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Welcome to Pikes Peak Writers

March Write Brain

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Marc MacYoungPikes Peak Writers Write Brain

Writing Better Action Scenes with Marc MacYoung

Tuesday, March 16th.  6:30pm – 8:30pm
FREE for PPW Members!
Write Brain sessions are free to members. Non-members may attend ONE Write Brain for free; additional Write Brain sessions are $10.00 each.
Location:  Cottonwood Artist's School.  427 E. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs The workshops will be downstairs in Studio A.  Get map.
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What is your character feeling and experiencing when swords are flashing, car chases are happening or bullets and fists are flying? More than that, how did your character find him or herself in that situation in the first place? Humans have established behaviors and common motivations that lead up to conflict. Writing your action within these frameworks will subconsciously draw your reader into the scene. This workshop will:

* acquaint you, the writer, with the unconscious patterns 
* explain how people behave in dangerous situations, and
* show you how to draw your readers into the scene by writing what your character is experiencing during the action

Last Updated on Tuesday, 09 March 2010 20:05 Read more...
 

Pikes Peak Writers Spring Workshop

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Annie McFarlane, Michelle Major, and Lana WilliamsPikes Peak Writers Spring Workshop -- ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT FOR THIS WORKSHOP - RSVP NOW!

What: Opening Your Story with Power, with award-winning authors Annie MacFarlane, Michelle Major, and Lana Williams

When: Saturday, March 6th 8am-12 (Registration 7:45) - A continental breakfast will be provided

Where: Candlewood Suites (get a map)
6450 N. Academy,
C/S CO 80918719-590-1230

Cost: $35 PPW members, $45 non-members
FABULOUS CONFERENCE GIVEAWAY! See details below.

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Opening Your Story with Power

Looking for a killer opening to snag the editor and agent of your dreams? Join us on Saturday March 6 as three award-winning authors share their tools and techniques to hook that all important reader in just 120 words.

In this fun and interactive workshop, you'll learn how to open your story with power by analyzing your beginning with a 6 step opening test and creating characters that jump off the page.

  • You'll learn to pinpoint your character's true self by discovering what he or she needs in order to transform by the end of your novel.
  • You'll understand the difference between a character's visible goal (external motivation) and his transformational (internal) needs.
  • And you'll learn how to make the reader "become your character”.

Please bring the first 120 words of your story and a character from your story to use during workshop exercises

 

Last Updated on Thursday, 04 March 2010 13:56 Read more...
 

February Write Brain

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Pikes Peak Writers Write Brain
Tuesday, February 16th , 2010.  6:30pm – 8:30pm

FREE for PPW Members! Write Brain sessions are free to members. Non-members may attend ONE Write Brain for free; additional Write Brain sessions are $10.00 each.

Location:  Cottonwood Artist's School.  Note New  Address:  Their new address is 427 E. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs.  (East of Wahsach St. Park on the east side in the large parking lot.  The workshops will be downstairs in Studio A.)  Get map.

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With Bonnie Ramthun and Mark Stevens.

You have a brilliant idea for a new character. But the voice that won't be stilled is a member of the opposite sex. How do you pull it off? Don't despair. We've called in the experts: Bonnie Ramthun, whose POV character is 12-year-old Torin Sinclair, in her YA Novel The White Gates. And Mark Stevens, whose POV character is Allison Coil, in his mystery novel, Antler Dust. Join us for our February Write Brain as these two award-winning authors give us the inside track on writing the opposite sex.

Bonnie Ramthun lives in Erie, Colorado with her husband Bill, and their four children.  In Bonnie's first three novels, Colorado Springs homicide detective Eileen Reed and her handsome partner Joe Tanner, a war gamer, solve murders and save the world in Ground Zero, Earthquake Games and The Thirteenth Skull. Earthquake Games was a finalist for Colorado Book of the Year in 2000.  Her new novel, The White Gates, is a middle grade mystery introducing Torin Sinclair, a young snowboarder who must discover the modern secret behind an ancient curse (Random House). The White Gates was named a Junior Library Guild Premiere selection for 2008. Visit Bonnie’s website at www.bonnieramthun.com.

Mark Stevens is the son of two librarians.  He was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts, graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and, four years later, from Principia College in Illinois. He worked as a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor in Boston and Los Angeles, covering a variety of events and issues from the economy, commercial fishing, the environment, politics and all the colorful people and events of southern California. Following a move to Denver, he worked for The Rocky Mountain News, covering City Hall for three years.

When Stevens learned that The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour was expanding its production he was lucky enough to be invited to join the team – they were actually looking for somebody with no television experience, which suited him perfectly. For six years, he produced field documentaries across the United States and Latin America. He covered the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, NASA’s first space shuttle disaster, a volcano eruption in Colombia, political upheavals in Nicaragua, and mudslides in Puerto Rico. His “master of disaster” title, he was told, referred to the stories he covered, not the quality of the reports.

After tending bar for a year on a self-financed sabbatical (and to write fiction), he joined The Denver Post to cover education. Those five years of reporting led to a position as Director of Communications for more than a decade with Denver Public Schools and then for a year with School District 6 in Greeley. Stevens is currently Director of Communications for the Colorado Department of Education.

Stevens lives near Congress Park in beautiful downtown Denver with his wife, Jody Chapel, and two daughters, Ally and Justine.

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PLEASE RSVP AND INCLUDE YOUR DAYTIME CONTACT INFORMATION. Note that this does not commit you to attending, but does enable us to prepare enough materials for expected attendees, and importantly, it gives us a way to contact you if we have an emergency change to the Write Brain session, such as a postponement due to weather. We will make every attempt to post changes to the PPW yahoo loop and the website, but to be ensured of notification you must RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Thank you.


Last Updated on Sunday, 24 January 2010 14:00
 

Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2010

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ppwcon 2010 logoA brand new website has been set up as your GoTo site for the 2010 Pikes Peak Writers Conference.

The new site address is www.ppwcon.org -- check it out!

Members: Early Registration begins January 15. You must log in to this website to access the registration form.

 

January Write Brain

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Trai CartwrightPikes Peak Writers Write Brain

NOTE: The Write Brain will be the 2nd Tuesday in January rather than the normal 3rd.
Tuesday, January 12th , 2010.  6:30pm – 8:30pm

FREE for PPW Members! Write Brain sessions are free to members. Non-members may attend ONE Write Brain for free; additional Write Brain sessions are $10.00 each. Location:  Cottonwood Artist's School. 427 E. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs.  (East of Wahsatch St. Park on the east side in the large parking lot.  The workshops will be downstairs in Studio A.)  Get map.

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Speed-dating Your Ideas:  How to Identify 'The One'

Featuring Trai Cartwright

This Write Brain is a great way to kick off your writing New Year!  Based on the dating phenomenon, this highly interactive, seriously fun evening gets everyone involved in evaluating your ideas based on craft, psychological and commercial traits.  Learn what gives an idea "legs," take advantage of the chance to develop your concept, and find your ideal match!  Bring 2-4 ideas to pitch.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 17:01 Read more...
 

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Learn More about the 2010 Pikes Peak Writers Conference
April 23-25, Colorado Springs Marriott