Register NOW for MWA University – Dallas
Date: Saturday, December 14, 2013
Location: W Dallas – Victory
2440 Victory Park Ln – Grand Ballroom
Dallas, TX 75219
214-397-4100
What: An entire day of top-notch classes. Novice or pro, you will benefit from hearing the experts discuss their strategies for all facets of writing and publishing.
Below is a schedule preview (subject to change).
Schedule
8:15 - 8:50 AM: Check-in
8:55 – 9:00 AM: Welcome – MWA’s Executive Vice President – Daniel J. Hale
9:00 – 10:00 AM: After the Idea
Teacher: Jess Lourey (Jess Lourey is the author of the Murder-by-Month mysteries and a tenured professor of English and sociology at a two-year Minnesota college.)
“If you wish to be a writer, write." But how? You've got the great idea, the one that won't let you go, that embellishes itself as you walk around your day. But how do you grow that kernel into a compelling story, and where do you find the time? This class gives you the tools to turn a good idea into a great novel. Bring a notebook and writing utensil.
10:15 -11:15 AM: Dramatic Structure & Plot
Teacher: Hallie Ephron (Hallie Ephron is the author of psychological suspense Never Tell a Lie, crime fiction book reviewer for the Boston Globe, and author of the Edgar-nominated Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel.)
Since Aristotle, the three-act structure for storytelling has reigned supreme, but does it still hold true for modern crime writers? Is it the best way, or the only way, to tell your tale? Is plotting simply sequencing your scenes or is there more to it? This class will teach you the art of storytelling and plotting so your manuscript will attract the attention it deserves.
11:30 – 12:30 PM: Setting & Description
Teacher: Reed Farrel Coleman (Twice nominated for the Edgar® and a three-time winner of the Shamus Award, Reed Farrel Coleman is an adjunct instructor of English at Hofstra University.)
“I guess God made Boston on a wet Sunday,” Raymond Chandler once said, and this seemingly tossed-off remark has much to teach us about the gentle arts of setting and description. This class will guide you through the process and potential pitfalls of choosing a setting, and explore the ways in which descriptive passages can be honed to illuminate characters and themes.
12:30 – 1:30 PM: Lunch Break – Box Lunch
1:30: - 2:30 PM Character
Teacher: Charlaine Harris (Charlaine Harris has been a professional writer for thirty-two years.)
From Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple to Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlings, character is arguably the most memorable element of a mystery novel and a series. How do you create a full-realized unique protagonist that leaps from the page? How should you develop secondary characters as well as the protagonist’s nemesis? This class will challenge you to eliminate cardboard characterizations and create something new and fresh.
2:45 – 3:45 PM Writing as Re-Writing
Teacher: Daniel Stashower (Daniel Stashower is a two-time Edgar award winner, and a recipient of the Raymond Chandler Fulbright Fellowship in Detective and Crime Fiction Writing.)
If editing was good enough for William Shakespeare, it’s good enough for you. More often than not, it’s the things you remove, the tweaks you make, and the tinkering you do, that are the difference between another slush pile manuscript and a new book contract. There are some easy methods to learn and follow to help you develop an editorial ear. Give us sixty minutes and we’ll give you a better chance with agents and editors.
4:00 – 5:00 PM: The Writing Life
Teacher: Hank Phillippi Ryan (Winner of the 2013 Mary Higgins Clark Award as well as two Agathas, the Anthony and the Macavity, Boston TV reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan has won 30 Emmys for her investigative journalism.)
"I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning." That's how Peter DeVries balanced art and craft. What's the reality of the writing life? The journey from your great idea to 90,000 words will mean hours of solitude. Days of self-doubt. Revision. Rejection. And then--rejoicing. You'll often say: "I wish someone had explained this to me!" In this class, they will.
COST: $50 for both members and non-members of Mystery Writers of America. You must register by Thursday, December 4, 2013. If you need to cancel, there will be no refunds after December 4th. Registration is limited to 115 people.
We have also arranged for a small room block at the hotel – the rate of $189/night is available for the nights of December 13 – 14, 2013. The reservation must be made by November 14, 2013. Click on this link to make your hotel reservation
Here is a link to a map of the area: http://goo.gl/maps/ayRij
Click here for the MWA U – Dallas 2013 Registration Form
To pay via the MWA Store, click here: http://mysterywriters.org/store/products/mwa-u-dallas
For questions about MWA-U, email: mwa@mysterywriters.org
8:55 – 9:00 AM: Welcome – MWA’s Executive Vice President – Daniel J. Hale
9:00 – 10:00 AM: After the Idea
Teacher: Jess Lourey (Jess Lourey is the author of the Murder-by-Month mysteries and a tenured professor of English and sociology at a two-year Minnesota college.)
“If you wish to be a writer, write." But how? You've got the great idea, the one that won't let you go, that embellishes itself as you walk around your day. But how do you grow that kernel into a compelling story, and where do you find the time? This class gives you the tools to turn a good idea into a great novel. Bring a notebook and writing utensil.
10:15 -11:15 AM: Dramatic Structure & Plot
Teacher: Hallie Ephron (Hallie Ephron is the author of psychological suspense Never Tell a Lie, crime fiction book reviewer for the Boston Globe, and author of the Edgar-nominated Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel.)
Since Aristotle, the three-act structure for storytelling has reigned supreme, but does it still hold true for modern crime writers? Is it the best way, or the only way, to tell your tale? Is plotting simply sequencing your scenes or is there more to it? This class will teach you the art of storytelling and plotting so your manuscript will attract the attention it deserves.
11:30 – 12:30 PM: Setting & Description
Teacher: Reed Farrel Coleman (Twice nominated for the Edgar® and a three-time winner of the Shamus Award, Reed Farrel Coleman is an adjunct instructor of English at Hofstra University.)
“I guess God made Boston on a wet Sunday,” Raymond Chandler once said, and this seemingly tossed-off remark has much to teach us about the gentle arts of setting and description. This class will guide you through the process and potential pitfalls of choosing a setting, and explore the ways in which descriptive passages can be honed to illuminate characters and themes.
12:30 – 1:30 PM: Lunch Break – Box Lunch
1:30: - 2:30 PM Character
Teacher: Charlaine Harris (Charlaine Harris has been a professional writer for thirty-two years.)
From Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple to Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlings, character is arguably the most memorable element of a mystery novel and a series. How do you create a full-realized unique protagonist that leaps from the page? How should you develop secondary characters as well as the protagonist’s nemesis? This class will challenge you to eliminate cardboard characterizations and create something new and fresh.
2:45 – 3:45 PM Writing as Re-Writing
Teacher: Daniel Stashower (Daniel Stashower is a two-time Edgar award winner, and a recipient of the Raymond Chandler Fulbright Fellowship in Detective and Crime Fiction Writing.)
If editing was good enough for William Shakespeare, it’s good enough for you. More often than not, it’s the things you remove, the tweaks you make, and the tinkering you do, that are the difference between another slush pile manuscript and a new book contract. There are some easy methods to learn and follow to help you develop an editorial ear. Give us sixty minutes and we’ll give you a better chance with agents and editors.
4:00 – 5:00 PM: The Writing Life
Teacher: Hank Phillippi Ryan (Winner of the 2013 Mary Higgins Clark Award as well as two Agathas, the Anthony and the Macavity, Boston TV reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan has won 30 Emmys for her investigative journalism.)
"I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning." That's how Peter DeVries balanced art and craft. What's the reality of the writing life? The journey from your great idea to 90,000 words will mean hours of solitude. Days of self-doubt. Revision. Rejection. And then--rejoicing. You'll often say: "I wish someone had explained this to me!" In this class, they will.
COST: $50 for both members and non-members of Mystery Writers of America. You must register by Thursday, December 4, 2013. If you need to cancel, there will be no refunds after December 4th. Registration is limited to 115 people.
We have also arranged for a small room block at the hotel – the rate of $189/night is available for the nights of December 13 – 14, 2013. The reservation must be made by November 14, 2013. Click on this link to make your hotel reservation
Here is a link to a map of the area: http://goo.gl/maps/ayRij
Click here for the MWA U – Dallas 2013 Registration Form
To pay via the MWA Store, click here: http://mysterywriters.org/store/products/mwa-u-dallas
For questions about MWA-U, email: mwa@mysterywriters.org
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3 comments:
I think this would be fun, but my problem is that I don't want to drive down to Victory Park--on the southwest edge of downtown! What were they thinking, when so many wonderful venues are up near the 75/635 corridor and northwards? They should have located it more centrally. The only way to go would be by DART train, I suppose. But I also have problems being so far from home when I might be needed at home--I'm sure you know what I mean. We could all carpool, but if one of us had to leave early, then we'd have a problem. Anyhow, I don't know that I would find out anything particularly new or useful--it's just fun to schmooze. Been going to workshops and classes and doing online seminars and so forth for over 25 years now, so really it would just be the schmoozing and the inspiration I always come away from these sessions with.
Beyond the money issue (reasonable charge--just very broke) the fact that it is way down there is impossible. I was very disappointed they put it there. I'd go for the visiting too with no other real expectations.
That's an outstanding lineup. I gotta go, wherever it's located. And as it happens I live right by the TRE station in Euless.
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