Join the St. Louis Writers Guild from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, 2023, for a free workshop with literary agent Bonnie Swanson on the journey to publication. Bonnie is also a successful YA and children’s author, publishing as BB Swann.

Our presenter, Bonnie Swanson, will join us in person. Attendees can participate in person at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63131. The event will also livestream via Zoom. To attend the meeting online, follow the event link from the St. Louis Writers Guild website. **Please note that the Zoom passcode has changed to scribe.
 
From First Draft to Published Book: Tips, Tricks, and Tidbits

You’ve written a book—now what? From editing to querying and beyond, agent Bonnie Swanson from the Purcell Agency outlines the next steps in the journey to publication. Unsurprisingly, it’s not a one-size-fits-all process. So, come prepared to take notes and ask questions!
 
Bonnie Swanson (BB Swann) is a twenty-seven-year veteran elementary teacher who writes books for children and young adults. She is also a literary agent at The Purcell Agency in Chicago representing a diverse group of authors that write picture books through adult manuscripts. Her issue-driven stories focus on characters who face difficulties most readers can relate to, and how they succeed through perseverance, ingenuity, and hope.

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Join the St. Louis Writers Guild from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, 2023, for a free workshop with author Lenore Greiner on travel writing.

Our presenter, Lenore Greiner, will join us via Zoom. Attendees can participate in-person at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63131. The event will also livestream via Zoom. To attend the meeting online, follow the event link from the St. Louis Writers Guild website.

Are you an avid traveler with a passion for storytelling? Whether you've explored the open road on a motorcycle or savored the wines of Tuscany, learn how to share your travel experiences with the world.
 
Join award-winning travel writer and author Lenore Greiner as she guides you through the process of developing your expertise and finding your niche in the exciting world of travel writing.
 
You'll receive practical advice on crafting compelling story angles, navigating writer's guidelines, pitching your work to publications, and even securing press trips for free travel opportunities.
 
Lenore will also cover today’s digital opportunities available to travel writers, from print articles, blogging, social media, and even authoring your own travel memoir.
 
As a bonus, Lenore will share a free e-workbook with forty-five travel writing prompts, examples of article structures and ledes, a sample writer's guideline, a story pitching guide, and more.
 
Don't miss your chance to bring your travel stories to life and captivate readers with your adventures. Join Lenore for this engaging session.

Find out more at LenoreGreiner.com.

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Join the St. Louis Writers Guild from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, 2023, for a free workshop with author Lisa Wysocky on creating outstanding characters for your stories.

Our presenter, Lisa Wysocky, will join us via Zoom. Attendees can participate in-person at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63131. The event will also livestream via Zoom. To attend the meeting online, follow the event link from the St. Louis Writers Guild website.

The in-person gathering will follow the 2/28/22 St. Louis County Health Advisory. MASKS ARE OPTIONAL, and we will not collect attendee information for contact tracing. No food or drinks will be served.

Developing Fabulous Characters

Attendees will learn the five necessary traits of each major character in fiction and then collaboratively will work to develop each character. Finally, attendees will discover how these characters will influence plot.

Lisa Wysocky is an award-winning fiction and non-fiction author and editor. Her award-winning book with Brad Cohen, Front of the Class, was a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie and was recently named by the Internet Movie Database (IMBD) as the best Hallmark movie of all time. Front of the Class was also a popular and award-winning movie in Bollywood called Hitchi. 

Hidden Girl, written with Shyima Hall, is the true story of a child slave here in the United States and was a Junior Library Guild selection. It is in pre-production for film in Brazil and Portugal. 

Lisa also writes non-fiction books about horses and horse training. When not writing or editing she is a popular speaker and book editor and runs the nonprofit Colby’s Army, where she teaches people with disabilities to ride horses.

Find her at LisaWysocky.com

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Join the St. Louis Writers Guild from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2023, for a free workshop with three publishing industry professionals. Our team of presenters will explore eBook publication, manuscript critiques in a writing group, and self-editing and working with an editor. The day’s agenda is:

10 a.m.  Getting Started With eBook Publishing: How to Create Books That Sell
L.C. Mortimer via Zoom

11 a.m.  Encouraging and Constructive: How to Manage Critique Groups with the Sandwich Method
 Jennifer Stolzer via Zoom 

12 p.m.  All About Editing and Proofreading
 Ruth E. Thaler-Carter in person at The Lodge Des Peres 
   
L.C. Mortimer and Jennifer Stolzer will join us via Zoom, and Ruth E. Thaler-Carter will appear in person. Attendees can participate in-person at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63131. The event will also livestream via Zoom. To attend the meeting online, follow the event link from the St. Louis Writers Guild website.

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Join the St. Louis Writers Guild from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, February 4, 2023, for a free workshop with author and writing coach Allie Pleiter on keeping up your good writing habits no matter how many things blow up in your personal life. Here’s a personal invitation from Allie!

Join the St. Louis Writers Guild from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, February 4, 2023, for a free workshop with author and writing coach Allie Pleiter on keeping up your good writing habits no matter how many things blow up in your personal life. Here’s a personal invitation from Allie!

Is your muse yelling “SOS”? How do you keep the words pouring onto the page when your real life feels like it’s under attack? Every writer knows how stress and personal crises can strangle your creativity. Help is on the way in this practical workshop. You’ll learn:

• How to get through the thick of your crisis

• Tactics that will energize you to keep writing

• How to use your stress to inspire your writing

• When and how to write about your challenges

Pleiter has met deadlines in the midst of some imposing traumas. With candor, insight, and the wisdom of experience, she shares practical and inventive strategies for how to stay afloat and creative amid life’s stormiest seas. Her book, How to Write When Everything Goes Wrong, is available on Amazon.com.

Our presenter will join us via Zoom. Attendees can participate in-person at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63131. The event will also livestream via Zoom. To attend the meeting online, follow the event link from the St. Louis Writers Guild website.

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Join the St. Louis Writers Guild from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, January 14, 2023, for a free workshop on comics and graphic novel creation with award-winner cartoonist Steenz.

Many novelists, from Ta-Nehisi Coates (Black Panther) to Neil Gaiman (Sandman, et al), tell stories through comics; why not you?

In this lecture and workshop, attendees are invited to learn about some of the basics of comic making and comic writing. Steenz will be walking us through visual literacy, simplification, panel layout, scripting, and more. After a lecture on their work and career, they'll go right into giving you exercises that you can do to develop your comic-making skills! 

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Join the St. Louis Writers Guild Board from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, December 3 for a Book Party! We will celebrate the Guild Young Writers 2022 Awards, and the winning authors will read their stories. As an adjunct to the SLWG Virtual Book Fair (November 26 through December 31), Guild members will hold an in-person book fair before and after the readings.

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Join The St. Louis Writers Guild Board from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, November 5 for a free panel discussion of National Novel Writing Month followed by an opportunity to network with other writers working in your genre.

Our panel will discuss the practical ins-and-outs of a focused writing marathon like NaNoWriMo, such as the dangers and pitfalls as well as the sense of accomplishment that comes from completing such a project. Bring your questions and own experiences for discussion. Following the panel, we will break up into small groups for Genre Talk, a chance to discuss your work-in-progress or brainstorm with colleagues. Look for your genre’s table signage: “Romance,” “Mystery/Thriller,” “Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror,” “Creative Nonfiction/Memoir/Journalism,” and “Children/Middle Grade/Young Adult.” Or feel free to tablehop!

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Join horror author John S. McFarland from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, October 1, for a free in-person workshop hosted by the St. Louis Writers Guild at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63131.

Horror is usually considered genre or somehow less legitimate than mainstream fiction. In this workshop Author John S. McFarland will discuss the part horror has always played in human imagination and stories as well as what sparked his own interest in horror writing, his role models, and his resulting publications. We’ll explore horror styles and the work of great horror writers, past and present. Bring your questions!
“Join current SLWG meeting” button at the top of the St. Louis Writers Guild’s Events page (https://www.stlwritersguild.org/events).

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Join young-adult author L.L. McKinney from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 10, for a ticketed workshop hosted by the St. Louis Writers Guild. Although Guild members’ admission is free, a ticket is required. Attendees can also order two of L.L. McKinney’s books, A Blade So Black and Nubia, with their ticket purchase. Find the link to order tickets and books at St. Louis Writers Guild.

L.L. McKinney’s A Blade So Black is replete with exciting fight scenes; it’s no wonder they’re her favorite scenes to write. But many writers struggle to make these action sequences accurate, believable, AND engaging. In this workshop we’ll explore the fundamentals of a fight scene, tips and tricks to draw the reader into the narrative, and some examples from L.L. McKinney’s works.

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Join crime fiction author Cathy Pickens from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, for a free workshop hosted by the St. Louis Writers Guild. In this workshop, we’ll explore the rich resources provided by real crime cases and explore some examples of how other writers have used them.

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Mike Breault, a 35-year veteran of the game industry, talks about the challenges and rewards of writing for both tabletop and digital games. Bring your questions for a lively discussion of the storytelling aspects of games. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, July 9

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Join author Sela Carsen from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday Feb. 5, for a writing workshop hosted by the St. Louis Writers Guild. This free workshop will be held online only.

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