Planning
for Euro2014 continues to move ahead. Our schedule is complete and
we've added a new wrinkle for the artists that might want to join us
on our great adventure. It's called The Creative Traveller Stream.
Its a selection of workshops that examine many questions that all
artists, including writers, face each day as they face the blank
page, canvas, slab or other medium. These travellers will meet with
the writers of our retreat at various times throughout Euro2014 in a
collaborative atmosphere.
Cost
for The Creative Traveller Stream is $250. It is included in the full
conference for the writers.
Course
and Workshop Descriptions
Why
You Need an Author Platform and How to Do It
What
is the mysterious ‘author platform’ and how can writers build
one? These days, a platform is vital for both published and
unpublished writers. You may regard platform as shameless
self-promotion. If you take the right approach however, platform is
more about understanding your audience and yourself than hard-core
selling. This class will cover the following topics:
Part
I
How
the Publishing Industry Has Changed
Why
Platform Matters to Your Agents, Publishers, and Readers
Platform
Strategy is Audience Strategy
Author
Website Essentials
All
About Content Marketing
Part
II
Social
Media Do’s and Don’ts
Reaching
Out with Email
Targeting
New Readers vs Loyal Fans
Build
Relationships with Influencers
Exercises
to Kick Off Your Platform Strategy
If
you’re scared, confused, or just reluctant to get started on
platform, this class will put those fears to rest. Building platform
takes time and consistent effort. Learn how to make decisions about
where to spend your time.
Instructor:
Janie
Chang launched her website in February 2012 with some very specific
goals and not a lot of experience in author platform. Her website is
now the hub of her online marketing efforts such as social media and
blogging, which she used as the basis for a marketing plan that
helped close a deal for her first novel (at least that’s what her
agent said).
Janie
grew up
listening to family stories about ancestors, ghosts, and dragons. Her
first historical novel Three
Souls
has been published by HarperCollins Canada, William Morrow
(HarperCollins US) and Fabbri Editori (Italy). She graduated from
SFU’s The Writer’s Studio in 2011. In her day job, Janie works in
high tech marketing.
Total
Immersion: Blending Story, Fiction, and Facts in a Historical Novel
Do
you need a university degree in history in order to write historical
novels? How can you blend historical facts with fictional people and
events in a believable way? Janie
Chang,
author of the historical novel Three
Souls,
set in pre-World War II China, discusses the challenges of historical
fiction, common mistakes, and tips on how to create a setting that
convinces your readers they are living in the world of your novel.
This class will cover the following topics:
Historical
Fiction Genre and Sub-Genres
Authentic
versus Factual
Common
Mistakes and Irritations
Show
Don’t Tell Has Never Mattered More
Three
Important Things That Define a Time and Place
Look
for a Story That’s Already There
Senses
and Sensitivity
Travel
Writing
A
good travel piece engages the reader in the people and culture
through story-telling. Joei Carlton Hossack, well known BC travel
writer, will lead you through this interactive two part workshop
where you'll learn the tricks of the trade that bring the people and
places alive for your reader.
The
second part of this workshop will take place during our Second
Draft Day
as you work on your editing techniques for your travel stories and
poetry created througbout the cruise as part of our on-going
contests.
Setting:
The Forgotten Ugly Stepsister of Plot and Character
Everyone
knows that Plot and Character are two pillars of memorable literary
works but Setting is giving the leftover morsels of creative
development by the writer. Little thought is given to atmosphere,
time, and place of the story: the setting.
During
this workshop, you'll study techniques that will make your setting
vibrant and alive for your reader. Setting can become a character in
your story through the effective use of sensory detail and the
emotions that are attached to them. You'll examine ways to bring that
detail into your work in preparation of your arrival insome
exceptional settings. You'll be asked to attempt to work with these
techniques while in the port town of Katakalon and report back
during your session on Day Six: A
Morning of Inspiration: Free Writing Through Dialogue and Exercise.
The
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Workshop on Character Development
A
villian and hero are opposite sides of the same coin. Within their
own mind, each acts for the greater good, theirs or others. Their
respective roles in your story is all a matter of perception. Over
the course of this workshop, you'll examine:
techniques
and tools like back story and motivation
to
help you create fully-rounded, deep antagonists and protagonists
ways
of developing inner and outer conflict
establishing
personal stakes for each and increasing the cost of failure
making
the ordinary character extraordinary
methods
to humanize the true monsters of your story.
Writers
can utilize a character sketch for the protagonist and antagonist or
can build new characters based on greek heroes and monsters. If you
are utilizing existing characters, please bring an excerpt of your
own work with your characters in action.
David
Blinkhorn,
an award winning fiction writer and poet, is the founding director of
the Fraser Valley Writers School and is the Executive Director of the
Federation of British Columbia Writers. He is a graduate of SFU's
Writers' Studio (2011).
A
Morning of Inspiration: Free Writing Through Dialogue and Exercise
During
the morning of Day Six, you'll check in regarding your writing as
well as the exercises and opportunities for growth as an artist that
have been offered to date. You'll continue the discussion about
harnessing your creativity and imagination and be offered additonal
work in the area of senses, specificity, and concrete writing
Who
Framed Roger Rabbit or Killed Roger Ackroyd? Take Your Pick. The
Game's Afoot: A Plotting Workshop
Something
happens. A questions arises that alters the world of your protagonist
and places her in conflict with other characters populating your
storyscape. A series of logically related events unfold that move
your heroine towards a conclusion of the conflict and an answer of
sorts to the questions that propelled her along the narrative trail.
In a nutshell, that's plot, one of the three cornerstones of an
engaging literary work.
During
your second full day at sea, you'll examine effective techniques that
create a story that keeps your reader turning the pages. Topics for
discussion while you workshop your story idea and plot outline
include:
story
structure and the components that keep your reader interested
story
and scene generation
effective
use of backstory in the plotting process
raising
the stakes through setbacks and complications
creation
of tension and suspense through dialogue, action, exposition, and
subtext
low
tension fixes
inner
and outer turning points for your protagonist and antagonist
techniques
for plot layering
effective
use of subplots
For
workshopping throughout the day, writers will have the choice to work
with one of their story ideas or plot out a modern retelling of a
fairy tale or Greek myth in keeping with the local and the holiday
atmosphere of the trip. Materials for selected fairy tales or Greek
myths will be provided in your conference materials.
Second
Draft: A Workshop in Re-Visioning Your Work
Michelangelo
believed that there was a statute, a work of art, waiting to emerge
within every slab of marble cut and removed from the quarry,. As a
writer, consider yourself a sculptor of words. You've finished that
first draft. What have you got? The slab of marble from the quarry.
Now, the true work of writing begins. You need to find that true
story, your art and release it to the world from the confines of the
first draft. It is time for the revision of your work. You need to go
deeper towards the compelling meaning of your work, towards the art
to be released and discovered through re-visioning the work.
Second
Draft is a series of workshops and presentations that focus on
techniques to help you find your true story. Over the course of the
day, topics discussed will be:
• basic
techniques utilized in the revision process
• character
driven versus plot driven work
• revising
character driven beginnings, narration, scenes and suspense
• revising
through movement, pace, time and place
During
this workshop, writers will revise an existing work or writing
created on the cruise as part of your retreat experience.
The
workshop concludes with an overview of one author's journey from
first draft to published book.
Course
Descriptions for Workshops in the Creative Traveller Stream:
Stealing
Inspiration: Collecting Sensory Experiences From Your Surroundings
We
are designed, wired to be stimulated by our senses in a direct, rich
and intense fashion. But in today's world as we've strived to control
the environments in which we live, a disconnection from our senses
has occurred. We work in AC controlled buildings, eat packaged food,
and experience life through the lens of our television screens. In
many ways, we have dehumanized ourselves through the technology we
have created to make our lives “easier.”
Our
tasks as artists is to remind our audience what it is to be human.
Through all the tools in our arsenal, we seek to explore and
re-create the experience of being alive. We are in a position to give
the audience back the sensual world; something he craves, the sights,
sounds, smells, textures and tastes of the physical reality of life.
But
first we, as artists, need to reconnect ourselves to a life of
senses. In this three part workshop, you'll:
understand
the role that each of the senses plays in an engaging piece of
writing or other work of art
examine
techniques for bringing senses into your work as proofs of the world
you've created for your audience
learn
how to catalogue your sensory experiences for later use in your
projects
You'll
receive a blank sketch book at the beginning of the workshop where
you will draw, write, and collect sensory memories from your time in
this wonderful adventure.
At
the site of Ancient Olympia, you'll take 45 minutes for a solo walk
around gathering opportunities for creation as you free write,
sketch, and take in the sensory experience that is this magical site.
There will be a check in about your experiences on your return to the
ship that afternoon.
During
the final stage of this workshop near the conclusion of our trip you
will examine your collection of moments, reflections and insights and
discover techniques that will aid you to mine your memory journals
for months and years following this journey.
Renewing
Your Creative Spirit: Turning the Soil of Your Fertile Imagination
In
this three hour workshop, you will examine ways to emerge out from
the walls of your creative box so that you can engage opportunity for
creation in everything you encounter. You will look at techniques to
turn off that inner critic and free yourself to pursue the fancies of
your creative mind.
This
workshop will be part discussion, part exercise, writing and other
forms of artistic expression as you work with other mediums other
than pen and paper.
The
only prerequisite for this workshop is an open mind to experiment
with new ideas and concepts and a willingness to work outside your
creative box in a non-judgmental atmosphere.
Avoiding
Artist's Block: Finding Art in Every Step and Every Breath
We
all live the artist's life whether it's 24/7 or for two or three
hours a week. It is who we are. In this interactive workshop, you'll
examine ways to retain a healthy sense of identity, power, strength
and possibility in your work as you face the challenges of everyday
life. Through discussion and exercises, you'll discover methods that
bring the most creative you to those precious hours where you
practice being your true authentic artist self.
Chapbook
and Zine Creation
In
this hands-on workshop, you'll learn different artistic but cost
efficient ways to make beautiful handmade books, chapbooks and zines
that get your art into the hands of your audience. You'll look at
various materials available to create a true artist's book. You'll
examine some basic cover design ideas and techniques as well as other
avenues to bring your artistry to each page.
Each
participant will have the opportunity to create their own zine and
small chapbook. Some limited basic sewing and cutting will be
required. A range of media will be available for you to create your
vision.
Breakfast
Mornings:
On
the mornings of Day 2, 6, 7, and 10, you'll have the option of
meeting in the main dining room for breakfast and a discussion of the
materials provided to you in your retreat binder on the topics of
Dialogue (day 2), Point of View (days 6 and 7), and The Mystery of
Creation (day 10).
These
discussions are optional and will run from 6:30 am to 7:30 am on the
days outlined.
Program
Subject to Change
