SCBWI Tokyo Writers’ Day 2008
Time:    October 18, 2008 9:15 – 18:30
Place:  AEON East Japan Meeting Hall, Nittochi Nishi-Shinjuku Bldg., 16F
(Aeon East Japan, Nittochi Nishi-Shinjuku Bldg., 16F, 6-10-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), a 4-minute walk from Nishi-Shinjuku Station, Marunouchi Line, Exit 2 (at the top of the stairs, turn left and walk west along the main street Ome-Kaido; AEON will be on your left just after the police box and Colorado Coffee Shop).
Fee:   At the Door 5,000 yen SCBWI and SWET members; 8,000 yen nonmembers
Registration: To register, contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
This event will be in English.

SCBWI Tokyo Writers’ Day 2008 Schedule
8:45-9:15     Registration/Sign in
9:15-9:30     Opening Comments
9:30-11:00   Linda Gerber, Author: Up All Night—The Art of Suspense
From the simplest picture book to the most intricate thriller, suspense is the key element that drives the plot of any story and keeps readers coming back for more. In this hands-on workshop, we will discuss and put into practice techniques and tips for creating suspense in your writing. 
11: 15-12:30   Laura Rennert, Senior Agent, Andrea Brown Literary Agency:
What Do They Really Want—How to Find and Work with a Literary Agent
Laura Rennert specializes in all categories of children’s books, from picture books to young adult. How does she select clients from the hundreds of submissions she receives? Come find out! Learn what catches an agent’s and editor’s eye. Master the art of the elevator pitch and the query letter. Avoid the Big “No’s”—mistakes that will get you a quick rejection. Find out the criteria agents and editors use in evaluating projects and Laura’s list of the five crucial elements of commercially successful YA fiction. Come gain an awareness of the formal and conceptual tools at your disposal whether you are a first-time or a well-published author, and discover the criteria for books that garner the biggest deals.
12:30-13:45   Lunch—not provided, but there are many coffee shops and restaurants nearby
13:45-15:15   Irene Smalls, Author: Sensory Writing—Seeing, Feeling, Hearing and Moving to Your Writing
In this session we will write a story outline—this is our foundation. Writing from an outline or foundation frees you to add your creative spark. Then, using Neural Linguistic Programming Theory we will find the story within. Do you see your characters, do you hear your characters speak, do you feel your characters, or does movement give you a firmer grasp of your characters? We’ll explore story through four sensory approaches, sight, sound, emotion and kinesthetic.
15:30-16:30   Suzanne Kamata and Holly Thompson, Authors: Writing Workshop—Character, Setting and Problem
In this workshop, participants will try exercises in plotting fiction. Focus will be on the basic elements of character, setting and problem to establish the plot of a story. Various prompts for kick-starting a story will also be introduced.
16:45-18:15   Tanya Batt, Author: The Fabrics of Fairytale
Self-confessed story-o-phile and frock-o-holic, Tanya Batt invites you to join her in the weaving and wearing of story. Weaving the golden thread of personal experience and traditional tales, Tanya will share her early literary influences and the stories behind the creation of her first book ‘The Fabrics of Fairytale’, demonstrating the relationship between the written and told story.
18:15-18:30   Closing Comments

For information on the presenters and further details see www.scbwi.jp