I’m teaching a creative nonfiction workshop at the 2013 Faith and Culture Writers Conference at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon (April 5 and 6). Here’s the official blurb:
One of the biggest mistakes creative nonfiction writers can make is assuming that readers will be emotionally moved by an event purely because it factually happened. Readers, however, demand a compelling story, even in nonfiction, and nonfiction writers who wish to engage and move their audience will focus on creating novelistic settings and characters rather than simply stating facts. In this breakout session, writers will discover new strategies to make their writing come alive in the hearts and minds of readers.
Jacobsen Writing 
D Wish I could be a student in this class–lucky student D
Sent from my iPhone
C’mon, PDX isn’t *that* far away.
I also wish I could be there. PDX unfortunately is *that* far away from Charleston.
You have an excuse, Betsy. But if you were even a few hundred miles closer, I’d expect you to be there.
Really, looking forward to meeting you at the conference, David! Thank you for spreading the word. 🙂
Looking forward to meeting you as well, Ashley—are you going to be in my cnf workshop?
David, just had to pop on here to tell you that your workshop was hands-down the highlight of my day at the conference. I was moved and encouraged, and I learned a lot. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words—I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the conference. Where can I find you online, O Mysterious Gypsy?
🙂 I blog at martinseke.blogspot.com. I do wish I’d had the chance to come and chat, since we have some geographical overlap in our biographies. I grew up next to Westmont and have lots of connections there, and I lived in Bend for four years. If I were there now, I’d be signed up for your next Kilns class!
Awesome. You can find me at jacobsenwriting (at) gmail or on Twitter. Thanks for the blog link. I bet we’ll run into each other in the future…Santa Barbara, Bend, conferences…
David: Your workshop was fabulous! By far the most practically helpful portion of the entire conference for me. Thank you so much. Also, I apologize that I didn’t announce your co-authorship with Ken Wytsma on Pursuing Justice — I completely overlooked this, and I am so sorry! Lastly, you mentioned in your workshop that one could write about *almost* anything mundane and make it compelling, but perhaps not a toasted cheese sandwich. So I tried here. 🙂 Thanks for encouraging me to write the mundane in more interesting ways! All the best to you! http://www.karipatterson.com/2013/04/10/for-the-days-when-you-cant-wake-up/
Thank you for the encouraging words, Kari. I enjoyed reading your blog post. Keep finding ways in your writing to make the ordinary shine.