Thursday June 4, 2020
Breakout Seminars A – 10:30 AM
- Amy Julia Becker
- Writing about Hard Topics – Disease, death, grief, prejudice, even faith–all of these are topics we are told to avoid at the dinner table. But writing well about topics that hep us explore the deep human questions of meaning and purpose is also crucial for engagement with what it means to be human and live in community with others. How do we craft narratives about the hard stuff of life in a way that welcomes readers and encourages thoughtfulness? How do we make particular experiences into stories that resonate with a broad audience? In a world of endless light content, short attention spans, and ceaseless opportunities to be entertained, how do we write stories that draw readers in and help them think and grow.
- Patricia Raybon
- Race, Grace & Forgiveness: Writing Our Way to Racial Healing – A candid and interactive exploration of how writers of every background can help heal racial wounds by writing truthfully about our racial struggles and journeys. But what’s required? How does one start? What narrative and spiritual elements make a “racial” story work for both writer, editor, and reader? Patricia Raybon, whose award-winning writing includes racial reflections in the New York Times, Newsweek, In Touch Magazine (In Touch Ministries), Our Daily Bread, Christianity Today, (in)courage at DaySpring, the Washington Post’s Acts of Faith — and whose memoir “My First White Friend” is a winner of a Christopher Award and a Books for a Better Life Award — shares personal and practical wisdom for courageous, reflective writers willing to take on the urgent conundrum of race.
- Susan Salley, Abindgon Press
- Writing with Purpose: Three Questions: Can you describe your message and audience in 60 seconds? Publishers want clarity and a razor sharp focus on the primary audience, why they will choose your book, and what will change in their lives from the experience. If you are intentional and focused through your process from start to finish, the benefit to the reader will be in the spotlight in the finished content as well as from the title to the packaging to the layout and marketing.
- Reader Track: Sophfronia Scott
- “The Story Behind This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World”—It’s not every day that a mother decides to co-write a spiritual memoir with her 12-year-old son. But Tain’s extraordinary faith response in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at his school, Sandy Hook Elementary, made Sophfronia realize their journey was one worth sharing. In this session she discusses how the idea for the book came about, how she and Tain handled the unusual collaboration, and what has happened since the book’s publication.
Breakout Seminars B – 2:00 PM
- Sophfronia Scott
- “Feeding the Lake: A Journaling Workshop” – Madeleine L’Engle’s advice to unpublished writers was to write anyway because all of it helps “feed the lake” (to quote Jean Rhys). This workshop will offer insight and hands-on prompts for the regular habit of journaling which Madeleine L’Engle herself practiced.
- Valerie Weaver-Zercher, Fortress Press / Broadleaf Books
- Seven Things Editors Don’t Say Out Loud—and How to Use Them to Your Benefit – Writers can reveal—or conceal—their interior lives as they write. Editors have secrets too! Learn some of the things that run through editors’ minds as they sift through proposals, consider pitches, and read and edit manuscripts. Each editor is different, but we’ll examine some common things many editors think about as they work.
- Jeffrey Munroe, Western Theological Seminary
- Precise and Concise – Regardless of what you’re writing, from a blog post to a poem to a novel, good writing is precise and concise. In this workshop, best-selling author Jeffrey Munroe will lead you through hands-on participative exercises to help your writing be more precise and concise. We’ll explore common grammatical mistakes that prevent your submissions from serious consideration and we’ll talk about the writing process in practical and (mildly) technical terms. Come prepared to laugh, to write, and to learn.
- Reader Track: Amy Julia Becker
- A Serious Pleasure – Why read books when there are so many other things to do? And why read “literature” when there are easier books to get through? For both children and adults, reading books is on the decline. What motivates us to read? How should we select books for ourselves? How can we guide our children towards books that delight them and challenge them? This session will consider what makes good books “good” and remind participants of the “serious pleasure” of reading for adults and for kids.
Friday June 5, 2020
Breakout Seminars C – 9:30 AM
- Amy Julia Becker
- Writing about Hard Topics – Disease, death, grief, prejudice, even faith–all of these are topics we are told to avoid at the dinner table. But writing well about topics that hep us explore the deep human questions of meaning and purpose is also crucial for engagement with what it means to be human and live in community with others. How do we craft narratives about the hard stuff of life in a way that welcomes readers and encourages thoughtfulness? How do we make particular experiences into stories that resonate with a broad audience? In a world of endless light content, short attention spans, and ceaseless opportunities to be entertained, how do we write stories that draw readers in and help them think and grow?
- Susan Salley, Abingdon Press
- Writing with Purpose: Three Questions: Can you describe your message and audience in 60 seconds? Publishers want clarity and a razor sharp focus on the primary audience, why they will choose your book, and what will change in their lives from the experience. If you are intentional and focused through your process from start to finish, the benefit to the reader will be in the spotlight in the finished content as well as from the title to the packaging to the layout and marketing.
- Brian Allain, Writing for Your Life
- Why You Should Consider DIY Publishing – DIY or “self” publishing has never been a more attractive alternative. The purpose of this seminar is not to convince you that it is the best path; it is only to make you more aware of this alternative.
- Reader Track: Jeffrey Munroe, Western Theological Seminary
- Reading Buechner – Frederick Buechner’s remarkable writing career spanned almost six decades and produced 40 books. He is the only ordained minister nominated for two of our top literary awards in fiction: the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. He is also a compelling memoirist, essayist, and preacher. Until recently, there had not been an accessible introduction and guide to his work. Jeffrey Munroe, the author of Reading Buechner, will present an overview of Buechner’s remarkable career, as well as tell how a Writing for Your Life conference led to the publication of his book.
Breakout Seminars D – 2:00 PM
- Patricia Raybon
- Writing to Worship – What Adoration and Worship Teach God’s Writers – As a regular contributor to Our Daily Bread Ministries, author Patricia Raybon was asked to present a workshop to their writing team on Adoration – a topic she hadn’t explored. But what did it teach her about transforming our writing through our worship? And how is adoring God the first step in taking all our spiritual writing to the next level – and beyond? As an award-winning and best-selling author, Patricia explores this topic by offering surprising, challenging, practical, and exciting spiritual answers.
- Susan Salley, Abingdon Press
- Writing with Purpose: Three Questions: Can you describe your message and audience in 60 seconds? Publishers want clarity and a razor sharp focus on the primary audience, why they will choose your book, and what will change in their lives from the experience. If you are intentional and focused through your process from start to finish, the benefit to the reader will be in the spotlight in the finished content as well as from the title to the packaging to the layout and marketing.
- Panel:
- “My Journey to Getting Published” – several of our speakers discuss how they got their first and subsequent book deals.
- Reader Track: Valerie Weaver-Zercher, Fortress Press / Broadleaf Books
- How Readers Actually Write the Books They’re Reading – It’s true: readers are crucial players in the game of meaning-making from books. Writers can carefully craft a message and do their best to communicate it. But it’s up to the reader how a writer’s message gets interpreted. Learn some different theories about the act of reading, including what is called transactional theory, and how important readers are in the ecosystem of publishing (and not just because they buy books!).
Breakout Seminars E – 3:15 PM
- Sophfronia Scott
- “When Did That Happen?: Navigating Your Novel Through the Sea of Time” – According to author Joan Silber, “The end point of a story determines its meaning, and one of the main tasks a writer faces is to define the duration of a plot.” That task, whether you’re writing the story of an hour or the epic of a generation, can determine whether your narrative sails to the shore or sinks under the weight of confusion. In this talk we’ll look at how time supports the telling of your story and examine the various ways to develop the motion of time in your fiction.
- Valerie Weaver-Zercher, Fortress Press / Broadleaf Books
- Writing as a Christian for the Spiritual but Not Religious Reader – Can Christian writers communicate effectively to non-Christian audiences? If so, how? Using examples from a variety of published books, we will consider various approaches Christian writers can take to writing for readers of other faiths or no faith at all.
- Jeffrey Munroe, Western Theological Seminary
- Precise and Concise – Regardless of what you’re writing, from a blog post to a poem to a novel, good writing is precise and concise. In this workshop, best-selling author Jeffrey Munroe will lead you through hands-on participative exercises to help your writing be more precise and concise. We’ll explore common grammatical mistakes that prevent your submissions from serious consideration and we’ll talk about the writing process in practical and (mildly) technical terms. Come prepared to laugh, to write, and to learn.
- Reader Track: Patricia Raybon
- Hallelujah, It’s a Book – What Authors Can Teach Readers About Life, Love, Work and Successful Living – After enjoying a performance of Handel’s Messiah, author Patricia Raybon was surprised to learn the composer wrote his famous oratorio – including his Hallelujah Chorus – in just 24 days. Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize-winning author, took her first writing workshop “just for fun,” leading to her first novel, The Bluest Eye, released when she was almost 40. How did these accomplished creatives reach their artistic and life goals? Indeed, what do such artists teach the rest of us about life, love, work, and successful living?
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All information subject to change.