A Look Back:
2009 Authors & Workshops
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| Alma Alexander | S.A. Bodeen | Janet Lee Carey | Arthur T. Lee | Maureen McQuerry | Renee Riva | Timothy Zahn |
Arthur T. Lee: How do we come up with stories?
Where do ideas come from? Everywhere! Exploration of the 5 senses and how they help literature become alive. Education + Imagination = Salt. Imagination vs. Education/Research—Circle of Life. Arthur’s Big Book of Ideas.
Arthur T. Lee started writing creatively when he was six years old. When his first book, a 1-page story entitled The Rainbow Goes to Japan, was chosen to go to the local Young Author's Conference, writing became much more than an assignment. Says he, “It was clear to me then—while on the swings at recess, I believe--that writing was what I wanted…yearned…had to do.” Partners Again is his first novel. With several more Middle Grade and Young Adult novels in the works, Arthur currently resides with his wife and three boys in Washington State, where, he says, “I have the privilege of telling my boys a bedtime story each and every night.”
Visit Arthur T. Lee's official website at http://www.arthurtlee.com/
Renee Riva: Turning real life into a fiction novel and how to add humor to your stories
Renee Riva writes humorous stories with a message, for both children and adults. Having been raised in a large Italian family with a great sense of humor, she has much to draw from for developing quirky characters. A former greeting-card verse writer and popular speaker, Renee has two published picture books for children, and a trilogy for general audiences, ages 12 to one-hundred. Renee and her husband live in Richland, Washington, with their three daughters, a dog, a cat, and a baby box turtle named Buster.
Renee Riva's website is at http://www.reneeriva.com/
Maureen McQuerry: Map Your Way into Story
Do you love to doodle? Do you find yourself drawing maps of imaginary worlds? Learn how some authors discover story ideas by creating maps of imaginary lands. We will make fantasy maps and discover ways ideas for stories, character and conflict come from the world we create. No drawing skills necessary! Story ideas galore!
I’ve been a writer and a teacher for a very long time. And I’m very lucky because those are the two things I’ve always wanted to do. Both teachers and writers can nudge the world. I was born in San Francisco, California and grew up in pre-Silicon Valley, San Jose when it was still fruit orchards. When I was little I read to my dolls up in our walnut tree, or played detective crawling through neighbors’ backyards. And some time, when I was still quite small, I decided that the finest thing I could do would be to be a writer. Then I could create the type of imaginary world I loved so much. Authors like C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and Sir Authur Conan Doyle, had captured my imagination.
Visit Maureen McQuerry at http://www.maureenmcquerry.com/
Alma Alexander: MY HERO OR MY DARLING VILLAIN
A story is traditionally defined as a character with a problem. Is your character's problem that he or she has a nasty evil villain to overcome... or is it the "villain" that has the problem with the pesky do-gooding hero? How do you create a character who lives?
Alma A. Hromic (who now writes as Alma Alexander) was born in 1963 in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, on the shores of the river Danube. Her father's employment with international aid agencies meant that the family spent twenty years living in various countries in Africa, including Zambia, Swaziland, and South Africa. She was educated in England and South Africa and spent time in New Zealand before moving to the United States. Alexander is a fantasy writer whose novels include the Worldweavers young adult series, The Secrets of Jin-Shei, The Hidden Queen, and Changer of Days. She currently lives in Bellingham, Washington with her husband, R. A. Deckert.
Visit Alma Alexander's official website at http://www.almaalexander.com/
Janet Lee Carey: THE RULES OF MAGIC: Writing Convincing Fantasy
It’s commonly thought that fantasy stories are easy to write because there are “no rules.” Just the opposite is true. Fantasy writers understand that the vast freedoms fantasy offers requires a strict set of rules. Break the rules and the magic disappears. How can writers learn to create within this paradox? Come explore the rules of magic.
Janet Lee Carey says she has been writing "ever since I could hold a pencil between my stubby little fingers. But the longer answer is I began writing poetry in grade 8. That's when I fell in love with the music of the language. Poetry and journal writing eventually led to novel writing in my late twenties. Since that time, I've never turned back. And no I'm not going to tell you how many years it's been since my late twenties. I'll let you figure that out. Of course my first two novels were "learn as you go" novels and they've never seen the light of day thank goodness."
Learn more about Janet Lee Carey at http://www.janetleecarey.com/
S.A. Bodeen: Create a scene to show the emotion of an experience
My workshop involves finding a scary childhood experience, and then helping writers create a scene that shows the emotion of the experience.
S.A. Bodeen is the author of several acclaimed picture books, including Elizabeti’s Doll, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award. A native of Wisconsin, she and her husband, both Peace Corps workers, along with their two daughters, have traveled the world. Most recently, Stephanie lived in the Pacific Northwest, where she wrote The Compound and taught fiction workshops for adult education programs. Her next book, The Gardener, will be available from Feiwel and Friends in 2010.
Visit her website at http://www.rockforadoll.com/
Or visit her blog at http://latteya.livejournal.com/
Timothy Zahn: "100 Ideas in an Hour"
Beginning writers often ask how an author comes up with his or her ideas. The actual truth is that raw ideas by themselves are pretty easy to generate. Using a simple Q&A interactive technique, along with mass brainstorming, the kids and I develop enough ideas and story starters to keep a writer busy for months.
Zahn was born and raised in the Chicago area. He earned a B.S. in Physics from the University of Michigan in 1973 and an M.S. in Physics from the University of Illinois in 1975. Zahn began writing science fiction in 1975 as a hobby. In 1978, he sold his first short story to Analog. His best known work is The Thrawn Trilogy, the Star Wars novels that actually revived flagging interest in the Star Wars universe. He won a Hugo award in 1984 for the novella Cascade Point and has been nominated for Hugos on two other occasions. He currently lives with his family on the Oregon Coast.
Northwest authors inspire students at Cavalcade - Tricity Herald article about Cavalcade 2009
