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RESOURCE: DRAFTING
Everyone writes a little bit differently. That flexibility is part of why we love writing! It also provides ample room for co-learning and growth by exploring how others write and incorporating tips we might not have thought of, realized, or seen before.
On this page, you'll find tips on the creative drafting process from writers around the world, in every genre we could find.
We'll add more to this page and connect a few other existing areas as we continue our redesign.
Section Map
On this page:
How to draft your story
Tips for when you get stuck
Nitty-gritty details
dialogue
setting
genre-specific stuff
Related blog posts
On other pages:
March 15-17, 2024
Find the full schedule with talk details on our blog.
From Fanfiction to Creative Fiction
with Craig Kofi Farmer
About the video:
Meet award winning author, Craig Kofi Farmer, and hear about his journey from writing Percy Jackson fanfiction to becoming an agented, published author. Learn from his ups and downs and why you should never give up, even if your other stories don't pan out.
About Craig Kofi Farmer:
About Craig: Craig Kofi Farmer is a Prince George's County native, with two Bachelor of Science degrees from Towson University and one Master of Education degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. He works in higher education administration, helping students achieve work-life balance and self-actualization. When he's not writing, he's analyzing superhero movies, watching psychological thrillers, and deciding exactly what he's going to eat that day.
us.macmillan.com/author/craigkofifarmer
Casie Bazay
Writing for Teens
Sunday at 8am Eastern (12pm UTC)
Casie Bazay is the author of the YA novel, Not Our Summer (Running Press Teens, 2021) and has a short story appearing in As We Convene: An Anthology of Time and Place from Inked in Gray Press (May, 2024). After leaving the teaching profession nearly 13 years ago, Casie has worked mainly as a freelance writer, specializing in equine health and care. She has hundreds of articles and blog posts published with various companies and publications such as The Horse, Country Extra, Natural Horse Magazine, Oklahoma Horses and more. Casie’s other full-time job is mothering two wonderful but headstrong children and many (less headstrong) four-legged pets.
Erik J. Brown
The Art of Believable Dialogue
Saturday (April 13) at 5pm Eastern (9pm UTC)
Erik J. Brown is the author of genre-blending books for teens. His debut, All That's Left in the World, received a starred review from Kirkus and went on to win the UK's readers choice Books Are My Bag Award and Ireland's Great Reads Award. It was also nominated for a Yoto Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award. His follow-up, Lose You to Find Me, became a USA Today Bestseller and received a starred review from School Library Journal. The Only Light Left Burning, the highly-anticipated sequel to All That's Left in the World, is sure to devastate his readers once more when it releases in May 2024. He lives in Philadelphia with his family.
Tiffany Chacon
Plotting Techniques for Plotters, Pantsers, and Plantsers
Sunday at 4pm Eastern (8pm UTC)
Tiffany has been riding horses since before she could walk. She's competed in a variety of disciplines from barrel racing to showing Arabians to dressage and show jumping. She was a five-time International Arabian Horse Association national champion in equitation and dressage. She regularly competed at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington with her gentle giant, Obi-Wan, an Oldenberg/Argentinian Polo mix.
Tiffany studied at the University of Florida and graduated summa cum laude in 2010. She received her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa in 2016. She's the author of the Equestrian Dreams series, a collection of New Adult sweet romances set in the world of competitive show jumping.
She married her middle school sweetheart, Tyler, in 2009 and together they have two wild and crazy boys. They live in Tampa, Florida.
Amazon series page: amzn.to/3TagdVs
Additional Books:
Off Course: amzn.to/3sVt837
The Cowboy Christmas Distraction: amzn.to/46SNGqY
"Elements of World Building" in the Ford City Anthology: Essays on the Craft of Writing: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ford-city-anthology-da-lockhart/1124339814
Katie Chambers
The Beauty of Beats & Free Indirect Speech
Friday at 4pm Eastern (8pm UTC)
Katie Chambers, owner of Beacon Point LLC, is a nonfiction and fiction developmental editor and copy editor for independent authors, content writer and editor for business professionals, and online teacher. Having taught middle school and high school for eight years and trained in public speaking, she is passionate about teaching and helping others learn. So while she loves being an editor and running a business, she is grateful for opportunities to explore her other passions: speaking and teaching. Check out her resource center full of helpful resources for fiction and nonfiction authors, her “small look at a big personality,” and her editing services to learn more. Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to get helpful tips, fun snippets from her life, and ask questions.
Katie Evans
Writing Middle Grade
Friday at 9pm Eastern (1am UTC)
Katie Evans is the author of the Aunt Claire's Pet Care middle grade book series. She was a newspaper and magazine writer, with publication history that includes breaking news and feature stories, before shifting to fiction. Katie lives in Phoenix, AZ, with her family and dog Benny the Jet.
Dana Hawkins
Finding a Spark: Believable Romance
Sunday at 8pm Eastern (12am UTC)
I am the author of two “soft steam” sapphic romance novels: NOT IN THE PLAN and IN WALKED TROUBLE, and one sweet romance SERVING LOVE. When not searching the country for the perfect cup of piping hot Americano, I spend my time chasing my kids and rewatching ’90s movies with my spouse. After living for twenty years in Seattle, I have recently trekked back to my hometown in Minnesota. I am a huge romance-genre book nerd and borderline obsessed with happy-ever-afters.
Listen to me as a co-host on the Authorish Podcast
Instagram: www.instagram.com/d.hawkinsauthor
Threads: www.threads.net/@d.hawkinsauthor
Twitter: twitter.com/DHawkinsAuthor
Trailer for: Not in the Plan (Preorder Link)
Trailer for: Serving Love
E.L. Johnson
Murder Mystery: how to write a whodunit
Sunday at 10am Eastern (2pm UTC)
E.L. Johnson writes historical mysteries for Dragonblade Publishing, the #1 ebook publisher of Historical Romance on Amazon. A Boston native, she gave up clam chowder and lobster rolls for tea and scones when she moved across the pond to London, where she studied medieval magic at UCL and 16th-century remedies at Birkbeck College. Now based in Hertfordshire, she is a member of the Hertford Writers’ Circle and the founder of the London Seasonal Book Club. She was a reader for the 2023 George Orwell Youth Prize and has given expert comment to national news outlets on creative writing and historical fiction.
Twitter: @ELJohnson888
Insta: eljohnson_writes
Facebook page: @theELJohnson
Tiktok: @alecto99
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/18090432.E_L_Johnson
Bookbub: bookbub.com/profile/e-l-johnson
Deb Lerew
Based on a 'Boo' Story
Saturday at 10pm Eastern (2am UTC)
Deb Lerew is a high school building substitute living in Central Pennsylvania. As Leta Hawk, she writes paranormal mystery novels. Her debut novel, The Newbie, was first released in 2014. Since then, she has published four more novels in the Kyrie Carter: Supernatural Sleuth series, with one more to release in 2024. She has also written a couple short stories and has had pieces selected for several Wild Ink Publishing anthologies. Under her given name, she has written one poetry chapbook, and is working on a second. When she’s not writing or wrangling high school students, Deb enjoys crocheting, visiting St. Augustine, and spending time with her husband, two teenage sons, and black lab.
Zac Lindsey
Anthropology in SFF Worldbuilding: the ethnography of our heroes
Saturday at 8am Eastern (12pm UTC)
Zac Lindsey is an anthropologist by training and a fiction writer for fun. These days, he mostly writes fantasy, though he's written sci-fi as Isaac Teile. For nearly ten years, he has written a popular column on Maya history for the Institute of Maya Studies. His first fantasy novel is available: amazon.com/dp/B0CH3TW3YD
Follow him on Instagram @z.lindsey_fiction
Lynda Rush Myers
Writing Practice, Process, Ritual:
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Friday at 3pm Eastern (7pm UTC)
Lynda Myers, English teacher emeritus, late-blooming poet, is a native of Oakland, CA. Lynda makes her home in Durham, North Carolina. Lynda loves horizons, walking barefoot, printed over-the-knee socks, pelicans, poems and seashells. She is a student of poetic form, writing process, rituals (did you know Coleridge “employed his soul in the poetic process” and was an opium addict?), revision. In luminous older age, she finds her poetic soul in lines that shimmer, teach, clutch, recall, transport, imagine, witness through another’s eyes, remind: Tyehimba Jess, Donald Justice come to mind. Her poems capture what her students’ taught her—over 55 years—resilience, gratitude, forgiveness. Her work in progress: Sometimes, A Man Stands Up During Supper, a work in late process, seeks a publisher. She is happily decades past technical publications, proposals, marketing collateral.
Lynda’s work appears in Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), EDGE of Faith magazine, The Poet (U.K.), the Tiferet Spiritual Journal (2020, 2021, 2022), WayWords, Kakalak 2023, Gravity’s Grave Vol. 2 The World Beneath Our Feet (Plants & Poetry.)
Find Lynda on Facebook at facebook.com/lyndarushmyers
Find her neglected pages, essays on:
bloomstoheirlooms.wordpress.com
Patti Procopi
Telling Your Story
Sunday at 9am Eastern (1pm UTC)
Patti Gaustad Procopi is a former army brat who lived all over the world before settling in the rural community of Gloucester, Virginia. There she and her husband, Greg, raised three daughters and numerous cats and dogs.
After retiring from two area history museums, Patti finally had the time to do the things she always wanted to do, including writing. The nomadic life of an army brat often made it difficult to make friends and form lasting relationships. Patti’s writing is about those feelings of loneliness and loss, friendship and family.
Her first novel, Please…Tell Me More, was published in 2020. Her second, I’ll Get By, came out in 2022 and the sequel to her first, titled, Stop Talking, will be out late this year. She’s won a few short story contest and has had a story published in a literary journal and an on-line story podcast.
Patti has given presentations on Writing Your Story for the Chesapeake Bay Writers, The Virginia Writers Club and at several area libraries.
Patti can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and Linked In. Check out her website Pattproauthor.com.
Ginny Myers Sain
Setting as a Character
Saturday at 5pm Eastern (9pm UTC)
Ginny Myers Sain is the author of DARK AND SHALLOW LIES (2021), SECRETS SO DEEP (2022), and ONE LAST BREATH (2024), all from Penguin Teen. Her debut novel, DARK AND SHALLOW LIES, is a New York Times bestseller, an Indie Bookstore Bestseller, a Barnes & Noble YA Pick of the Month, an Amazon Editor's Pick, and the 2022 CRYSTAL KITE award winner from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Ginny's books are available world-wide in eight countries and counting! Although she comes from a long line of writers, Ginny's first love has always been the theatre. She has a degree in theatre and has spent most of her career teaching acting and directing plays and musicals. Ginny currently lives in St. Cloud, Florida, with her college-age son and a wild goldendoodle named Magnolia. When she is not working in the theatre or writing, you're likely to find her listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, traveling to spooky places, or hanging out at Walt Disney World.
Anne Marie Stoddard
Chat With a Mystery Author
Saturday at 4pm Eastern (8pm UTC)
Anne Marie Stoddard is a USA TODAY bestselling author of suspenseful thrillers and cozy mysteries with an edge. Her award-winning Amelia Grace Rock n' Roll Mystery series was inspired by her experience working in radio and at concert venues and music festivals across the U.S.
Anne Marie has previously served as Vice President of the Atlanta Sisters in Crime chapter and has worked in marketing for several small publishers and agents, including Booktrope, Tandem Light Press, and Lucinda Literary, LLC. She's passionate about writing and reading fiction and helping other authors tell their stories and find new readers online. She's appeared on panels at events such as Killer Nashville, the AJC Decatur Book Festival, and DragonCon to share her experience with writing and literary marketing.
Aside from all things writing-related, Anne Marie loves her husband, two boys, and their dog, as well as college football, hockey, music, hula hooping, coffee, and anything pumpkin-flavored.
Frances Turner
Claiming Your Voice as a Writer
Friday at 5pm Eastern (9pm UTC)
Frances Turner is a 50+ year-old proud mother of two grown daughters, an arts leader with a particular penchant for travelling the world, and an emerging creative writer. Born in the USA, she is both Native American and European, now living in Auckland, New Zealand.
An avid reader of fiction and non-fiction, much of her writing prior to 2019 was in travel journals, technical manuals, proposals, reports and speeches. She began entering writing competitions during the pandemic and won Judges’ Choice in the 2021 Writer’s Games; her story “The Lightkeeper’s Daughter” is published in 72 Hours, vol. 10. She’s been a member of an international online writing community ever since, and has especially loved the chance to write from surprising (e.g. non-human) perspectives.
You can find her work in various anthologies and literary magazines, including: “A Chance Encounter at The Best Exotic Fruit Market in Jaipur” in Glittery Literary of June 2021 (UK), and both “Intergalactic Mission of Mercy” and “Controlling the Narrative” in Suddenly and Without Warning. Her short story “b r o k e n” was long-listed with Honours in the 2020 NZ Writer’s College short story competition, and “I Have a Name” was long-listed in the UK’s Dorothy Dunnett Historical Writers Association Awards in 2022.
She received a 2023 NZSA Mentorship with a Professional Writer for her memoir, Homecoming in the Time of the Budding Moon (working title), about her journey of reconnection with the land of her ancestors (the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin), her family history and ultimately, herself.
Kate Vacek
What You Can Learn From Writing Creative Nonfiction
Friday at 8pm Eastern (12am UTC)
Kate Vacek is a writer and writing coach with a PhD in teaching writing. Her current creative projects include picture books and a memoir about anxiety, gender, and social class. She also owns Compass Academic Coaching, which serves graduate students, professors, and other researchers as they pursue their degrees, tenure, and research agendas. Her research on academic literacy practices has been published in several peer reviewed journals and the edited collection, Women in Scholarly Publishing: A Gender Perspective. She lives in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Connect with Kate at kathleenvacek.com.
Julian Winters
Journey to Publication
Sunday at 9pm Eastern (1am UTC)
Julian Winters is the author of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award-winning Running With Lions; the Junior Library Guild Selections How to Be Remy Cameron and The Summer of Everything; and the multi-star reviewed Right Where I Left You and As You Walk On By. A self-proclaimed comic book geek, Julian currently lives outside of Atlanta. He can usually be found swooning over rom-coms or watching the only two sports he can follow—volleyball and soccer.
