Schedule | Faculty

Friday,  September 6

Optional afternoon activities

Noon–4:00 p.m.: Visit the Pat Conroy Literary Center at 905 Port Republic Street (a short walk from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) for a guided exploration of the writing life of the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides. Free and open to the public. www.patconroyliterarycenter.org

2:00–3:30 p.m.: Reserve your seat on Beaufort Tour’s guided bus tour of Pat Conroy’s Beaufort. Departs from the Beaufort Marina Store (across from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) promptly at 2:00 p.m. for a 90-minute tour. Advance registration required: www.beauforttoursllc.com/pat_conroys_beaufort.html

RETREAT BEGINS

5:00–6:45 p.m.: First Friday Reading at the Pat Conroy Literary Center
Meet faculty members and novelists Carla Damron (The Stone Necklace), Kimberly Brock (The River Witch), Reavis Z. Wortham (Hawke’s Target) as they read from and discuss their work at the Pat Conroy Literary Center, 905 Port Republic St. This event is open to the public. Light refreshments.

7:00–8:00 p.m.: Welcome and Introductions
Meet the retreat faculty in the parlor of the Anchorage 1770 Inn. Come prepared to introduce yourself and briefly explain the topic (or desired topic) of your work.
Dessert, wine and non-alcoholic refreshments served.

8:00–9:00 p.m.: Story Hour #1**
During Story Hour retreat participants will have the opportunity to share a five-minute reading sample—preferably the opening—of their writing. The reading can come from a finished product, an idea, or a work in progress. The retreat faculty will offer constructive feedback. Faculty: Kimberly Brock, Carla Damron, Jeff Kleinman, Marly Rusoff, Reavis Z. Wortham

Requirements: Readings not to exceed five minutes. Each individual reading in the group setting will be followed by supportive and constructive feedback from the retreat leaders. Samples are to be read out loud or circulated as a handout if the participant prefers. (Participants are to provide adequate number of handouts for participants and retreat leaders.)

**Participants should be prepared to share on either night, as half the participants will share on Friday and the remaining half on Saturday.

Saturday, September 7

8:00–9:15 a.m.: Breakfast with our faculty

9:30–10:30 a.m.: Reavis Z. Wortham, What I’ve Learned on This Writing Road
We think writing is the easy part, and it might be for some folks, but there are a thousand things freshmen authors might not know. In this fast-paced, intensive session, Spur Award-winning author Reavis Z. Wortham discusses his road to publication and the tips he’s developed to brighten dialogue, delete common problems authors don’t even know they have, to paint a unique plot that grabs a reader’s attention, to eliminate unnecessary “fat” in the manuscript that slows pacing, and most important, how to keep that story charging forward to an electric climax. Be prepared to write fast and bring your questions to this energetic and informative session.

Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking and writing exercises.

10:30–11:00 a.m.: Coffee break

11:00 a.m.–noon: Carla Damron, Who the Heck ARE You? Techniques for Climbing Inside your Characters
“My characters pull me, push me, take me further than I want to go, fling open doors to rooms I don’t want to enter, throw me into interstellar space, and all this long before my mind is ready for it.”—Madeleine L’Engle

Some writers use worksheets to flesh them out. Some create collages. The “how” of character development is less important than the fully realized “who”. This session will explore ways characters reveal themselves—to the author and the reader—and hone specific techniques to give them life on the page.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking and writing exercises.

Noon–1:30 p.m.: Lunch with our faculty
Retreat faculty will join participants for lunch and conversation on the writing craft.

1:30–5:30 p.m. (with breaks): Kimberly Brock, Write from Your Tinderbox: Living from Your Creative Core
In this workshop, Kimberly Brock, creator of Tinderbox Workshops and Retreats, will share secrets to overcoming common struggles for writers and inspiration from her own battle with writer’s block, the internal pressure to succeed, and fears about doing the story justice. Incorporating studies in brain science, attendees will be guided through simple, fool-proof exercises that inform and inspire through the use of mixed-media art techniques, music, kinesthetic movement, and oral storytelling. The result is a finished piece of original art, and several deeply intuitive written pieces. Workshop attendees will come away with a reenergized relationship with the muse.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking and writing exercises.

5:30–6:00 p.m.: Break

6:00–7:15 p.m.: Story Hour #2**
During Story Hour retreat participants will have the opportunity to share a five-minute reading sample—preferably the opening—of their writing. The reading can come from a finished product, an idea, or a work in progress. The retreat faculty will offer constructive feedback. Faculty: Kimberly Brock, Carla Damron, Harrison Scott Key, Jeff Kleinman, Marly Rusoff, Reavis Z. Wortham

Requirements: Readings not to exceed five minutes. Each individual reading in the group setting will be followed by supportive and constructive feedback from the retreat faculty. (Participants are to provide copies of their pieces for retreat faculty.)

**Participants should be prepared to share on either night, as half the participants will share on Friday and the remaining half on Saturday.
Cocktails and light hors d’oeuvres served.

7:30 p.m.: Dinner on your own
The Anchorage 1770 Inn will provide a list of recommended restaurants within walking distance of the Anchorage 1770 inn for dinner on your own along Beaufort’s iconic waterfront and downtown.

Sunday, September 8

8:30–10:00 a.m.: Breakfast—Jeff Kleinman and Marly Rusoff, Agent 101
Join top literary agents Marly Rusoff of the Marly Rusoff Literary Agency and Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management as they share their insights and experiences on everything a writer needs to know about finding and working with an agent, including how to research, locate, and approach the agent best for you and your project; what material you need to submit to an agent; standard author/agent agreement terms; what to expect your agent to do and not do for you; what you should do and not do for your agent, and more. Full breakfast and coffee served.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking.

10:15–10:45 a.m.: Break & check-out time (bags can be held in the lobby until departure)

10:45–11:45 a.m.: Adam Parker, Ask a Book Reviewer
Post and Courier arts writer and book page editor Adam Parker will discuss how and why books get reviewed, what reviewers look for and respond to, and why book reviews still matter to writers and readers.
Requirements: Pen and paper and/or laptop for note taking.

11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.: Faculty Roundtable: Closing discussion with your retreat faculty. This is your last chance to ask that all-important question!

1:00 p.m.: Lunch on Your Own

3:30–5:00: Harrison Scott Key at the Pat Conroy Literary Center
Join faculty member and award-winning humorist Harrison Scott Key for a reading of instructive and cautionary tales drawn from his own writing life as chronicled in his memoir, Congratulations! Who Are You Again? Held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center, this closing event is also open to the public.

Optional afternoon activities

Noon–3:30 p.m.: Visit the Pat Conroy Literary Center at 905 Port Republic Street (a short walk from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) for a guided exploration of the writing life of the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides. Free and open to the public. www.patconroyliterarycenter.org

2:00–3:30 p.m.: Reserve your seat on Beaufort Tour’s guided bus tour of Pat Conroy’s Beaufort. Departs from the Beaufort Marina Store (across from the Anchorage 1770 Inn) promptly at 2:00 p.m. for a 90-minute tour. Advance registration required: www.beauforttoursllc.com/pat_conroys_beaufort.html