In short, when to use dialect, when to lose it and how to tell the difference.

Author Don Calame met his editor Kaylan Adair right here at the Surrey International Writers' Conference. Now they're here together to give you some insight into the author/editor relationship, going through the publication process from each of their points of view, with a focus on revisions

What are the key components that define a winning book proposal? What research should an author do to help make sure the project has merit? How can an author leapfrog over the competition in the category? In this especially competitive climate, authors need to be savvy to manage the marketplace. This presentation will guide the author through the basic steps for writing a proposal and making the project count.

Information is the point of non-fiction. Fiction writers make their readers feel the tension in the caress of fingers, smell the scent of sweat on bare skin, taste the copper of blood on one's tongue. Sam Sykes gives a lesson on how to establish focus, tone, motivation and, most importantly, mood, through an examination of how to write with all the senses, when to use a lot, when to use a little, and when to use just a whiff of perfume.

Our panel of authors known for keeping the tension high share their insights into building suspense in many genres.

A writer friendly approach to marketing your book efficiently and then understanding the flow of a query at a publishing house and how decisions are made whether to buy a book.  Cover letters that grab the reader, how to do a one page synopsis, and other practical matters will be covered.  We will discuss what you can do marketing-wise to be a success in this business and cover a variety of techniques from book-signings, media outlets, publicists to other innovative ways.  Then on to the business:  Fee-charging agents; sell-through and sales numbers; E-books; print-on-demand; shrinking mid-lists; corporate mergers; self-publising; what does all this mean to the writer who often feels on the outside?  You hear agents and editors talk about the business but it’s important to understand a writer’s point of view.

In this adults-only workshop, Diana Gabaldon explores what works - and what doesn't - in writing love scenes.

With two hugely successful series, including one that is arguably the longest sustained crime series by a living writer, Anne Perry knows a little something about keeping the interest high and sustaining character development over an entire series. In this session, she'll share her insight into keeping series books fresh and building a loyal readership.

In this workshop Susan Juby, (teacher and author of several bestselling books, including the memoir, Nice Recovery) will explore the qualities that make for satisfying and successful personal writing, with a special focus on memoir. Topics will include finding your voice and choosing your material, ethics and legal issues, structure, process and the role of memory and research.

Humour is a tremendous tool for writers. When done well, it can make your stories more memorable, improve your chances of being published, and earn you financial and personal rewards. In this workshop, award-winning children’s author and playwright Kari-Lynn Winters will draw on her own books as well as the writing of others in order to demonstrate concrete ways to hone your humour writing skills and to keep your audiences giggling.

Most genre writers "paint within the lines," but for some that's too restricting. In a bricks-and-mortar bookshop world where genre novels are pigeonholed in confined sections, there are benefits and drawbacks to fusing several genres into one. But all that is changing rapidly with the Internet and e-publishing, where book shelving is virtual. Robert McCammon and Michael Slade take free-thinkers on a wide-ranging discussion about how to genre bend, why they do it, and what the future may hold.

Character arc requires change, but believable change in characters requires motivation. Prochaska's psychological theory on the Stages of Change provides a framework of how and why people do, or don't, change in real life and creates a great tool for fiction writers. Participants will learn the five stages and be provided with prompts to help them with their own manuscripts

In Jack's latest series, The Guardians of Scotland, he explores the lives of three of Scotland's greatest heroes: William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and the Black Douglas. In this session, he'll explore the challenges inherent in writing about heroes, whether your work is historical, contemporary, fiction or non-fiction.

The class will take you through the basics of writing for one of the most popular and profitable genres in Hollywood.  We'll cover story and character design, the importance of picking a compelling theme, as well as a thorough breakdown of the mythic structures generally used when creating these stories.  We'll also get inside the business aspect of the genre, covering the Hollywood studio approach to making and marketing these movies and why they tend to be such good investments.

Now you’re finished. Or are you? Once you’ve finished that manuscript how do you make it better? What are the common mistakes novelists make and how to fix them before an agent or editor sees them. Learn Bob’s systematic approach to power editing your manuscript including

1. Making an objective assessment of your novel’s beginning, middle, and end.
2. Evaluating each scene.
3. Making judgments about your protagonist and antagonist.
4. Evaluating secondary characters.
5. Tightening the manuscript by being relentless in moving the story forward.
6. Reviewing word and sentence choice - adjectives and adverbs vs. verbs, original similes and analogies; active vs. passive voice.
7. Polishing your work to eliminate typos and misspellings, and other mistakes that make the reader lose trust.

Come over to the dark side, it’s fun here! Every good protagonist needs an equally fascinating antagonist. Battles between heroes and villains create riveting scenes filled with tension. Learn tips on how to make complex, memorable villains who can test and torture your hero. 

Keeping the reader engaged is an author's first job and one of the best way to do that is through Story Hooks. Story hooks come in all shapes and sizes and aren't just that cliff hanger at the end of a chapter. This workshop will look at how to use moments of discover, awareness and thrills to keep a reader turning every page.

In this hands-on workshop for advanced poets, poet Patricia Young will use exercises to get participants engaged and writing. As in the beginner workshop, but at a deeper level, We will try different approaches to loosen up and break down everyday thought processes, thereby opening into the intuitive, animated language of poetry. The goal of the workshop is for participants to take away tools with which to work when writing alone, tools that will help them play with sense and countersense, while at the same time harnessing their stories and drawing on the compost of their lives.