Writing for Your Life – February 2018 Breakout Seminars

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Breakout Seminars A – 11:30 AM

Andrew Peterson
- “Adorning the Dark”
  - Author and singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson will discuss the vocation, writing, and what he calls “the mystery of making,” exploring writing and storytelling as a way of bearing the image of God.
Patricia Raybon
- “Race, Grace and Forgiveness: Writing Our Way to Racial Healing”
  - A candid exploration of how writers of every background can help heal racial wounds by writing truthfully about our personal racial journeys. But what’s required? How does one start? What narrative and spiritual elements make a “racial” story work for both writer and reader? Raybon, whose award-winning writing includes her memoir “My First White Friend”–-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.
Daisy Hutton
- “From Proposal to Contract: An Inside Look at the Acquisitions Process”
  - This workshop will take prospective authors inside of the acquisitions process of a traditional publishing house. We’ll start with an exploration of how we evaluate prospective authors and the specific details of what we’re looking for in proposals. From there, we’ll walk through the Acquisitions Board process, the Pub Board process and finally, the offer process. Finally, we’ll spend some time discussing what authors can be doing to prepare themselves for what happens after they get their first contract.
David Dark
- “No One Pays Attention The Way You Pay Attention”
  - “Write what will stop your breath if you don’t write,” Grace Paley once advised. Drawing on the development of Life’s Too Short To Pretend You’re Not Religious, David Dark discusses writing as an avenue for holding out your deepest frustrations and your deepest enthusiasms with open hands. Unless we take up the work of creatively taking stock of our fears and hopes, Dark argues we have yet to experience our own experience.

Breakout Seminars B – 2:00 PM

Jennifer Grant
- “Slip out of the Grip of Impostor Syndrome…and Get On With Your Good Work”
  - Do you ever find yourself mired in negative self-talk about whether you’re “really” an artist or a writer? Do you hold yourself back or fear being exposed as a fraud? It’s likely you do! More than 70% of us think we’re phonies at one time or another. This insecurity causes us to limit ourselves, back away from opportunity, and fail to take steps to grow in our craft. Fortunately, there are simple and effective ways to prevent these feelings from taking over and to let your gifts shine.
Andrew Peterson
- “Adorning the Dark”
  - Author and singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson will discuss the vocation, writing, and what he calls “the mystery of making,” exploring writing and storytelling as a way of bearing the image of God.
Mihee Kim-Kort
- “Terrible First Drafts: The Necessity of Failure for Creativity “
  - Anne Lamott writes those familiar words about “shitty first drafts” in Bird by Bird: “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper.” The angst and paralysis many writers feel at the beginning of writing – it is a good and healthy thing! This workshop will talk about how to frame the spiritual and emotional necessity of failure in the creative process. We will also look at practices and resources to help us work courageously through that first draft and on to the second, third, and more drafts whether for blogs, articles/essays, books, and do a couple of break-through writing exercises.
Ami McConnell
- “Loving Your Reader “
  - Good spiritual writing can take many forms—fiction or nonfiction, memoir or prescriptive, and anything in between. What distinguishes such writing is not form, but rather an author’s motivation. Love motivates the best spiritual writing. If you’re a writer of faith, Ami McConnell’s session will encourage and inspire you to love readers in tangible ways. You’ll see how this focus animates every aspect of your writing, from composition to revision to publication and beyond.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Breakout Seminars C – 9:00 AM

Patricia Raybon
- “Race, Grace and Forgiveness: Writing Our Way to Racial Healing”
  - A candid exploration of how writers of every background can help heal racial wounds by writing truthfully about our personal racial journeys. But what’s required? How does one start? What narrative and spiritual elements make a “racial” story work for both writer and reader? Raybon, whose award-winning writing includes her memoir “My First White Friend”–-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.
Jennifer Grant
- “Slip out of the Grip of Impostor Syndrome…and Get On With Your Good Work”
  - Do you ever find yourself mired in negative self-talk about whether you’re “really” an artist or a writer? Do you hold yourself back or fear being exposed as a fraud? It’s likely you do! More than 70% of us think we’re phonies at one time or another. This insecurity causes us to limit ourselves, back away from opportunity, and fail to take steps to grow in our craft. Fortunately, there are simple and effective ways to prevent these feelings from taking over and to let your gifts shine.
Joe Iovino
- “Make them look. How to get your work in front of more eyes.”
  - We write to be read, but it can be difficult to get a reader or editor’s attention. In this session, we will discuss insights United Methodist Communications has learned about choosing an angle, writing titles and teases, impressing editors, getting noticed, and building an audience.
River Jordan
- “The Divine Muse and Holy Space”
  - All writers long for their writing to be inspired but how do they tap into that place that is truly divine. River Jordan shares practical, writing advice on the act of creating that Holy space between God, the page and the reader who will one day read their words.

Breakout Seminars D – 10:30 AM

Daisy Hutton
- “From Proposal to Contract: An Inside Look at the Acquisitions Process”
  - This workshop will take prospective authors inside of the acquisitions process of a traditional publishing house. We’ll start with an exploration of how we evaluate prospective authors and the specific details of what we’re looking for in proposals. From there, we’ll walk through the Acquisitions Board process, the Pub Board process and finally, the offer process. Finally, we’ll spend some time discussing what authors can be doing to prepare themselves for what happens after they get their first contract.
Joe Iovino
- “Make them look. How to get your work in front of more eyes.”
  - We write to be read, but it can be difficult to get a reader or editor’s attention. In this session, we will discuss insights United Methodist Communications has learned about choosing an angle, writing titles and teases, impressing editors, getting noticed, and building an audience.
Sharon Wilharm
- “Screenwriting 101: How to Turn Your Book Into a Screenplay”
  - What kind of book makes a good movie? How do you tell a story that will translate onto the big screen? Writer/director Sharon Wilharm discusses the beauty of visual storytelling. You’ll discover the unique requirements of screenwriting and learn how to share your story in a way that will come to life in front of the camera.
Mihee Kim-Kort
- “Terrible First Drafts: The Necessity of Failure for Creativity “
  - Anne Lamott writes those familiar words about “shitty first drafts” in Bird by Bird: “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper.” The angst and paralysis many writers feel at the beginning of writing – it is a good and healthy thing! This workshop will talk about how to frame the spiritual and emotional necessity of failure in the creative process. We will also look at practices and resources to help us work courageously through that first draft and on to the second, third, and more drafts whether for blogs, articles/essays, books, and do a couple of break-through writing exercises.

Breakout Seminars E – 2:00 PM

Sharon Wilharm
- “Screenwriting 101: How to Turn Your Book Into a Screenplay”
  - What kind of book makes a good movie? How do you tell a story that will translate onto the big screen? Writer/director Sharon Wilharm discusses the beauty of visual storytelling. You’ll discover the unique requirements of screenwriting and learn how to share your story in a way that will come to life in front of the camera.
River Jordan
- “The Divine Muse and Holy Space”
  - All writers long for their writing to be inspired but how do they tap into that place that is truly divine. River Jordan shares practical, writing advice on the act of creating that Holy space between God, the page and the reader who will one day read their words.
David Dark
- “No One Pays Attention The Way You Pay Attention”
  - “Write what will stop your breath if you don’t write,” Grace Paley once advised. Drawing on the development of Life’s Too Short To Pretend You’re Not Religious, David Dark discusses writing as an avenue for holding out your deepest frustrations and your deepest enthusiasms with open hands. Unless we take up the work of creatively taking stock of our fears and hopes, Dark argues we have yet to experience our own experience.
Ami McConnell
- “Loving Your Reader”
  - Good spiritual writing can take many forms—fiction or nonfiction, memoir or prescriptive, and anything in between. What distinguishes such writing is not form, but rather an author’s motivation. Love motivates the best spiritual writing. If you’re a writer of faith, Ami McConnell’s session will encourage and inspire you to love readers in tangible ways. You’ll see how this focus animates every aspect of your writing, from composition to revision to publication and beyond.

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