Is There a Book Inside You?
Is there a book inside you? Come and find out! Through lecture, writing exercises, and group discussion, author and writer's coach Teresa R. Funke will help you reach deep down to discover your inner writer. Teresa will give general tips about how to choose a genre in which to write, how to know when an idea is good enough to sustain a story and how to find the best help and information to get you started. She'll finish by working with each writer to develop a writing plan you can stick to.

Keep it Short: Short Stories and Personal Essays
In this 90-minute crash course, you'll learn how to write and sell short stories and personal essays. Find out the difference between literary and commercial markets, what today's editors are looking for, which markets pay the most, how to track submissions, how to craft a cover letter, and how to decipher hidden meanings in those annoying rejection slips.

Dialogue Dos and Don'ts: How Your Characters Should Talk
In this workshop, author and writer's coach Teresa R Funke will teach you how to develop an ear for dialogue, with special emphasis on using dialogue to reveal character and propel your story forward. Through listening and writing exercises, you'll learn how to "hear" when your dialogue is working and when it isn't. We'll also discuss pacing, tag lines, dialect and accents, humor, and most important, how to tighten your exchanges so every word counts.

Writers Groups That Work
Learn how to start and maintain writers groups from a member of one of the most successful groups in the region. Hear tips on establishing rules and submission guidelines, concrete ways to keep members motivated and on track, and ideas for showcasing a groups' collective work.

Fact and Fiction: Where the Lines Cross
In this workshop, author and writers' coach Teresa R. Funke will lead a discussion on how to properly use facts (whether historical or personal) in your writing. Historical references and real-life experiences can help ground a good story, but fiction writers who manipulate facts to enhance their story take serious risks, as do nonfiction writers and memoirists who embellish the truth. Does this mean you can never use artistic license to improve your stories? Of course not. Come and learn the most effective ways to put fact into your fiction and keep fiction out of your fact.

Joining the Revolution: Deciding to Self-publish
Is self-publishing the right choice for you and, if so, do you start your own press, work with a partner publisher, use a print-on-demand company, or make a few copies at Kinkos? It depends on your goal for your book. In this workshop, you'll learn the advantages and disadvantages to self-publishing and get information about the most important aspect to succeeding in this venture, marketing and selling your product.

How to Write Historical Fiction
In this workshop, you'll learn what defines good historical fiction and how this genre fits into current adult and youth markets. We'll cover outlining verses free writing, the benefits to character sketches, writing good period dialogue, and most importantly, when to stop researching and start writing! We'll discuss the common pitfalls of historical fiction, such as how to avoid "info dumps," how to stick to the facts without stifling the story, and how to deal appropriately with family events or living sources.