We recently asked Nancy Pickard to share her top three writing tips.
Nancy is the New York Times bestselling author of 18 novels and dozens of short stories. Her current stand-alone novel, THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING, was on the extended New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks and was the Barnes & Noble Main Recommended Book for the spring of 2010. Nancy is also the author of a book for writers, 7 STEPS ON THE WRITER'S PATH. She will be delivering our 2011 AWW keynote address on July 9, 2011 at 7:00 p.m., and leading the fiction session of our morning classes during the workshop. (Learn more about Nancy on our Faculty page.)
Nancy's top three tips:
• If anybody makes you feel like not writing, run like hell in the opposite direction.
• It's all process. Failure is process. Rejection is process. Rewriting is process. Throwing it away and starting over is process. Getting it right is process. Even getting published is process. If we were inventors or scientists we'd think nothing of "failing." We'd just clean our test tubes, take what we learned from "failing," and then start the next experiment. Excuse me while I adjust my lab coat and get back to work on my book.
• It's not easy. Anybody who tells you it should be easy has never written anything worth reading.
Want to learn more from Nancy and the rest of our AWW 2011 Faculty? Register now for the workshop! Slots are filling quickly.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Apply for Antioch Writers' Workshop scholarships
Do you have a piece of writing that you'd like to submit for one of our Antioch Writers' Workshop scholarships? Then take a look at our Scholarship page for details about how to enter! Deadline for entering materials for consideration for all scholarships is April 15, 2011.
Friday, February 18, 2011
AWW's "A La Carte" Options
Of course we'd love for you to attend the Full Week Antioch Writers' Workshop (and we're pretty sure you'd like to, too)... but we also realize that sometimes a Full Week commitment just doesn't fit a writer's schedule, budget or perhaps even where she or he is on the writing path.
That's why last year we introduced A La Carte Options (all held at Antioch University Midwest in Yellow Springs, Ohio),perfect for writers who:
• Are just getting started... or need a refresher or a dose of inspiration
• Don't have a full week available to attend the full conference
• Want to try a portion of the workshop before committing to attending for the full week in a future year.
Our A La Carte Options are:
Saturday Seminar--This can be attended by itself, July 9, 2011, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., for $125.00. (Full Week Participants, or those attending either Morning Only or Afternoon Only A La Carte Options, may add on the Saturday Seminar for a discounted fee of $75.00)
Morning Only Classes--Attend Morning Classes with all participants, Monday July 11, through Friday July 15, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Kick off your moning with a complimentary continental breakfast, and then attend lectures in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and the business of writing. This is a great option for writers who need their afternoons free for family, work... or writing! It's a great way to brush up on techniques, get inspired, and meet other writers. (Registration plus tuition fees equal $375.00)
Afternoon Only "Focus on Form" Seminar--Led by novelist, short story writer, and essayist Becky Morean. Sunday July 10 through Friday July 15, 2:30-5:00 p.m. Guest teachers include a published nonfiction writer and published poet. This is our ONLY afternoon seminar which does not require participants to submit a manuscript. In this afternoon seminar, you'll spend the first three days learning about fiction, poetry and nonfiction--and starting a piece in each genre. For the remaining three days, you'll pick one piece and, with your instructor's guidance, develop it! This is a great option for writers who prefer small group instruction and writing practice... or for those who need their mornings free for family or work. (Registration plus tuition fees equal $375.00.)
Learn more about our A La Carte options on our A La Carte program page, or register on our A La Carte registration page.
Please Note: The following "perks" are reserved for Full Week attendees--lunch with faculty members and pitch sessions with visiting agent and editor. Thank you.
That's why last year we introduced A La Carte Options (all held at Antioch University Midwest in Yellow Springs, Ohio),perfect for writers who:
• Are just getting started... or need a refresher or a dose of inspiration
• Don't have a full week available to attend the full conference
• Want to try a portion of the workshop before committing to attending for the full week in a future year.
Our A La Carte Options are:
Saturday Seminar--This can be attended by itself, July 9, 2011, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., for $125.00. (Full Week Participants, or those attending either Morning Only or Afternoon Only A La Carte Options, may add on the Saturday Seminar for a discounted fee of $75.00)
Morning Only Classes--Attend Morning Classes with all participants, Monday July 11, through Friday July 15, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Kick off your moning with a complimentary continental breakfast, and then attend lectures in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and the business of writing. This is a great option for writers who need their afternoons free for family, work... or writing! It's a great way to brush up on techniques, get inspired, and meet other writers. (Registration plus tuition fees equal $375.00)
Afternoon Only "Focus on Form" Seminar--Led by novelist, short story writer, and essayist Becky Morean. Sunday July 10 through Friday July 15, 2:30-5:00 p.m. Guest teachers include a published nonfiction writer and published poet. This is our ONLY afternoon seminar which does not require participants to submit a manuscript. In this afternoon seminar, you'll spend the first three days learning about fiction, poetry and nonfiction--and starting a piece in each genre. For the remaining three days, you'll pick one piece and, with your instructor's guidance, develop it! This is a great option for writers who prefer small group instruction and writing practice... or for those who need their mornings free for family or work. (Registration plus tuition fees equal $375.00.)
Learn more about our A La Carte options on our A La Carte program page, or register on our A La Carte registration page.
Please Note: The following "perks" are reserved for Full Week attendees--lunch with faculty members and pitch sessions with visiting agent and editor. Thank you.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Congratulations...
...are due to Nancy Pickard and Heather Webber, both nominees for the prestigious Agatha Award for 2010 Best Novel! Nancy is our 2011 AWW Keynoter and Morning Fiction Instructor. Heather led sessions at our 2010 Saturday Seminar and recently at our Second Sunday Free Writers' Workshop.
Additionally, congratulations to Katrina Kittle for being selected as a 2011 Top 25 Women To Watch in the Miami Valley (Ohio.) Katrina led our 2010 AWW Young Writers' program, and will do so again in 2011!
Additionally, congratulations to Katrina Kittle for being selected as a 2011 Top 25 Women To Watch in the Miami Valley (Ohio.) Katrina led our 2010 AWW Young Writers' program, and will do so again in 2011!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Enter Sinclair Community College contest to win scholarships to AWW!
Sinclair Community College's creative writing contest deadline is March 1. OPEN TO ALL SOUTHWEST OHIO WRITERS! Categories: short fiction, poetry,creative nonfiction. In addition to the fabulous awards Sinclair Community College is offering, Antioch Writers' Workshop will award a "best in show" tuition scholarship to the Full Week workshop held July 9-15, 2011. Other first, second, and third place winners will receive a scholarship to the one-day Saturday Seminar ($125.00 value; this $125.00 may also be applied to Full Week, Morning Only or Afternoon Only options.) For full details and to enter see Sinclair Community College's English Department Contests website.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Announcing... Our 2011 Saturday Seminar Faculty!
We are pleased to announce our 2011 Saturday Seminar faculty. Please be sure to visit our website's faculty page for full bios.
You can attend the Saturday Seminar:
• "A La Carte"--by itself (cost is $125.00)
• As an add on to the Full Week program (discounted cost for Full Week attendees is $75.00)
The Saturday Seminar is July 9, 2011, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The seminar is held at Antioch University Midwest in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and includes your choice of three of the four offered sessions:
• To Plot Or Not To Plot (Tim Waggoner)
• Getting Unstuck and Undone! (Rebecca Morean)
• Character Development (Kristina McBride)
• Voice for Poets and Fiction Writers (Chuck Freeland).
Tim Waggoner will also deliver a kick off address, and all instructors will participate in a question and answer session at the end of the seminar.
Continental breakfast and box lunch are provided during the seminar, and attendees are invited to return at 6:00 p.m. for the dessert and wine reception which kicks off the Full Week workshop, followed by the 7:00 keynote by Nancy Pickard.
Full details of the schedule for the Saturday Seminar are on our A La Carte Experience page; register via our A La Carte Registration page.
And now, without further ado... introducing our 2011 Saturday Seminar Faculty:
Tim Waggoner: Saturday Morning Kickoff and "To Plot or Not To Plot" session leader. Tim has published more than twenty novels and two short story collections. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College and in Seton Hill University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program. Visit him on the web at www.timwaggoner.com
Kristina Purnhagen McBride: "Creating Strong Characters" session leader. Kristina is an AWW alumna, "First Book Speaker" for this year's Full Week AWW program, and the author of the Young Adult novel, The Tension of Opposites. Learn more about Kristina and her book at www.kristinamcbride.com
Chuck Freeland: "Voice for Fiction Writers and Poets" session leader. Chuck is twice the recipient of the Individual Excellence Award in Poetry from the Ohio Arts Council (2008 & 2010), Chuck Freeland lives in Dayton, Ohio where he is Professor of English at Sinclair Community College. He is the author of two books--a collection of poems and a book-length poem--as well as of poetry chapbooks. Visit him on the web at www.charlesfreelandpoetry.net
Becky Morean: "Getting Unstuck and Undone!" (motivational session for all types of writers. Becky is a novelist (In The Dead of Winter), short story writer and essayist. She is an assistant professor of English at Sinclair Community College and serves as a board member for the Antioch Writers' Workshop.
You can attend the Saturday Seminar:
• "A La Carte"--by itself (cost is $125.00)
• As an add on to the Full Week program (discounted cost for Full Week attendees is $75.00)
The Saturday Seminar is July 9, 2011, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The seminar is held at Antioch University Midwest in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and includes your choice of three of the four offered sessions:
• To Plot Or Not To Plot (Tim Waggoner)
• Getting Unstuck and Undone! (Rebecca Morean)
• Character Development (Kristina McBride)
• Voice for Poets and Fiction Writers (Chuck Freeland).
Tim Waggoner will also deliver a kick off address, and all instructors will participate in a question and answer session at the end of the seminar.
Continental breakfast and box lunch are provided during the seminar, and attendees are invited to return at 6:00 p.m. for the dessert and wine reception which kicks off the Full Week workshop, followed by the 7:00 keynote by Nancy Pickard.
Full details of the schedule for the Saturday Seminar are on our A La Carte Experience page; register via our A La Carte Registration page.
And now, without further ado... introducing our 2011 Saturday Seminar Faculty:
Tim Waggoner: Saturday Morning Kickoff and "To Plot or Not To Plot" session leader. Tim has published more than twenty novels and two short story collections. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College and in Seton Hill University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program. Visit him on the web at www.timwaggoner.com
Kristina Purnhagen McBride: "Creating Strong Characters" session leader. Kristina is an AWW alumna, "First Book Speaker" for this year's Full Week AWW program, and the author of the Young Adult novel, The Tension of Opposites. Learn more about Kristina and her book at www.kristinamcbride.com
Chuck Freeland: "Voice for Fiction Writers and Poets" session leader. Chuck is twice the recipient of the Individual Excellence Award in Poetry from the Ohio Arts Council (2008 & 2010), Chuck Freeland lives in Dayton, Ohio where he is Professor of English at Sinclair Community College. He is the author of two books--a collection of poems and a book-length poem--as well as of poetry chapbooks. Visit him on the web at www.charlesfreelandpoetry.net
Becky Morean: "Getting Unstuck and Undone!" (motivational session for all types of writers. Becky is a novelist (In The Dead of Winter), short story writer and essayist. She is an assistant professor of English at Sinclair Community College and serves as a board member for the Antioch Writers' Workshop.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Dayton Daily News/AWW Short Story Contest--Best in Show wins AWW scholarship! Other great prizes! Publication!
(Reprinted from Dayton Daily News, Feb. 13, 2011)
Attention, local writers! We’ve opened the call for entries for the newspaper’s 15th annual writing contest, held in partnership with the Antioch Writers’ Workshop.
The AWW is providing scholarships to this summer’s workshop as prizes for the contest’s top writers. The “best of show” writer will receive a full scholarship to the July 9-15 workshop. First place winners in the adult and teen categories will receive a scholarship to the workshop’s Saturday Seminar, July 9. First place winner of the youth category will receive a gift certificate to Books & Co.
Winning stories will be published in the Dayton Daily News. Other top stories will be published at DaytonDailyNews.com and on the workshop’s site. Here are the rules and deadlines for this year’s contest:
Short story requirements: Fiction only. No memoirs or essays.
Length: 1,800 words maximum.
Stories must be original and unpublished. Writers may submit only one story. Stories must be typed, double-spaced and stapled in the upper left corner. No binders.
Cover page: Each entry must have a cover page with: title(s), writer’s name, age, full address, e-mail address and daytime, evening and cell-phone numbers.
Age categories: Youth (12 years old and younger); Teen (13 to 18 years old); and Adult (19 and older). Entrants must live in the Dayton Daily News circulation area.
Deadline: Entries must be postmarked by March 25
Entry fees: None.
Manuscripts: Hard copy only; no electronic submissions. Manuscripts will not be returned. Because of the volume, we cannot confirm receipt of individual entries over the phone.
Mail entries to: Dayton Daily News/Antioch Writers’ Workshop Creative Writing Contest, c/o Antioch University Midwest, 900 Dayton Street, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.
Winners will be notified around May 1.
For more information, e-mail sharon@antiochwritersworkshop.com or mfong@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Attention, local writers! We’ve opened the call for entries for the newspaper’s 15th annual writing contest, held in partnership with the Antioch Writers’ Workshop.
The AWW is providing scholarships to this summer’s workshop as prizes for the contest’s top writers. The “best of show” writer will receive a full scholarship to the July 9-15 workshop. First place winners in the adult and teen categories will receive a scholarship to the workshop’s Saturday Seminar, July 9. First place winner of the youth category will receive a gift certificate to Books & Co.
Winning stories will be published in the Dayton Daily News. Other top stories will be published at DaytonDailyNews.com and on the workshop’s site. Here are the rules and deadlines for this year’s contest:
Short story requirements: Fiction only. No memoirs or essays.
Length: 1,800 words maximum.
Stories must be original and unpublished. Writers may submit only one story. Stories must be typed, double-spaced and stapled in the upper left corner. No binders.
Cover page: Each entry must have a cover page with: title(s), writer’s name, age, full address, e-mail address and daytime, evening and cell-phone numbers.
Age categories: Youth (12 years old and younger); Teen (13 to 18 years old); and Adult (19 and older). Entrants must live in the Dayton Daily News circulation area.
Deadline: Entries must be postmarked by March 25
Entry fees: None.
Manuscripts: Hard copy only; no electronic submissions. Manuscripts will not be returned. Because of the volume, we cannot confirm receipt of individual entries over the phone.
Mail entries to: Dayton Daily News/Antioch Writers’ Workshop Creative Writing Contest, c/o Antioch University Midwest, 900 Dayton Street, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.
Winners will be notified around May 1.
For more information, e-mail sharon@antiochwritersworkshop.com or mfong@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friendly Reminder! Free Second Sunday Writers' Workshop on Feb. 13
Friendly reminder... the Antioch Writers' Workshop will hold its next "Second Sunday Free Writers' Workshop" at Books & Company at The Greene on Sunday, February 13, 4:30-6:00 p.m. The speaker will be Heather Webber, author of the Nina Quinn and Lucy Valentine series, which combine mystery, romance, and paranormal genres. Her topic is "Put Love in Your Writing—in Any Genre." Hope to see you there!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Second Sunday FREE Writers' Workshop!
The Antioch Writers' Workshop will hold its next "Second Sunday Free Writers' Workshop" at Books & Company at The Greene on Sunday, February 13, 4:30-6:00 p.m. The speaker will be Heather Webber, author of the Nina Quinn and Lucy Valentine series, which combine mystery, romance, and paranormal genres. Her topic is "Put Love in Your Writing—in Any Genre." If you want to weave relationships and romance into
your fiction, this program is for YOU. Bring writing materials/laptop for notetaking and plenty of questions! Light refreshments will be served. Please call Books & Company at 429-6302 if you plan to attend, so we can prepare properly.
your fiction, this program is for YOU. Bring writing materials/laptop for notetaking and plenty of questions! Light refreshments will be served. Please call Books & Company at 429-6302 if you plan to attend, so we can prepare properly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
