SCBWI KANSAS writing retreat

SCBWI Kansas has an energizing writing weekend planned April 7-8.


At last, a retreat for children’s book writers that has something for everyone! Choose one of three tracks*—Novel, Picture Book, or Sequester—and work on what you really need. Friday is for group activities and time to write; Saturday, spend time on your track.

Featuring:

Storytelling from the Silver Screen
Discover what every audience is looking for, regardless of genre. See the five elements of story demonstrated in 22 short clips from famous movies. The clips don't just reveal the five elements, they also illustrate how each element was achieved. See them acted out right in front of you. This session, led by award winning author Dan Schwabauer, will include time for discussion.

Exercises to Energize and More Exercises to Energize
These sessions will give you a chance to limber up and stretch your writing skills, get your mind working, and expand your imagination. Put on your mental swim suits and dive right in to find out the writing’s fine.

Group Critiques
Come prepared to read your manuscript aloud to a small group and to listen and make notes when others read. Not only will you get constructive comments on your piece, you’ll learn from the work you hear. We’ll try to put participants into groups by genre.

THREE TRACKS:

Isn’t that Novel?
Local children’s novelists, Dan Schwabauer and Sue Ford (writing as Susan Uhlig) team up to help you work on your novel in progress or completed novel draft. Learn more about the process. Pick up tips to improve self-editing. Work on areas where you are struggling. A workbook will be provided. This track will also be helpful for someone in the planning stages of a novel.

Picture It!
Award-winning author Jane Kurtz will help you think about what a picture book is and isn't (how can you tell if you have a magazine story or a picture book manuscript, for instance) and about why so many picture books are rejected...and how yours might avoid that fate. We will look at length, format, language, dialogue, and what it means when an editor says, "leave room for the illustrator." We'll study beginnings and endings. Does "show, don't tell" apply to picture books? What about story arc? Finally, we'll consider ways to steer clear of common reasons for rejection including these familiar phrases: too slight, too gentle, too didactic, not strong enough for today's tough market, and "not for me."

Sequester:
Never have time to write? Or don’t usually have a big enough block of time to make good progress? This track will provide 6+ hours of guaranteed time to do so.

Sequester participants will not be hearing guest speakers on Saturday.

For the full scoop, fees, location and speaker bios, visit the Kansas SCBWI website. The flyer has the details. Submit your registration form by March 1 for the earlybird discount.

If you know children's writers who might enjoy this retreat, please help spread the word!