Executive Summary

Learn from practicing physician/author Gary Birken, MD how to write medical fiction that sells. This course covers material which is supplemental to that covered on Saturday and Sunday and is an ideal preconference for those who are looking for additional practical advice from a practicing physician who has broken through.

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.

10:30 - 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.

11:30 - 12:00 How to Use Description in Your Writing. "Too Much or Too Little?"
Using all five senses, avoiding clich�s and too many metaphors, revealing and developing your characters through description and much more.

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?

2:45 - 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.

4:15 - 4:30 Concluding Roundtable Discussion
Gary will make brief concluding remarks and open the floor to any additional questions.

Faculty

Gary Birken, MD is a practicing pediatric surgeon in Coral Springs, Florida. He is the author of the successful medical thrillers: Error in Judgment, Plague, and Final Diagnosis published by the Berkley Publishing Group. He is currently board certified in both general and pediatric surgery. For the past 18-years, he has been on staff at the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital where he is presently the Surgeon-in-Chief and the acting Director of Medical Affairs. He also serves as the chairman of the Board of the Memorial Healthcare System Foundation. Dr. Birken has four children, plays basketball regularly and holds a black belt in martial arts.