Numerous WRITING WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Saturday March 24
- Writing Workshop: Legendary Syd Fields presents “The Art of Visual Storytelling” | 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Ojai Valley Inn & Spa Resort, 905 Country Club Rd. | $199 general seating; $249 VIP seating. Includes buffet lunch. Reservations Required. For Tickets, click here. | Acclaimed “guru of all screenwriters” and “most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world” is presenting a custom workshop for Ojai WordFest—for writers of all genres! Be sure to snag a seat at this limited-attendance, sure-to-sell-out 4-hour writing intensive that Syd has taught in more than 30 countries around the world.
- Writing Workshop: “Leverage Writing Magazine Articles into Real $$$ and Opportunity” with Ojai author Larry Chambers | 3 – 4 p.m. | World University, 107 N. Ventura Ave. | $20. For Tickets, click here or pay at door. | Author of more than 50 published books and thousands of articles, Chambers shares insights on how to discover “riches in the niches”—writing articles for industry and trade magazines that can lead to doors opening for your career and of getting your books published.
Sunday, March 25
- Annual “Local Literary Legends” Luncheon at The Ojai Ranch House – Inviting all area authors and writers! | Noon-1:30 p.m. | The Ranch House, 102 Besant Road | $50 General Seating, $75 VIP Seating. For Tickets, click here. | Honoring “Local Literary Legends” Caroline Thompson, Gay Hendricks & Larry Chambers. The intimate luncheon is held annually at Ojai’s world famous fine dining establishment, which Paul Newman called “the best restaurant in the world.” A favorite among the lights of the literary and entertainment world, the restaurant is regarded to have one of the finest wine lists on the planet and was featured on Food Network as the “top pick in the nation” by a master chef.
- Annual Sunday Afternoon Tea with Screenwriter & “Local Literary Legend” Caroline Thompson | 4 p.m. | The Lavender Inn, 210 East Matilija St. | $25. Reservations required. For Tickets, click here. | Enjoy a lovely, intimate tea with film director and screenwriter Caroline Thompson (screenwriter of Edward Scissorhands & numerous others films) who will speak on “Bringing Your Characters to Life.” For writers of all genres. Benefits Ojai WordFest and InnCourage. Sponsored by Ojai Writers Conference, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea and The Lavender Inn
- “Yoga & Journal Writing” with Suza Francina, author of five books including “The New Yoga for People Over 50″ | 4:30 – 6 p.m. | Soul Centered, 311 North Montgomery St. | Approx. $20 (yoga workshop free with purchase of one of Francina’s books.) | Francina will lead participants in a restorative yoga session intended to enhance their writing. Afterwards she will share insights about journal writing (which led to the creation of her book “Fishing on Facebook: A Writing Yoga Memoir” due March 2012.) If you have yoga props, please bring them. Book signing to follow. For more information, visit suzafrancina.com.
Monday March 26
- “A Writer’s Journey” with Patricia Fry | 10 – 11 a.m. | Bart’s Books of Ojai, 302 W. Matilija St. | FREE | Veteran writer talks about her path from local writer to internationally-known author. | Patricia Fry has been writing for publication since 1973 and is the author of 35 books, including the locally-known “The Ojai Valley: An Illustrated History.” She established her own publishing company, Matilija Press, in 1983, before it was fashionable. Her latest books are “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author” and “Promote Your Book, Over 250 Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author,” (Allworth Press 2011 and 2012). Patricia is also the Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) www.matilijapress.com. For additional information about Patricia, visit www.patriciafry.com
- “The Way Of Story: The Craft and Soul of Writing” presented by its award-winning author and Ojai resident, Catherine Ann Jones | Noon | Ojai Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave. | FREE
Tuesday March 27
- “Generating Revenue Through Writing” with Patricia Fry | 11 a.m. – Noon | Ojai House, 304 N. Montgomery St. | FREE | Fry will share tips for becoming a career writer or supplementing your income through writing. Patricia began her writing career in 1973 and supported herself as a freelance article-writer for many years. She is the author of 35 books, most of them related to writing and publishing. This is an opportunity for a casual conversation with Patricia.
- Writing Workshop: “Creating Context: The Doorway To Great Storytelling” with Ojai author Larry Chambers | 3 – 5 p.m. | World University (Room #102), 107 N. Ventura Ave. | $39. Pay Online or at Door | Author of more than 50 published books and thousands of articles, Chambers shares the most valuable overlooked step in the writing process: Meaning. What does your story mean, to you and to your readers? Creating context gives meaning to your story. “The most important discovery of my life was the day I realized that I’m in charge of the meaning!” – Larry Chambers | Larry is one of the three recipients of the 2012 Ojai WordFest “Local Literary Legend” Award.
- “The Art & Business of Screenwriting” with Catherine Ann Jones | 3 – 5 p.m. | At private residence. Call for reservations (805) 646-7601 | $49 | “We’ve become lopsided living only in our heads. Writing, in order to serve the soul, must integrate outer craft with the inner world of intuition and feeling.”- Catherine Ann Jones, NY Times. Learn from an acclaimed Hollywood screen and television writer/producer, professor of graduate screenwriting at USC Film School in Los Angeles. Film, whether narrative or documentary, requires an emotional response from reader and audience. Learn the 7 steps to Story Structure, arc, and point of view, transposing from media to another, in order to successfully realize your film project. “Catherine Ann Jones is in possession of a powerful talent…nothing is more rare in my opinion.” – Norman Mailer. For more information, visit: www.wayofstory.com
Wednesday March 28
- “So, You Want to Write a Book!” with Ojai author Patricia Fry. | 1-2:30 p.m. | Ojai Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave. | FREE | Nearly 80 percent of authors fail in the marketplace today. Fry busts popular myths and shares insider secrets to writing and producing a more successful book. Come with an open mind and the desire for a successful publishing experience.
- Writing Workshop: “Shame – The Pathway To Your Best Work” with Ojai author Larry Chambers | 3 – 5 p.m. | World University, 107 N. Ventura Ave. | $39. Pay Online or at Door | Author of more than 50 published books and thousands of articles, Chambers shares how uncovering shame can be a ghost-mine of richness and access to your best stories and work. Shame is one of the most toxic forces on the planet. Shame is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and has destroyed more lives than all the wars combined. Shame affects intimacy and relationships. Shame breaks the human spirit. Shame is the root cause of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. Shame makes you feel like you’re good enough to belong. But if you’re a writer uncovering shame can be a ghost-mine of richness and access to your best stores. | Larry is one of the three recipients of the 2012 Ojai WordFest “Local Literary Legend” Award.
- “Finding Your Voice in Memoir” with award-winning author Catherine Ann Jones | Wednesday, March 28, 3-5 p.m. | Private Residence | $49. To register, call 646-7601 | “How do I know about the world? By what is within me.” –Lao Tzu. In Remembrances of Things Past, French writer Marcel Proust conquered time in autobiography by exploring the self. He invented nothing, but altered everything. He did this by finding his own unique voice. We are our past. The way you discover other people’s stories is how we access our own. Learn tips on how to research and structure your life story, write three-dimensional characters, find the thru-line, and discover your unique subjective voice. Dare to be personal and know that the universal rests in the specific. Art connects us. By opening ourselves and sharing our stories, we allow that connection so vital to living. For more information, visit: www.wayofstory.com
- “Before You DIe” Writing Workshop: “Five Important Lists to Write Before You Die” Writing Workshop with Sequoia Hamilton | 7 – 8:30 p.m. | World University, 107 N. Ventura St. | $10. Pay at Door | “For those who seek to understand it, death is a highly creative force. The highest spiritual values of life can originate from the thought and study of death.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross | We are all going to die. So take one hour to pen “legacy gifts” for those whom you love and will leave behind. Whether you are 88 or 18, this is for you. Bring a pen, handouts provided. “Riveting and urgent! This series is for anyone who is facing death … or who wants to truly live life!” – Dr. Shauna Mathis, Founder of Humanity Lab
Thursday March 29
- Writing Workshop: “Making a Living as a Ghost Writer“ with Ojai author Larry Chambers and introduction by Sequoia Hamilton, Co-Director of 2012 Ojai WordFest | 3 – 5 p.m. | World University (Room #102), 107 N. Ventura Ave. | $39. Pay Online or at Door | For the last 20 years, Chambers has made a living as a professional writer, screenwriter, ghostwriter, and author. He has written 49 books and thousands of articles on topics ranging from his experiences as an Army Ranger during the Vietnam War (his bestselling memoir Recondo) to how to attract business and survive the challenges of the rough-and-tumble business world. | Larry is one of the three recipients of the 2012 Ojai WordFest “Local Literary Legend” Award.
Friday March 30
- Breakfast with Books: “25 Reasons Why You Should Write & Publish That Book” by Patricia Fry, hosted by author/artist Paula Spellman | 9 – 10:30 a.m. | Email for reservations & location: paula@pssuccess.net | FREE, includes full breakfast. Limited to 15 | Patricia Fry is the author of 35 books—most of them for writers and authors. She began her writing career in 1973 in Ojai writing articles for magazines. She had a business column in the Ojai Valley News for several years. Patricia established her own publishing company, Matilija Press, in 1983, before it was fashionable. She is the Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and an Ojai Living Treasure in the literary category. www.patriciafry.com www.matilijapress.com.
- Writing Workshop: “The 10-Day Book Adventure” with Larry Chambers | 2-4 p.m. | World University, 107 N. Ventura Ave. | $49. Pay Online or at Door | Writing a book and getting published eliminates time wasted on writing something that has no commercial appeal and will never be published. Authoring a book changes the world’s view of you. FAST is the acronym for “Frame Article Solutions with Text,” a mapping process that will uncover a unified course of actions. In this 3-hour course you’ll also get the 10-Day Book Template. When you couple Chambers’ system using the 10 Day Book Template, you shorten the writing process and make things fun again. | Author of more than 50 published books and thousands of articles, Larry is one of the three recipients of the 2012 Ojai WordFest “Local Literary Legend” Award.
- Special film screening of Talk Fast: From Script to Screen – featuring legendary pitchman Ken Rotcop | 5 p.m. | Ojai Valley Woman’s Club, 441 East Ojai Ave. | $5. Pay at Door. | This movie is for anyone who has ever dreamed of seeing their script make it to the big screen. Special Introduction and post film Q&A with star of film, Ken Rotcop. | Synposis: TALK FAST chronicles a week in the lives of five screenwriters living in Hollywood, all from various backgrounds—a puppeteer, a cult film star, a fallen starlet, a former stockbroker and a new mother—all with big dreams of seeing their scripts make it to the big screen. They scramble to prepare for an event called “Pitch Mart.” Run by script doctor, award winning writer and former studio executive Ken Rotcop, the event gives many first time screenwriters a rare opportunity to sit down with major studio executives and make their best “two minute pitch.” | To learn more about pitching or the star of this film, visit: www.pitchmart.com
Saturday March 31
- Writing Workshop: “Passion: Adventures in the Screen Trade” with Peter Bellwood | 9 – Noon | Ojai Valley Woman’s Club, 441 East Ojai Ave. | $39 | For Tickets, click here. | Peter Bellwood will circle around the subject of screenwriting, and take his students along with him on an epic journey that gets to the question at the heart of the matter: What’s your passion and how do you get it on the page and on to the screen? (NOTE: Peter wrote the script for the film Highlander, A fantasy-thriller set in present-day Moscow where the respective forces that control daytime and nighttime do battle.)
- “The Short Story – Your Ticket to Publication” – a PIPW Workshop For Writers | 9 a.m. – Noon | World University, 107 N. Ventura St. | $49. For Tickets, click here. | The short story is the neglected choice for beginning and intermediate writers to pursue publication. Instructor: Editor and Author Shelly Lowenkopf. For more information, visit www.PacificInstituteforProfessionalWriting.com or email Kate@KateSexton.com.
- “Ten Most Common Mistakes First Novelists Make” - a PIPW Workshop For Writers | 9 a.m. – Noon | World University, 107 N. Ventura St. | $49. For Tickets, click here. | What they are and how to avoid making these mistakes. Instructor: Editor and Literary Agent Toni Lopopolo. For more information, visit www.PacificInstituteforProfessionalWriting.com or email Kate@KateSexton.com.
- Writing Workshop: “My Four Secrets of Writing” with Gay Hendricks | 12:30 – 2 p.m. | Ojai Valley Woman’s Club, 441 East Ojai Ave. | $39. For Tickets, click here. | “In writing 35 non-fiction books, four novels and several screenplays, I’ve developed a set of principles and tools I’ve found useful in all my writing. I call them “secrets,” because I had to get them to reveal themselves over time. The more I uncovered them, the more effective and fun my writing became. The first secret has to do with voice. I want to share with you a powerfully simple way of discovering the right voice for the work at hand. The second secret is one I originally learned from screenwriter Ron Bass, over a long dinner at the Ranch House. It involves a simple way to structure any work, whether it’s fiction or non. The third secret is all about the language you use, especially when and how to heighten the power of your language for the effect you want to create. The fourth secret comes via one of my mystery-writing heroes, Elmore Leonard. Early in my writing career I had the opportunity to meet and learn from Elmore. I got one huge takeaway from that experience that I use every time I sit down to write. I’ll share it with you and how to use it on your own projects. I also have one activity I do every day to stay on track as a writer, one requirement I hold myself to. I’ll share that one with you, too!” | Gay is one of the three recipients of the 2012 Ojai WordFest “Local Literary Legend” Award.
- Illustrated Storytelling: Cartooning Workshop | 1 p.m. | Ojai Public Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave. | FREE | Tell visual stories by learning to draw faces and figures. Cartooning is hot in the literary landscape: illustrated memoirs, comic books and graphic novels are all the rave! Instructor Robert Gluckson shares how-to-draw tips from his book “Fast and Easy Cartooning for Fun.” All materials provided. (Copies are available for $10.)
- PIPW Workshops For Writers: “Author Promote Thyself!” | 1 – 4 p.m. | World University, 107 N. Ventura St. | $49. For Tickets, click here. | A hands-on workshop covering Facebook, Twitter, websites, press releases and more with panel of experts lead by Ojai author and publicist Kate Sexton. For more information, visit www.PacificInstituteforProfessionalWriting.com or email Kate@KateSexton.com.
- Writing Workshop: “How to Write ‘How To’ Books” with Ken Rotcop, writing teacher and former Hollywood studio executive | 2 – 3:30 p.m. | Ojai Valley Woman’s Club, 441 East Ojai Ave. | $39. For Tickets, click here. | purchase tickets online or at door | The biggest book sellers, second only to the bible, are not romances or biographies or historical novels. They are “How To” books. How to find the inner you, or how to lose 20 pounds in three days, or how to make a relationship work, or even, how to build your own house. The “How To” market is wide open. There are hundreds of subjects still to be written about for audiences into the thousands (niches) or millions (mass market.) Ken will share his secrets on (here are those two words again!) “How To” write a successful “How To” book for people who HATE “How To” books! | For more information, visit www.pitchmart.com
