right here, write now

New WOTR blog from Jamie Howell!

We invite you to stop in each week to laugh, learn, commiserate and collude with accomplished writer, filmmaker and musician Jamie Howell. We’ll join him as he takes on the long odds and long hours required to break through as a novelist, bringing his irreverent and insightful writing style to the official Write On The River blog. His award-winning documentaries, syndicated columns and years of reporting and editing have all led to this latest project – his pursuit of a best-selling novel. New blog entries will post every Thursday morning. Stop by the site, or subscribe here to receive them in your email. There’s even a video version where Jamie will read them to you himself. We hope you’ll enjoy and feel free to join the conversation.

G.M. Ford Wowed Writers at March Members-Only Event!

More than 34 writers turned out to learn survival tactics from acclaimed author G.M. Ford during a special, two-hour Intensive Workshop for Write On The River Members on March 9.  Mr. Ford, the author of many popular mystery and thriller books, was a popular workshop presenter at our 2007 Conference.

Mr. Ford’s workshop was entitled, “A Survival Handbook for Writers.”
Highlights of the engaging, up-close view of the writing life and publication will included:

Getting straight with yourself about what you want out of your writing efforts.

Making sure your skill set matches your dreams, and what to do if it doesn’t.

Understanding the business that publishers are in and how rejection is not personal.

Digital vs. traditional publishing.

What neurobiology tells us about the role of storytelling in human affairs.

Coming to grips with reader expectations and how to meet those expectations.

What to do if it doesn’t work.

With humor and the expertise gleaned from a long career, G.M. for will help you survive the writing life.
Optional but fun: Ford will e-mail registrants a fun exercise to try before the workshop.

2013 High School Writers’ Competition Opens!

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE, TRIPLE YOUR WRITING REWARDS!

Write On The River’s 2nd annual High School Writers Competition is open to all students grades 9-12 in North Central Educational Service District (NCESD). That means every student in Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, and Grant counties, and includes anyone enrolled in WVC’s Running Start program through one of those 26 high schools. This year, five local teachers, at Cascade, Cashmere, Chelan, Wenatchee, and Eastmont high schools, are especially encouraging their writing students to participate and making information available in the classroom. Students may enter any original work of prose fiction, up to 1000 words in length by March 30 — a short story or the first chapter of a longer work, any genre or style. Complete submission guidelines, judging criteria, entry forms and mail-in information will all be posted on the WOTR website www.writeontheriver.org starting February 1. The fee to submit work is $10.

Anyone who submits work to the competition can automatically enroll for free in the Saturday May 18 High School Writers Workshop entitled “Creating Fiction Using Ingredients You Already Have in Your Own Brain ” presented by award-winning author Katherine Grace Bond (you can also choose not to write for the competition and simply register for the High School workshop for $10.)

The winning writer will receive $100, and two Honorable Mentions will also be named. Those three students and five more selected by the judges will have an unprecedented opportunity to boost their writing skills — Ms. Bond will write full critiques of the selected submissions, and then host a private “working writers’ luncheon” with those eight individual writers directly after the morning workshop.

This competition was initiated by 2011 WOTR conference presenter Chelsea Cain, a widely published NY Times best selling author and strong believer in the potential of young writers. She pledged $1000 over ten years to encourage our local high school students. Then, 2012 Conference presenters Susan Wingate and Terri Persun were so impressed by the Chelsea Cain award winner they offered special funding to enhance the morning workshop with the individual critiques and luncheon!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 2013 ENTRY FORM!

Members-Only Early Conference Registration OPEN!

2013 Conference Registration NOW OPEN for Write On The River Members!  Click HERE to go to our Registration page and sign up for the highlight of your writing year!

Our Writing Conference is a real knock-out this year…stellar Keynote, incredible faculty, awesome workshops.  Besides our empowering and enlightening workshops, you’ll also have the chance to pitch your work to an editor or agent, have book signings, ask questions of our Faculty and new “Ask a Pro” tables, and meet and bond with other local writers.  Don’t miss this great opportunity to move your writing forward!

Our First Ever Writers Meeting Writers + Registration Kick-Off Event!

You won’t want to miss this, writers!  For the first time ever, Write On The River will be combining our always-popular open mic public reading “Writers Meeting Writers” event with a special new Conference Registration Kick-Off!  Join us at Caffe Mela on Feb. 7 for a night of great reading, writerly companionship, and a chance to register for our May Writing Conference.  Signing up in person gives you first dibs on coveted agent and editor appointments, the chance to schedule your own appointment (so it doesn’t conflict with your most-desired workshops), a chance at great door prizes and even a chance at our grand prize: One Free Conference Registration!  Combined with Registration Kick-Off will be the same awesome Writers Meeting Writers “Four Minutes of Fame” reading event you know and love.  Don’t want to read? Then simply listen (and enjoy beverages and desserts or a light meal).

Readers will get four minutes to read a selection of their choice…any and all genres are welcome.  This is a great chance to take your writing public in a fun, supportive environment.

Event opens at 6:30; readings begin at 7:00.  Reading slots are open to ALL but are scheduled in advance and are open first to Write On The River members (Not a member? It’s just $35. Find out about becoming a member here).

Call or email to sign up: info@writeontheriver.org or call 509-293-9215.

Mark your calendars and clear your schedules…this is going to be a great night!

2013 Conference Workshops and Faculty Announced!

Write On The River is thrilled to officially announce the workshops and presenters of our 2013 Writing Conference.  We’ve got an exciting and inspiring line-up of workshops sure to hone your craft, light your literary fires, and move your writing life boldly forward.  Whether your goal is to reach publication or just improve your craft, this year’s Conference is full of opportunities to empower you to do both.  Our faculty this year includes three New York Times bestselling authors, a professional literary agent, the president of a publishing company, and writers who’ve been featured on NPR and the Oprah Winfrey Show.  This Conference promises to be our best yet, and not one you’ll want to miss.  Save the date: May 17, 18 and 19 in Wenatchee, WA.  Registration will begin online for Write On The River Members on January 24th, then to non-Members at our Registration Kick-Off Event on February 7th.

Click here to read about the Workshops being offered.

Click here to learn about our distinguished faculty.

Writers Meeting Writers…latest installment Nov. 15!

It’s back…our ever-popular, always delightful Four Minutes of Fame public reading night!  Part social gathering, part open mic night, part literary party, these events are always well-attended, fun and stimulating!  Come in out of the cold and join us at Caffe Mela in downtown Wenatchee for a toasty tribute to local talent!

Read anything – your poetry, essay, short fiction, journal entry, memoir, novel excerpt – it’s casual, it’s easy, and it’s free. This is a fun, social way to try out your writing – NOT a slam, critique session, performance, or competition.

Don’t want to read? Then simply listen (and enjoy beverages and desserts or a light meal).  Event opens at 6:30; readings begin at 7:00.

Reading slots are open to ALL but are scheduled in advance and are open first to Write On The River members (Not a member? It’s just $35. Find out about becoming a member here).

Call or email to sign up: info@writeontheriver.org or call 509-293-9215.

J.A. Jance to be 2013 Keynote!

We have a big treat in store for the spring Conference: JA Jance, NY Times best-selling mystery novelist, will be on stage in Wenatchee to deliver our Keynote talk. Jance is best known for several on-going series centering on the characters of J.P. Beaumont, Joanna Brady and Ali Reynolds, but her body of work encompasses 48 novels. Her latest book is Judgment Call: A Brady Novel of Suspense. An excerpt is available here.

Jance says of her books: “I come to the task of writing with the understanding that my characters are people first and police officers second. When they get hurt either physically or emotionally, they don’t get over it within the next twenty pages. Things that happen to them in one book impinge on what they’re doing in the next one.”

We are thrilled that Ms. Jance will be joining us for the kickoff of our annual weekend of learning. Her appearance at Write On The River is the latest is a series of high-profile and inspiring Keynote speakers such as:

- Chelsea Cain

- Terry Brooks

- Jess Walter

- Elizabeth George

- Timothy Egan

Remember the dates: May 17-19, 2013! More details of Ms. Jance’s appearance here after the first of the year. Watch this space for information about how the public can secure tickets to this Conference event.

NCRL Hosts Wenatchee Native Amanda Coplin!

Amanda Coplin will be reading from her debut novel, The Orchardist.  Ms Coplin was born in Wenatchee.  Her novel takes place in Monitor where she spent a lot of time with her grandparents enjoying their orchard.  She says she was deeply influenced by the landscape.  The Seattle Times says “The Orchardist beautifully conveys the sights, smells and landscape of Eastern Washington orchard country in an era before telephones and automobile.”

The Orchardist was recently selected by Publisher’s Weekly as one of its Top 10 literary books of the year!  It’s always great to see local writers find such tremendous success.  Don’t miss this chance to hear from a home-grown writer who struck it big.

Ms. Coplin will be reading on September 28th from 7-9 at the NCRL Distribution Center (16 N Columbia Street, Wenatchee).  Click here to download the NCRL flier for more info.

September Members-Only Event!

A Special Evening for our Members

Now is the perfect time to become a Write On The River Member or renew your Membership (click here), just in time to attend

A SPECIAL MEMBER WORKSHOP!

Ray Rhamey, teacher, developmental editor, and author of the internationally known

blog, “Flogging the Quill,” joins Write On The River for a special Members’ workshop:

HOW TO CRAFT KILLER DESCRIPTION AND DIALOGUE

–A highly praised workshop with in-class writing and interactive critique–

Saturday, September 22, 2012

1:30 – 3:45 p.m.

Wenatchee Valley College, Wenatchi Hall, 2106

Cost: $15

Writers work hard to deliver the experience of a story, to evoke in the reader’s mind

a visceral experience of what is happening. Two primary tools for doing that are

description and dialogue. Learn Ray Rhamey’s technique of experiential description

and dialogue, an approach that has garnered rave reviews from writers up and down the

Pacific coast.

You will learn:

• how to add dimension and characterization to description of scenes and characters

• how to utilize beats in dialogue to add depth, move story, characterize

• how to better create the experience of the story in a reader’s mind

Try the technique at home…

 When you sign up for the workshop, Ray will email you two free educational chapters that focus on description and dialogue; they are excerpts from his Flogging the Quill, Crafting a Novel that Sells. You will have the option to write and bring to class a description based on a scenario he provides.

Learn at the workshop, write at the workshop…

 Ray will invite you to read your selection in class (not required!), and he will discuss it on the spot, using it as a teaching example. We’ll also write during the class, practicing what we learn, based upon fiction scenarios that Ray will provide. For all writing exercises, participants will be invited to read out loud, with your piece becoming a springboard for further insights from Ray. Writers will learn how to utilize description and dialogue to illuminate character, giving depth to a scene while advancing the story.

Our Presenter

Ray Rhamey is a writer, developmental fiction editor, Indie publisher, and book designer offering design, editing, and production services at crrreative.com. He is the author of four novels and the nonfiction book, Flogging the Quill, Crafting a Novel that Sells.

He writes the internationally known blog, “Flogging the Quill” (http://floggingthequill.typepad.com/ getting 9,000 hits a month), on creating compelling fiction, and is a contributor to the Writer Unboxed literary blog.

Ray has led workshops at a number of writers’ conferences, including Write on the Sound, South Coast, and Mendocino Coast.

This members’ workshop is only $15 once you join WOTR. Email Shirley at

sostenson@gmail.com to confirm your attendance, and send your check for the

$15 workshop fee and $35 membership fee, by 9/15/12 to WOTR, PO Box 3596,

Wenatchee WA 98807.