Tag: amwriting

Write Now

Join us for Write Now: First Draft, an online program coming Wednesday, July 22nd!

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One part conference test, one part peek behind the curtain, we welcome you to join us Wednesday, July 22nd at 7 p.m. for Write Now: First Draft. Featuring writers working on the Broadleaf Board of Directors and the Broadleaf Writers Conference Committee, we’ll tackle taking on a first draft, offer thoughts on how to push through, and discuss the importance of finding a writing community!

As well, we’ll use this opportunity to test our online approach to the 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference! So, join us to see what we have planned, help us with the Q&A process, test out the chat features, and be a part of a conversation on writing a first draft!

To join us, just click this link. No registration is required. The webinar room will open a few minutes after 7 on July 22nd, and then we’ll get started!

Benjamin Carr is a writer and storyteller and serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Broadleaf Writers. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Loose Change Magazine, The Five Hundred and Pembroke Magazine. He has performed regularly onstage at Atlanta-area literary events, including Write Club Atlanta, Carapace, Naked City, Stories on the Square, Stories on the Edge of Night and Listen to Your Mother. His work has also appeared at the Center for Puppetry Arts. He is a member of WonderRoot, the Southern Order of Storytellers and Working Title Playwrights. He is the co-founder of Gutwrench, available at http://gutwrenchjournal.com.

Even though she majored in English at Florida State University, Maryann Lozano didn’t start writing until later in life. After spending many years noodling around with NaNoWriMo, books about writing, and writing prompts, she decided to get serious and enrolled in the Masters of Professional Writing program at Kennesaw State University. She graduated with honors in December 2019.

Maryann is an executive assistant at 22squared, a mid-sized advertising agency in Atlanta, and is also the director of the Handbell Choir at St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church. When she’s not assisting her bosses or waving her hands at her ringers, she is simultaneously revising her WIP for the 1,000th time and trying to keep her cat off the computer keyboard. Maryann serves as Vice-Chair for the Broadleaf Writers Conference Committee.

Jessica Nettles is a writer of short fiction, plays, and, most recently, novels. Her short fiction has appeared in Oh, Georgia!, Thirteen Stories til’ Halloween, and The Five Hundred. She has performed her works at venues such as Naked City, A Novel Idea, and the Write Room. Her play, Around the Bend, was one of three plays featured in a staged reading show sponsored by Process Theater. When she’s not writing, she teaches English at Chattahoochee Technical College. In her spare time, she knits, crochets, reads, bakes, enjoys long walks, and has a fascination with B horror movies. Jessica serves as Secretary on the Broadleaf Writers Board of Directors.

5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference

The Schedule for the 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference is Now Available!

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The time is here and open registration for the 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference is upon us. Though the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed our event online, we still plan to offer the same great lineup, complete with plenty of informative and inspirational panels and workshops, one-on-one pitch sessions with agents, as well as our brand new one-on-one mentoring sessions with authors and agents, and a one-on-one first page critique with New York Times bestselling author David L. Robbins! All for a lower price! We’re confident you will get all you expect from us, and as much more as we can possibly offer!

The 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference Schedule is now available for you to review! From open Q&A sessions, to storytelling, to getting your outline and story structure in place, we’ve put together a schedule of sessions we know will give you the tools and inspiration you need to grow as an artist, and to pursue your dreams of publication.

On Saturday, October 17th, we’ll kick things off with an open Q&A session with a legend of the comic book and gaming industries (You can’t say Wolverine without mentioning him!), Paul Jenkins! We can think of no greater source of encouragement and information to get your weekend started than Paul, and this is your opportunity to hear his story, pick his brain, and learn from one of the best around.

Consisting of 7 more panels and 1 workshop, our Saturday schedule digs its heels into the hard work of creating a dynamic story, memorable characters, and, of course, nailing that first page. An annual favorite, the First Page Critique returns to close out the day, giving you the opportunity to have the first page of your manuscript critiqued by our panel of literary agents. The submissions are anonymous and highly recommended. Not ready to submit? No problem! You can still attend and gain invaluable tips from agents to assist you in perfecting your first page!

We return on Sunday with a brand-new session! Our literary agents will sit once more, this time to listen to your query letters! A daunting undertaking for any writer, this will be your chance to hear what agents have to say about the query letters our attendees have submitted! Much like First Pages, if you are not up for submitting, no worries! You can still gain from their insights and use all you learn to get yours right! But we do recommend you submit! After all, your submissions remain anonymous!

With 6 additional panels and 2 more workshops, Sunday is another busy day full of opportunities to learn! And it includes another new session we’re beyond excited to present. Hosted by the dynamic duo of YATL, Kimberly Jones and Vania Stoyanova, the YATL Pitch Match is your chance to present your story to an agent in a whole new way! Covering four categories—Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, and Nonfiction—we will select four attendees for each (you will submit your name on Saturday) and Kimberly and Vania will lead our contestants through a series of fun and entertaining questions and scenarios for a literary agent that represents that category. At the end, our agent will select a winner and meet with them in a private breakout room for 15 minutes to discuss the story further! Not only will it be fun, but you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about pitching your work and give an agent even more reason to consider reading your manuscript!

We’re working hard to add more elements to this quite different way of presenting a conference. From social rooms to chat with other attendees and our speakers, to a storytelling reception to celebrate our fifth year of existence, we plan on giving you all the elements of our conference from the cozy confines of your home. Additionally, you no longer have to decide between which session to attend. Every attendee of the 5th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference will receive access to the recordings of every session! Watch it all again or catch the ones you missed!

Register early to ensure your place in our one-on-one sessions! With your registration you receive one pitch and one mentoring session, but for an extra $25 for each you can add more if you wish! With a lower cost, yet as much or more of what we normally offer, this is an incredible opportunity to attend a conference and grow as a writer! We hope to see you there!

Programming, Write Now

Join us for our first Write Now program of 2019!

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In the beginning, you stared at a blank screen. This may have lasted a while. You may or may not have deleted your first line a few times. You made some coffee. You came back. The dog stared at you. You typed away, determined to keep the cat off the keyboard this time. Eventually you found a groove. You wrote some lines, which became paragraphs, which became a page.

Then a story happened. The pages flew by. You really like it (except when you hate it). You’ve developed feelings about it.

But the first page continues to call to you. After all, it’s what will get you in the door with an agent or editor. It’s what a potential reader may use to decide whether to buy your book. You think it needs something. But what? What if it’s okay to adequate already? What if you change something you shouldn’t change? How do you even know when it’s right?

First, take a breath. It’ll be all right.

We have a program just for you.

For our first Write Now program of 2019, we’re going to talk you through your first page. With the help of authors Emily Carpenter and Roger Johns, we’ll gather and chat, hold an informal discussion on the craft of writing a first page, then chat some more. Bring your page with you if you’d like. Time permitting, you may be able to read it aloud and we’ll offer our thoughts. We want you to leave feeling confident about writing the first page. Not only for your work-in-progress, but for all the first pages in your future.

Join us at Fox Tale Book Shoppe on Saturday, February 16th, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.!

Emily Carpenter is the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of suspense novels, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies, and Every Single Secret. After graduating from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, she moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can visit Emily at emilycarpenterauthor.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

ROGER JOHNS is a former corporate lawyer and retired college professor, and the author of the Wallace Hartman Mysteries from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books: Dark River Rising (2017) and River of Secrets (2018). He is the 2018 Georgia Author of the Year (Detective ▪ Mystery Category), a 2018 Killer Nashville Readers’ Choice Award nominee, and a finalist for the 2018 Silver Falchion Award for best police procedural. His articles and interviews on writing and the writing life have appeared in Career Author, Criminal Element, Killer Nashville Articles, and the Southern Literary Review. Roger belongs to the Atlanta Writers Club, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers, where he is one of The Fearless Bloggers, and a mentor in the Big Writer program. Along with four other crime fiction writers, he co-authors the MurderBooks blog at www.murder-books.com. Visit him at www.rogerjohnsbooks.com and you can find him on Twitter at @rogerjohns10.

 

Programming

Join Us for a Screenwriting Seminar December 2nd!

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The film industry in Georgia is producing movies, shows and commercials at an increasing rate, creating a need for writers and fresh material for future projects. Yet, the opportunities to learn the craft of writing screenplays, and the process of selling a script, are few and far between.

But that’s about to change.

The Broadleaf Writers Association, in partnership with the DeKalb Entertainment Commission, is pleased to offer a seminar on the craft of writing screenplays, and the business of selling a screenplay, featuring two industry professionals.

In separate sessions, screenwriter Mike Buchanan, and producer Mickey Dunbrow, will conduct workshops on the craft, offer a presentation on current industry expectations and methods to improve your script, and answer any questions you may have. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to improve your writing and your script, and further your understanding of a rising industry in Georgia.

This program is free and open to the public. No reservation or ticket is required.

Mickey Dubrow has been an award winning television promotions and marketing writer/producer for major cable networks for over twenty-five years. His clients have included Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network Latin America, TNT Latin America, HGTV, CNN, and McGraw Hill. His essays have appeared in Full Grown People, The Good Man Project, Prime Number Magazine, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. For more information, visit http://mickeydubrow.com.

Michael Buchanan is the creator of the award winning feature The Fat Boy Chronicles which has been seen by millions on Netflix, at REDBOX, and used in schools nationwide; Last Bullet and Boxes, award winning shorts; feature-length documentary Spiral Bound; and feature documentary Nature Matters.