How to Keep Writing When You Think You Ought to Quit

Presenter: Evelyn Coleman

Giving up is hard to do…. but should you do it? How to survive being a midlist writer, and other things I’ve learned along the way. Specific strategies to increase your chances of being published. Sure-fire techniques that will get your manuscript out of the pile. And finally, you’re published but you didn’t make the N.Y. Times list – now what? Find out ways to continue to survive the call to write. 

Basic Elements of Fiction

Presenter: Judy Iakovou

Designed for the new to intermediate writer, this course covers the elements of fiction: Plot, Characterization, Setting, Dialogue, Point of View and that hidden element, Research, and how they work together to create fiction that leaves the reader craving more. Examined in detail will be:

• Hooks, plot points, pacing and climax
• Living, breathing characters—why their backstory is important
• Believable dialogue and how to handle accents, dialects and idiosyncrasies
• Setting as more than a place
• Point of view challenges for beginning writers
• What to research and why it matters
• More than the sum of its parts—making all the elements work together

Handouts and a suggested reading list will also be included. 

Writing Your Life

Presenter: Dana Wildsmith

In this three-hour poetry session, participants will learn how to use materials from their own life experiences as the basis for poems which move beyond being merely confessional or self-limiting restatings of facts. The class will use writing prompts, instructor guidance and examination of participants’ writings (submitted at registration) as aids to moving their poems to a new level of interest to readers and publishers.

Homicide Crime Scene 

Presenter: Alex Graves

This course will provide writers with the information necessary to accurately create crime scenes and create realistic characters from the law enforcement community. The relevance of jurisdiction, organizational strengths and limitations as they relate to police responses to crime scenes will be discussed. Participants will examine a simulated crime scene from the perspective of a criminal investigator responding to the scene. May include some disturbing graphic images. 

Tell it Slant: The Truth in Fiction

Presenter: Sharyn McCrumb

Some people think that a work of fiction is entirely made up, and that a non-fiction book is absolutely factual, but the truth is more complex than that. A look at the contract between the author and the reader: How novelists who work with history and folklore present the truth, and why they have to get it right. 

The Craft of Poetry

Presenter: Frederick Smock

A workshop designed to illuminate aspects of the craft of writing poetry, from inception through revision. Mr. Smock, the author of ten books and poet-in-residence at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, will speak and lead a discussion on poetry, and also offer a variety of prompts to get students writing on their own.  

 Saturday Sessions

Propelling Your Novel: How Characters Drive Plot and Plot Affects Characters

Presenter: Susan Malone

Making sense of how characters and plot intertwine to make for a bang-up book, from the most intricate elements to the broad brush. 

Working with an Agent: What you can Expect 

Presenter: Barbara Casey

Literary agent, editor, and award-winning author, Barbara Casey has been working with writers for the past 30 years. She has successfully placed 80 percent of her clients--many of whom have received awards and national recognition--with both independent and major publishing houses since 1995 when she first established the Barbara Casey Literary Agency. In her workshop, she will discuss key elements in finding the right agent and the working relationship that follows. She will outline proper procedures and business "etiquette" necessary in a good author/agent relationship, discuss what a writer should expect from an agent, what things to avoid when looking for an agent, and how to work with an agent in marketing a book once it has been published. She will also explain when an agent is necessary and those situations when an agent is not needed, as well as positive and negative elements in a publishing contract.  

Don't Sabotage your Submission: An Editor Tells Writers What Causes Manuscripts to Turn Up D.O.A. 

Presenter: Chris Roerden

A career editor shares the decision-making realities of the manuscript evaluation process and reveals the ways you can beat the odds of a 90 percent rapid rejection rate. Participate in workshop exercises that get you thinking about your voice and its effect on readers. 

Connecting With Your Audience

Darryll Huckaby

In this session, author and Southern humorist Darrell Huckaby will offer tips for understanding your audience and ways he has found to really connect with that audience on the audiences level, whatever that might be. He will mix in a liberal dose of his own brand of homespun humor as he tries to help the novice and the experienced writer alike learn to relate with the people they are trying to reach.

To Pay or Not to Pay...

Presenter: Tony Burton

Is it nobler in the mind to suffer the stings and rejections of agents and editors? Perhaps it is… and perhaps not. Author and publisher Tony Burton discusses the pros and cons of subsidy publishing, and why it is sometimes a good choice and sometimes a bad one. Learn what to look for, and to look out for, when choosing a subsidy publisher: caveats, provisos and fine print. Pick up tips and resources to make your publishing journey a successful one, whether commercial, subsidy or self-publishing. 

Children's Book Business

Presenter: Andrea Brown

Andrea Brown will discuss what makes the children's book market unique and hot, and will explain the rules for all the separate categories within the children's book business 

Q & A with Terry Kay: Reading Between the Lines of your Manuscript 

Presenter: Terry Kay

Terry Kay, Georgia Writers Hall of Fame member and writer of fiction for 32 years, answers your questions about writing and the writing life. 

Writing Mystery Novels

Presenter: Ralph McInerny

Learn the principles and philosophy behind the writing of prolific author and Mystery Writers of America lifetime achievement award-winner Ralph McInerny.

Tips and Myths on Breaking Into the Romance Market

Presenter: Tanya Michna
Begins with an overview of today's market, explains different options (big press, small press, e press) and subgenres, then dives into "how to get started" and addresses frequently asked questions like "Do you have to have an agent?" and questions from the audience. 

Poetry

Presenter: Frederick Smock

The craft of writing poetry, from inception through revision. 

Author Branding

Presenter: Chip MacGregor

A one hour workshop that defines what an author brand is, tells why it's important, and explains the steps an author can take to begin building a brand. A lot of people in the industry these days are talking about the importance of "branding" without ever defining what it is. 

0205

SLAM!

Presenter: David Oates 

Writing for Children

Presenter: Evelyn Coleman

Everything you need to know to get your story on paper and into the hands of the right publisher. Step-by-step strategies to strengthen your writing and proven techniques for getting published. 

What to Fear, What to Forget when Sending Your Manuscript 

Presenter: Brian Seidman

NewSouth Books managing and acquisitions editor Brian Seidman guides you on where to focus during the manuscript submission process. What are the important details to consider, and what should you not bother worrying about? What are ways that authors defeat themselves even before sending out their manuscripts, and how can you avoid these pitfalls? Get the straight story, along with a "no nonsense" question and answer session, and a look at the book industry as a whole.  

Websites for Unpublished Writers

Presenter: Ginny Stibolt

Present yourself as a credible writer with a writer's website. Be your own cheerleader. Everyone is on the Internet--isn't it time for you to create a professional website? It's not expensive and it's not too difficult, even for the technically challenged. 

Pick an Agent's Brain

Presenter: Cherry Weiner

Ask anything and everything you want to know about publishing. 

Craft a High-Powered and Salable Nonfiction Book Concept

Presenter: Jane Friedman

Find out the difference between a nonfiction book concept that gets an immediate, enthusiastic response from agents/editors -- and one that gets no response. Learn how to craft a selling-handle with sizzle, and most importantly, learn the philosophy behind the one golden rule of nonfiction: Don't sell what you write -- sell what readers will buy! 

The Art of the Query: Getting an Agent When Others Don't 

Presenter: Jackie Miles

Covers all of the following:

• The 3 B’s of the Query
• The pitchline
• The meat and potatoes of a great query
• The Tri-Pod of a successful query
• The hook—the absolute best way to get an agent’s attention
• The goal of the query
• Query Specifications
• Things to remember for a successful query
• Sample query letters 

Kicking your way through Writer's Block

Presenter: Robert Vaughan
Unfortunately, Robert Vaughan has had to withdraw from HAWC 2008 for a family wedding--we'll miss him at the conference, but if he can't be with us, we're glad it's for a happy occasion. Best wishes to the bride and groom!

Poetry

Presenter: Frederick Smock

The craft of writing poetry, from inception through revision.

Living with Editors: Working with editors and book doctors

Presenter: Pat LoBrutto 

How to make it work for you and your book. You've written the book. Now you find out what a professional thinks. What does the process look like? What should you expect? When do you put your foot down? How do you negotiate? How to work with the editor at a publishing house who is working on your book. How to work with the book doctor you have hired to work with you. Most important, how to get the best for your novel and career.

Traces of a Killer

Presenter: Andy Garrison

Discover how trace evidence, items discovered in and around a corpse, can tell you who did it? We will also address how law enforcement examines evidence to piece together the fabric of a crime. This class is not for the weak: actual crime scene and autopsies photos will be viewed to examine how the dead relate their story. 

Maximize Marketing with a Writer's Website

Presenter: Ginny Stibolt

Set up your website to monitor its effectiveness. Learn to track landing pages, enhance search engine results, find new promoters, support media coverage, and more. Internet marketing is a process, not an event. 

0402

0403

Why Laughing and Crying Are More Similar Than You Think: Evoking Reader Emotion

Presenter: Tanya Michna

Most readers, but especially romance readers, are reading for the emotional journey. This is a popular craft workshop given at several venues about upping the emotional ante in your work, whether you write comedy, drama, or romantic suspense, using examples from romance novels in multiple subgenres, as well as examples from shows, movies, and some classic literature. 

0404

Finding Colorful Topics in a Black & White World

Presenter: Darryll Huckaby

Columnist and Southern humorist Darrell Huckaby, who writes six columns a week for more than a dozen publications, shares his secrets for coming up with interesting topics, day after day, week after week, year after year in what can sometimes be a rather mundane world. During his presentation he is sure to regale you with many stories about his subjects and the responses he has had from them. This presentation is certain to help the aspiring writer learn to look for unforgettable topics in very forgettable places. 

0405

Don't Sabotage Your Submission

Presenter: Chris Roerden

An editor tells writers what causes manuscripts to turn up D.O.A. 

0406

The Perfect Pitch

Presenter: Zoe Fishman

Talk about the kind of pitches that get agents' attention and what turns them off. Come with questions! 

0407

Movies, TV, Fiction: Write it Like a Pro!

Presenter: Susan Dansby

• Making your book or script a page-turner
• The one element that MUST be included in the first ten pages
• Four techniques guaranteed to energize your dialogue
• The secret to holding your reader/audience’s attention
• What a two-year-old can teach you about adding urgency
• How to PECK conflict into the dullest scene
• How to activate a talky scene/chapter
• The biggest flaw in most characters
• How to make the “same old story” fresh and new
  And so much more…

0408

How the Dead Speak

Presenter: Andy Garrison

It is true, but the problem has always been...we never listen. Through this class you will see how law enforcement listens to the dead through post mortem autopsies. This class is not for the weak: actual crime scene and autopsies photos will be viewed to examine how the dead relate their story. 

0501

No More Creative Writing Blocks! 

Presenter: Alan Black

Need to generate more creative characters, scenes, stories? Need to increase your creativeness on demand? Need ways to respark your creativeness on dull days? This session has been designed to provide you tools and techniques to: 1) respark, 2) increase, 3) enrich your creativeness and 4) make your writing more creative and more fun to do. 

0502

Crafting a Story that Sells: Secrets of the Pros 

Presenter: Doris Booth

What are the elements of a story that attract an agent or editor to a project? What do they look for when they make the decision to buy? And why do some books catapult to the bestseller lists while others sink into obscurity. Agent Doris Booth dissects several current bestsellers, stripping them down to bare story-telling essentials—raw structure, hook, theme, characters, storyline, story arch, pacing, conflict, suspense and more—to reveal why they sold to a major publisher. She shows you, from an agent’s perspective, how improving your story can enhance the chances of selling a work.  

0503

Why the Publishing Industry is Evil and Unfair

Presenter: Jane Friedman

An insider's look at how publishers sell books, including how the bookstore chains work, and why the biggest challenge for every author is not getting published, but developing a strong sales track record. You'll learn how to prepare appropriately for your book's publication and achieve greater success as a published author.

0504

Along the Promo Trail

Presenter: Robert Vaughn

Unfortunately, Robert Vaughan has had to withdraw from HAWC 2008 for a family wedding--we'll miss him at the conference, but if he can't be with us, we're glad it's for a happy occasion. Best wishes to the bride and groom! 

Protecting What You Create: Copyright basics for writers

Presenter: Wally Eberhardt

You don't have to be a lawyer to know the essentials of copyright law, complicated though it may be. We'll cover the essentials of the law from a writer's perspective. What are my rights? How can I protect my precious words? What's in those pesky contracts? How much can I borrow from another's work without worrying about being sued? When should I call the lawyer? 

Chilling Thrillers

Presenter: Evelyn Coleman

Understand why thrillers are different from mysteries and what you must do to write one. Also, how to do the research required for writing a solid thriller, without murdering anyone yourself. And why writing a thriller should leave you breathless. Get all this information wrapped into one scary hour. 

0508

Poetry

Presenter: Dana Wildsmith