| Workshops * signifies a VIP or agent |
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| The 5 Sentence Method – Rebecca Thorne – Advanced – 2 Hours Curious about the 5 Sentence plotting method sweeping TikTok? This plotting approach is perfect for pantsers who want to plot, or plotters who want to cut back on extensive outlines. Learn how to choose your book’s 5 sentences, then tie them to word count goals for flawless pacing. Simple and easy! |
| 80,000 Words In A Day – Nick Thacker – Advanced – 1 Hour Write faster, better. Use dictation to smash your word count goals — with a system that’s proven to work. |
| Ask a Pro: PAA Panel – Andre Gonzalez, Zac Diamanti, Stephanie Reisner, David Slayton & Mark Stevens – Everyone – 1 Hour Have you ever wanted to ask a group of professional authors anything about writing/publishing? Join the Professional Authors’ Alliance for a casual conversation with four industry pros ready to answer any and all of your questions! |
| Audiobooks in an AI World – Sandra Murphy – Advanced – 1 Hour Audiobooks are a great way to tap into readers who might not otherwise discover you. But this comes at a price which to offset, some authors are utilizing the cost and time savings offered by artificial intelligence. What is the impact of using AI narration on your copyright, brand, and bottom line? |
| Back to the Past: Writing Backstory – Laurie Marr Wasmund – Beginner – 1 Hour Backstory can be a powerful tool in fiction, creating empathy with readers. It can also drain the energy from a piece, creating unnecessary complications and confusion. In this session, we’ll look at how to choose details from a character’s past and smoothly incorporate them into your work. |
| Becoming a Plotter – Kim Lajevardi – Beginner – 1 Hour If you’ve ever set down to write with a pocket full of vibes, you may be a pantser. But what feels good in the moment can cause you to curl into the fetal position when complicated revisions come knocking. What can a pantser do? Plot. No, seriously. Let me show you plot is not a four-letter word. |
| Beyond Romance: Crafting Character Relationships That Win Readers – Sarah Reichert – Intermediate – 1 Hour This one-hour session will teach the skills to construct dynamic, multi-dimensional connections between characters. We’ll delve into leveraging relationships for plot development, creating suspense, emphasizing the role of dialogue, and establishing connections with readers. |
| Building a Platform with Facebook Ads – Andre Gonzalez – Beginner – 1 Hour Have you wanted to try Facebook Ads, but are get turned off by how daunting they seem? Come learn the basics of getting started and see that it’s not all that bad. You’ll learn how to set up an ads account and launch your very first ad with a spend as low as $2 per day. |
| Characterization Through Orientation and Identity – October K Santerelli – Beginner – 2 Hours Writing different genders, gender identities, and sexual orientations can seem like a minefield. But writing LGBTQ+ representation in a respectful manner isn’t as scary as it seems. During this workshop, we’ll dive into identity spectrums, inherent gender bias in English, and more. |
| Comedy (Seriously.) – Christina Allen – Intermediate – 1 Hour No matter your audience, genre, or format, applying the principles that make comedy writing work can take any project from predictable to un-put-downable! This presentation is geared toward writers of any level of experience, with writing from laugh out loud to deathly dramatic. |
| Commercial, Upmarket, or Literary: Analysis of the Differences from Line Level to Marketing. – Mira Landry – Intermediate – 2 Hours It’s often said “you know it when you read it”, but what really is the divide between calling something literary or commercial fiction? And how can you determine if your fiction manuscript hits one or the other, or falls in that coveted space of “Upmarket”? |
| Conflict: the Art and Craft of Toil and Trouble – Sharon Mignerey – Intermediate – 2 Hours All stories are about trouble and the toil required of characters to overcome it. Excellent trouble is at 2 levels: the external story that is measurable with a satisfying ending; the internal story based upon fears and motivations that sets this character’s trouble apart from all others. |
| Conjuring Up the Past: Character Development in Historical Fiction – Laurie Marr Wasmund – Beginner – 2 Hours The writer of historical fiction faces an added element when developing a character: the historical landscape. How do sometimes cataclysmic world events affect a character’s everyday life? In this intensive workshop, we will look at the skills needed to create memorable historical characters. |
| Creativity and The Writer’s Mind: Exploring the Possibilities and Understanding the Setbacks – Sarah Reichert – Everyone – 1 Hour This class explores how the brain functions and where creativity comes from. Writers in the class will be given methods and tips to re-open their creative minds and foster a lifestyle that gets them into the chair and blooming with ideas. |
| The Critiki Room: Live Critique with Authors and Agents – Everyone – 1 Hour Witness the magic of peer feedback in action as a panel of agents, authors and publishing professionals critique short pieces of fiction submitted in advance. Find out why critique is a valuable tool for writers of all levels — and how the process usually becomes a raucous good time. |
| Critique Partner Speed Dating – Kate Jonuska & Amber Herbert – Everyone – 2 Hours Whether you’re looking for a critique partner, a critique group or simply to network with other writers, the speed dating model is both a fun and effective way to meet new people. Spend five minutes getting to know another writer and their critique needs before moving on to the next in a safe space. |
| Daemons, Witches, and the Occult (for Writers) – Stephanie Reisner – Beginner – 1 Hour If you’re writing supernatural horror, or anything paranormal – chances are you’re incorporating some elements of the occult. Learn to blend occult fact with occult fiction without offending actual real-world witches or occult practitioners. Bring your most difficult questions and an open mind. |
| Deeper Reading for Deeper Writing: A Class in Critique – Johnny Worthen – Advanced – 1 Hour Consciously or unconsciously meaning is hidden beneath signs and facades in literature, layered in word choice and focus. Authors can achieve deep depths of intent, layer after layer of meaning, to elevate text to literature. Through example we will explore the possibilities. |
| Developmental Editing Concepts – Your Manuscript’s Big Picture – Miranda Darrow – Beginner – 1 Hour Editing isn’t just spelling and commas. Developmental editing looks at “big picture” concepts in your manuscript and tackles topics like plot, pacing, proportion, and POV, as well as character arcs and genre norms. Get an overview of these topics and a behind-the-scenes look at a developmental edit. |
| Direct Sales – Is it Right For You? – Stephanie Reisner – Beginner – 1 Hour Direct sales are being touted as one of the best ways to make money for writers, but is it true for your work? In this workshop, we’ll talk about the ins and outs of direct sales and you’ll find out if it’s the right model for your work. |
| Do “I” or Don’t “I”? or Using First Person in Fiction – Carol Berg – Intermediate – 2 Hours Dramatic and immediate when it’s done right, excruciating when it’s done poorly, the first person point of view should be a tool in every writer’s toolbox. Some popular genres almost demand it. Learn and practice techniques, pleasures, and pitfalls of writing in first person. |
| Editing Beyond “Gut Feel”: A Checklist for Success – Kelley Lindberg – Intermediate – 1 Hour Revising your work (or critiquing others’) can be overwhelming. Without specific elements to look for, it’s easy to fall back on our “gut feel,” which is hard to articulate and even harder to trust. Learn to evaluate 17 storytelling aspects to edit and strengthen any manuscript, including your own! |
| Emotional Intimacy in Fiction—Your Key to Connecting with Readers – Cindi Myers – Intermediate – 1 Hour The emotional connection between your characters and the connection your reader forms with your characters make the difference between a story readers merely enjoy to one they can’t forget. In this workshop we’ll explore why emotional intimacy matters and how to build it into your stories. |
| Exoplanetary Exploration – Realistic Methods for Visiting Alien Worlds – Calvin Studzinski – Beginner – 1 Hour Science fiction often resorts to fantastical technologies to reach other stars, but could we do it in real life? Explore the real science we would use to explore exoplanets, the dangers involved, and how the restrictions of sub-luminal space travel should inspire gripping sci-fi narratives. |
| The Faceted Story – Johnny Worthen – Advanced – 1 Hour A presentation about those elements of narrative fiction that lend depth, value and resonance to writing. Examples and techniques will be offered to help shape niches and expand any story into new areas of interest for a greater chance to stand out from the slush pile. |
| Finding Your Inner Extrovert – David Slayton – Beginner – 1 Hour Writing is a lonely process. When it comes time to sell your work, you’ll need social skills to help you interact with agents, editors, and readers. This workshop will focus on communication techniques and help you learn to network without burning out. |
| Focusing Your Audience – Oliver Blakemore – Intermediate – 1 Hour Audience focus techniques with brand marketing profesh and novelist, Oliver Blakemore. |
| Generating Sales with Facebook Ads – Andre Gonzalez – Advanced – 1 Hour Many authors believe Facebook Ads no longer work for generating sales. In reality, the platform has become highly competitive thanks to a flood of major corporations. Come learn how to efficiently carve out your space as an author and gain new readers on a platform that still has a billion users. |
| Going Pro With Your Mad Reading Skillz – Amy Armstrong – Beginner – 2 Hours Do you demolish books? Are your friends constantly hitting you up for book recommendations? You might have superpowers that can lead to book review opportunities, reading for literary magazines and other amazing things. Best of all: these opportunities mean publication and free books. |
| Heinlein’s Five Rules of Writing – Johnny Worthen – Intermediate – 1 Hour A discussion of Robert Heinlein’s famous “Five Rules of Writing.” These pragmatic, practical and practiced directives are for the working author and are the very career-enabling tips that steered a blue collar scribbler to becoming one of the seminal voices of his age. But are they still valid? |
| Help Me, Obi-Wendig, You’re My Only Hope – Chuck Wendig – Beginner – 1 Hour* A Q&A where audience members come prepared with questions about their stories or their writing careers (or, one supposes, about LIFE ITSELF if they are so troubled) and Chuck Wendig attempts to answer their questions and grease the wheels of progress. So to speak. |
| Horror Comedy: Make Your Readers Laugh and Scream – Angela Sylvaine – Beginner – 1 Hour Horror and comedy are both about tension, the build up and the payoff. When we meld the two together, we get the fear of the scare and the release of the laugh. Using recent TV and movies as examples, we’ll walk through how to write horror comedy. Learn to leave your readers terrified and giggling. |
| Horror Writing 666 (aka 101) – Angela Sylvaine – Beginner – 1 Hour Horror is part of our real world, make it part of your fiction. Readers love to experience dread, gore, and terror, and you can be the one to deliver it. Learn why and how to write stories that terrify! |
| How to Be an Author on Substack – ZJ Czupor – Advanced – 1 Hour Jump start or refresh your writing career by publishing your novel or memoir on Substack.com. In this one-hour workshop, attendees will learn all about Substack, how to post your stories, and earn income. Plus, how using this platform can make you a better writer. |
| How to Endure in Your Writing – Jason Evans – Everyone – 1 Hour The art and profession of writing can be a thrilling creative endeavor. It can also break you. What do you do when your writing dreams don’t come true? What do you do when you feel betrayed by your community and your art? This class will explore the real world issues around being a professional writer. |
| How to Show & Sell Books at Events! – Laura VanArandonk Baugh – Advanced – 1 Hour Ready to hand sell your at live events like cons, library fairs, festivals, and more? No, you don’t need to be pushy, you don’t need to be “salesy,” and you don’t need to give up your soul. Though a midwesterner and congenitally allergic to hard sales, Laura has event success to share with you. |
| How to Use Hollywood Scene Writing Techniques for Your Novel – Kevin Campbell – Beginner – 1 Hour What do we love about a good movie or TV show? Great scenes that move the story along and keep us glued to the screen. This workshop will show you how to use proven screenwriting techniques to write scenes for your novel to ensure that your audience (and agent!) will turn every page. |
| How to Work with an Editor – Rachael Bush – Beginner – 1 Hour Whether you’ve just signed with a publisher or you’re submitting to an anthology, this presentation will show you what to expect from your editor, the differences between the types of editors, and will remind you to be patient and professional through it all. |
| How to Write Compelling Villains – Jason Evans – Beginner – 1 Hour You can write great stories, but if you want to take your writing to the next level, you need a compelling villain. From intergalactic wizards to high school mean girls, a great villain will move your story like no other character can. Come and bring something to take notes with! |
| How to Write Like a Martial Artist: Crafting Realistic Fight Scenes and Defensive Basics – Sarah Reichert – Intermediate – 1 Hour Writers will learn basics of self-defense, what happens to a body in a fight, and how to write action that moves the scene and doesn’t feel redundant or unrealistic. This class will cover strikes, holds, targeting and basic Jujitsu techniques and how to incorporate them into fight scenes. |
| How to Write a Synopsis without Crying First – Mira Landry – Beginner – 1 Hour It doesn’t have to be the “Dreaded Synopsis”. It can be the efficient, well-written synopsis that highlights your premise and stand-out voice, all without making you want to give up writing. We’ll cover a Synopses Writing Recipe using Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King as examples. |
| Illustrating and Publishing Your Book – Rachael Bush – Beginner – 1 Hour In this session, I’ll talk about how to organize ideas, research your subject, and turn your idea into a finished project you can publish. Whether you’re writing and illustrating a children’s book, a textbook, or a comic, the creative process is the same. |
| Improv-ing Your Networking – Sandra Murphy – Everyone – 1 Hour What if networking could actually be fun? Improv helps us navigate the unknown with a sense of play. Join an improv actress for a interactive session of learning a few tried and true tactics so even the most reluctant networker will be able to work a room like the best of ‘em! |
| Intimacy, Consent, & Sex in Fiction – Rachael Bush – Intermediate – 1 Hour Are you interested in writing better romantic relationships? In this session, you will learn why love, intimacy, and consent go hand in hand to build healthier, happier characters your readers will care about. |
| Is That Scary? Writing Horror in 2024 – Stephanie Reisner – Beginner – 1 Hour What scared people in the late 20th century was totally different than what scares most people today. Participants can expect to learn the current popular tropes of the genre, as well as how to build tension in stories meant to terrorize the reader and leave them shaken. |
| Is Your Book Packaging Hurting Your Sales? – Andre Gonzalez – Advanced – 1 Hour People read your books and love them! So why is it so hard to generate more sales? You must treat your book as a product and understand how it’s packaged and presented to potential readers. Come learn how to analyze market trends and how they relate to the product you are offering. |
| Keeping It Real: How Much “Fiction” Belongs in Historical Fiction? – Cynthia Swanson – Intermediate – 1 Hour If your details are inaccurate, it will affect the reading experience for certain readers. But can’t some details be invented? How do you determine whether to fictionalize or be factual? Writers of historical fiction, mystery/thriller/suspense, or romance set in earlier times, let’s talk about it! |
| Kickstarter 101: What Is It? And How Can I Use It? – Caitee Cooper – Intermediate – 1 Hour If you’re a budding (or experienced) author, you may have heard that Kickstarter is one of the best ways to launch a book. And you’ve heard correctly! In this workshop, we’ll explore what Kickstarter is, how it can fit into your author business, and resources for planning a campaign. |
| Kid Lit 101 – Christina Allen – Beginner – 1 Hour Want to write for kids? Here’s everything you’ll need to know to get started. This overview of the current children’s literature landscape, from picture books to YA, highlights unique considerations for writing, querying, publishing, and marketing kids’ books. |
| Kink and BDSM: Beyond the Stereotypes – Veronica R. Calisto – Beginner – 1 Hour 50 Shades gave an impression of kink that irks kinksters as much as Glocks with safeties does gun experts. This session will dispel misunderstandings and answer questions. |
| Let’s Get Cozy – Plotting Your Cozy Mystery Series – Stephanie Reisner – Beginner – 1 Hour Even if you’re not a plotter, get ready to learn how to plot a great cozy mystery and learn how to drop popular genre tropes into your story line to create a book and series the readers will return for again and again. |
| Let’s Get Down to Business: How to Start a Business for Your Writing/Editing – Melissa Koons & Rebecca Rowley – Beginner – 1 Hour It may seem silly that you need to learn business, taxes, and finances as an author but it is crucial to understand business essentials. All self-published, traditionally published, hybrid authors, and editors must know how to register a business, licenses, and file with the IRS. |
| Let’s Rewrite a Famous Scene Together – Oliver Blakemore – Intermediate – 2 Hours Learn from your heroes. We go into a meticulous study of a single scene from a famous book, interrogating every decision, every word choice, made by the author. Then we see if we can rewrite it. |
| Level Up Your Writing Craft – Carol Berg – Beginner – 1 Hour The first step toward writing success is not brand or publishing choice, but producing a story that engages, satisfies, and delights readers. Let’s look at five solid techniques to take our writing to the next level, avoiding common pitfalls and separating our fiction from the common run. |
| Marketing in 2024 (and Beyond): Leverage Your Assets – Nick Thacker – Advanced – 1 Hour You can write, you can run ads, and you can burn out. What’s changed since we started publishing books is the way readers consume our content. Are you taking full advantage of that? Are you reaching them exactly where they are, with exactly the formats they want? Time to think bigger, broader. Here’s how. |
| Marketing Your Book to Success: Before, During & After Publication – Jennifer S. Wilkov – Intermediate – 1 Hour Authors know that marketing their books is 100% their responsibility but most don’t have the skillset or knowledge to create a winning marketing plan for their project. In this presentation, Jennifer S. Wilkov, the founder of Your Book Is Your Hook, LLC, will show you how to master the art of determining what belongs in your marketing platform – and what doesn’t – before, during, and after your book has been published. |
| Memoir Mastery: How to Write Your Story So It Sells – Jennifer S. Wilkov – Beginner – 1 Hour Writers with an incredible personal story often struggle with where to start their tale and how to share it effectively with an agent/publisher/reader. Discover how to present your amazing story, determine where to begin it on the first page, and start using it to attract more readers, agents, producers, publicists, press, and clients. |
| MFA Talk – Andrea Rexilius – Everyone – 1 Hour Have you always wondered whether an MFA program is right for you? Not sure about residential versus low-residency options, your writing sample, cover letter, or letters of recommendation? Come to this info. session on all things MFA. We will discuss program models, benefits of an MFA, and more. Participants will have the opportunity to ask as many questions as they’d like. |
| NaNoWriMo Success and Beyond – Veronica R. Calisto – Everyone – 2 Hours Tips and tricks for succeeding at the challenge of NaNoWriMo that can be applied to any other writing deadlines. |
| Neurodivergency and the Creative Process – October K Santerelli – Everyone – 1 Hour Some of the best creators have ADHD or ASC/D (Autism). But with different brains come different problems — the common writing ‘rules’ sometimes just don’t work! Learn different ways to work more productively and more often, while falling in love with writing all over again – for neurospicy brains. |
| Not Your Mother’s Tropes: How to Subvert without Alienating Your Readers – Rachel Dempsey – Intermediate – 1 Hour Tropes are the building blocks of literary tradition, but the most exciting works of today are often subversive. Using examples and generative writing exercises, we’ll explore ways to balance reader expectations with innovation, how to make old familiar conventions fresh without alienating readers. |
| Order in the Court – Laura Manuel – Beginner – 2 Hours Court proceedings are presented: Arrest, bail, preliminary hearings, voir dire, the actual trial. Also covered expert witnesses, cross-examination, when hearsay is allowable. One should avoid counterfactual situations, although there can be excitement and plot twists in the proceedings above. |
| Playing God for Fun and Profit – Building Worlds your Readers will Love – Calvin Studzinski – Beginner – 1 Hour Worlds are big, and building them can be daunting. Learn how to build a fantastic setting, whether modifying our world to include magic and dragons, building a new secondary world, or constructing an entire galaxy to explore. What pitfalls do many authors fall into, and how can one avoid them? |
| The Power of Now – Mark Stevens – Beginner – 1 Hour What is the white-hot core of character motivation? What sets your characters in motion? Why does anybody do anything? How does ink on the page make us feel something? How do we build empathy for fictional characters, both good and bad? How do you help readers connect a plausible, grounded story? |
| Professional Marketing – Oliver Blakemore – Beginner – 1 Hour Many authors are new to marketing but it is an established field for other products. Oliver brings his expertise in brand marketing to show how professional techniques that are used to sell anything from concerts to perfume can work for books too. |
| Punched Up Pitches: Better Blurbs and Queries – David Slayton – Beginner – 1 Hour Whether you are writing a query letter or back cover copy, it’s important to know how to sell your book through a concise, exciting blurb. We’ll look at winning examples and techniques to help you write a blurb that sells. |
| The Quintessential Query – Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong – Beginner – 1 Hour* This workshop outlines the dos and don’ts of the query process. It includes (1) an overview of the querying process and how it works, (2) how to find an agent, (3) how to format a query letter, (4) what information should and should not be included in a query letter, (5) and a step-by-step walk-through a sample query letter. |
| The Right Mind for Self-Publishing – Laura VanArendonk Baugh – Beginner – 1 Hour There’s never been an easier time to self-publish—and that’s great! But with great ease comes great risk of mistakes or assumptions. Better expectations lead to better results! Let’s walk through the mindset minefield and talk about how best to approach the fantastic opportunities we have today. |
| RMFW’s 2024 Anthology Panel – Everyone – 1 Hour RMFW’s new anthology was just released, Without Brakes: Fingers Crossed. Want to learn to write, select, and edit short stories? How about self-publish, format, and market? Our panel of co-editors and authors tell all, from production details to how to craft a story destined for the next anthology. |
| Scene Construction – Peggy Waide – Beginner – 1 Hour Scenes are the stepping stones of a story that keep the reader turning the page. A character acts and reacts to the other characters on stage, the place or the events to advance the plot and develop character. This workshop will break down all the elements needed to construct a strong scene. |
| The Science of Magic – Kim Lajevardi – Beginner – 1 Hour If magic doesn’t have consistency and limits, then it can hurt your storytelling more than help it. When readers choose immersion in speculative fiction, they crave both grounding and imagination. Science can provide both. |
| Secondary Characters Need Loving Too – Peggy Waide – Intermediate – 1 Hour Secondary characters complete a cast needed for depth in a novel. Each character has a role to play, often working with or against the main characters. Do they help, impede or motivate, or are they a lesser player? Discover how to develop their roles and relationships for a fun and dynamic read. |
| Self-Care for Writers – Amy Armstrong – Everyone – 1 Hour It’s hard to write fun words others will enjoy if you’re not having fun as a writer. We’ll clarify what burnout is and what leads to it as well as how you can climb out of it even at your crispiest. We will also create a plan for how to bring more joy and calm to your writing. |
| Sell Your Books on TikTok – Zac Diamanti – Intermediate – 1 Hour TikTok Shop is officially here and people are buying in! Whether you’re a debut author trying to come out the gates swinging, or you have a great backlist to offer readers, the time to start sell books on TikTok Shop is now. Come learn the ins and outs of TikTok shop and how to sell loads of books! |
| Serial Fiction: If It Worked for Andy Weir, Can It Work for Me? – ZJ Czupor – Advanced – 1 Hour Serial fiction has been around for more than 200 years and is making a comeback with the emergence of technology from social media platforms to television streaming and comic books. This advanced program will explore serial fiction’s history, current opportunities, and how it might start or jump start your writing career. |
| Showing Emotions On The Page – Peggy Waide – Beginner – 1 Hour Showing emotion creates a strong bond between your characters and readers. We will review core emotions and show how those emotions increase in intensity, depending on the situation. From there, we’ll break down ways to write facial expressions, body language and vocals for a more emotional read. |
| Stay Connected to Your Readers; How to Build and Maintain a Successful Newsletter – Kerrie Flanagan – Beginner – 1 Hour In this session, you’ll discover powerful techniques to grow and sustain your subscriber list effectively. In just two years, award-winning author, Kerrie Flanagan, took her newsletter list from 50 subscribers to over 5,000. Learn why newsletters are an author’s greatest asset and how to grow your list with reader magnets, newsletter swaps, list-building giveaways, and group promotions. Kerrie will also teach you how to create compelling content to keep your readers engaged and how to sustain a strong email list. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced author, this session will equip you with essential skills to build a thriving community of engaged readers through your author newsletter. |
| Stories in a Flash! – Laurel McHargue – Advanced – 2 Hours Flash Fiction challenges writers to include all elements of a satisfying story but at a greatly reduced word count, leaving consumers with a whirlwind read and a memorable ending. By the end of this workshop, participants will create a work of fiction worthy of editing for possible publication. |
| A Survivor’s Guide to Pitching: Before, During, and After the Pitch – Kelley Lindberg – Beginner – 1 Hour Pitching your novel to an agent or editor? Great! But how should you prepare for this nerve-wracking meeting? And what happens afterwards? In this presentation, a pitch survivor reveals secrets of what to do before, during, and after your pitch to take your pitch session from awkward to awesome. |
| Techniques and Tools for the Prolific Writer – Cindi Myers – Everyone – 1 Hour If you want to write more, write better —and balance all that with a life outside of writing—this workshop is for you. An author of more than 100 published novels gives you tips, tools, and techniques for increasing productivity, and balancing the demands of writing with the rest of your life. |
| True Crime to Novel: Turn Headline News into Page-Turning Fiction – Nanette Gamily – Beginner – 1 Hour Ever wonder how to turn an astonishing, newsworthy story into juicy crime fiction? In this workshop, we will talk about how authors turn true crime stories into fiction. Together, we will review examples of contemporary novels and the techniques authors use to make readers turn the page. |
| The Truth About Swords and Armor – J.E. Zarnofsky – Beginner – 1 Hour Swords too heavy to swing? Studded leather armor? Pop culture is filled with misconceptions about armored combat throughout the ages. Learn how to defeat these fallacies and create consistency in your worldbuilding when it comes to combat, weapons, and armor. |
| Unleash Your Inner Young Muse: Crafting Middle Grade Magic – A Novel Approach to Writing for Tweens! – Mariko Tatsumoto – Intermediate – 2 Hours Bestselling authors like James Patterson, Rick Riordan, and John Grisham are flocking to write MG Books. Learn how it differs from adult books, get past gatekeepers, the essential rules for 8-12 years-olds, the art of choosing the right subject, characters, themes, AND MUCH MORE. |
| Unlock Your Story’s Inciting Incident – Jacquelin Cangro – Intermediate – 1 Hour Do you know the event that kickstarts your story? Do you worry that there isn’t enough tension or conflict? In this workshop, we’ll review techniques to develop an engaging and compelling inciting incident — the crucial scene that serves as a catalyst for your protagonist. |
| Unlocking Tween Book Marketing: Unique Tactics for Middle Grade Success – Mariko Tatsumoto – Beginner – 1 Hour Is marketing Middle Grade Books the same as for Adult Books? While many strategies overlap, there are exciting opportunities exclusive to MG Books to boost sales—and have more fun! Join me as we explore the distinctive approaches that differentiate Tween Book Marketing from its adult counterpart. |
| Unsilent Screams: Maintaining Voice and POV in Action Scenes – Kendra Griffin – Intermediate – 1 Hour Don’t let your character lose their voice while running from monsters! We’ll go beyond the basics of good action scenes and delve into how we balance action, narration, and perspective as well as use transitions to keep the momentum up. |
| Using Project Management to Write Your Novel – A.Z. Sultana – Everyone – 1 Hour Learn how to organize your writing life using skills and techniques corporations spend millions on to complete their projects If you can’t finish your novel, don’t know where to start, or you just want to organize your life like a pro, this class was made for you. |
| What Makes a Story a Romance?: A Beginner’s Guide to the Most Popular Fiction Genre – Beverly Jenkins – Beginner – 2 Hours* What makes Romance a Romance, and why are stories like Gone With The Wind, Anna Karenina, and books by Nicolas Sparks not considered Romance? Join Beverly for an introductory deep dive into the genre, to include subjects like popular tropes, sub genres, characters, themes, readers, writers, the changes the genre has gone through since the early ‘90s, whether the genre is feminist or not, and why it’s the best selling genre in publishing. |
| Worldbuilding through Combat: Adding Depth to your Setting and Fights – J.E. Zarnofsky – Advanced – 1 Hour Conflict is the backbone of storytelling, and that building tension often erupts into fights. Learn how to utilize combat to reveal more of your world, its characters, and their values. |
| Writers Who Read: Language and Grammar – Gary McBride – Intermediate – 1 Hour We’ve all heard that reading improves our writing. But *how* we read is just as important as *what* we read. This 1-hour workshop covers Literary Forensics techniques to analyze language and grammar found in novels, with a focus on discovering techniques we can apply to our own writing. |
| Writers Who Read: Layering and Symbolism – Gary McBride – Intermediate – 1 Hour We’ve all heard that reading improves our writing. But *how* we read is just as important as *what* we read. This 1-hour workshop covers Literary Forensics techniques to analyze topic layering and symbolism, with a focus on discovering techniques we can apply to our own writing. |
| Writing about Trauma Without Triggering the Victim – Nanette Gamily – Intermediate – 1 Hour Reading about violence and sexual assault is difficult for readers. As authors, we hope to draw readers closer to our characters and their pain. But how can we create empathy with our readers without distressing them?In this workshop, we will discuss non-graphic approaches to triggering content. |
| Writing Scenes with Multiple Characters – Kendra Griffin – Intermediate – 1 Hour This session will help participants understand how to craft scenes with multiple characters while also building plot and developing distinct character voices. Help your reader focus on your story, not on figuring out who is speaking! |
| Writing to Theme – Johnny Worthen – Advanced – 1 Hour From the lighthouse of intent, to hard questions, symbols, subplots and echoes, the class will encourage the writer to plumb the depths of meaning, bleed a little, and create multiple strands of meaning in their work. Class will offer concrete examples and methods to tease out your ideas. |
| Writing With Chronic Illness – October K Santerelli – Everyone – 1 Hour Chronic illness has a way of making us feel like we aren’t doing enough, fast enough. This presentation will examine mental health while writing with chronic illness, as well as ergonomics and self-accommodations to keep you writing more often and for longer amounts of time. |
| Written in the Blood – Laura Manuel – Intermediate – 1 Hour Blood spatter analysis reveals information. An investigator may detect participants’ locations, weapons, direction of travel of actors, suspect’s handedness, and the ‘excitement’ of victim. This workshop will primarily focus on the basics revealed to investigators via observation. |
| The Year of 100 Rejections: How to Turn the Negative into Success – Sarah Reichert – Beginner – 1 Hour This class will focus on a 100-rejection challenge, how to face and use rejection, how to choose submissions, how to read and follow guidelines, and how to track your submissions. We’ll also look at rejections as a tool for improvement and how to separate ourselves and our worth from rejection. |
| Yoga for Writers – Kate Jonuska – Everyone – 1 Hour Forget the sticky mat and special clothes! Everyone is welcome at this chair-based yoga flow, which will warm your body and your mind. Breathing and stretching will be followed by a short guided meditation specifically for writers. |
