Schedule

What’s it really like in schools in 2023 for your ya books!

Short stories can be valuable marketing tools for your novels, but you don’t know where to start. Or you started already, and it’s harder than it looks. We’ll consider what needs to be in your short stories and what doesn’t, generally and within the universe of your novel(s); how to find ideas which are small enough for short stories but still satisfy the reader; how to revise and polish short stories; and some of the ways to use them in marketing, once they’re ready.

Ever wondered what it takes to do the interior design for a book? Does book design really affect reader satisfaction? This class will go over the basics of Adobe InDesign, from your title page to acknowledgments and covers essentials from design principles and typography to reader psychology and industry standards.

A huge number of teens want to be writers. Almost none of them actually, you know, WRITE. Want to know how to stop dreaming about writing a book and actually write one? This class will show. you. Cards on the table: most of it is up to you. But this class will help give you some of the fuel you need to get the engine running.

Your main character is vital in drawing in your readers, but how well do you know your character? How do you present this character to your readers? Character development goes beyond a name and physical description. Your main character needs distinct personality traits, quirks, and flaws. In this workshop, learn how to create a character your readers can connect with, cheer for, and want to continue reading about.

Pixar has a long history of telling stories that inspire the mind and tug at the heart. But did you know they have a set of rules they follow? This class will explore many of these rules, and offer ideas on how you can implement them in your own story.

Romance is the best-selling genre in the world, and doing it right is important! Learn how to make your readers swoon without making them gag in this fun and engaging class.

Join a creativity coach for the most fun hour of the weekend! This course takes your creativity to the next level. Through hands-on creativity exercises, attendees learn the psychology behind innovation and nurture their creative abilities. Attendees will leave their comfort zone to understand the value of mental exploration. This class also highlights ways to arrange a productive schedule and daily habits that increase creativity. This engaging workshop is perfect for both adults and teens.

Some of society’s oldest and most powerful tales just…suck. The guy does not get the girl. Revenge is not sweet. Everyone dies in the end (looking at you, Shakespeare). Why do we love these stories, and how can we use their lessons to make our own stories more powerful? Lessons from the ancients–and the moderns–can show us how the bitter can be sweet.

Self-editing is the part of the writing process most authors dread. Professional freelance editor Tristi Pinkston will walk you through the basics and make it fun – or at least, less painful.

Build a world where your characters are already up to their necks in potential conflict, a world where you understand the way factions work, and how they interact. Add perceived depth without having to build everything in infinite detail so you can stay productive and budget your time!

How you describe the scene can give the reader clues about who your character is without needing to spell it out. We need descriptions in our stories, make those descriptions work for you!

Navigating the slushpile can be scary, especially for new writers. This class will give practical tips on how to avoid “red flag” mistakes that will get your manuscripts sent back. Come and learn from a 20+ year slushpile veteran how to get your story noticed for the right reasons.

Most professional writers will tell you that your first million words suck. But they’ll also tell you that if you can get past those, there might be some good words behind them. Here’s how to push through the beginning, the first novel, the earliest days of being a real writer, to get to where your words begin to really tell the story in your head.

Emotion is at the heart of any good story. It’s what makes characters relatable and can help to push the plot or create conflict. But how can you write difficult emotions like grief, rage, and betrayal in a way that is real and raw, instead of cliche and overdrawn? In this class we’ll discuss the difference between simple and complex emotions and explore ways to ensure a great emotional payoff for your character arcs—and cathartic satisfaction for your readers.

More details to come

Just starting out with your book? Maybe you’re in the middle of writing? Would you like to learn from someone else’s mistakes? Come to this class! We’ll talk about the writing world and things I wish I’d known before I started this whole journey. In this class, we’ll discuss everything from what “pantsing” means to what a vanity publisher is; from what WIP stands for to why you should review your typesetters’ work; from available support resources to why the heck there is cat hair on your laptop.

Many people say they want to write, but don’t because they are just too busy with work and family responsibilities. In this class, I will give your five steps you can integrate into your daily routine to help you start and finish writing projects while still taking part in the daily rat race.

Pacing will make or break your book. But how do you decide what should happen and when? Authors who can mix the elements of a story together in the right order and speed create an end product readers can’t put down. In this class, you’ll learn how plotting a book relates to baking cookies and how to make your completed story irresistible.

Art, including fiction, often works by stripping away cliche, convention, and other forms of familiarity, so we see what we’ve stopped seeing, or see something differently. Defamiliarization (“making strange”) is also a specific tool in the writer’s toolbox. We can use it intentionally and with powerful effect. It can change minds, open hearts, humanize, terrify, discredit, and expose. It can embroil the author in controversy. Every so often it changes the world. In this session we’ll define defamiliarization, improve our ability to recognize it, analyze its execution and effects, and practice using it ourselves.

Are you an Indie Author that needs more in your business, but you aren’t sure how to get there? More time? More energy? More books? More money? Maybe you need less? Less commitment? Less deadline doom? Less burnout looming around the corner? It’s time to set reasonable expectations for yourself, say goodbye to FOMO. Say hello to the Fixer Fairy, and goodbye to burnout and overcommitment distress. I’ll help you dive into how you can balance your writing life with everything else so that you can get back to doing what you love and remember that passion when you first started writing.

A strong voice is vital for a strong story. A weak voice can kill a story. Using a wide range of examples, from Metallica to Kermit the Frog, this class will examine the relationship between dialogue, character voice, author voice, as well as tips on how to strengthen each of these things. Come learn how to make your voice heard loud and clear.

Your reader is investing a chunk of their time in your story, and they deserve a return on that investment. Learn four things that your story must include for it to truly satisfy that itch.

Where do words come from? How do they change? What does Frabjous even mean? In this workshop we use Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky to talk about the origins of words, discuss parts of speech and explore neologisms and nonsense words. Words are the lifeblood of books, so come learn how to use them, break the rules, and make up words of your own for use in your novels and creative projects.