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The Pacific Institute for Professional Writing will be presenting three writing workshops in connection with the Second Annual Ojai WordFest. The three workshops will be led by publishing professionals Shelly Lowenkopf and Toni Lopopolo and literary marketing specialist Kate Sexton. This will take place on Saturday, March 31 at World University of Ojai.
Editor and author Shelly Lowenkopf will lead a morning workshop titled “The Short Story: Your Ticket to Publication.” Literary agent and former executive editor at Macmillan and St Martin’s Press Toni Lopopolo with lead another morning session: “The Ten Most Common Mistakes First Novelists Make.”
The afternoon workshop is” Author Promote Thyself.” This is an interactive workshop that will teach basic social media and press/media skills authors need to know and understand.
This session will be led by Kate Sexton, a career publicist, president of the Ventura County Writers Club, and executive director of PIPW. An author, publicist and social media expert in the literary field will also speak at the event.
Each three-hour workshop will cost $49. Seating is limited. People wishing to sign up may do so at PIPW’s website: www.PacificInstituteforProfessionalWriting.com.
Morning Workshops
The Short Story: Your Ticket to Publication will take place from 9 a.m. to noon, with instructor Shelly Lowenkopf. The short story teaches the beginning and intermediate writer how to develop his/her original narrative voice, then proceed to establish a platform as a published writer, attracting readers in the process, then the attention of literary agents, and ultimately book publishers.
Lowenkopf has guided hundreds of students to the development of their own narrative voice from which short stories are a natural consequence. Following techniques he will demonstrate in this practical, craft-oriented session, he will show you how to pick the kinds of characters who work best in short fiction, how to invest them with long-range dramatic goals, and how to build compelling opening pages. You will come away from this course learning who the narrative you is, where to begin your story, what to avoid, where you need to be different, and how to get your characters to talk in the dramatic equivalent of “dirty.”
“For me, a short story is like a Faberge egg,” said Shelly Lowenkopf. “You peek inside and see the universe in more variety than you could imagine–until you begin writing your own stories. There is no excuse for the serious writer of fiction to ignore this exciting and forceful format.” Mr. Lowenkopf has published over one hundred short stories and has a new volume “Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay out Late at Night” set for publication in February 2013. Some of the stories will be serialized through the book’s publisher Water Street Press, beginning in this summer. Mr. Lowenkopf is one of the founders of PIPW.
“Shelly Lowenkopf is a living treasure and part of the local writing community,” said Kate Sexton. “His many years as an executive editor, shepherding more than 700 books to publication plus his more than 35 published books, gives him a special perspective on the publishing industry. Shelly is generous with his knowledge and spent 30 years teaching the Master’s Writing Program at USC where he received their Lifetime Achievement Award.”
The 10 Most Common Mistakes First Novelists Make is a fiction and narrative nonfiction workshop lead by literary agent Toni Lopopolo and will take place from 9 a.m. to noon. This class is for people writing a novel or narrative nonfiction book in first or second draft.
Lopopolo will explain the pitfalls that mark a new novelist and how to avoid them. Lopopolo is a former executive editor at Macmillan and St. Martin’s Press who opened her literary agency in 1991. Toni got the idea for her list of “Ten Most Common Mistakes” after reading the mountain of unsolicited-and mostly unskilled-novels that writers began sending to her after she opened her agency.
She developed a workshop to show new novelists what skills they must master in order to write a publishable and commercial novel or narrative nonfiction book.
“So many people dive into fiction or narrative nonfiction without understanding that writing a novel or a narrative nonfiction book is not like writing a thesis for an English Lit class,” Lopopolo said. “To become published, writers must meet a high standard that is achievable. If they know where the bar is placed and why. With the Ten Most Common Mistakes workshop, budding writers learn what skills they learn to master. These skills are, not taught in schools or writing classes.”
Afternoon Workshop
Author Promote Thyself will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and will offer a hands-on session for those attendees who wish to bring a laptop. With Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging and other social media, capturing an audience has expanded many-fold. How does an author decide which to use, or even concentrate on?
Each of these outlets will be discussed, their strengths and audience evaluated. Working with the media is also important. Attendees will walk away with their first press release ready to go out. Wi-Fi will be available so bring your laptop and plug in. Participants in this workshop will be shown how to set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and how to design their own free website. The tools are out there. Learn how to use them.
