"Hurt the Bunnies" Workshop Session offered at AnAuthor World conference

I will be presenting a workshop on "Hurt the Bunnies: How Characterization and Plot Work Together" at the second break-out session during "Write at the StART" writing and illustrating conference hosted by AnAuthor World (http://www.anauthorworld.com/ ).

I coined the phrase "hurt the bunnies" after reading so many stories where there was no problem to be solved, no conflict -- nothing happened. It started when I judged a contest and every single entry was a picture book/short story about bunnies...except one that was about groundhogs (and this one actually had a problem to solve). The bunnies basically hopped around all day holding hands, picking flowers, and remarking on what a wonderful world they lived in. I have to admit that after reading dozens of stories like that, I really did have an urge to hurt those bunnies. But the phrase "hurt the bunnies" actually is for the writers, to remind them that stories aren't interesting unless we can in some way identify with the main character -- or main bunny -- and feel sympathy for him. We have to care what happens to him. If nothing happens, then we feel as if we've wasted the time we invested in that character/bunny. So the writer needs to "hurt" that character/bunny in some way. The "hurt" doesn't have to be physical. It can be a need, a desire, a wish, a goal...but it can also be a physical or emotional "hurt." A "bunny" without a problem is a boring bunny, and no one wants to read about boring bunnies.

Sign up for the conference (http://www.anauthorworld.com/ ) and for my workshop to learn ways to "hurt your bunnies."

"Write at the StART" Writing and Illustrating Conference

Tim Davis and I have created a studio where we want writing and illustrations to "happen." Not just ours, but yours as well! Our studio is called AnAuthor World and you can find us at 475 Haywood Road, Suite 8, Greenville, SC 29607 (we're inside Hargis Art Services: Studios and Galleries). You can also find us at http://www.anauthorworld.com/.

We're hosting a mini-conference on August 15th at our studio. You can sign-up on our website. Here's the info:

Write at the Start: a kick-off conference for AnAuthor World

Come join us in AnAuthor World on Saturday, August 15, 2009.

We welcome anyone interested in writing and/or illustrating for a one-day conference featuring some great guest speakers and engaging demonstrations. The cost for attending is only $65, with lunch included. You can’t beat that! The event will be held at Hargis Art Services Studios and Gallery, 475 Haywood Road, Suite 8, Greenville, SC, beginning at 9:00 in the morning. Space is limited, so register early to hold a spot by registering through this site.

8:30 Registration opens

9:00 Introduction: Pam Zollman and Tim Davis, Instructors at AnAuthor World
Jo Hackl, Assistant Regional Advisor,SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book
Writers and Illustrators)

9:30 General session: Vonda Skelton: “The Writer’s Brain”

10:45 Breakout sessions:
Vonda Skelton: “Laughter is Serious Business”
Rebecca Davis: “Writing Biographical Narratives for Children”
Pam Zollman: “Writing and Submitting for Magazines”
Tim Davis: “Pictures Plus a Thousand Words”

11:45 Boxed lunch from Jason’s Deli served in the gallery

1:00 Breakout sessions:
Nancy Lohr: “Make or Break Qualities in Novels for Children”
Carol Baldwin: “Creative Writing in the Classroom: How to InspireYour Students”
Pam Zollman: “Hurt the Bunnies: How Characterization and PlotWork Together ”
Justin Gerard: “Illustration Techniques”

2:15 Panel Q and AAll speakers available to answer your questions

3:00 Book Signings, Informal Critique Groups, and Portfolio Reviews

Speakers:

Vonda Skelton is an author and inspirational speaker. She loves teaching adults and students how to pen words that touch lives. Vonda has had the privilege of teaching at writers’ conferences from Delaware to New Mexico and has taught her Writing is Fun! workshops to over 15,000 students in public and private schools.http://www.vondaskelton.com/

Carol Baldwin is a freelance writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her most recent book is Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8 (Maupin House, 2008). She is active in the SCBWI and enjoys working in her husband’s dental office, being a mother and grandmother, biking, and gardening. http://www.carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com/

Justin Gerard, the Illustration and Story Director of Portland Studios of Greenville, has produced a ponderous amount of majestic artwork in his young career. He has been featured in Spectrum and Society of Illustrators, and recently obtained an IPPY award for his interpretation of the reknowned epic in Beowulf, Book One: Grendel the Ghastley. http://www.portlandstudios.com/

Rebecca Davis has been writing professionally in a variety of genres for almost thirty years, including four children’s books, one of which won the C.S. Lewis Gold Medal for outstanding Christian juvenile literature. She has also spoken before audiences of all ages, with presentations covering various aspects of writing, literature, the Christian life, home education, and her favorite, telling stories, especially from her own books.http://www.heresthejoy.com/

Nancy Lohr is the Acquisitions Editor for youth titles for JourneyForth Books, a division of BJU Press, and author of two historical fiction novels for children as well as articles on reading and writing that have been published in Teacher to Teacher and Home School Helper. Her background includes experience as a classroom teacher and a school librarian. www.bjupress.com/category/Books

Pam Zollman, the primary instructor at AnAuthor World, is a former editor for Highlights magazine, a speaker in national SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conferences, a longtime continuing education instructor in Texas and Pennsylvania, and the award-winning author of over forty books for children. In every class she teaches, Pam shares her contagious enthusiasm for writing, which carries over into the relationships she develops with aspiring authors.http://www.pamzollman.com/

Tim Davis brings an artist’s perspective to AnAuthor World. He is the author-illustrator of seven children’s books published by JourneyForth, and has also worked for a number of other children’s publishers, including Highlights magazine, Scholastic, and Fisher-Price. Tim teaches continuing ed. courses at both Furman University and Greenville Technical College, and will offer classes for prospective illustrators at AnAuthor World.http://www.timdaviscreations.com/

I hope that you can come! If not, be sure to visit our website.