Writers' Day 2021

2021 Schedule

| 8:00 am–9:00 am |

Registration

| 9:00 am–9:50 am |

Opening Session

Welcome

Introduction of Workshop presenters.
Presenters will enlighten the audience about the background of their presentations. This will be an opportunity for participants to learn the inspirational experiences that can help in creative endeavors and serve a variety of areas, from writing to illustrating and publishing.

| 10:00 am–11:30 am |

Session One
Register from the following options:

I Accidentally Wrote a Book
Sharyn McCrumb | Fiction

To amuse myself during the year of COVID isolation, every day I wrote about a thousand words of observations and imaginings about the troupe of raccoons which live on the ridge over our farm. In the workshop, I want to illustrate what as recent Nobel Prize laureate Louise Glück has said, “Writing is a kind of revenge against circumstances too: bad luck, loss, pain. If you make something out of it, then you’ve no longer be bested by these events.”

Memory and Imagination: Exploring the Gaps
Jim Minick | Fiction and Nonfiction

Einstein said, “Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” As writers, we travel, sometimes through well-worn gaps, other times into uncharted passes. Exploring gaps—in the land, in memory, in our work—often reveals what we didn’t know we knew. This workshop will help prose writers search for gaps that yield powerful new work.


Echoes from the Past: How to Merge Memories with Modern Settings
Bekah Harris | Fiction, YA

While there is some truth in the common advice that authors should write what they know, it is sometimes easier said than done. In fact, some of our best story ideas spring forth unexpectedly from past events, people we cherish, family members long gone, haunting settings, and key moments that serve to shape our lives. But unless we are committed to writing historical fiction, memoirs, or simply setting our story in the past, tackling these inspirations from the past can be challenging. This workshop will explore how to allow our memories and experiences to guide us as we write in contemporary settings. From issues of modern technology and updated dialogue to setting details and current events, Harris will detail how she draws on the memories of her childhood to create modern characters and plots that are still relevant to readers.

| 11:45pm–1pm |

Book Signings

Lunch

| 1:15pm–2:45pm |

Session Two
Register for one of the following options:

Using Local History and Regional Folklore as the Basis for a Novel
Sharyn McCrumb | Fiction

Since I have written many novels whichdraw upon local history and regional folklore, I will give advice about writing stories, even novelizations of local history. The workshop will discuss how to find stories about your region, the use of dialect, how much you should enhance the actual details of the events, whether names should be changed. and the other techniques related to regional writing.

Ekphrasis - From the Visual to the Written
Rita Quillen | Poetry

Ekphrasis is a wonderful “jumpstarting” technique for writing. You could use famous works of art or photographs (either family or artistic). The writing could be poetry or prose and could be developed in a variety of ways. In this workshop we will look at examples of ekphrasis and then use some old photographs to serve as inspirations for writing.

Using Family Memories to Craft a Dramatic Story
Eugene Wolf | Drama

Using family memories to craft a dramatic story From the development of his award- winning, one-man show The Book of Mamaw, Eugene Wolf discusses crafting family memories into engaging stories. He explores how to know which details to tell, and which ones are better left to memory. His advice helps storytellers hone their family memories into tales of drama and insight.

| 3:00pm–4:30pm |

Session Three
Register for one of the following options:

Using Family Stories to Make Art, Fiction/Nonfiction
Jim Minick | Memoir

It sounds easy to use family materials in writing poetry, fiction or nonfiction, right? Just take notes from that talkative uncle and change names to protect innocents, and voilà. But it usually isn’t so easy, nor without risks. This session will explore the how’s, why’s, and hazards, interlaced with stories, advice, and discussion on using family materials in writing.

Mapping Memories: Using Drawing and Mapping as a Spark for Memory
Rita Quillen | Poetry

With books by Kentucky poets Pauletta Hansel and George Ella Lyon as inspiration, we’ll use the idea of “mapping childhood” as a springboard for writers. The workshop will look at the way in which these two poets, as well as famous fiction writers such as William Faulkner, used drawings and maps of their own favorite childhood places and spaces as inspiration for writing.

Publishing Panel
Tammy Robinson Smith, Greg Lilly, Victoria Fletcher

Join local published authors on a panel where they will discuss how they became published, offering tips to those wishing to do the same as well as those who are just simply curious about the process. Each of these authors publishes using different pathways, ranging from self- publishing to small local publishers to national publishing houses.