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Bob Mayer's
All-day Workshop for Writers

June 5, 2010
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
at

Airport Hilton
5151 Wiley Post Way
Salt Lake City, UT
801 539-1515


New York Times bestselling author Bob Mayer has published 39 books ranging from military techno-thriller to political thriller to non-fiction to science fiction to romantic suspense. He has over three million books in print.

Born in the Bronx, Bob attended the Military Academy at West Point and earned a BA in psychology with honors and then served as an Infantry platoon leader, a battalion scout platoon leader, and a brigade reconnaissance platoon leader in the 1st Cavalry Division. He then joined Special Forces and commanded a Green Beret A Team. He also served as the operations officer for the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and with Western Command Special Operations in Hawaii. Later he taught at the Special Forces Qualification Course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, the course designed to train new Green Berets. He also lived in Korea where he earned a Black Belt in Martial Arts and in Tennessee where he earned a Masters Degree in Education from Austin Peay State University.

Bob draws on all of these experiences to write his novels and his nonfiction books, including WHO DARES WINS: The Green Beret Way To Conquer Fear & Succeed and The Novel Writer's Toolkit: A Guide To Writing Great Fiction And Getting It Published. He speaks on both of these areas at writing conferences, workshops, and colleges. But his main focus remains his novels, which include the bestselling Area 51 books. Out now are Bodyguard of Lies (under his pen name Robert Doherty) and Agnes and the Hitman, a romantic adventure written in collaboration with Jennifer Crusie for St. Martin's Press which hit the NY Times, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and numerous other bestseller lists. Coming in March 2010 is Wild Ride also co-written with Jennifer Crusie.

Bob has presented for over five hundred organizations, including numerous keynote presentations, all day workshops, and multi-day seminars. He has taught at writers' conferences ranging from Maui, to Whidbey Island, to San Diego State University to Harriette Austin at University of Georgia and at the Romance Writers of America National Convention.


Workshop Details
Saturday, June 5th


A ONE DAY WRITING SEMINAR
Join New York Times best-selling writer Bob Mayer for an all-day workshop on writing the novel, beginning with the original idea and core conflict, developing plot and character, working with point of view, and pulling everything together selling your book and the business of writing.

9:00-9:50: The Original Idea-The Heart of Your Story and Key to Selling Your Book
10:00-10:50: Plot, Conflict and Outline: The Events of Your Story
12:00-1:00: Lunch (Included in workshop fee)
1:00-1:50: Characters: The People of Your Story
2:00-2:50: Setting, Dialogue, Writer's Block and Re-Writing
3:00-3:50: Selling And Marketing Your Book
4:00-4:50: The Current State and Future of the Publishing Business for the Writer


Registration
Registration: January 9, 2010
URWA members are offered first choice on our limited space.
Register before February 28, 2010 to ensure a spot. Open registration begins March 1, 2010.
URWA Members $20.00
Non-URWA members $35.00
Click here for registration and payment.
Book signing will be held on June 4th at the Gateway Mall Barnes & Noble in Salt Lake City. See registration page for more details.


On June 6th, Bob Mayer will remain in Salt Lake City to present his "Utah Warrior Writer A-Team Workshop"
Visit Bob Mayer on his website for more information, or click on http://www.eventbrite.com/event/501397694 to register.


June 5th Class Descriptions:


The Original Idea: The Heart of Your Story and Key to Selling Your Book: Can you say what your book is about in 25 words of less? This is essential to both writing a tight book and then selling it. We'll discuss ways to find and state your original idea so that you stay on course while writing the book and with which you can excite those you tell it to when trying to sell it. Plot, Conflict and Outline: The Events and Fuel of Your Story: Before you begin writing your book, you should spend some time outlining and developing your story. We'll discuss types of outlines along with techniques for efficiently developing the strongest possible story based on your original idea. The creative process before the actual start of the book will be covered. From the exciting opening that grabs the reader through the escalating conflict to the climactic scene and ending with the resolution-the entire structure of the novel with be covered with emphasis on hooks, the remote control effect, building suspense, and having satisfying endings. We will cover the conflict box and see how conflict drives a story.

Point Of View: The Voice of Your Story: This goes beyond just first person, third person and omniscient voices. The point of view you write in is your voice as a writer and often the issue lies deeper than simply a mechanical device. For example, voice dictates what you can say about your characters and what you can't. It also sets you apart from others and makes you distinct. Characters: The People of Your Story: The most critical component of a novel is character. How do you go from flat two-dimensional characters to vibrant three-dimensional ones? Templates to develop characters and the concept of character arc and change will be discussed.

Setting, Dialogue, Writer's Block and Re-Writing: Setting is the where and when of your story. This is often the twist writers give to ideas that have been done before to make their story unique and stand out. Dialogue serves multiple purposes and in a novel is much different than that in real life. Writer's Block introduces you to way to overcome inertia and regain creativity and tap into the power of the subconscious, often a writer's greatest ally. And once the book is done, comes the infamous rewrite. How to make your book stronger and stronger after the first draft.

Selling & Marketing Your book: An Introduction To The World of Publishing: A writer friendly approach to marketing your book efficiently and then understanding the flow of a query at a publishing house and how decisions are made whether to buy a book. Cover letters that grab the reader, how to do a one page synopsis, and other practical matters will be covered. Nine out of ten first published novels fail. Often this is because the author thinks they have 'succeeded' simply by being accepted for publication. We will discuss what you can do to be a success in this business and cover a variety of techniques from book-signings, media outlets, publicists to other innovative ways. The Current State and Future of the Publishing Business for the Writer. Fee-charging agents; sell-through and sales numbers; E-books; print-on-demand; shrinking mid-lists; corporate mergers; self-publishing; what does all this mean to the writer who often feels on the outside? You hear agents and editors talk about the business but it's important to understand a writer's point of view.

Join us for this exciting series of workshops on the art of writing. See you there.


last updated 04/06/10