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SCHEDULE (Friday, Nov. 3, 2006)
8:00 - 8:30 Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30 Personal Success Story, Gary Birken, MD
Gary Birken, MD will explain how as a practicing pediatric surgeon he was
able to get "his foot in the door" and breakthrough with three successful
medical thrillers. Gary will offer practical advice to physician attendees
on making their personal breakthrough a reality.
9:30 - 10:15 Planning Your Medical Thriller
Gary will explain the successful formula and process he uses to take the
initial idea and develop the story and characters to bring his medical
thrillers to life.
10:15 - 10:30 Break and Networking Opportunity
10:30 - 11:30 Secrets of the Craft of Medical Fiction
Writing and How to Use Your Medical Background Most Effectively. "Learn
the Rules Before You Break Them".
An in depth look at the proven techniques of writing a medical thriller.
Some of the topics to be addressed: "You already know how to write" –
build on that knowledge. "The overdose syndrome" – Adding the right amount
of medicine to your medical thriller’s recipe. Conveying medical
information – talking to your reader in the same way you talk to your
patients. The "Do’s and Don’ts of fiction writing" – how to avoid the
pitfalls. Showing versus telling. Less is usually better. The differences
and similarities of how main stream authors approach fiction.
Plot development. The beginning, middle, and end. The
necessity of creating obstacles for your characters to overcome. Not
underestimating your reader’s intelligence. Pacing and building the
tension.
11:30 - 12:00 How to Use Description in Your Writing.
"Too Much or Too Little?"
Using all five senses, avoiding clichés and too many metaphors, revealing
and developing your characters through description and much more.
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch with faculty (provided)
1:00 - 2:00 Characters and Dialogue – Inventing a Hero/
Heroine Your Readers Will Love
How to create likeable, believable and consistent characters. Creating
desire in your characters. The use of recurring characters, etc. Dialogue
– possibly the most important element of your manuscript. Follow the rules
in this area more than any other.
2:00 - 2:30 Revising Your Manuscript
Good novels are re-written, not written. How to "airbrush" your manuscript
for the best possible result. How do you know when it’s ready?
2:30 - 2:45 Break and Networking Opportunity
2:45 - 3:15 Writing Best Selling Medical Thrillers
Gary’s genre is fast paced medical thrillers. In this segment Gary will
explain and demonstrate the characteristics and formula for most
successful medical thrillers including the "Conspiracy," a young,
attractive, intelligent, idealistic, protagonist, setting, short
sighted/evil bureaucrats and much more.
3:15 - 3:30 Writing While Practicing Medicine
Gary will explain how he is able to continue his busy and successful
medical practice as a pediatric surgeon and still find the time to write
medical thrillers. He will discuss where and when to write. If he can do
it, so can you.
3:30 - 4:15 Advice From the Trenches: Practical Advice
For Aspiring New Physician-Authors
Gary will discuss practical issues such as finding and working with an
agent, opinions and assistance from friends and family, manuscript
preparation, and the financial and other rewards of getting published.
He will discuss how to deal with and overcome rejection
and the value of believing in oneself and persistence.
4:15 - 4:30 Concluding Roundtable Discussion
Gary will make brief concluding remarks and open the floor to any
additional questions.
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