WORDSTOCK FOR WRITERS

Wordstock for Writers is a series of workshops on the craft of writing that will take place during the book festival on Saturday, October 5, and Sunday, October 6 at the Oregon Convention Center. Writers of all levels and experience, and all genres will have the opportunity to work with some of the finest writers in the country.

All Wordstock for Writers workshops will be in Oregon Convention Center rooms D139 Lewis and Clark Stage and D140 Planar Stage (Salon area).

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

Please click on the workshop below for more details

Banking Emotional Currency

Saturday, October 5: 9:00-10:15

Jamie Ford

Readers are turned on or off by the first chapter, even the first page. We’ll analyze openings with a focus on immersing the audience, sinking story hooks, creating likeable protagonists (or sympathetic anti-heroes) and the types of contracts we make with readers in the first few pages of a story.

Lady in the House: Female Character Creation

Saturday, October 5: 9:00-10:15

Rosebud Ben-Oni and Holly Burdorff

Is your female character believable? How can you make her truly unique? Rosebud Ben-Oni and Holly Burdorff  will lead writers through a series of questions and exercises to help them develop dynamic female characters.

Songs to Read & Words to Play (CANCELLED)

Saturday, October 5: 10:30-11:45

Aaron Nigel Smith

During this fun, interactive workshop, children will explore the connections between literacy and music. We encourage kids to create their own musical instruments and songs inspired by reading pre-selected passages from age-appropriate children’s literature. This workshop is for children ages 8-12. Parents may accompany their children at no additional cost and present the workshop ticket for free same-day adult admission to the Book Fair.

Kickstarter: An Author’s Guide to Crowdfunding Success

Saturday, October 5: 10:30-11:45

Rebekah Tyler

Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Take a deep dive into Rebekah Tyler’s successful Kickstarter campaign and discover how she raised funds to publish her memoir Full Tilt. Be part of this entertaining, interactive and informative workshop about crowdfunding.

How to Write the Weird: The Hows, Whys, and Ways of Valuable Estrangements

Saturday, October 5: 12:00-1:15

Matt Schumacher

Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a sixteenth-century Italian painter, became famous for painting faces made of vegetables, fruit, sea creatures and tree roots. Like Arcimboldo, workshop participants too may find that sudden weirdnesses of self-expression can be more than incredibly liberating; such seeming digressions might ultimately better their work. This workshop will reveal methods writers can use to valuably de-familiarize and otherwise add a wild side to their writing.

Get Better Mileage with Your Writing Career: Go Hybrid!

Saturday, October 5: 12:00-1:15

Cidney Swanson

How do you know if “going hybrid” is the right choice for you? In this presentation, we’ll take a look at what skills you need to succeed as a self-publisher, non-traditional ways of gaining visibility for self-published titles and some tips on how to work both sides of your writing career should you decide it’s right for you.

An Agitation of Memory: Mixing Essay and Dream into Memoir

Saturday, October 5: 1:30-2:45

Jay Ponteri

JJohn D'Agata describes memoir as "an agitation of memory," which suggests memory-based writing as not just the expression of memory but volatile, vital CONSIDERATION of memory. In this workshop, we look at two examples of prose memoir in which the writer uses the poet's tools of meditation, dream and lyricism. Participants will complete a memory-based writing exercise and end with a brief class reading.

The Audio-Wise Author Hands-On Workshop (CANCELLED)

Saturday, October 5: 1:30-2:45

Susie Bright

Making an audiobook is an art and a legacy. Susie Bright, Audible Inc.'s Editor-at-Large tells you everything about the digital audiobook revolution from the author's point of view. Will you get rich off audiobooks? The answer is in the details.

Tiny But Mighty: Flash Nonfiction

Saturday, October 5: 3:00-4:15

Nancy Linnon

The “flash” essay form is gaining popularity. What makes these essays—usually 1,000 words or less—work? What separates them from mere anecdotes? Examine professional  examples and learn how to use the elements of flash form in your writing.

Research and Empathy: Writing Across Cultures

Saturday, October 5: 3:00-4:15

Rosanne Parry

More than 50% of young readers are not white. There is a growing need for diverse characters in fiction of all kinds. Learn how to research a story outside your own culture and how to use your own experience to gain clear and honest insight into another culture.

Sex and the Serious Novel

Saturday, October 5: 4:30-5:45

Chris Keil

This workshop will look at the role of the erotic in literary fiction: sometimes moving, sometimes embarrassing, sometimes unintentionally hilarious. Sex is a major part of life. So, let’s get seriously sexy.

Writing the Deadly & the Wicked

Saturday, October 5: 4:30-5:45

Alissa Nutting

Whether you’re writing a YA novel featuring a playground bully, a crime drama starring a serial killer or a fantasy with wayward witches, penning unlikeable characters poses a challenge. Find out how to make your villains as compelling as any hero.

Creating Great Graphic Novels (CANCELLED)

Sunday, October 6: 9:00-10:15

Gene Yang

Comics are a combination of words and pictures.  How do those two things come together?  Gene Yang will guide you through the stages of writing, thumbnailing, penciling, inking and lettering your comic to create a finished piece, bringing words and pictures together where they belong.

How to Write Stunning Sentences

Sunday, October 6: 9:00-10:15

Nina Schuyler

"Why should a sequence of words be anything but pleasure?" writes Gertrude Stein. Indeed! How do writers create such different textures, sounds and curves in their writing? This workshop, designed for both fiction and nonfiction writers, will explore how sentences work and what they can do. In-class writing exercises will show you how to construct one heck of a stellar sentence.

Outlining It Might Not Kill You

Sunday, October 6: 10:30-11:45

Claudia Gray

New York Times bestselling author, Claudia Gray, demonstrates the different methods of outlining and helps participants discover which method works best for them.

Injecting Your Prose with Poetry: How Assonance, Consonance, Rhythm and Rhyme Can Make Your Sentences Sing

Sunday, October 6: 10:30-11:45

Jamie Iredell

Ever read with wonder sentences by the likes of Melville or O’Connor? Ever wondered how they made this music from lowly sentences? Iambs and trochees, alliteration, assonance. Lift your prose on “bright wings!” “Steal” poetic techniques. Convert pedestrian sentences into hymns.

The Golden Road to Samarkand (or Any Other Destination, Including Home): Writing About Place

Sunday, October 6: 12:00-1:15

Jeff Fearnside

This workshop will help you incorporate the details and mystery of the places important to you. We will read examples of good place-based writing, discuss the myriad ways place plays a role in it (not just as a setting) and practice a number of prompts and exercises.

Writing Bad

Sunday, October 6: 12:00-1:15

Karen Karbo

Writing bad is writing free, and ultimately, writing words that are true, powerful and unique to you and your world vision. This workshop will offer techniques and tips for writing bad—to get you started, keep you going and help you stay out of the way. This is not a craft workshop, but you’ll learn techniques for developing a healthy, hearty writing practice. Not dairy and gluten free.

From Pictures Come Words – 10,000 of Them: The science of stories reverse engineered from images

Sunday, October 6: 1:30-2:45

ilvs strauss

How does one gain access to the 10,000 words contained in a single photograph? Writer/performer ilvs strauss leads the exploration into using photos as source material while learning different methods of incorporating said photos back into storytelling.

Writers and Social Media: Developing a Distinctive, Memorable, Effective Voice

Sunday, October 6: 1:30-2:45

Nichole Bernier

How do you develop a voice and style on social media? It’s not enough to just join the noise on Facebook and Twitter. Social media is a venue for relationships with readers, editors/agents and fellow authors. How do you develop your voice? Does your style (informative, funny, or lovable curmudgeon) pique people’s interest in reading your work? Be heard—and remembered—above the din.

It’s All in the Details

Sunday, October 6: 3:00-4:15

Teri Brown

Do you want to write historical fiction, but are overwhelmed by the research? Are you confused by primary and secondary sources or just plain dazed by the often-times conflicting information available? This workshop will help you track, organize and utilize your research so you can focus on writing.

Submitting to Literary Journals

Sunday, October 6: 3:00-4:15

Lisa Ohlen-Harris

This session will demystify the publication process and equip you to submit work to literary journals. We will discuss cover letters, manuscript format, simultaneous and multiple submissions, rejection slips, online vs. print journals and more.

The Problem of Originality (CANCELLED)

Sunday, October 6: 4:30-5:45

BH James

How does one create a truly original work of art in a medium—or a world—in which originality seems impossible?  This workshop will explore solutions to this predicament by examining the fiction of John Barth and Jorge Luis Borges.

Major Minors: The Heavy Lifting Done by Secondary Characters

Sunday, October 6: 4:30-5:45

Natalie Serber

Arthur Miller said that successful plays “have no characters, only relationships. Fiction is people acting and reacting.” Your main characters need some other people populating their worlds. Come explore how minor characters can be catalysts for action, help define and redefine your protagonists, infuse your pages with humor, and expand the fictional world.

FAQs

Does my workshop ticket get me into the Book Fair?  

Yes. Show your WFW ticket for free same-day admission to the Book Fair.

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the workshop? 

Yes. Your ticket allows entry to your workshop(s) and to the Book Fair, but only if you have it with you!

Are there ID requirements or an age limit to attend the workshops?

Wordstock for Writers has no age restrictions.

Where can I contact Wordstock with any questions?

info@bewordstock.org or 503.477.4361