out? Taught by a twenty-year-veteran missions journalist and editor, this workshop lays out in practical steps how to turn out consistently exciting, tightly written articles, no matter your theme or subject matter.

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JEANETTE WINDLE FICTION

INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE WITH INSPIRATIONAL IMPACT!!

“Jeanette Windle is a top-notch storyteller”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“You can’t finish a Windle novel without being deeply moved and better informed about the world around you.”—ROMANTIC TIMES

 

Jeanette Windle is profiled on Goodreads, and her books are available on Amazon.

 

You can find Jeanette Windle on her website:  http://jeanettewindle.com/

And you can follow her on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.windle,

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/jeanettewindle

 

Carrie Turansky – Author of Pure, Inspirational Romance

Tags

Carrie Turansky, Inspirational Romance, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Romance, Writing Workshops

Bestselling Inspirational Romance Author, Carrie Turansky, will be at the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™, “2020 Vision”, on Saturday, March 14, at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center.

Carrie will hold three craft sessions: 

Grab the Reader in the First Chapter

Write Faster, Write More

Bringing History to Life

** Scroll Down for Details **

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Biography:

Carrie Turansky writes historical and contemporary novels and novellas set in England and the US. Carrie was born and raised in Oregon, and she says her heart longs for tall evergreens, the rugged Oregon Coast, and the pristine Cascade Mountains. But presently she lives in beautiful central New Jersey. She and her husband have settled close to Princeton University, Philadelphia, and New York City.

Her first book was published in 2005, and she has written twenty novels and novellas published since then. Before that, she wrote several articles, short stories, devotions, and essays. Writing fiction is her passion, and she thanks the Lord for the creative ideas and characters He puts in her mind and heart.

When she is not writing you will find her enjoying time with my family, working outside in her flower gardens, cooking healthy meals for family and friends, or walking around the lake near her home.

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Carrie Turansky

An Interview with Carrie Turansky

By Conference Chairman – Charles Kiernan

Question: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned from rejections?

Carrie: The most important lesson I learned from rejections was to never give up. Learning to write fiction takes time and practice. They say you must put in 10,000 hours of hard work to become an expert at any skill, and I believe that’s true of writing. Most successful authors write a few books before the first one is published. That was true for me. I wrote five complete novels and one novella before Wherever Love Takes Us was accepted for publication. We learn to write by writing, and rejection is part of the process. I think one mistake beginning writers make is to finish one book, and then continue revising it forever. I encourage beginning writers to finish that first book and submit it. Then write the next book and the next! That’s the best way to continue improving your skills and growing as a writer.

Q: Do you have a disciplined writing routine? If so, what does it include?

C: I find setting a weekly word count goal has been very helpful for me. A weekly word count goal gives me some flexibility, but still keeps me moving forward at a good pace to meet the deadline. I use My Book Progress, which is a WordPress plugin, to help me keep track of my word count and chart my progress for each writing session. I am more focused in the morning, so I try to use that time to get most of my writing done. If I still need to meet my daily word count, I’ll keep writing into the afternoon. I rarely write at night because by then I’m tired and I just don’t think as clearly.

Q: Share the strangest source of inspiration for your writing that you can remember.

C: One day I was visiting the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC with my family and I saw a poster for the first International Air Meet in France in 1909. That piqued my interest to do research about early aviation, and that led to me writing Across the Blue, the story of a young aviation pioneer who wanted to build an airplane that would allow him to be the first to fly across the England Channel. That was a fun story to write, and it went on to final in a national writing award.

Q: Who is your favorite main character you’ve ever created and why?

C: My favorite character is Julia Foster, the heroine of The Governess of Highland Hall. She is inspired by two women: Jane Eyre and Amy Carmichael, who was a missionary to India in the late 1800s. I loved weaving ideas from these two women’s lives into Julia’s character. Julia comes from a loving family and has a strong faith. That motivates her to look at family relationships in a very different way than they usually were in upper-class English families during the Edwardian era. Those aspects of her character created interesting conflicts and challenges for Julia and Sir William Ramsey, the widowed hero of the story, who is raising two young children and has the guardianship of his two teenage nieces. I enjoyed writing Julia and William’s story, and readers seemed to really identify with them.

Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

C: I’d love to take another research trip to England and visit the Lake District, where I’d like to set my next historical series. I spent a few days there on my last trip, and I loved the quiet beauty of the lakes and countryside. We visited Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm, and Wordsworth’s home and school. There’s so much more I’d love to see and explore in that area of England!

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Saturday March 14, 2020

Grab the Reader in the First Chapter:

This workshop will show you how to polish your novel’s first chapter so you can hook your reader, with tips on setting the scene using the five senses, weaving in back story, establishing your characters, showing their goals and motivation, making characters likable and sympathetic, and more.

Write Faster – Write More

Don’t get stuck staring at a blank page! In this workshop I share ten strategies to help every writer increase their focus and speed so they can consistently write more and reach their writing goals.

Bringing History to Life

In this Workshop learn how to find great characters and plot ideas for your historical novels. You’ll discover how to balance in-depth research with great story telling, especially what to leave out, what to weave in, and how to know the difference between the two. You’ll be equipped to transport readers to your time period and bring your story to life!

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Carrie Turansky has won the ACFW Carol Award, the Holt Medallion, and the International Digital Award. Readers say her stories are: “Heartwarming and inspiring! I couldn’t put it down!” . . . “Touching love story. It captured me from the first page! Rich characters, beautifully written” . . . “My new favorite author!”

You can find all of Carrie’s books listed on Goodreads and Amazon.

 

Learn more about Carrie Turansky at her website:  http://carrieturansky.com/

Follow her blog:  http://carrieturansky.com/index.php/blog/

And her social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/authorcarrieturansky

https://twitter.com/carrieturansky

https://www.pinterest.com/carrieturansky/

https://www.instagram.com/carrieturansky/

 

Harrison Demchick – Author, Editor, Filmmaker, and Musician

Tags

Creative Logic in Writing, Harrison Demchick, Story First Draft, Writer Courses, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Workshops

Harrison Demchick, Author, Editor, Filmmaker, and Musician, will join us at the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™, “2020 Vision”, on Saturday, March 14, at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center.

Harrison will facilitate 3 sessions.

Bad Math: How the Right and Left Brains Work Together

It’s the End of the World as We Know It and I Feel Fine

The Blueprint, or Building the Perfect Draft

 

Biography:

Raised on a steady diet of magical realism, literary fiction, science-fiction, and Spider-Man comics, Harrison Demchick spent most of his formative years inside his own head, working out strange thoughts and ideas that would eventually make their way into stories, screenplays, and songs.

He went to Oberlin College to attain one of modern day’s most notoriously useless degrees, a BA in English with a creative writing concentration, but then actually used it, working for over a decade as a developmental editor of fiction and memoir. Harrison is also an optioned screenwriter, winner of the 2011 Baltimore Screenwriters Competition, and an inaugural fellow of the Johns Hopkins University/Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund. His first film, Ape Canyon, is currently in production.

The Listeners, his first novel, was published by Bancroft Press in 2012. Otherguy, his debut EP, launched in 2018. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his girlfriend and their two cats with a combined seven legs. He’s working on a series of short stories, a couple screenplays, a pair of musicals, a concept album, and whatever else keeps him distracted from the dark void that will one day consume us all.

** Click “Continue Reading” for Interview and Course Syllabus **

Meet Michael Ventrella – Writer, Editor, Lawyer, Musician, Wise Guy

Tags

Editor, Legal Advice for Authors, Michael Ventrella, Pennwriters, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Workshops

Author Michael Ventrella, will be at the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™, “2020 Vision”, on Saturday, March 14, at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center.

He will offer three sessions.

How the Law Really Works

The Biggest Mistakes Made by New Authors

What Editors Look For

** Click “Continue Reading” for Interview and Course Details **

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Biography:

Outside of writing, Mike worked primarily as a public defender; however, he also was a lobbyist for the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action (and later served as the Massachusetts chapter President for a year), taught political science courses at Bunker Hill Community College, and was a campaign manager for a state representative. Mike also wrote songs and performed in two prominent bands, Agent 99 and Big House, which played the major clubs in the Boston area and received airplay on local college radio.

Mike also started a magazine about animated films called Animato in the mid 80s which grew to be quite prominent. He was quoted in many publications as an animation expert, including Entertainment Weekly and in the book THE DREAM TEAM: THE RISE AND FALL OF DREAMWORKS by Daniel M. Kimmel.

In 1997, Mike and his wife, Heidi, moved to the beautiful Poconos, where Mike now works as an attorney. Heidi is a Niche award-winning artist whose work can be seen in galleries around the country and in Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museums all over the world, as well as on ABC TV’s To Tell the Truth. They love the pitter patter of little feet (they have five cats:  McGonigal, Mrs. Premise, Mrs. Conclusion, Doctor Who and River Song).

Mike is a regular fixture at science fiction conventions on the east coast, where he appears on panels to discuss fiction, animation, and gaming. However, to many people, he’s known primarily as the Guy Who Predicted The Hodor Plot Twist.

Timons “Tim” Esaias Offers Full Day with Selected Elements of Style and Improving Prose

Tags

Timon Esaias, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Fiction, Writing Poetry, Writing Workshops

Tim Esaias

Timons “Tim” Esaias, adjunct professor at Seton Hill University for the Masters level program in writing popular fiction, will open the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™, “2020 Vision”, on Thursday, March 12, at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center.

He will conduct a two half-day sessions on Thursday, March 12:  

What to Put In & What to Take Out:

How to remove meaningless stuff from your prose, and put content back in.

Selected Elements of Style

Key rules, the genre differences, and how to think about the morass of conflicting advice 

 

Then on Saturday, March 14, Tim will facilitate four sessions: 

Getting Conflict on the Page

Don’t Be a Bobble Head

Those First Few Lines

Writing Poetry for Genre Markets

 

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Biography:

Timons Esaias lives in Pittsburgh, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, with his wife who is a physician. He writes satire, speculative fiction, poetry, and the occasional essay. His work has appeared in over a dozen different countries, and fifteen languages. He has been a finalist for the British Science Fiction Award (1998) and the Rhysling Award (5 nominations, Third Place 1997), and he won the Asimov’s Readers’ Award for Poetry (2005). He is a member of the Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange; a Member Demeritus of the Worldwrights; and a certified Rogue in Lair #1 of the Rascals, Rogues & Rapscallions.

** Click “Continue Reading” for Tim Esaias Interview and course syllabus **

JD Barker, International Bestseller, Presenter and Keynote at the Write Stuff Writers Conference™

Tags

Crossing Genres, Indie to Traditional, international bestselling author, JD Barker, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Development, Writing Thrillers, Writing Workshops

JD Barker, international bestselling author, will be the headliner and Keynote Speaker at the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™, “2020 Vision”, on March 13 -14 at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center.

Friday, March 13, JD will facilitate a Full Day Writing Development Workshop.

On Saturday, he will give sessions with From Indie to Traditional; Every Dirty Little Secret You Need to Know, and Crossing Genres – and Why You Should Do It!

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Biography:

J.D.Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is an international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.

J.D. Barker has successfully crossed over from horror, to paranormal, to thriller, and back again, snatching readers from multiple genres and expanding his audience like a literary Pied Piper. Learn how to avoid the genre box and tell the story you want to tell to the largest possible group.

As a child I was always told the dark could not hurt me, that the shadows creeping in the corners of my room were nothing more than just that, shadows. The sounds nothing more than the settling of our old home, creaking as it found comfort in the earth only to move again when it became restless, if ever so slightly. I would never sleep without closing the closet door, oh no; the door had to be shut tight. The darkness lurking inside needed to be held at bay, the whispers silenced. Rest would only come after I checked under the bed at least twice and quickly wrapped myself in the safety of the sheets (which no monster could penetrate), pulling them tight over my head.

I would never go down to the basement.

Never.

Learn more about JD Barker at jdbarker.com

 

And in case you hadn’t noticed, JD will be speaking on Friday the 13th. 

** Click “Continue Reading” for JD Barker Interview and course syllabus **

The Write Stuff Writers Conference™ Full Schedule

Tags

Book Marketing, Flash Literature Contest, GLVWG Program Speakers, JD Barker, Lehigh Valley Arts Council, Tim Esaias, Writing, Writing Conference, Writing Craft, Writing Workshops

Conference 2019

Conference 2019

30 Great Events over Three Days

March 12, 13, 14, 2020

Register Here

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Thursday March 12

Two Half-Day Seminars 

  Includes Lunch and Writers Cafe

2018 Conference

 Tim Esaias

Morning Session: 9:00 – 12:00

What to Put In & What to Take Out:
How to remove meaningless stuff from your prose,
and put content back in.

 

Develop an action plan for facing the rewrite of your novel, or any piece of prose fiction. We’ll start with all the Horrible Things you need to excise (Tim dishes out a full blast of anti-bobble-headism, along with attacks on saidisms, compulsive modifications, and references to the beheading of Charles I); and then we’ll move on to the important matter of adding significant details, POV signifiers, color characters, theme music and more. Tim will suggest a series of focused “preliminary passes” to make through the manuscript, each addressing a specific issue. There will be exercises; chocolate; and, of course, malt balls.

Afternoon Session: 1:30 – 5:00

Selected Elements of Style

Style makes or breaks your chance of a sale, but what the heck is it? How can you make it your servant? Timons Esaias will shed a modicum of light on the dark mysteries of style. We’ll discuss the key rules, the genre differences, and how to think about the morass of conflicting advice you’ll encounter. Tim promises three specific style tools that should fit in any writer’s kit: the Churchillian Sword, the Vanilla Verb-Pair Demon, and Uranium Enrichment to Weapons-Grade Prose, with exercises for each tool. We’ll discuss the use of Templates, and engage in a Style Analysis exercise covering 7 genres. Bring questions about everything from spelling to musical rhythm. Suitable for all genres. Required text is Strunk & White, because love it or hate it, you should all have it.

 

Writers Cafe: 7:00 – 9:00

Lehigh Room – Facilitated by Bart Palamaro

Get ready for Friday night Page Cuts or Saturday Agent/Editor pitches by bringing your pitch or opening page and we will give you instant feedback!  Or just bring the first page of your manuscript for a critique. 

ALL registered Conference attendees are welcome to attend this Conference version of GLVWGs monthly read and critique meeting. 

It’s a fun time!

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Friday, March 13

  Includes Lunch, Thursday’s Writers Cafe plus all Friday evening activities including

Page Cuts Critique (with $10 fee) , Foundation of a Story, and Reception.

2018 Conference

2018 Conference

 

JD Barker :      1:30 – 5:00 PM

Full Day Writing Development Workshop

Submit your novel in advance to have it critiqued by the number one international best selling author. Obviously not all submissions can be critiqued, but he will ask for volunteers, and choose a number of works at random if no one is willing.

Works in progress in any genre are welcome.

One of the best ways to improve your writing is to have a mentor read and critique your work. Almost as good, and sometimes even better, is to hear the critique of other folks work and compare it to how you responded to the writing.

This is a rare and not-to-be-missed opportunity to improve your craft by having a world renowned successful author share his expertise with you. JD Barker worked as a “Book Doctor” for over twenty years, refining what works, what pulls the reader in, and what impresses the agents. Do not let this opportunity pass you by.

JD will call for volunteers from the audience, and if no one is willing, he will choose a number of works at random from all submissions and focus on those.

He’ll isolate the problem areas and through brainstorming, work with the audience to correct the issues. Things like passive voice, adverbs, bad dialog tags, unnecessary filler words, showing vs. telling, weak start, etc…

Work will be critiqued anonymously, unless you volunteer, in which case everyone will know who you are.

Submit your work (MS WORD or APPLE PAGES ONLY PLEASE) The link to submit your work will be in your registration acknowledgement email.

 

Page Cuts Critique Sessions: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Advance registration necessary 
sessions fill quickly. 

The Panel Judges

Chris Ochs Reads an Entry

Page Cuts critique sessions are optional ($10.00 session charge) Participants will be assigned to a room headed by a team of publishing professionals who have been asked to provide feedback on your work.  This kind of “cold critique” i.e. where first impressions count, is exactly like someone reading the first page of your novel at a bookseller, whether on line or in a store.  That impression is what determines whether they buy your book.  Don’t pass up this opportunity to get that first page polished so it shines!

Your work will be read aloud by a room moderator and commented upon by our panelists. No names will be used, all works are COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. Opinions of workshop panelists are theirs alone and do not represent the opinions of GLVWG.

Limited readings. Participants who have been informed of their successful enrollment should bring to their session four copies of the first page of a longer work (fiction, creative nonfiction, or memoir) along with four copies of a 100-word overview of the entire work.

Copies must be formatted. Double-spaced, 12 pt. “Times” font, 1-inch margins, Title & Genre at top of page. No names please. Print to start at the top of the page.

LIMITED SEATING: additional $10.00 charge with any registration

 

Peggy Adamczyk:     7:00 – 8:00 PM

Peg Adamczyk

The Foundation of a Story – 
Laying the Groundwork Before Your First Draft.

 

• Go from Idea to Concept by using Brainstorming Lists, ‘What If’ questions, and Mind Mapping techniques to help develop story ideas into workable concepts
• Techniques for developing and organizing the hidden Theme of story with techniques from Dwight Swain Elements of Plot, Michael Hauge Story Spine or Desire line, and tag/ log lines.
• Creating and getting to know your settings and characters by using the ‘Sphere of Influence’ techniques used in marketing.
• The introduction of modified version of Michael Hauge’s Three Act Structure that will allow both outline writers and descriptive writers to control the flow of their plot without hindering the journey.

 

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Saturday, March 14 Overview

20 workshops, Agent./Editor pitch sessions, marketing consults,
author publicity photos, plus lunch and Keynote address,

Door Prizes. Saturday Registration Includes Thursday Writers Cafe,
all Friday evening activities including Page Cuts Critique ($10 fee), The Foundation of a Story, and Reception.

Carrie Turansky

Harrison Demchick

Jeanette Windle

Michael Ventrella

Tim Esaias

JD Barker

Check-in and Announcements in Lehigh Room: 8:00 – 8:50 AM

 

 

Saturday Afternoon:  4:00 – 6:00 PM

Book Fair, Flash Literature Writing Contest

 

Charles Kiernan Taking Orders

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Flash Literature – 2018 Conference

2018 Book Fair

John Evans

2018 Door Prizes

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Additional opportunity: Author Publicity Photos by Joan Zachary
$40 at Registration – Only 10 Sessions Left!

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Go to the Registration Page and choose Member, Non-Member or Student registration.
Then choose Full Conference Registration or which day(s) you would like to register.
Depending on day(s) chosen, there may be other options, such as Friday evening
Page Cuts Critique or Saturday Agent/Editor pitch session,
Author Publicity Photos and Marketing Consults.

For Hotel Accommodations and Directions see:
Directions and Lodgings

Click to learn more about our Presenters
Agents and Editors and Marketing Consultants.
Then subscribe to the Write Stuff Blog for Agent/Editor Interviews

 

See you there – The GLVWG Conference Committee

 

GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™

Tags

GLVWG, JD Barker, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft

 

 

 Hotel and Conference Center, 300 Gateway Drive,
Bethlehem, PA, 18017  For Rooms at the Conference Rate
Contact the Hotel directly: 610-866-5800
and say you are with the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group’s event.

To Register —– Click Here

The 2019 GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ — The Grand Event

Tags

Author Voice, Book Marketing, C.Y.L.E. Literary, Character Development, Firefly Hill Press, Handling Rejection, Self-Publishing, Splickety Publishing, Talcott Notch Literary Agency, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Fiction, Writing Flash Fiction, YA

 

Ben Wolf

Charis Crowe

Janeen Ippolito

Donna Brennan

Kathryn Kraft

Dr. Larry Schardt

David E. Fessenden

John Gibbs

Day 3 – Main Event – March 23, 2019

GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ 

 Over 20 Workshops, Agent/Editor pitch sessions, Marketing Consults

Lunch and Keynote address with Ben Wolf

Bookfair, Flash Literature Writing Contest, and Door Prizes

Dawn Sooy – Conference Chair

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

Map of Rooms – So You Don’t Get Lost

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Debora Riley-Magnus

Donna Galanti

Danielle Modafferi – Firefly Hill Press

Stephanie Kehr – C.Y.L.E. Literary

Tia Mele

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

 

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Saturday Overview

Sessions run concurrent in Cedar Crest, Muhlenberg, Lafayette, & Moravian Rooms

Lunch in Salon A & B with Keynote Address by Ben Wolf

Book Fair, Flash Fiction Contest

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

 

Program Syllabus – Morning

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Lunch with Keynote Speaker – Ben Wolf

In Salon B

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Program Syllabus – Afternoon

 

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Flash Literature Contest 

Flash Literature – 2018 Conference

Flash Literature – 2018 Conference

Don’t forget to stop by the Lehigh Room to vote on this year’s entries for the 100 word Flash Literature Contest for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry.  

Use the color-coded note cards in your registration booklet to cast your vote for your favorite entry in each category. You may only vote for one entry in each category. Place your ballot in the box provided. You must be registered at the conference to be eligible to vote.

 Voting ends at 2:30 p.m. Flash Fiction officials will then tally the votes and announce the winners at the book fair after 3:30 p.m. Winners need not be present. However, winnings may include a certificate for book fair purchase which must be used at the 2019 conference.

 

 

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3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Book Fair – Contest Results – Door Prizes – Networking Opportunities

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

Book Fair — All published GLVWG members are eligible to participate in the book fair if registered in advance by March 3, 2019, with contact book fair coordinator Sandra Almonte at glvwg.bookfair@gmail.com.

Detailed instructions for selling your book(s) at the Book Fair, please click HERE.

 

2018 Book Fair

2018 Door Prizes

2018 Book Fair

 

5:00 PM — Conference closes

Check this website in the next couple of weeks, where we’ll post pictures of the conference.

 

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Article by D.T. Krippene – Social Media Chair

You can find DT at his Website – “Searching For Light in the Darkness“

his Facebook Page, and Twitter @dtkrippene

 

 

An Interview with Jon Gibbs

Tags

Story Characters, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft

Author Jon Gibbs has been a mainstay for the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ for several years. In addition to his Saturday morning session – “Are Your Characters Right the Part”, Jon will conduct a two-hour workshop – “The Seven Sentence Solution”.

 Tammy Burke had a chance to ask Jon a few questions.

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Could you give us a little teaser about your two-hour workshop “The Seven-Sentence Solution” and also a teaser for “Are Your Characters Right for the Part?”

There’s a classic summary-tool used by great story-tellers like the folks at Pixar Animation.

In The Seven-Sentence Solution, I’ll be showing how to apply that same tool to sub-plots and individual characters in a way that can really help bring a book, and the people in it, to life.

In the Characters workshop, we’ll be working through some subtle techniques that can make the people in stories even more memorable/relatable to readers.

If you wrote a letter to your younger self about the writing journey, what would it say and what advice would you give?

There’s always going to be a great excuse for not writing, something that seems more important, more urgent, or simply more enticing. The question is: Would you rather look back in twenty years and have a body of work to be proud of, or a long list of great excuses?

Basically, don’t let your ‘but’ get in the way of your dream.

On your website I see you do Classroom talks with 3rd graders on up and I see one of your talk modules is entitled “Terrific Titles.” Titling for anyone can be challenging in of itself. What are your techniques for titling your works and what advice would you give an aspiring author?

I always start with the title because I suck at coming up with one after I’ve written the story. If you brainstorm titles before you start writing, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to come up with something eye-catching. As an added bonus, a great title can be a huge inspiration for characters and/or plot.

It’s always interesting to learn how other writers juggle writing time with family and work commitments. What strategies work best for you?

I try to get my writing done in the mornings because I have to fit my schedule around my twin daughters. They’re both severely autistic which makes for a lot of unexpected excitement (and plenty of sleepless nights). If I’m not careful, days, even weeks, can go by without me doing much on the productivity front, but I’ve learned to make the most of it when things are going well, and not to beat myself up when I hit a rough patch.

What resources do you use to research? How long do you typically spend researching before beginning a book? And what are you working on currently?

Mostly, I use Google, but I rarely do much research until I have the initial story down. My first drafts are riddled with notes like: INSERT: check this, INSERT: research needed (not to mention INSERT: witty line here or INSERT: write this gooder!).

Currently I have five projects on the go: I’m seeking representation for my middle-grade novel, ABRAHAM LINCOLN STOLE MY HOMEWORK. I’m revising two other novels: DEAD DORIS (MG), and a thriller, WAKING UP JACK THUNDER. For my next wip, I’m bouncing around ideas for two MG novels, GLASS-HEAD, and #MY_SUCKY_LIFE – I’ll decide which one to focus on when I have their outlines finished.

When did the “writing bug” bite you? And what was your favorite genre and/or books at that time. Why? 

I was in my 40s when I started writing. Before then, I hadn’t written a word of fiction since leaving school – unless you count tax returns. That changed when I started walking my son, Bill, to his primary school in England. He’d pick an animal, and I’d make up a story about it, with Bill as the main character (I still remember one about a giraffe who was afraid of heights).

I’ve always been an avid reader. At the time, my favorite author was probably Terry Pratchett. I love books that make me laugh, especially when they also put you through the emotional wringer, which Pratchett’s books often do.

And finally, is there anything that you would recommend giving up to become a better writer? Is there anything you’ve given up in order to become one? 

I would recommend that anyone serious about writing gives up complaining and/or arguing online. Social media can be a beautiful thing, but if you’re not careful, you can get sucked into the ‘With us or against us’, ‘If you don’t think like me, you’re stupid/evil’ mentality that seems par-for-the-course these days. Some folks love to surf the web, trolling people they disagree with, or reading the spiteful back-and-forth of folks who probably wouldn’t dream (or dare) be so obnoxious in person, but that kind of bile is pure poison for creativity. In this digital age, we all have to get online, but if you ask me, the world would be a better place if the internet had more funny cat videos and less pointless arguments.

When I moved here from the UK in 2004, I made a conscious decision to give up music, and focus on writing stories instead. Before then, I’d been lead vocals and keyboard player in a rock band since the late eighties. As far as fame and fortune goes, we were very much a legend in our own lunchtime, but we had a lot of fun, especially writing and recording songs.

I don’t know if giving up singing has made me a better writer, but I’m sure my neighbors are happier.  

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John Gibbs

Born in England, Jon Gibbs now lives in New Jersey, where he lectured on Creative Writing at Georgian Court University from 2014-2017. Jon is the founder of The New Jersey Authors’ Network (www.njauthorsnetwork.com), his middle-grade fantasy, Fur-Face (Echelon Press), was nominated for a Crystal Kite Award. The sequel, Barnum’s Revenge (also from Echelon Press), was published in 2013.

Jon has a website: www.acatofninetales.com and a blog: http://jongibbs.livejournal.com. When he’s not chasing around after his three children, he can usually be found hunched over the computer in his basement office. One day he hopes to figure out how to switch it on.

 

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Article by Tammy Burke

Tammy Burke, past GLVWG conference chair and  president, has published over 400 articles in daily newspapers, newsletters and regional magazines. She is shopping her first YA fantasy manuscript, Hazel Lies, and is revising her second book. In addition to writing, she spearheads marketing for a fire and security systems company, raises a brilliant ADHD middle-grader, fences with rapier swords in  the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA), and considers herself a student of the fantastic and mundane.