Saturday
9:00 – 10:15 Welcome & introductions
10:30–12:00 Small group critiques
We will meet in small groups led by a faculty member. Each person will receive a 30-40 minute critique of their outline or 25 pages
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 3:30 Small group critiques, continued
3:30 – 6:00 On your own (write, visit, take a walk)
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
Followed by free time or informal “get to know you” session and “open mic” to share first pages
Sunday
8:00 – 8:45 Breakfast
9:00 –10:15 Sheyla Knigge
Craft Elements of Writing Diverse Perspective: Helping children feel seen in story
10:30 – 12:00 Hannah Teachout
Tell Me Why: Using motivation to create connection, build the world, and raise the stakes in your story
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 4:00 On your own (write, visit, take a walk)
4:00 – 6:00 Gary Schmidt
Managing the (Invisible or Not) Backstory
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner, and activity (to be announced)
Monday
8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30 Faculty: Favorite Scenes
This session will focus on great scenes. Faculty members will present favorite scenes and explain why they like them. We will talk about what constitutes a scene and how to transition from one scene to another.
10:45 – 12:00 Irene Vásquez
Poetry for Novel Writers
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 Faculty: Editing
Faculty will edit participant-submitted pages before our very eyes and discuss the editing process.
3:00 – 6:00 On your own (write, visit, take a walk)
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
Followed by free time or informal get-together – Speed Scrabble? Wine? Chocolate?
Tuesday
8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast
9:15 – 11:00 Check back with critiques
Time to check back with your small groups and talk about lessons learned and next steps.
11:15 – 11:30 Final words
Inspirations from faculty and reflections from participants, naming goals, thank yous, and goodbyes.