EVERYONE A WINNER AT WIK'18: Deborah Halverson and Teen Talk Tips

The deadline for submitting manuscripts for formal critiques may have passed (hope you all got your manuscripts in on time!), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still great opportunities for those attending wik’18 to enhance their conference experience with optional activities. 

There are still slots available for One-on-One sessions with an agent, and Linda Sue Park, Matt Ringler, Janice Hardy, Heather Montgomery and Jodi Wheeler Toppen, Kami Kinard and Rebecca Petruck, and Deborah Halverson are all teaching morning intensives on Sunday.

Deborah Halverson is one of SCBWI’s superstar teachers. When it comes to writing for teens, she wrote the book – literally, THE book on how to write for teens and young adults.

We hear it all the time: you need to have the right “voice” for your teenage character. Easier said than done when it comes to writing dialogue. For some of us it has been decades since we were teens ourselves, and have you tried to actually talk with teens the way teens talk?

Oh, the way they look at you, like you’re all creepy or weird even if you get the jargon just right. There’s just something about an AARP member throwing around teen slang in a conversation that feels awkward.

So if you can’t converse in teen-talk with teens to make sure you get it right, what can you do to develop that skill?

I was lucky enough to attend one of Deborah’s intensives on writing for a teen audience while at an SCBWI conference, and know that those attending her intensive will come out with new tools in their writing toolbox. You won’t want to miss a single tip, resource url or sneaky way to eavesdrop on teens talking with teens. Way better than camping out at the food court in the mall.

                         REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! CLICK :::HERE:::TO REGISTER!

Claudia Pearson, Regional Advisor for Southern Breeze, is a retired trial attorney, earned a masters degree from Hollins University in Children's Literature, speaks French, and once worked as a sous chef in a French restaurant. She writes a bit of everything and has published two books about children's books.

A SEASON OF GIVING WITH WIK’18 - A BATCH OF INTENSIVES

On the sixth day of wik'18 registration, Southern Breeze gives to you...

Six inspiring intensives!

We'll have six half-day intensives covering just about every topic a kidlit writer could want:

Newbery Award-winning author, Linda Sue Park, is serving up "Sentence Sense" so you can learn how to make every word count.

Senior Scholastic editor, Matt Ringler, is hosting a writers' roundtable where 15 writers will have the opportunity to get first hand feedback on their first five pages. Act fast if you want your pages read! (You can still register for the intensive if you want to keep your pages to yourself. It's always good to hear how an editor thinks, and maybe even better when it's some other brave soul's manuscript on the table!)

Deb Halverson, author of Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies, will teach you all about teen speak.

We have a terrific two-for-one deal in the afternoon, with pairs of authors teaming up to bring intensives!  Authors Kami Kinard and Rebecca Petruck will show you how to build characters with heart and humor, while authors Heather L. Montgomery and Jodi Wheeler-Toppen will share the art of using science to engage readers of both fiction and non-fiction.

And last but far from least is the Founder of Fiction University, author Janice Hardy, who's ready to bring your novel to life!

You can find out lots more about this batch of inspiring intensives at the Southern Breeze website, where you can also register for wik'18. Hurry, Breezers, because these opportunities will fill up fast! Your Early Bird registration discount will soon fly away!

But wait! We have one more gift for you because we're still in a Season of Giving here at the Southern Breeze blog. We're serving up a special surprise gift today! So if you've registered, and you comment on this post by noon on December 31st, you might win. If you spread the word and let us know in the comments, we'll add your name twice to the drawing.

Everyone loves to win a surprise, right? Though everyone's a winner at wik'18!

#SpringMingle - Get InTeNsE! with our Writer's Intensive - #SBreeze17

Get InTeNsE! with our Writer's Intensive

We haven't forgot about our writers! This year we are please to offer an all-day writer's intensive with none other than Jacquelyn Mitchard!

Do you find yourself struggling with the opening of your story? Or maybe you need to improve on wrapping up your endings to make sure your readers are left satisfied. Well, this is the intensive for you...

Writing Intensive: A Whole Day of Endings and Beginnings

You Had Me at Goodbye: The Importance of Last Impressions/ Jacquelyn Mitchard considers the critical importance of narrative conclusions, and how to write great ones. It’s true that so many stories start out like a house on fire, but then simply stop, instead of truly concluding. Last impressions, however, are lasting, the poignant goodnight kiss in narrative terms. Writers will consider the elements that go into a great ending, and how those elements about to so much more than tying up the loose ends.

Jacquelyn Mitchard is the number one New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels for adults, including The Deep End of the Ocean, which was the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club and also made into a major feature film. The editor of a realistic Young Adult imprint, Merit Press, Mitchard also is the author of seven novels for Young Adults. 

Her work has won the Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards, as well as the UK’s Walkabout Prize and was short-listed for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. She is a professor of Creative Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts and a contributing editor for More magazine. 

Mitchard grew up in Chicago, and now lives on Cape Cod with her family.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Click  :::HERE::: to log in and register.

~See you in March~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK Get INTENSE!

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK
Get INTENSE! 

This year, WiK16 will host two intensives on Friday, October 7, 2016

Writers’ Intensive with Bruce Coville 
The Light Fantastic
The session will begin with an “annotated storytelling” of the first two chapters of The Monster’s Ring, examining in detail the tricks and techniques being used. Then we’ll examine ten specific tips for writing compelling fantasies. Audience: For editors, librarians, teachers, parents, and children, the hook is what pulls us in, what keeps us reading, and what remains with us after the last page is turned. This intensive will explore the hook of the book from many angles, and you will leave with ideas on how to improve your art.

Illustrators’ Intensive with Don Tate
Drawing on Diversity & Style to Create Authentic Characters 
The call for more diversity in children’s literature is not new. However groups like We Need Diverse Books and The Brown Bookshelf have helped to bring more attention to the issue. How do illustrators answer that call? And how can you create authentic characters of color who are outside of your own experience. It’s more than creating white characters in brown face. In session, we will discuss, investigate, draw and develop multi-dimensional characters that will ring true in today’s world. We’ll also work on developing a marketable style. But what is a marketable style/technique? How do illustrators discover and achieve this in their career? Don will conduct a drawing session that includes drawing like other illustrators and attendees will stretch and reach toward new strengths. He’ll also demystify the process of creating a winning picture book dummy. Planning through thumbnail sketches. Rising and falling action. Driving your reader through your story by the use of dynamic page turns, color, and composition. Audience: Illustrators, all levels.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Bruce Coville

Light Your Imagination at #SBreeze16 WIK with Bruce Coville

Bruce Coville is an SCBWI Advisory Board member and the author of over a hundred books for children and young adults, including My Teacher is an Alien, Into the Land of the Unicorns, and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. His books have appeared in a dozen languages, and have won children’s choice awards in numerous states, including twice in California. Bruce is also the founder of Full Cast Audio, an audiobook publishing company devoted to producing full cast, unabridged recordings for family listening. 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

• Ripples in the Pond: Why What We Do Matters 

INTENSIVE

• The Light Fantastic The session will begin with an “annotated storytelling” of the first two chapters of The Monster’s Ring, examining in detail the tricks and techniques being used. Then we’ll examine ten specific tips for writing compelling fantasies.

WORKSHOPS

• The Light Fantastic: Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction (a shorter version of the Fantasy/SF intensive)  The session will begin with an “annotated storytelling” of the first two chapters of The Monster’s Ring, examining in detail the tricks and techniques being used. Then we’ll examine ten specific tips for writing compelling fantasies. audience: Writers, all levels. 
• Voice in Writing: The Most Elusive Aspect  Ask editors what they are looking for in a manuscript, and more often than not the answer you will hear is “voice.” Unfortunately, while voice is the element of writing most sought, it is also the one least taught. Indeed, voice can’t really be taught . . . it something a writer must develop. So let’s talk about some ways that you can find your own voice . . . or voices! audience: Writers, all levels.
• At the Intersection of Plot and Character: Weaving Action and Insight  Writers are concerned about plot. Writers are concerned about character. But what we should really be concerned about is the ways in which plot and character intersect – how plot reveals character, and how character drives plot. In this workshop Bruce Coville will focus on these dual, intertwined aspects of storytelling, as demonstrated in his famous “Puddle Story.”  audience: Writers and illustrators, all levels. 

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

 CLICK HERE to be directed to our registration page! 

~See you in October~

"Something for Everyone!" 30 Days of WIK'15 - Writing Intensive with Hester Bass

"Something for Everyone!"
30 Days of WIK'15
- Writing Intensive with Hester Bass

Hester Bass will host a half-day writing intensive titled, "Picture Books That Perform: Setting the Stage for Success".

*Intensives are an additional fee. Please see Registration page for cost.

Picture Books That Perform: Setting the Stage for Success
Great picture book writing begs to be performed. Add rhythm to your language and drama to your plots in a writer’s intensive with Hester Bass, using acting techniques to create dynamic characters and authentic action in just a few words.

AUDIENCE: Writers, all levels.

ABOUT HESTER BASS:

Hester Bass grew up in rural Georgia, but now spends her time in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was a broadcast copywriter, rock singer, Shakespearian actress, singing telegram messenger, and television game show contestant before becoming an author.
Her newest book Seeds of Freedom: The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama (Candlewick Press, illustrated by E.B. Lewis) is a Junior Library Guild selection, SIBA Okra Pick, and represented Alabama at the 2015 National Book Festival. Hester also wrote The Secret World of Walter Anderson, which won the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, SIBA Book Award, and was named one of the Best Children’s Books of the Year by Kirkus Reviews (starred review), CCBC Choices, and Bank Street College of Education.
Hester has made presentations at several SCBWI regions, ALA, and NCTE conferences, utilizing her years as a performer to “encourage the most reluctant reader to read and the hesitant student to write.” 

LINKS:

Website

Click here to REGISTER FOR WIK'15 now!

"Something for Everyone!" 30 Days of WIK'15 - Writing Intensive with Harold Underdown

"Something for Everyone!"
30 Days of WIK'15
- Writing Intensive with Harold Underdown

Harold Underdown will host a half-day writing intensive titled, "Editing Without an Editor"

*Intensives are an additional fee. Please see Registration page for cost.

Editing Without an Editor
How can writers improve their work without hiring professionals? This fast-paced workshop shows you how to use reader response theory, feedback from others, and a variety of “big-picture” methods and detailed editing techniques to make your manuscript—novel, picture book or nonfiction—better.

AUDIENCE: Writers, all levels.

ABOUT HAROLD UNDERDOWN:

Harold Underdown is an independent editor and publishing consultant who helps writers develop their manuscripts through critiques and other editorial and consulting services for individuals and publishers. Harold enjoys teaching and is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Children’s Book Publishing, now in its third edition. He founded and runs “The Purple Crayon,” a respected web site with information about the children’s publishing world at www.underdown.org. He speaks and gives workshops through the Highlights Foundation, SCBWI’s national and regional conferences, and Kid’s Book Revisions (offering online and on-site tutorials, webinars, and workshops in partnership with Eileen Robinson). As an in-house editor, he previously worked at Macmillan, Orchard, and Charlesbridge, and has experience in trade and educational publishing.

Register now!

https://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/events/writing-and-illustrating-for-kids-conference-2015/

LINKS:

Website

Twitter

Click here to REGISTER FOR WIK'15 now!