DATE: June 8, 2012 - June 10, 2012
CONTACT: Holly Thompson
CHAPTER: SCBWI Tokyo
LOCATION/TIME: Gotemba Kogen Resort, Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan
The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators presents
Middle-Grade and YA Writers’ Intensive Retreat
Featuring a Distance-learning Master Class
with U.S. Editor Cheryl Klein
Time: Friday to Sunday, June 8, 9, 10, 2012
Place: Slow House Villas at the Gotemba Kogen Resort in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture www.gotembakogenresort.jp
Fee: 18,000 yen SCBWI members; 22,000 yen nonmembers
Fee includes pre-retreat assignment handouts, retreat programs, Saturday 3 meals, Sunday 2 meals, shared accommodations in Slow House Villas June 8 and 9, and Ringo no Yu onsen use
Accommodations: Shared rooms in Slow House Villas at Gotemba Kogen Resort
Reservations: Reserve by May 1, 2012; registration payment due by May 8, 2012
To reserve and receive payment details, email contact (at) scbwi.jp
Reserve early! Reservations will be limited to 20 participants.
This event will be in English.
Come rejuvenate your creative spirit with SCBWI Tokyo at the Gotemba Kogen resort in Shizuoka.
Story is what happens in a book. Plot is the structure of what happens in a book, as well as the techniques the author employs to control pacing, tension, character development, and reader reaction. In this INTENSIVE, distance-learning master class with editor and writer Cheryl Klein, we will examine the care and feeding of a plot, including a number of those techniques, the DNA of action and emotional development in a novel, and the uses of subplots. You’ll also learn methods for analyzing your own plot and identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and tips for completing a thoughtful and effective revision.
Participants will be asked to create a bookmap of their novel before the event (instructions will be provided upon payment of registration fee), and to read the novel Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork plus a few handouts. There will also be an assignment to be completed during the retreat, a one-hour Skype session with Cheryl Klein, critique group meetings and sessions on aspects of writing craft. There will be plenty of time for networking and enjoying the resort’s amenities, as well as quiet, solo writing.
This retreat is geared toward published and pre-published writers with a complete or nearly complete draft of a middle-grade or young adult (YA) novel. Writers in the plotting and planning stages of such a novel are also welcome to participate.
This event is made possible in part by a regional grant from SCBWI.
SCHEDULE
Friday, June 8, 2012
4:00–9:00 Arrival and Check In
5:00–7:00 Dinner—bring a bento or try one of the resort’s restaurants
7:00–9:00 Opening Session--Inviting Creativity: Establishing Our Writing Intentions (Meeting Room, Hotel BU)
Saturday, June 9, 2012
7:00–9:00 Breakfast and networking at the free Buffet Paro
9:00–1:00 Cheryl Klein assignment work and discussions (Meeting Room, Hotel BU)
1:00–2:30 Lunch (sandwich makings provided) and free time
2:30–4:00 Mini critique group meetings
4:00–5:30 Elective recreational focus activities or solo writing time
5:30–7:00 Participant Dinner at Grand Table Restaurant
7:00–9:00 Assignment follow-up and sessions on Knowing our Characters and Maintaining Motivation
9:00–10:00 Skype Session with Cheryl Klein (Meeting Room, Hotel BU) An opportunity to hear answers to pre-submitted questions, discuss the assignment, and ask remaining questions. (Please note that should technical difficulties arise, this time will be used to generate additional questions that Cheryl Klein will answer at a later date.)
Sunday, June 10, 2012
7:00–9:00 Breakfast and networking at the free Buffet Paro
9:00–10:30 Elective Recreational Focus Activities or Solo Writing Time
10:30–11:00 Check out from Slow Villas
11:00–2:00 Mini Sessions (Meeting Room, Hotel BU): Synopses, Queries, Reflections and Goals; Lunch (sandwich makings provided)
Cheryl Klein is a senior editor at Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. An interview with Klein has appeared in Carp Tales, the SCBWI Tokyo newsletter (www.scbwi.jp/newsletter.htm, see Fall 2008). Her website includes a blog, her book list, and extensive information about publishing for children: www.CherylKlein.com.
www.scbwi.jp