American Christian Fiction Writers Conference - Early Bird Workshop

On September 22, 2011, in St. Louis, I'm presenting the five-hour long Early Bird Workshop for the annual American Christian Fiction Writer's Conference. Individuals who are registered for the workshop should be getting an email notice of what I'm posting below so they can come prepared by pre-reading and viewing the works I'll be referencing.

I'm posting it here for convenience, since the ACFW Conference cannot post it on their website. In case you're wondering if you want to attend (my workshop) the following provides the antecedents of my examples.  If  you want to know "generally" the outline of my workshop you can read about that HERE. Although what I do in St. Louis will be significantly abbreviated due to time and revised to include some novels in the mix.

I've also decided to spend more time than I have in the past on examples and clips, since SHOWING is far better than TELLING. (As a writer, have you heard someone tell you that before?)  I love sharing this stuff and revealing the secrets of what makes great stories and movies. The title of my talk will be The Top 20 Secrets to Successful Storytelling (in Movies and Print).

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Early Bird Workshop Reading/Viewing List

ACFW Conference September 22, 2011

Dear Early Bird Attendees:

In the course of the few hours we will spend together exploring the world of story structure, and the magic of moral and physical premises, I will reference a number of motion pictures and novels. You will get more out of the workshop if you are familiar with the following works. I am listing them in two categories:

I will spend the most time on these works:

• “Where the Heart Is” (novel by Billie Letts)

and the following movies

• DIE HARD (Bruce Willis)
• KARATE KID 2010 (Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan)
• RATATOUILLE  (Pixar)
• WHERE THE HEART IS (Natalie Portman)

I will mention these works but not spend as much time on them:

•  “The Mark of the Lion” novel series by Francine Rivers

and the following movies:

• A BEAUTIFUL MIND (Russell Crowe, Ed Harris)
• BRUCE ALMIGHTY (Jim Carrey)
• CITY SLICKERS (Billy Crystal)
• CITY SLICKERS II (Billy Crystal)
• CRAZY HEART (Jeff Bridges)
• DATE NIGHT (Steve Carell, Tina Fey)
• GRAN TORINO (Clint Eastwood)
• IN THE BEDROOM (Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek)
• LIAR! LIAR! (Jim Carrey)
• MY NAME IS EARL (TV) (Jason Lee)
• PRECIOUS (Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey)
• THE BLIND SIDE (Sandra Bullock, Quinton Araron)
• THE INCREDIBLES (Pixar)
• WHAT WOMEN WANT (Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt)

I’m looking forward to meeting you and sharing with you the excitement and focus that this workshop will give your story writing.

Please share this with your other writing friends and associates.

Stan