The Wordcrafters Retreat and Conference

I am beyond excited to announce that I’ll be teaching at the the Wordcrafters Writing Retreat and Conference in Eugene, Oregon, from March 16-22. We’re staying at the Hilton in Eugene, and I can’t wait to join this vibrant community of creative people!

Here’s how it breaks down:

March 16-19 The Retreat 

In the week prior to the conference (Monday morning through Thursday), March 16-19, 2015, Wordcrafters will offer two intensive, four-day retreats at the Eugene Hilton. These sessions will focus on individual work and provide attending writers with valuable feedback on their craft. Space will be limited to twelve students per retreat class.

The Novel: From Inspiration to Expression, with Nancy Holder

How to turn an idea for a novel into a concrete story inhabited by compelling characters involved in significant conflicts.

Day 1: Finding and refining our “what-if’s” and deciding the form for dramatizing them
Day 2: Creating a viewpoint character and his/her supporting cast
Day 3: Structuring the novel: plotting out inciting incident, crisis, climax, resolution, and beginning to write
Day 4: Workshopping work you have done in class—refinement from one of the three days or new material you’ve written for homework

Conference March 20-22

Keynote and presentations by Kevin O’Brien, author of 13 New York Times best-selling thrillers
Keynote and presentations by Gail Tsukiyama, award-winning literary writer of 7 novels
Keynote and presentations by Nancy Holder, prolific best-selling author
One-on-one help by professional writers in the Craft Lab
Talks and Classes about the finer points of fiction by professional writers
Dancing, Networking, and No-host bar at the Introvert’s Ball
Informal brown bag lunch chat about NaNoWriMo
Informal brown bag lunch chat about writing groups

As some of you may know, I’ve been teaching writing for decades, and I really love it. Here are some of the places where I’ve taught:

University of California at San Diego, Literature Department

The Maui Writers Retreat and Conference

Canyon Crest Academy Writers Conference

University of Southern Maine, Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program

Odyssey Writers Workshop

RWA University

Writers Bookstore and Haven

I believe that the elements of good writing can be taught (and therefore, learned.) I received an excellent creative writing education at UC San Diego as a Communications major, which I have built on through the years by taking classes, workshops, critique partners and, perhaps most important, by teaching. I have always learned from my students as I suss how to help them shape their work and take it to the next level. Aside from the writing itself, working with other writers is the surest way I know to improve my own work. Come join my retreat and attend the conference afterwards!