Sunday

Online and Recorded Writing a tight and clean first page can be tricky if not sometimes confusing. What elements are essential to capturing the attention from the get-go? Bring your first page and join agent Karly Dizon from Fuse Literary for the First Page Intensive Critique and Editing virtual class to receive feedback on your work. We'll deep dive into the elements that work as well as opportunities to improve. Note: If you want to remain anonymous, you can submit your first page before the session. Instructions will be posted on the virtual conference site registrants can access in October.

In Person, Livestreamed, and Recorded Is it time to mainline some crackling voltage into the language of your stories? Ready to learn the practical value in forgetting the rules they taught you in school? Join master wordsmiths Shane Book, Sheree L. Greer, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, and Finnian Burnett as they reveal how language bending transforms ordinary narratives into unforgettable reading experiences. Discover how syntax, rhythm, and unexpected word choices create immersive fictional worlds readers can't escape. These genre-defying writers will share practical techniques for making your prose sing without sacrificing story. Whether you're stuck in a linguistic rut or ready to push your craft to new heights, this high-energy panel offers the tools to bend language to your will. Accept the challenge—your readers will thank you.

In Person, Livestreamed, and Recorded The books readers remember are those where they’ve made an emotional attachment either to the characters, the story, or both. This workshop details how to writers can capture emotion on the page and snag that reader interest. Learn how to identify what your characters are feeling and how to integrate those emotions into your scenes to develop your plot, grow your characters and keep readers turning pages.

In Person, Livestreamed, and Recorded Dialogue has become such an important part of fiction writing of all stripes - it's literally the voice of your characters! But how do you put across all their joy, sadness, strife, excitement and other emotions on the page? This workshop will look at the art of composing crackling, vibrant dialogue and conversations for your characters across all genres of fiction. And help bring your wonderful characters to life and leap off the page at your readers.

In Person, Livestreamed, and Recorded Have you ever sat down to write and found yourself stuck, staring at a blank screen or page? Everyone stumbles over writer’s block at some point. Sometimes we just get in our own way – but don’t panic! There’s a cure. Through instruction and short writing exercises, Aren will teach participants the cure for writer’s block. Once you have mastered writer’s block, nothing can stop you from writing.

In Person Only Yes, it is possible to write a synopsis and survive. Learn the many uses of a synopsis from helping guide your story, a testing ground for new ideas, and selling the book. We’ll get over the fact that a synopsis does not set your ideas in stone, but is as fluid as your work in progress. We’ll discuss the differences of the synopsis you start with and the one you end up with. Bring an idea, your current synopsis or a sketchy plan and we’ll hammer something out.

In Person Only Whether we're talking about writing, publishing, or promoting our work, we can waste untold amounts of time, energy and opportunity searching for the "right" way to do things. But what happens if we remove the pressure, and lean into curiousity as a guiding force?

In Person Only Do you have a great idea for a children’s book, but you aren’t sure where it fits or how to start? In this session we’ll break down the sub-genres of children’s literature, from board books to middle grade to young adult and everything in between. You’ll learn the key differences between categories—word count, themes, language, and point of view—along with practical tips for writing and submitting in each.

In Person, Livestreamed, and Recorded As the conference wraps up, you’re bound to feel like your head is bursting with all the new information and advice you’ve accumulated from the workshops and panels and pitch sessions. Looking for clarity about conflicting tips? Want help determining your next steps? Or maybe all this content has you wondering about new opportunities. Join the Whisky Chicks for this AMA and get answers to all those lingering questions about writing, publishing, self-promotion, and building your career.

In Person, Livestreamed, and Recorded 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.

In Person, Livestreamed, and Recorded You’re a creative, not a lawyer. But you’ll navigate the book biz better if you know some of the ins and outs of intellectual property law. What is copyright? Is writing fan fiction okay? What constitutes plagiarism? If you’re doing work-for-hire, or building a book series empire, you’ll need to know about trademark law and moral rights. Learn from a lawyer-turned-author who’s “been there, done that” re-imagining classics from the public domain and signing licensing deals with Lucasfilm.

In Person Only A gaffer once told Diana that while his job as technically to manage the lighting, he was "really in charge of the shadows," which struck her as being particularly profound, and in a way that applies to a whole lot more, artistically, than just the making of motion pictures. ALL kinds of design employ the idea of light and shadow, and that includes literature. You control where your reader is looking, as well as what they're looking at--and how they feel about what they're seeing, and 'how the light falls' is one of the more important tools for doing this. Diana will discuss how to do this with words on the page.

In Person Only The most frequently used points of view in contemporary fiction are first-person and third-person limited. But what about those other, less common points of view? In this workshop, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of two of the rarer perspectives in fiction: second-person and first-person plural. Please bring something to write with. No experience necessary.

In Person Only Who cares about your characters, and why? Sympathetic or not, your readers must feel invested in the story arcs of your characters. This session will focus on honing in on your characters’ fears, flaws, and regrets -- and we will explore techniques for ratcheting up your characters’ pain in order to enhance their internal struggles. Next, we’ll consider how to increase tension by introducing external threats posed by other characters, the outside world, or plot devices such as a ticking clock. Raising the emotional stakes for your characters --whether from without or within-- will help propel your novel toward a satisfying and rewarding conclusion.

In Person Only Book banning is real – but that’s why all kinds of representation in kids books is so needed! How do you respond when your book is banned, or you are getting pushback for your content? This is prevalent now more than ever. In this workshop we will explore how to stay grounded in yourself as a creator of stories you need to tell, and how to keep writing. Stacey will share how she responded to her own pushback in writing queer stories for kids and teens.