SCBWI workshop 9/14: Hilary Wagner focuses on character building

SCBWI-IL PROUDLY PRESENTS

Rats or Bats but No Doormats:

 Building Characters with Depth & Detail                    

Featuring HILARY WAGNER
Award-Winning Middle-Grade Author of the Nightshade Chronicles and more!

Join us for this author workshop on crafting and developing your characters and a bonus session on writing the perfect query letter. Perfect for writers of all levels!

Ms. Wagner’s bio includes the books Nightshade City and The White Assassin and the upcoming final book of the series, Lords of Trillium. She also has a fiction book deal continuing through National Geographic School Publishing and is a part of the anthology Demigods and Monsters, which features multiple famous authors including Rick Riordan!

When: Saturday, September 14^th, 2013
Time: 8:30 a.m.(sign-in)–3:30p.m.

Where: Corpus Christi Parish Center, 206 Rasp St., Shiloh, IL 62269 (15 minutes from St. Louis)

Cost (includes lunch): $50 for SCBWI members

                                           $60 for non-members

                                                                   

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity!

Please e-mail the following Network Representatives for registration forms and/or more details:

Sherry Randle: sherry_randle@att.net  

Anastasia Ely: anastasia.l.ely@gmail.com

Or visit www.illinois-scbwi.org for more contact/workshop information.

Rats or Bats but No Doormats:

Building Characters with Depth & Detail

Workshop Registration

Saturday, September 14^th, 2013

 Corpus Christi Catholic Church Parish Center, Shiloh, Illinois

Last Name_____________________________ First Name________________________

Address________________________________________________________________

City____________________________ State_____________ Zip____________________

Home Phone_________________________ Cell Phone___________________________

Email address (print clearly):________________________________________________

Prices:   _______ $60 for non-SCBWI members        

              _______$50 for SCBWI members

Registration: Registrations may be postmarked beginning Monday, July 15^th, 2013.  Attendance for this workshop is limited, so register soon to guarantee a spot!

My check # ______ made out to SCBWI-IL is enclosed.  There are no refunds if unable to attend unless spot is filled from waiting list.  

Mail completed registration form and check, beginning July 15^th, 2013, to:

SCBWI Workshop, Jonathan Schkade, P.O. Box 520, Hamel, IL 62046

Note: Registrations postmarked prior to July 15^th, 2013, will not be accepted.    

When workshop reaches full capacity, those who did not get a spot will be contacted with the choice of being placed on the waiting list or having their check returned.

For more information, contact Anastasia Ely at anastasia.l.ely@gmail.com or Sherry Randle at sherry_randle@att.ne​t Workshop directions, lunch information, etc. will be sent out to registrants closer to the workshop date.

Jung Society Authors' Reception Sept. 7

Information reprinted from CGJS newsletter

C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis - Authors Reception
Saturday, September 7, 2013
6:45-10:00 PM

Kings House Retreat Center 

700 N. 66th St. 

Belleville, IL 62223 (click here for map and directions)

A wine and cheese reception will celebrate the release of the C.G. Jung Society's second collection of essays. Winners of the 2012 writing contest will be reading their work:

Adversity and the Movements of the Soul, by Mark A. Cameron, PhD, MA

"Jung once described God as 'the name by which I designate all things which cross my path violently and recklessly, all things which upset my subjective views, plans and intentions and change the course of my life.' I soon came to know this aspect of God intimately. Eventually, I would come to see the sly plan which God had placed into motion through this period of suffering."

Healing Through the Numinous, by Leah Friedman, PhD

"Recently, to my great surprise, I was visited by a mystifying, life-altering shift of consciousness. As I pondered what had happened, which I shall describe later, I thought about the meaning of the word numinous and realized that this was not the first time I had encountered numinosity."

Gifts of the Camino, by Deborah Terra Weltman

"I crossed the Pyrenees on foot, up and over incredibly rocky terrain, in higher altitudes than I'd ever been, and made it, exhausted, into Spain. What followed was a series of life lessons on the topic of trust. As it turned out, I was on the Camino to learn about trusting myself, trusting others, trusting that I would always be provided for, and in general, trusting God."

$15 Registration online (click here) in advance or pay at the door. If paying at the door please RSVP to let them know you are planning to attending: cgjungstl@yahoo.com.

Books will be available for purchase and authors will be available for signing.

Click here for a flyer and click here to see complete program and registration details online for the Third Jung in the Heartland Conference: Healing Through the Numinous  September 5 - 8, 2013.

Lens On: Pacing

Lens On: Pacing

By Brad R. Cook

Pacing may be one of the most important aspects of a novel and one few workshops touch on. This isn’t a post about sentences; today I focus on the flow of words and how quickly a reader can get through your writing.

Pace is a writer’s gift to the reader. No one wants to get bogged down in the middle of a book, struggling to turn each page, fighting every word and sentence as if trekking through the Amazon jungle with a machete. Readers want pages to fly by like a Lamborghini speeding down the highway.

Modern novels… okay, good modern novels, have a pace you can snap along with. I love them and I try to emulate them. I’m not exactly certain when it started, but I would argue that the noir detective novels might be one place. These mysteries really developed the quick pace dialogue that now dominates the market.

Older novels, especially the Victorian novels, had a much slower pace. Overly wordy prose, filled with tangents that deviated from the main plot, and monologues that lasted a page, led to books with hundreds of pages – giant tomes bound in leather, that are completely unsuited for a beach read.

I find that good pace comes mainly from three places –

1 – Back and Forth Dialogue – Quick dialogue with short or no tags is a great way to increase your pace. Too much description in a dialogue tag can slow down the natural flow of a conversation. Beware the monologue; unless you’re a teacher or lecturer, most conversations involve two or more people speaking over each other. Capture that on a page and readers will fly through your work.

2 – Action Scenes – Fight scenes, chase sequences, or sex scenes are a great way to increase the pace of your novel. These are the exciting parts, and naturally should be a quick read. All are places where you don’t want to bog down the reader with, long descriptions, too much emotion, or an over focus on scenery. It is actually really hard to talk while fighting or running – try reading out loud next time you’re running on the treadmill.

3 – Word Choice and Sentence Length – When a sentence, short phrase, long phrase, paragraph, chapter, novel, or article is packed with terminology, expressions, vocabulary; words that may be important to conveying the meaning of your prose, but all the writer ends up doing is making the reader, or audience, re-read the same passage repeatedly, over and over, until they fully obtained the meaning of your original intention. (that may be the worst sentence I have ever written, so I hope you get my point) Keep it short; keep it sweet, keep it simple and the pace will follow.

What is your favorite way to improve the pacing of your writing? Or do you recommend a novel with great pacing? Let us know in the comments section.

The Lens On: Series highlight various aspects on writing for The Writers' Lens; they are meant to start a discussion on the stated topic. For more information on this topic please consult Google or other literary sources.

Brad R. Cook is a historical fantasy author and President of St. Louis Writers Guild. Please visit www.bradrcook.com , follow me on Twitter @bradrcook  https://twitter.com/bradrcook , or my tumblr page Thoughts from Midnight http://bradrcook.tumblr.com/

St. Louis Reflections http://www.stlbooks.com/B009271-1211-51/Review.aspx

Meet guidebook author 9/5 at 6 North

Click image to enlarge.

Whatcha Readin'?

Whatcha Readin’?

By Brad R. Cook

Books are immortal sons defying their sires. – Plato

Here at the Writers’ Lens, Fridays are for books. A time to focus on readers. We all love books (at least I'm assuming if you're reading this blog you love books) and over the last few weeks, I’ve talked about reading your genre and other book related topics.

But today, I want to ask a simple question – Whatcha Readin'?

I’ll start –

I read Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Yeah, it’s a paranormal romance, I read it for research and because it was suggested by an agent. It was good, great voice and pacing. Beware; those not wanting a romance between a half-vampire and a hunter may want to check the comments for another book.

I also read Senshi by Cole Gibsen

Yeah, I’ve already read the second book in the Katana Series, but I hadn’t read the finished copy yet. I devoured it before vacation. It too has a great voice, and I like Rileigh, she kicks ass with a katana… I need say no more.

I recently finished Daring Missions of World War II by William Breuer

This was passed on to me by my uncle and is a great collection of stories. Some I knew, others I only knew because I have a freakish knowledge of history and I watch way too much H2, Nat Geo, Smithsonian, and Discovery – all the Discovery’s.

Right now, I’m reading a couple of Middle Grades for research, but I’m not mentioning the titles because I don’t like talking too much about a book until it’s done. I’m superstitious like that.

It’s been a weird end to the summer, literary-ily speaking. *groan*

So, what’s been on your summer reading list? Or what are you flipping through right now. Let us know in the comments.

Book lovers enjoy hearing about new novels. Maybe you’ll find the next novel that is going to move you. Also let us know on Twitter using @writerslens.

By the way, if you are looking for a book, or what people are reading, check out #FridayReads on Twitter. If you want, tag your #FridayReads with @writerslens and spread the word!

Yes, feel free to mention your own book in the comments, you read it right? Then it counts.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend, I know some us will be spending it in a book!

Brad R. Cook is a historical fantasy author and President of St. Louis Writers Guild. Please visit www.bradrcook.com , follow me on Twitter @bradrcook  https://twitter.com/bradrcook , or my tumblr page Thoughts from Midnight http://bradrcook.tumblr.com/

St. Louis Reflections http://www.stlbooks.com/B009271-1211-51/Review.aspx

Guild workshop 9/7 focuses on Publishing Perspectives

Writers can explore options for getting published at the Sept. 7 “Publishing Perspectives” workshop sponsored by the St. Louis Writers Guild. Representatives of Walrus Publishing, Blank Slate Press/Treehouse Publishing, Month9Books and a nonfiction and poetry educator/editor will explain their services and answer questions from 10 a.m. to noon at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Road in Kirkwood. Free to Guild members, $5 for nonmembers.

Lisa Miller

Lisa Miller founded Walrus Publishing, Inc. in 2008 with the mission to contribute to the Saint Louis Literary Community by publishing talented St. Louis writers. Walrus Publishing has three titles in print thus far and has several more “in the works.” Lisa is a member of the St. Louis Writers Guild, the Missouri Writers Guild, and a founding member of the St. Louis Literary Consortium. This year she is honored to serve as the Conference Committee Chair for the Missouri Writers Guild. Lisa has a B.A. in English from the University of Baltimore and an M.A. in English from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has most recently published her debut novel¸ Halfway There.

Kristina Makansi

 Born and raised in Southern Illinois, Kristina Makansi has a B.A. in Government from University of Texas at Austin and a M.A.T. from the College of New Jersey and an opinion on everything. She has worked as a copywriter, marketing coordinator, web and collateral designer, editor, and publisher. In 2010, she co-founded Blank Slate Press, an award-winning small press focusing on debut authors in the greater St. Louis area, and in 2013, she co-founded Treehouse Publishing Group, an author services and assisted-publishing partnership. Her current writing projects include co-writing and self-publishing The Sowing, the first book in The Seeds Trilogy, and she is hard at work revising her historical fiction, Oracles of Delphi, set in ancient Greece.

Catherine Rankovic

Catherine Rankovic’s books include Meet Me: Writers in St. Louis; Island Universe: Essays and Entertainments; Fierce Consent and Other Poems; and Guilty Pleasures: Indulgences, Addictions, and Obsessions. She has published her poems in numerous print and online magazines. She received her M.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, where she taught from 1989 to 2010; she now teaches poetry writing and creative nonfiction writing in the online M.F.A. program at Lindenwood University and is a professional editor of poetry and prose manuscripts at BookEval.com.

Mandy Schoen

Mandy Schoen is a senior editor of Month9Books, LLC, and the managing editor of Swoon Romance (a digital romance imprint of Month9Books, LLC) and otherwise keeps plenty busy traveling the world, slaying dragons, falling in love, and whatever else her "To Be Read" pile has in store for her. When she’s not reading, hanging out with her family, or acquiring and editing incredible stories for Swoon Romance, she can usually be found huddling over a cup of flavored coffee. She lives in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, her boxer, and her Nook, but it’s probably easier to find her on Twitter at @Mandy_Schoen.

Schedule for 8/24 Writers in the Park

It's FREE! Find out more.

9:30am - Registration in Lions Amphitheater, Kirkwood Park, 111 S. Geyer Rd., Kirkwood

10am - Nicole Evelina, author, represented by Jen Karsbaek of Forward Literary, presents Querying a Literary Agent 

11am - Mary Menke, owner Word Abilities, presents Editing Tips

11am - Robin Tidwell, author, co-owner of All on the Same Page Bookstore and Rocking Horse Publishing presents Designing the Book

12pm - Nancy Baumann, the Book Professor, presents Your Nonfiction Book: How to Shortcut the Process and Save Time, Energy, and Dollars

12pm - Tim Hill, author of the Joe the Crab Series, presents Writing for Children

1pm - Genre Talk, round table discussions of your genre, presented by SLWG's Cycle Critique Groups

1pm - Winners of the Deane Wagner Poetry Contest 

CHILDREN'S EVENT

11am to Noon - Susan Grigsby, author, poet, and educator presents Kids Writing Poetry for young writers in 4th-8th grade!