My Book Therapy Storycrafters Retreat Blog Tour

In an opportunity only dreamed of by unpublished writers, Award-winning authors Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck will mentor you in person. Now, they'll help you apply the ideas, secrets, and tips they've taught at My Book Therapy to your manuscript.


From Here to There –
Going from raw idea to a drawn-out plot

How do you take your ideas and turn them into a story?
How do you know if your idea will sell?
Where do you start?

This working storytellers retreat, set just outside of Minneapolis during the beautiful fall season is designed for a writer who has an idea…but needs help putting it together into a plot.

Come with your idea, leave with a game plan. We’ll teach you story structure, and then go step by step in the character creation and plotting process, explaining how to determine each step, and then show you how to apply it to
your story.

We’ll brainstorm your ideas with you, share essential secrets of storytelling, and finally, you'll take home a filled-out workbook that will act as a map as you write your novel.

For beginners to advanced writers who just want a guide along the way, the From Here to There Storycrafter's Retreat will jumpstart your novel further down the road to publication.



Storycrafting & Coaching Retreat for Writers
Friday, October 23, 2009 1:00 pm -
Sunday, October 25, 2009 11:00 am (Central Time)

Riverwood Inn & Conference Center
10990 95th St. NE
Otsego, MN 55362

For more information, visit here.

This such a fabulous opportunity to be mentored by award-winning authors Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck.

1) How can I make the most of the MBT Storycrafter Retreat?

Come with a story idea! And, if you can, ponder on the kind of person your characters are, as well as some of the key elements you want in your story. We’ll take it from there. ☺

2) How much of my story needs to be written before the MBT retreat? How well do I need to know the characters or the plot?

You should know the setting, the basic theme (although that might change) and a general idea of who your characters are. It would also help to know what genre you want to write in. If you come without an idea, then we can give you some brainstorm techniques to get you started. You know, we believe there is a novelist in everyone – so, come prepared to find your inner novelist!

3) I'm a "seat-of-the-pants" writer. How can the MBT retreat help writers like me?

I’m both a plotter and a SOTPer – meaning, I like to have the major points of my story fleshed out, and then discover each scene. Even if you are the most extreme SOTPer (meaning, you sit down without an idea and let the story flow), you still need to know WHO your character is, what is fears are, what his dreams are, and a bit about his spiritual journey. We’ll teach you how to gather up these elements, and how to put them together in a story, so at least you’ll know what you are shooting for! Even if you decide NOT to put it together in a plotting roadmap, you’ll have the major points figured out and therefore a target in which to aim.

4) What if my idea isn't sellable?

Oh….we’ll figure out how to make it sellable. ☺

5) What is the maximum number of writers the MBT retreat can accommodate?

We’re capped at 36 – we want to make it intimate and focused, so we’ve decided to keep it to a manageable size.

6) If I can't attend the retreat (even though I really, really want to!) will any of the material be available made afterward?

Nope, sorry. It’s a hands-on retreat, personalized, and it’ll look different every year, depending on the group. (and yes, we’re going to make it an annual event, in October, in Mpls!).

7) Why should I go to this retreat, over, say, a writer’s conference?

A writer’s conference, like ACFW or Write to Publish, or any conference that has a host of agents and editors there, is designed to PITCH your work. Yes, they have beginning writer’s classes, (which I often teach), as well as great networking opportunities, but for a writer who is still in the throes of their novel, they are better off going to a retreat (like the Storycrafter’s retreat) to really learn how to write their novel, so that they are ready to attend a writer’s conference and make the most out of it. That’s why we designed it to be focused, inexpensive and at a time of year where you can go home and hunker down to write your novel. The Storycrafter’s Retreat (as well as the MBT Deep Thinker’s weekend in February – come with 3 chapters and a synopsis – and the Beyond Book Therapy: Proposal, Promotion and Pitch conference in Seattle in May) is designed to prepare you for these major conferences, so you can sit down in front of an editor or agent and pitch your amazing story and have them go – Wow! Send it to me asap! ☺

In short – attend the three MBT retreats, and then you’ll be prepared to attend ACFW. (or any of the other amazing conferences around the nation!)

Be sure to visit the other blogs on tour for even more great information.

August 24 -- Visit Patricia at Reading N Writin
August 25 -- Visit Laura at Lighthouse-Academy
August 26 -- Visit Roxanne at The Writing Road
August 27 -- Visit Julie at The Surrendered Scribe
August 28 -- Visit Audra at Rugged Stories with Heart
August 29 -- Visit Pattie at Fresh-Brewed Writer
August 30 -- Visit Lisa at Musings