John DeDakis Write to Heal
KEYNOTE SPEAKER / WORKSHOP LEADER
About John DeDakis
Award-winning novelist John DeDakis (pronounced dee-DAY-kiss) is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis is the author of six traditionally published novels in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense-thriller series. He is a podcaster, one-on-one writing coach, manuscript editor, and regularly teaches novel writing at literary centers and writers’ conferences nationwide and abroad.
"Grief is Overwhelming"
This is an excerpt from a short interview I did as a fundraiser for The Wendt Center for Loss and Healing in Washington, DC
Writing to heal
This is my appearance on the "Step Up to the Mic" podcast hosted by Rory Paquette. For the first 15 minutes or so, I deliver an ad-libbed version of my standard talk on how I've used writing as a way to heal from grief. In the second half of the podcast, Rory follows up with questions of his own for me about the material I covered.
Keynotes
FROM JOURNALIST TO NOVELIST
(OR HOW I LEARNED TO START MAKING IT UP):From newsroom to novels, this keynote reveals how I used real-life tragedy and reinvention to fuel powerful storytelling—and how your own personal plot twists can, too.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO OBJECTIVITY?: How did journalists become the enemy? I unpack the rise of fake news and what you can do to restore truth and trust in a polarized world. FACING FEARWhen we’re about to do something that matters, fear is the fulcrum between cowardice and courage. This keynote explores how to harness your fears and move forward with confidence.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO OBJECTIVITY?: How did journalists become the enemy? I unpack the rise of fake news and what you can do to restore truth and trust in a polarized world. FACING FEARWhen we’re about to do something that matters, fear is the fulcrum between cowardice and courage. This keynote explores how to harness your fears and move forward with confidence.
Workshops
THE SPOOKY POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS:Writing is like dipping a straw into your subconscious. In this session, writing exercises will help you tap into your inner pool of creativity and get it to flow through your fingers and onto the page.
CAPTURING YOUR STORY:In this session, we’ll explore strategies for identifying significant themes and anecdotes from your life, then molding them into a coherent whole.
FACING YOUR FEARS:
In this session, which includes brief writing exercises, we'll look at understanding what frightens us -- and how to get beyond those fears.
